Mahale is the most remote park we send people to, and quite possibly the most beautiful. Forested peaks rise straight out of Lake Tanganyika to 2,462 m at Nkungwe, and there is no road in — you arrive by light aircraft and then by boat along the shore.
Around a thousand wild chimpanzees live in these forests, and the habituated M-group has been studied by Japanese researchers since the 1960s. Tracking them through steep jungle is hard work, and being sat among them afterwards is worth every step.
May to October in the dry season, when chimps stay lower down and the trails are passable.
About 1,613 km² along the eastern shore of Lake Tanganyika.
Home to roughly 1,000 chimps; the M-group has been studied continuously since the 1960s.
Charter flight from Arusha or Dar to Mahale airstrip, then 1–2 hours by boat.
Mornings are for chimp tracking, which can take anywhere from twenty minutes to five hours. Afternoons belong to the lake — some of the clearest, warmest freshwater anywhere.
Mahale lies in the far west of the country, on the eastern shore of Lake Tanganyika — a long way from the northern circuit parks most visitors know. There are no roads in and no roads out: you arrive by light aircraft, then transfer by boat along the shoreline to camp.
Mahale takes planning and it is worth all of it. Talk to us about timing and flights.
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