Western Tanzania Safari

The Western Circuit Of Tanzania which falls on the off the beat track of the normal safari route receives less tourists and attraction, but that doesn't mean it has little to nothing on offer. It can be equally appealing to visitors who've already been to the Tanzania Northern Circuit. Apart from having a rich biodiversity, the parks within Western Tanzania Safari are remote. Hence the unexplored plains and wilderness of this part are awesome for people seeking momentary isolation.

This part of Tanzania has large chimpanzee population as its primary unique offering. These chimpanzees are carefully preserved as they are now listed under the endangered species list with only 100,000 to 200,000 left in the wild.

Gombe National Park

Gombe Stream is best known for the groundbreaking chimpanzee research conducted there by Dr. Jane Goodall. Even though it is one of the best-known parks in Tanzania, few tourists visit due to the large expense and its location far from the traditional safari route. Gombe Stream has the highest park fee in Tanzania.

Jane Goodall began her work in the park in 1960, and Gombe's chimpanzee research project is the longest-running study of an individual wild animal population in the world. Much of Goodall's research, though initially controversial, has now been widely accepted. For those interested in reading more about Jane Goodall's work, In the Shadow of Man and Through a Window discuss Goodall's life and work in Gombe from 1960 until 2000.

Gombe Stream is home to approximately 100 chimpanzees divided among three communities. They are most easily seen during the dry season months when the groups forage at lower elevations. Finding chimps takes from less than one hour to four hours depending on the group's location.

Mahale National Park

This park is absolutely stunning. One one side, you have the crystal clear waters of Lake Tanganyika, on the other you have the high thick forest mountains. And between the two, there are deserted and beautiful white sandy beaches. This is paradise. Like Gombe, this park is also famous for its chimpanzees but it is a much larger park. There are four vegetation zones in this park: Miombo woodland, rainforest, savanna and montane grassland.

Wildlife
The most famous inhabitants are, of course, the chimpanzees but there are many other primates such as yellow baboons, vervet monkeys, red tailed monkeys or blue monkeys. Other species include bushbaby, porcupine, giant squirrel, bush pigs and the warthog. There are leopards but very hard to see. Hippos and crocodiles can be seen by boat along the lubulumbu river. 230 species of birdlife are present in the park, including crowned eagles, scaly francolins, crested guinea-fowls, giant kingfishers, blue cheeked bee-eaters, trumpeter hornbills or the crested marimba.

Katavi National Park

Although Katavi National Park is Tanzania's third largest national park, it is one of the least visited savannah reserves. Wildlife viewing is excellent during the dry season of June through October, when game concentrates around the three floodplains in the park. The park's lifeline is the Katuma River, which all but dries out during the dry season. Hundreds of hippos can be seen occupying small pools during the dry season and bloody hippo fights are a common occurrence. Crocodile, buffalo, elephant and lion are seen in the park along with many antelope species. Katavi should be avoided during the rainy season when mosquitoes are abundant and game viewing difficult. However, during the dry season it is a spectacular site and is reminiscent of what safaris were like 30 years ago.

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