Mahale Mountain National Park

This is an extraordinary place to visit – it is a startling location with towering mountains, which loom 2500 metres above the clear, fresh waters of Lake Tanganyika. White beaches fringe the shore making the experience akin to a tropical beach holiday. Lake Tanganyika is rich in life with more than 260 species of endemic cichlids, and the snorkelling in the clear, blue, alkaline-rich waters is spectacular. The mountains are best known for their chimps – there are more than 1000 here, including a habituated family of some 56. Visitors can track and observe them through a permit system that allows them to be seen for an hour a day. It is easiest to see them during the months from August to October when conditions are dry and the chimps are found on the lower slopes. Birding is also excellent; it’s a meeting place of species from East and West Africa. This park is extremely remote in the southern part of Tanzania (more than 60 kilometres from the nearest road) and although there are two scheduled flights per week, it is an extremely expensive destination. Mahale combines well with a trip to Katavi, offering the most exclusive wildlife experiences in Tanzania with only a hundred or so visitors each year.