Where We Operate
SOUTHERN TANZANIA
RUAHA NATIONAL PARK
At over 20,000 sq km, Ruaha is the largest national park in Tanzania. Located in south central Tanzania, the name of the park is derived from the Great Ruaha River, which flows along its south-eastern margin and is the focus for game-viewing. Ruaha is famous for its large population of elephants. It holds one of the tightest concentrations of lions to be found anywhere, with over 10% of the world’s lions. The park is also a true birdwatchers’ paradise with over 580 species sighted there. Other special animals in Ruaha are the African wild dog, leopard, cheetah and sable antelope. In spite of the size of the park there are still only a handful of camps found here, which explains Ruaha’s reputation as Tanzania’s best kept game viewing secret.
SELOUS GAME RESERVE
The Selous covers 45,000 sq km of wilderness, with grassy plains, open woodland, moutnains and forests and is Africa’s largest game reserve, being three times the size of South africa’s Kruger National Park and twice the size of the Serengeti. It is named after Frederick Courtney Selous, a great explorer and hunter and is one of Tanzania’s three UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
NORTHERN TANZANIA
SERENGETI NATIONAL PARK
Tanzania’s oldest, second largest and most popular national park, as well as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Serengeti is known for its annual migration, when some six million hooves pound the open plains, as more than 200,000 zebra and 300,000 Thomson’s gazelle join the wildebeest’s trek for fresh grazing. Yet even when the migration is quiet, the Serengeti offers arguably the best game-viewing in Africa: great herds of buffalo, smaller groups of elephant and giraffe, and thousands upon thousands of eland, topi, kongoni, impala and Grant’s gazelle.
NGORONGORO CRATER
The Ngorongoro Crater, also a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is located in northern Tanzania near the Serengeti. The crater is an enormous unbroken caldera, the result of a volcano which collapsed upon itself millions of years ago. The flat crater floor is now home to 30,000 animals, including wildebeest, zebra, buffalo, gazelles, and leopards, as well as one of the densest known populations of lions.
LAKE MANYARA NATIONAL PARK
Lake Manyara National Park is a scenic park located an hour and a half west of Arusha. The compact game-viewing circuit through Manyara offers a virtual microcosm of the Tanzanian safari experience. Jungle-like forest, grassy floodplain and acacia woodland legendary for its tree-climbing lions and impressively tusked elephants.
TARANGIRE NATIONAL PARK
Tarangire National Park is the sixth largest national park in Tanzania. The name originates from the Tarangire River that crosses through the park, being the only source of water for wild animals during dry seasons. During the dry season thousands of animals migrate to the Tarangire National Park from Manyara. The landscape and vegetation is incredibly diverse with a mix that is not found anywhere else in the northern safari circuit. The park is famous for its huge number of elephants, baobab trees and tree climbing lions. Other common animals include zebra, wildebeest, gerenuk, waterbuck, giraffe, and olive baboons.
WESTERN TANZANIA
KATAVI NATIONAL PARK
The fourth largest national park, Katavi is a wild and remote national park in southwest Tanzania, home to more hippos and crocs than anywhere else in Africa. Katavi reputedly has a higher concentration of mammals than any other reserve in Tanzania, and represents Africa the way it must have been a century ago. Despite its wealth of wildlife, Katavi sees fewer than 2,000 visitors a year, which guarantees a personal and authentic game viewing experience without hordes of other vehicles.
MAHALE MOUNTAINS NATIONAL PARK
Remote and mysterious, Mahale Mountains National Park is home to some of Africa’s last remaining wild chimpanzees. Over 600 square miles in area, the park is situated on the banks of Lake Tanganyika in western Tanzania. It is one of the very few parks in Africa that must be experienced on foot. There are no roads or other infrastructures within the park boundaries, and the only way in and out of the park is by boat. Chimpanzee trekking excursions here are for a minimum of three nights, and we book into either Nkungwe Tented Camp or the exclusive Greystoke Mahale.
