14 Day Western Tanzania Safari
The Eastern, Southern and Western Highlands is one of Tanzania’s most scenic regions, appealing especially to adventure-loving travellers with two to three weeks at their disposal. For those with more time and a taste for the offbeat, the region links nicely with western Tanzania. This tour will give a chance to visit Nyerere, Mikumi, Ruaha, Katavi and finish off with Mahale National Park.
You'll be picked up from your hotel in Dar at 8:00 am and drive to Nyerere National Park former Selous Game Reserve with a hot lunch on the way. On arrival, check in at Selous Ngalawa Camp, have a short rest wandering around the camp seeing the river and nature. Then proceed with a Boat safari at 4:00 pm with a skipper(guide), watching hippos, crocodiles, different species of birds and plenty of animals which are coming to drink water till sunset.
- Main Destination: Nyerere National Park
After breakfast at 7:00 am, start with game drives for a full day till sunset. Explore the wildlife in the park through those oxbow lakes watching the birds and look for elusive wildlife. Elephants on the plains and in the bushes feed alongside zebra and impala. You will be scouring different water holes for predator kills as well as catching the animals as they drink. Then late in the evening, drive back to the Ngalawa camp for dinner and your overnight stay.
- Main Destination: Nyerere National Park
After breakfast at 6:00 am, start your walking safari with an armed ranger for 2 hours. A walking safari is a fantastic way to experience more about the Selous bushes. Although you may see wildlife during the walk, the focus is also on the habitat that the animals live in, insects, trees and birdlife. You will have an interesting and amazing experience walking within such a vast area of the natural reserve, an experience which very few places in Africa are able to offer. You'll then go back to camp for breakfast then collect your packed lunch game enroute to Mikumi, arrival for overnight at Camp Bastian Mikumi.
- Main Destination: Mikumi National Park
You'll wake up early in the morning for a sunrise game view at Mikumi National Park. Later at 1000 am, go back to your Camp for breakfast. Then drive to Ruaha National Park via Iringa where you will stop for hot lunch. After lunch, you will proceed to Ruaha National Park and check in at Ruaha Bandas for dinner and your overnight stay.
Ruaha National Park has a bimodal pattern of rain forest; the short rainfall season begins November to February, while the long season is between March and April. The park experiences its dry season between June and October. The park is one of the Tanzania birds’ paradise with more than 571species and some of them are known to be migrants from within and outside Africa.- Main Destination: Ruaha National Park
After breakfast, with packed lunch, proceed for another game drive in Ruaha National Park for a full day. At noon, take a bush lunch and continue with game drives till late sunset. Ruaha National Park covering 10,300km², is the most visited national park in the southern part of Tanzania. Thanks to the size of the park and the fact that the south of Tanzania is less visited than the northern parks, you will have plenty of space and hardly encounter any other safari vehicles on your game drives. Dinner and overnight at Ruaha Bandas.
- Main Destination: Ruaha National Park
Have your morning breakfast then drive from Ruaha National Park to Mbeya town via Makambako. Hot lunch will be taken on the way. Arrive at Mbeya for dinner and your overnight stay will be at Mount Living Stone Hotel. Mbeya is a city in southwest Tanzania. It sits at the base of soaring Loleza Peak, between the Mbeya and Poroto Mountain Ranges.
- Main Destination: Mbeya (City)
Have breakfast at Livingstone Hotel then drive to Sumbawanga Town. Sumbawanga is the capital city in the Rukwa region, Tanzania. The town is located in the western part of Tanzania. Sumbawanga is a bustling city and a center of commercial and economic growth. Lunch will be on the way. Dinner and your overnight stay will be at Sumbawa Lodge.
- Main Destination: Sumbawanga (City)
After breakfast at Sumbawanga Lodge, you will drive to Katavi National Park, a 4 hours drive. On arrival, go for registration then check in at Katavi Bandas and wait for lunch. After lunch, you will drive to Katavi National Park for game viewing till sunset. Wildlife features include large animal herds, particularly of Cape buffaloes, zebras, wildebeest, giraffes, and elephants. Also, along the Katuma River, crocodiles and hippopotamus which on annual dry seasons results in mud-holes that can be packed with hundreds of hippos. Carnivorous animals that roam this park are cheetahs, wild dogs, hyenas, leopards, and lions. Dinner and your overnight stay will be at the Katavi Bandas.
- Main Destination: Katavi National Park
This day you will enjoy a full day of game viewing in Katavi National Park. Packed lunch will be served at the bush. Katavi has fewer human visitors and jeeps conducting game drives than other Tanzania parks. Your guide will assist you to spot different species of animals including the rare seen roan and sable antelopes. Dinner and your overnight stay will be at Katavi Bandas.
- Main Destination: Katavi National Park
Have breakfast then enjoy a half day game view at Katavi National Park. Katavi National Park is the third largest national park in Tanzania, yet it gets a fraction of the visitors of the Serengeti or even Nyerere Park. It is a wildlife hotspot, famous for its abundance of hippos and past sightings of white giraffes. In the afternoon after lunch, you will drive to Mpanda Town. It will take two and a half hours to reach. Dinner and your overnight stay will be at Mpanda Inn Lodge.
- Main Destination: Mpanda (Town)
Early in the morning at 7:30 am, you will drive to Mahale Mountain National Park via Lukoma village. It is a 9 hours drive to the rough road and on the way, you will stop for lunch. Arrive at the park for registration then you will catch a boat to Mahale Bandas for dinner and your overnight stay.
- Main Destination: Mahale Mountains National Park (Chimps)
Have breakfast then enjoy a full day following the Chimps trails with a professional Chimp guide for the whole day. In the afternoon, go back for a hot lunch and a short rest as you wait for the evening trek. The main event is hiking into the mountains to find chimpanzees. In the afternoon, enjoy lunch at your place and in the afternoon you will relax at the beach. This is a unique landscape where the mountainous land is covered in rainforest right up until the beachfront. Dinner and your overnight stay will be at Mahale Bandas.
- Main Destination: Mahale Mountains National Park (Chimps)
Today after breakfast at 7:30 am, you will drive to Kigoma. It's a 9 hours drive to the rough road. On the way, you will pass a small village and cross the ferry. Lunch will be served on the way. You will arrive at Lake Tanganyika Hotel for dinner and your overnight stay. Kigoma is located on the eastern shores of Lake Tanganyika. It is surrounded by rugged mountains and forests that make it a pleasing and beautiful location. Your overnight will be at Lake Tanganyika Hotel.
- Main Destination: Kigoma (Town)
After breakfast, you can have a short city tour at Kigoma Town. You will visit Ujiji, the nearby former Arab slave trading settlement, the famous meeting place of Stanley and Livingstone. At 11:30 am, you will transfer to Kigoma Airport for your flight to Dar es Salaam. On arrival to Dar es Salaam, you'll be transferred to your own hotel.
- Main Destination: Dar Es Salaam (City)
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