Katavi National Park, Tanzania Wildlife Safari Tours
Katavi National Park is one of Tanzania's most unspoiled and untouched bush settings with amazing landscapes and rich wildlife. The 4,471km2/1,726mi2 park is difficult to access and can be relatively costly to visit. As a result, few people make the effort to visit there. While the popular Serengeti might see 125,000 visitors in a year, the remote Katavi sees no more than a few hundred brave adventurers by comparison. This is wild Africa at its very best and, provided you have the time and budget, it’s a park that’s worth exploring. There are only a couple of small, rustic safari camps, so you often come across more pride of lions than tourists on a game drive in Tanzania's third-largest national park.
Katavi is found in the remote western part of the country. It is the 4th largest national park in Tanzania and consists of 4471 square kilometers of unspoiled wilderness. The park boasts a wonderful array of habitats, which range from flood plains of thick reeds and dense waterways that teem with hippos and crocodiles to woodlands, open grasslands, forests, and pristine seasonal lakes. The park encompasses the Katuma River and the seasonal Lake Katavi and Lake Chada floodplains.
Created in 1974, Katavi National Park is situated in the Katavi Region in southwestern Tanzania. It is located north of the ‘Rukwa Rift’, an extension of the Western Rift Valley. Visitors to the area can seek out the legendary tamarind tree, which is said to house the spirit of a great huntsman named Katabi. Here, they can place an offering at the base of the tree in memory of this exceptional hunter.
Katavi is one of Tanzania’s largest national parks. It is situated not far from the country’s western border, just east of Lake Tanganyika in a truncated arm of the Great Rift Valley (the Rukwa Rift Basin) that ends around Lake Rukwa. The Lyamba Iya Mfipa and Mlele escarpments line the park to the west and east. The protected area is significantly augmented by surrounding game reserves, including Rukwa, Lukwati, and Luafi (also spelled Lwafi) Game Reserves. Together with the national park, these reserves encompass some 12,000 km2 (1,2 million hectares) of prime wilderness, stretching to the Ruaha eco-system to the east and the chimpanzee forests of Mahale National Park to the north. Much of the park is dominated by miombo woodland interspersed by vast open clearings (including the 425km2 – 42,500 hectares – Katisunga Plain) and floodplains. Naturally, life revolves around the park’s rivers and reed-lined waterway networks. The Katuma River feeds the seasonal Katavi and Chada Lakes, its network supplemented by the Kavu and Kapapa Rivers. Ancient riverine forests dominated by tamarind trees line these river systems, providing ample shade for the elephants, buffalos, and tourists who seek refuge beneath the canopy during the soporific heat of the day.
East Africa is, of course, a safari mecca and there are many places where wildlife viewing is simply extraordinary. Yet Katavi, on Tanzania’s southern circuit, stands out because it is so far off the traditional beaten safari track that it receives fewer than 500 visitors every year. Those visitors who make the journey are richly rewarded and often find themselves with a vast chunk of African savanna to themselves, without another tourist in sight.
Wildlife:
Wildlife features include large animal herds, particularly of Cape Buffaloes, zebras, giraffes, and elephants, plus along the Katuma river, crocodiles and hippopotami which upon annual dry seasons result in mudholes that can be packed with hundreds of hippos. Carnivorous animals that roam this park are cheetahs, wild dogs, hyenas, leopards, and lions. The area southeast of the Park near Lake Chada has the highest mammal numbers.
Over 400 bird species have been recorded. Naturally, most visitors are looking to take advantage of the mammal displays of the dry season, which does not equate with the best birding opportunities that Katavi offers. Instead, the best time for bird watching in the park is when the migrant species return to “summer” in Katavi from November until April, coinciding with the arrival of the rains. During these months, the seasonal lakes fill, and floodplains revert to boggy marshland, making the waterbird viewing exceptional.
Access to Katavi National Park:
The most convenient way to reach Katavi is via a 4-5 hour-chartered flight from Arusha or Dar es Salaam. Depending on your itinerary, your entry point to Katavi will be through Kilimanjaro International Airport (46 km from Arusha) or the Julius Nyerere International Airport in Dar.
By car, Katavi is a 2–3-day drive from Dar and the road journey from Arusha takes 22 hours. We recommend that you fly to save you from a long road journey.
The only commercial flight is the bi-weekly service between Uaha, Katavi, and Mahale which is operated by Safari Air Link. However, most campsites have links with airlines, and If you book with us, we will organize your transport and accommodation for you.
Where to Stay:
Though Katavi may be remote, the park and surrounds offer a small number of luxury lodges on par with grandeur and comfort found anywhere else in Africa. These beautiful camps are carefully positioned to take full advantage of the arid months, offering spectacular “armchair” wildlife viewing from the lodge decks between game drives. Unfortunately, most of the camps are closed for part of, if not all, of the rainy season from November until May, when the roads become sludgy, and parts of the park become inaccessible. For the more intrepid visitor, camping and self-drive through the park is an option. Some of the accommodations include;
Chada Camp:
Operated by Nomad Tanzania, Chada Camp is located 50 km east of Lake Tanganyika. Chada Camp offers six safari tents which are surrounded by trees and offer sweeping views of the surrounding plains. The tents are dispersed to maximize your privacy, and the camping experience is suitable for children 12+.
Each tent has a comfortable bed, a writing desk, and gauze windows which allow natural light to shine through. The accommodation is decorated with homely natural fabrics and palm matting. Each tent has an en-suite bathroom with a flush toilet.
Outside your tent, you will find a bucket shower. You can cool off after a day of activities whilst enjoying the scenic views, and you may even see a herd of elephants. There is a large communal tent where guests can relax, read, or watch the elephants, giraffes, and buffaloes wander past. Breakfast and lunch are served in the dining tent.
Guests can choose between dining indoors and al fresco dining under the stars. Before dinner, guests gather at the campfire for snacks and drinks.
Mbali Katavi Lodge:
Mbali Mbali Camp offers 8 comfortable tents, and it was completely refurbished in 2018, giving it a minimalist and contemporary design. The communal areas are two-tiered, open-sided structures which are built from wood and thatch.
Each canvas tent is built on a raised wooden platform and covered by a thatched roof. Each room has a sofa, a veranda, and a traditional Zanzibari bed. The site offers one family room which has a conjoined double and twin tent on a shared platform.
The en-suite bathrooms are modern, and they have double sinks, flushing toilets, and glass showers. The camp offers a delicious menu of local dishes and Western favorites. You can have a bush breakfast on safari and dine with sweeping views of the park or enjoy a buffet breakfast on the campsite.
Katavi Wildlife Camp:
Katavi Wildlife Camp is a simple tented camp – one of only four in the remote Katavi National Park – with good wildlife sightings all year round.
Best time to visit:
The best time to visit Katavi National Park is during the annual dry season from June to December. During the dry season, the Katuma River is one of the only water sources within the surrounding area, and you will have spectacular wildlife viewing opportunities around the river.
Hundreds of hippos and crocodiles gather around the scarce waterholes, and thousands of topis, impalas, and zebras pass through the plains.
Arrange and Book with Ultimate Wild Safaris for the Katavi National Park Safari Tour in Tanzania.
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