Visit Katavi National Park, Western Tanzania

Katavi National Park is untamed and extremely wild. Access is by by light aircraft and there are only two tiny camps. It's a place where you can see hippo gather in pods of up to 600 strong.

Hippos - Katavi National Park

Buffalo herds crossing the plains, Katavi National ParkElephants, Katavi National ParkHerd of buffalo in the sunset, Katavi National ParkCheetah in KataviGeneral plains game - Katavi National ParkCrocodiles in KataviTopis in Katavi National ParkKatavi National Park, TanzaniaAerial view of KataviFish eagles - Katavi National ParkHippos - Katavi National ParkLions on a kill - Katavi National ParkLioncub, Katavi National ParkGame viewing in Katavi National ParkBuffalo, Katavi National Park

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Deep in Western Tanzania, the Katavi National Park is untamed and extremely wild.

Arriving by light aircraft you’ll pass over the Katasunga Plains before landing.

Spread out before you are burnished yellow grasslands covered with thousands of zebra, topi, buffalo and giraffe. Lions lie on the fringes, watching and waiting, shaded by mahogany trees. With only two tiny camps in a million acres, Katavi sees few visitors and you have an immense wilderness all to yourself.

Wildlife of Katavi National Park

Katavi is a classic dry season reserve. From June to October buffalo herds of up to 3,000 graze on the plains. Game drives offer superb photographic opportunities, whilst walks beside sluggish rivers are exciting. Large crocodiles lie in mudholes, marabou storks pick over hippo carcasses and spotted hyena lope off into the distance. Elephants drink from tiny water holes in mud-cracked pans, roan and sable antelope hide in dense thickets, while vultures clean and dry their wings in small streams. As the sun falls low in the sky, a visit to the hippo pool, where 600 hippo live in dense formation and engage in fierce territorial battles, provides a perfect place for a sundowner.

At night the smoke curls up from the fire and the sound of cicadas becomes deafening. If you sit quietly you might see a pennant-winged nightjar flit across the purple sky or hear a distant owl.

Katavi is a magical park. We recommend you see it now before others discover it.

Other places within Western Tanzania

Mahale Mountains National Park

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• The Mahale Mountains are the best place in Africa to track and observe wild chimpanzees; crouching low, you can watch them grooming, drinking and playing. Visiting Lake Tanganyika is another highlight.
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Katavi National Park

View place

• {8E328150-6961-450F-AAF8-570FE365F145}
• Katavi National Park is untamed and extremely wild. Access is by by light aircraft and there are only two tiny camps. It's a place where you can see hippo gather in pods of up to 600 strong.
• -6.89694524571941
• 31.1713027954102

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