Katavi National Park

Although Katavi National Park is an isolated remote park compared to the other more popular destinations elsewhere in Tanzania, the lodges/Accommodation in Katavi National Park are at least as great ranging from comfortable to very exclusive  and rustic luxurious accommodations, situated at beautiful locations where you will feel at one with this true wilderness and close to Wildlife.

Some of the Extraordinary lodges, authentic tented Camps and real bush campsites provide adventurous and great flexible Accommodation in Katavi National Park as each of these offers a specific ambiance, in a very individual manner, excellence in one aspect, exclusivity and cuisine and they  include;

Palahala Luxury Camp

Palahala Camp is a luxury Accommodation in Katavi National park that overlooks spectacular action on the Kapapa River from the heights of Paradise Hill, with superbly designed suites, butler service, and fine sumptuous cuisine. It offers eight tents are all quirky octagonal in shape, and have private verandahs which overlook the bush and river, providing constant wildlife viewing throughout the day and night. Old fashioned hurricane lamps create a romantic atmosphere, and the quirky décor of the camp is both traditional safari and modern African. It also has a fantastic sundowner spot, often visited by herds of hippo, eland, sable and roan antelope.

Mbali Mbali Katavi Lodge,

In the center of Katavi National Park lies Mbali Mbali Katavi lodge another authentic Accommodation in Katavi National Park, offering an exciting bush experience with breathtaking views over the vast plains of Katisunga. The camp is ideal for the travelers looking for a truly remote experience away from regular tourist routes offering exceptionally rewarding game viewing experiences due to the sheer abundance of wildlife around the woodland areas along the seasonal lakes, where most of the game can be found including the big cats. The lodge has been designed to blend in with its surroundings to avoid distracting from the beauty of Katavi, and herds of animals can be seen right from your tent. It has 10 safari tents with rooms constructed for exclusivity, with complete furnishings including writing desks, fine linen, and en-suite facilities. The main deck houses a swimming pool, lounge and dining facilities to complement the breathtaking views of the Katisunga Plains

Chada Katavi Tented Camp

Chada Katavi Tented camp which is most famous in the area, it mid-luxury stylish and wonderfully comfortable, and is open from June to November every year. The 6 canvas tents that Chada Katavi offers are raised up on wooden platforms and have wide-open fronts to let in the passing breeze. The en-suite bathrooms have traditional outdoor safari-style bucket showers. In a clearing is the dining tent and a library providing comfortable little spaces for your hours when you’re not out in the midst of a safari adventure.

Katavi Wildlife Camp,

Katavi Wildlife Camp is a mid-range Accommodation in Katavi National Park, set on the edge of the Katisunga plain, nestled in the fringe of woodland that skirts this seasonal lake, Katavi Wildlife Camp blends seamlessly into its environment, enjoying one of the best views in the park. Katavi consists of 6 large Meru-style tents, overlooking the plain, each built on a raised wooden platform, and sheltered from the midday sun by a traditionally thatched roof. Each tent is en-suite and has its own large veranda with hammock and chairs. From your vantage point either on the veranda of your tent or from the upper viewing lounge you can join the predators watching the plains game during the day as well as anticipate the excitement of the predators hunting their dinner as the game move back to the trees in the evenings.

Katuma Bush Lodge

Katuma Bush Lodge is located in the center of Katavi National Park, set on an elevated point overlooking the vast plains of Katisunga with herds of animals seen from your tent. Katuma Bush Lodge consists of 10 spacious and comfortably furnished thatched tents, built on raised wooden decks, each with writing desks, comfortable beds and other amenities, The lounge/dining area is housed in a thatched open-sided rondavel with a panoramic view over Katisunga floodplain, furnished with wooden furniture and African antiques.

Imagining yourself already in this genuine true African park, contact us at Enclose Africa Safaris to help you get up close with its nature and wildlife while staying at the most comfortable accommodation.

Best Time to Visit Katavi National Park is considerably defined based on the National park’s annual weather conditions and the by far game viewing experiences from tourists, and thus depending on the season a Katavi wilderness adventure can vary so much that it is hard to believe you are in the same location.

Katavi National Park is a classic dry season park with the Game viewing getting progressively better and is even more outstanding towards the end of the year between the months of June to October, As months wear on, the grass dries gold and withers creating wider open spaces clear for spotting Game, the temperatures are cooler  and less humid, the numerous pristine lakes and fragile rivers dry up, Wildlife moves down from the surrounding hills and congregates around the remaining river banks which usually turn into muddy pools and water holes making game viewing quite easier and seriously exciting with Hippopotamus in their thousands cramming dwindling pools, Crocodiles digging riverbank caves, Buffaloes and Elephants competing for waterholes, Lions, Hyenas and other predators getting close to these areas to catch prey thus the Best time to Visit Katavi National Park.

By the end of the dry season, in the months of November to May in between the short and long rainy seasons, the Park is truly stunning with enormous swamps, and flood plains turning into shimmering lakes with flowing rivers and vegetation is all lush with green and tall grasslands. This makes the park all wet and slippery with the muddy road, game viewing might be difficult as  wildlife disperses into woodlands, the grass is also long to penetrate for spotting game, temperatures are very hot and humid, and there are many mosquitoes and other insects plus some lodges and camps tend to close in the long rainy season of March to May, however during this wet season is the Best Time to Visit Katavi National Park for Bird watching, the park is at its best for prime bird-watching opportunities, as a myriad of water birds, can be spotted as well as the migratory bird species, also hippos and crocodile wallowing in the waters.

The essence of Fly Camping in Katavi National Park is mesmerized by the magnificence of the park and its habitats, you cannot but help feel as if the Park was made with you in mind. Vast diverse landscapes and sweeping herds of game, this remote area is spectacularly unspoiled and your own personal wildlife extravaganza.

Take on this adventure for Fly Camping in Katavi National Park after your game drive or walking safari, get out for Nights out of your safari lodge and under the stars one of the most complete expressions of how tourists can relate to the wilderness, just get yourself out there and connect with the African bush in Katavi National Park is the safest and comfortable areas to experience the big beyond in the deeper wilderness while getting so close to nature as possible, breathing Africa together with the animals as you enjoy the campfire after your bush dinner with your safety guaranteed form the park hosts.

Spend a memorable evening, immersed in the tranquility of the African wilderness, on an adventure-filled Fly camping in Katavi National Park. Herewith dinner being prepared and a campfire and the bar where you can enjoy your sundowners, Enjoy a sumptuous three-course meal before retiring to the comforts of your charming mosquito-netted tent, and be mesmerized by the blanket of a million stars, and the vast expanse of crystal clear skies revealing the milky way and an astonishing number of satellites and galaxies. Beside the fire, surrounded by the buzz of cicadas singing, sharing stories with your guide and enjoy some stargazing as far away from light pollution as you can get, you will truly appreciate your surroundings, as you hear the rustles, ripples, patterns, hisses, and swishes of the wild world just outside your door.

Interested in Fly Camping in Katavi National Park you will enjoy a theatre of gigantic hippos pods of thousands, cagey crocodiles, dignified buffalo and cunning predators, Katavi National Park is a sublime secret and your ideal surround sound entertainment. You will then retire to your bed for the night on a simple bedroll under a mosquito net dome, with comfy pillow and duvet to keep you cozy, rest assured that you will be guarded throughout your stay by an armed guide. The spectacular sunrise will be your wake up call, rising as the first glow appears on the horizon and the harmonious chorus of birdsongs will thrill you awake as well as the trumpeting elephants alerting the Park that a new day has dawned, enjoy a hot cup of tea before taking a walk back to your tented camp or lodge.

Katavi Park is among the most isolated national parks within Tanzania and perhaps the most intact reserve on the entire African continent, it is  an extremely remote area in the far west of Tanzania which is around 1400 Kilometers from Dar es salaam quite a long distance. There are two different ways on How to Get to Katavi National Park which is by both air and road.

Getting there!

By air: The most ideal way on How to Get to Katavi National Park is by using flights that begin from the town of Arusha or the capital city of Dar es Salaam because of its location being in the far the remoteness of western Tanzania not far from Lake Tanganyika. These flights are the most advisable easy means, there are twice-weekly scheduled flights that are offered linking these parks in the far western parts to Arusha and the northern circuit and also there are also flights routing Dar-Selous-Ruaha to Katavi/Mahale, and back. However, Chartered flights can also be arranged by the different charter flight companies like Zantasair or safari air link operating to these western circuit safari destinations. Basing on your safari itinerary, your point of entry into Tanzania will be Kilimanjaro International Airport (KIA) situated approximately 46 kilometers or 29 miles from the town of Arusha, or at Julius Nyerere International Airport (DAR) found in the capital city Dar es Salaam. Usually, at Enclose Africa Safaris we will receive you at the Airport and then make all ongoing arrangements, as well as the charter flight into the park’s airstrip as per your arrangements. These charter flights take roughly 1 hour and a few minutes to reach the park.

By Road!

Access to Katavi via ground transportation, estimates on How to Get to Katavi National Park by road vary widely as it is generally discussed not in hours but in days. The town of Mbeya is (550 km/340 miles) distant from the national park and it is 838 km from Dar es Salaam, making the total distance approximately 1,400 km (870 miles) and requiring 20+ hours. The road from Mbeya to Katavi National Park is described as a tough but spectacular drive on not very good roads but with the most scenic views, the most direct route from Dar es Salaam is approximately1250 km (800 miles) and requires 16+ hours of driving and on the other hand, Arusha is similarly distant in 1000+km which takes 13.5 hours. The percentage of transit on unpaved surfaces is unknown, but parts of all of these routes will definitely be on dirt roads. Not so much recommended as it is time-consuming and tiresome.

Prepare to have your mind blown amidst a wildlife adventure with the excitement and great moments at Katavi National park while you encounter with its natural habitats to some of which attract the greatest concentrations of large mammals in the world, while indulging yourself in different Tourist Activities in Katavi National Park which include;

Game Drives

A Game Drive is an absolute must in Katavi as it features the major of the Tourist Activities in Katavi National Park, and given the abundance of Game, unique landscapes and untouched wonders of this park, getting into a jeep/land cruiser safari vehicle and you set off for Game viewing at your freedom with encounters of few vehicles which create little traffic will give you a special sense of intimacy with wildlife and this is an extraordinary natural environment and short of breathtaking magical moments.

Bush Walks

Another exciting and most rewarding of the Tourist Activities in Katavi National Park is the Guided Bushwalks, the wide open spaces of the Chada flood plains enable tourists to get an extra wide-angle visibility makes for a unique brand of rambling. No worries about the backdrops of golden grass, distant herds of buffaloes, piercing blue skies it all redefines your bushwalk unique experience plus your safety as your walking safari will be accompanied by an armed park ranger.

Fly Camping

Nights out of your safari lodge and under the stars are one of the most complete expressions of how tourists can relate to the wilderness, just get yourself out there and connect with the African bush in Katavi National Park in the safest and comfortable areas to experience the big beyond in the deeper wilderness while getting so close to nature as possible as you can, breathing Africa together with the animals as you enjoy the campfire after your bush dinner with your safety guaranteed form the park hosts are another offered unique and  one of the adventurous Tourist Activities in Katavi National Park.

Bird Watching

For Bird watchers get to spot varieties of favorite and new Birds from over the 400 attractive Bird species that inhabit in the Katavi National Park as you experience the pure magic in the bush with the authenticity added to it which is incredibly inspiring.

Katavi National Park truly boasts in a wonderful array of natural habitats and Wildlife that are uniquely untouched and best secrets giving the park a uniqueness in adventures. These Tourist Attractions in Katavi National Park range from the fascinating geographical features of interlocking flood plains, that form pristine seasonal lakes in the rainy season such as lake Katavi and lake Chada as well as the chem chem springs between which each of these runs the fragile rivers like the Katuma, the Kavu, and the Kapapa rivers. These all supply the park with water both in the wet and dry seasons and also magnetically attract hugely volumes of intriguing Wildlife species, thus these geographical Tourist Attractions in Katavi National Park have become the reason for this National park arguably being among the best National Parks in Tanzania and Africa at large.

Wildlife

Wildlife in Katavi National Park also features as one of the major Tourist Attractions in Katavi National Park and while it is true to say that Game viewing out of season is fairly dire, with the black cotton soil bringing even the most experienced of drivers to a standstill, the dry season Game viewing in Katavi National Park is outstanding as the water dries and the evenings bring a veritable exodus of wildlife species to the small Katuma River system to drink. Along with the vast herds of cape buffaloes which have been recorded to have the highest concentration in this park, we can’t think of anywhere else that showcases Buffalo, comes other species of game which include Zebras, Wildebeest, Giraffes, and Elephants. The Katisunga flood plains in the heart of the National park also attract large numbers of wildlife animals and here visitors can catch a glimpse of the roan, Topi, and sable antelopes in the same place, hartebeest, elands, and Defassa waterbucks among many other animals.

Predators!

Tourist Attractions in Katavi National Park also features populations of inevitable predators such as cheetahs,  lions, jackals, wild dogs, hyenas, leopards, lions duel quite so well in Katavi while Leopards are rarely spotted here, the flood plains of  Katavi National Park that are surrounded by riverine forests and thick reeds upon annual dry seasons usually result into muddy pools that teem with schools of hippos and crocodiles, the huge hippo pools each can see 600 hippos at its peak and it is nowhere else in Africa that crocodiles hibernate in dense as they do here while they dig caves in the dry river banks.

Birdlife

Katavi National Park is a great place for birdwatchers, with over 400 species of birds, large flocks of storks like saddle bills, open-billed and spoonbills as well as African fish eagles, Bateleurs, lilac-breasted rollers, crested barbets and paradise flycatchers are but a few on the long list of various bird species in this National Park.

There is nothing normal or ordinary about Katavi National Park, and having visited a good proportion of the game parks in Africa, at Enclose Africa Safaris, we definitely recommend visiting Katavi National Park for an ultimate wildlife adventure.