LODGES IN KATAVI NATIONAL PARK

Lodges in Katavi National park  / accomodation on katavi national park , Katavi National Park is Tanzania’s fifth-largest national park. The park is less visited due to its remoteness, which adds to the sense of endless, untouched wilderness. Tanzania’s southwest is part of the Great Rift Valley, which ends at Lake Katavi.

The Katuma River serves as the main game viewing area in Katavi National Park. The roads in Katavi National Park are frequently flooded during the rainy season, which lasts from December to February. The area is slightly more accessible from February to April. The dry months of May to October are ideal for visiting Katavi National Park. The Katuma River is receding, and the floodplains with pools of water attract a lot of game.

The hippos that gather in large groups in the last remaining pools at the end of the dry season make for the most striking sightings. Charter flights are the most effective way to reach Katavi National Park from Dar es Salaam or Arusha. It is possible to travel by land, but due to the distance and the state of the roads, plan on taking more time to get there.

Safari enthusiasts quickly fall in love with this park, and for good reason. Any experience here will be magical because it is very wild and undeveloped. The buffalo and lion in particular are magnificent in the game. Overall, we believe that Tanzania’s best-kept secret is Katavi. There aren’t many camps/Accommodations in Katavi, but we’ve listed some of our favorites below.

CHADA CAMP

Katavi National Park, one of Tanzania’s wildest game experiences, is home to Chada, one of the most remote lodges we use there. There are a few lodges in the park, but this one—run by Nomad Tanzania, a company well-known for its adventurous camps with excellent guiding and management—is by far the best. A stay at Chada is frequently complemented by a visit to Greystoke, another renowned Nomad property located near Mahale National Park.

Chada Katavi Lodge: The Facts

One of Tanzania’s least visited and most remote parks is Katavi, which is situated in the country’s southwest. Not because there is little game there—quite the contrary—but rather because it is difficult to get to and the pricey charter flight only departs twice a week from either Arusha or Ruaha. The tented camp is hidden away in the forest off Katavi National Park’s main plain, which attracts sizable herds of elephant and buffalo during the dry season.

The camp is dispersed among the canopy of trees, with glimpses of the plains through the canopy. The camp has the appearance of a traditional safari camp because all of the tents are raised slightly on wooden platforms. The main mess tent features an outdoor dining area for starry nights as well as fantastic views of the plains. In a sense, you can go on safari right from your hotel.

 The tented rooms are dispersed throughout the tree canopy and have en suite showers, as well as numerous windows covered in mosquito nets that provide fantastic views of the plains. Game drives in open-sided vehicles are the main activity here, but Chada also offers game walks on the plains and fly camping.

KATUMA LODGE

For those looking for a truly off-the-beaten-path experience, Katuma Bush Lodge is the best option. Animals in this park are curious and unaccustomed to human contact. The pelican flotillas are a unique sight. Two game drives are available each day, and a third is available at night.

Katuma Bush Lodge: The Facts

The Katuma Bush Lodge, located in the middle of Katavi National Park, provides an exhilarating bush experience with breath-taking views of the vast Katsunga plains.

 The name “Katavi” honors the legendary hunter Katabi, whose ghost is thought to reside in a nearby tamarind tree that is now covered in gifts from the locals. Katavi National Park, the fifth-largest but least visited park in Tanzania, is home to the country’s largest crocodile and hippo populations.

For those looking for a truly off-the-beaten-path experience, Katuma Bush Lodge is the best option. Each of the eleven rooms was designed for exclusivity and was fully furnished with writing desks, luxurious linens, and bathrooms. The lodge, which was made with discretion in mind, is frequently visited by wildlife, making for breathtaking views. To complement the stunning views of the Katsunga Plains, the main deck has a swimming pool, a lounge, and dining options. For those who have experience going on safari, Katuma is a fantastic, reasonably priced option for Katavi.

KATAVI WILDLIFE CAMP

There are only a few places to stay in Katavi, but this is one of our favorites because of its breathtaking view of the plains. The Fox family, who also own other properties in southern Tanzania, owns and operates this camp, which is a model of what a traditional safari camp should be like.

Katavi Wildlife Camp: The Facts

Only twice a week, charter flights from either Arusha or Ruaha can reach this camp in west Tanzania. The flights make it expensive to stay in Katavi, and many guests also travel to the excellent lodge at Mahale Mountain National Park on the shores of Lake Tanganyika.

 Fewer than 200 tourists visit Katavi annually, keeping it one of Tanzania’s great safari wildernesses. There are a few safari lodges in Katavi, but we only endorse Chada Katavi by Nomads and Katavi Wildlife Lodge. Both are excellent, but Chada Camp is our top pick if you can afford it.

The Katavi Wildlife Lodge’s main area has fantastic views of the Katsunga Plains, where you can frequently see enormous herds during the dry season. A great place to unwind in the afternoon is the main area, which is very open and has comfortable seating areas close to a bar.

Eight guest tents at Katavi Wildlife are located on elevated platforms and have thatched roofs. The Meru-style tents are surprisingly roomy and have private bathrooms in the back. Each of the tents has a beautiful view. It’s a wonderful little camp and well worth taking into account for a visit to Katavi!

MORE INFORMATION ABOUT KATAVI NATIONAL PARK ACCOMMODATIONS

Katavi is a safari enthusiast’s park that is situated in Tanzania’s far western region. Due to its relative inaccessibility and high flight costs, Katavi receives very few visitors and is frequently combined with the nearby city of Mahale. But those who take the time and expense to travel here will not be disappointed; Katavi is truly magical.

There are very few camps and few visitors in this park, which is truly wild. One of the few remaining locations in Africa where you can actually get the impression that you could have traveled back in time a thousand years is Katavi. Many experts on safari would contend that this is the ideal Tanzanian safari park, and we agree that it’s the region’s best-kept secret. There is a strong case to be made that this is the best week to be had in Africa if you combine this park with Mahale, specifically at Greystoke at Nomad Tanzania!

There is a remarkable amount of game in Katavi, and some researchers think that it is even more abundant than in Ngorongoro Crater.  Huge buffalo herds and powerful lion prides engage in daily combat, and hippos and crocodiles congregate in unique African pods and nests. It is unavoidably expensive to travel here, but this has kept the park away from the crowds that have affected other areas. Additionally, once you arrive, lodge prices are reasonable, and the majority of the camps are of a very high standard.

Katavi: The Wildlife

Katavi is the only place we can think of that showcases buffalo and lion fights quite as well; game drives here can get very heated! Both the hippo and crocodile populations in Katavi are incredibly large; at its peak, the enormous hippo pool can hold 600 hippos, and this is the only place in Africa where crocodiles hibernate in dens. The animals in Katavi haven’t read the manual on species behavior! This park can compete with the best safari experiences in the world thanks to sizeable elephant herds, good numbers of zebra, giraffe, topi, leopard, waterbuck, hyena, and very infrequently wild dogs.

Katavi: The Activities

Daytime game driving is the main activity in Katavi; nighttime safaris are not allowed. A few of the camps provide walking safaris, and Nomad Tanzania’s Chada Camp offers outstanding quick-fly camping trips with nights spent outside under the stars.

Katavi: When to go

Katavi is a typical dry-season park, with game viewing getting better as the year goes on, similar to the Selous Game Reserve and Ruaha National Park. The game moves down from the surrounding hills and congregates around the remaining river system as the water holes and rivers dry up; this is when the viewing is at its best. Although Katavi’s peak season is from July to October, more and more tourists are choosing to visit the area off-peak, if only for the chance to have the park to themselves.