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| Brief Profile: |
- 1,613 sq km (623 sq. miles) in size
- Mahale is a walking and camping park
- Is on the eastern shore of Lake Tanganyika (second deepest lake in the world)
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| Accessible only by boat or by air, Mahale Mountains National Park is among the least accessible, least visited and most beautiful parks on the African continent. Mahale covers 1 613 km2 of rugged rainforest about halfway down the eastern shore of Lake Tanganyika. With around 700 resident chimpanzees, it's rivalled only by Gombe Stream National Park for chimpanzee viewing. The chimpanzee species at Mahale are Long-haired. Only about 2,000 long-haired chimpanzees survive in the wild. They are found in their greates numbers on the western bank of the Malagarasi River, the largest flowing into eastern Lake Tanganyika. The chimpanzees range through several distinct areas covering 10,000 sq km. A large number of these areas are outside the park. |
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Like its northerly neighbour Gombe, Mahale Mountains NP is home to some of the last remaining wild chimpanzees in Africa. Around 1,000 of these fascinating animals roam the isolated rainforest of Mahale, a chain of dramatic peaks draped in lush vegetation falling to Lake Tanganyika's beaches far below.
Not that you won't see big game at Mahale - the park also protects at least 50 other mammal species, many of which are primates but the number also includes different species of antelope as well as small numbers of leopard and lion. Many of the hoofed animals may be seen in the eastern part of Mahale where miombo forest is dominant. These include Maasai giraffe, Grant's zebra, Lichtenstein's hartebeest and spotted hyena. Among the smaller mammels are Cape hares and Chequered elephant shrews.
African elephants may be found around the Kabesi River to the east of Mahel's main ridge while many buffalo live in the catchment area of the river and on a plateau in the southwest part of Mahale's main ridge. Large numbers of lions and African hunting dogs also live in this area.
Birds inhabit Mahale according to their feeding patterns. For instance, waterbirds exist on or near the lake. These include: Little egrets, Goliath herons, Red-billed ducks, and black-and-white Pied kingfishers that hover before diving for their selected prey.
Mahale also combines well with the big game viewing of southern Tanzania's wildlife gems: the Selous Game Reserve and nearby Katavi and Ruaha National Parks.
Best time to visit:
The dry season at Mahale lasts from approximately the end of May to the beginning of October with a rainy season covering the remainder of the year. Rainfall varies according to the distance from the lake although on average Mahale receives 800 mm to 1,000 mm of rain a year.
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