Katavi National Park Travel Guide

At just under 4,500km², Katavi National Park is Tanzania's third largest park. Situated in the remote southwest of Tanzania, access to the park is not easy and there are few camps, ensuring that the park is not overrun with visitors and safari vehicles.

The park is named after the Wabende spirit, Katabi, who according to local legend lives in a tamarind tree near Lake Katavi. Locals looking for blessings from his spirit still leave offerings at the foot of the tree.

The area was first protected in 1911 during the German occupation and was later named Rukwa Game Reserve under British occupation until 1932. In 1974, an area of just over 2,200km² was declared a national park and the larger area was finally gazetted in 1996, officially opening two years later under its current name.

Located in the Rukwa Rift Basin, which forms part of the Central African Rift Valley, Katavi National Park boasts steep highland cliffs and escarpments, floodplains, vast grasslands and seasonal lakes, interspersed with woodlands.

Game in the park is plentiful, with large populations of elephant, buffalo, zebra, a wide variety of antelope and giraffe. There are plenty of predators here, too, including lion, leopard, cheetah and African wild dog. The main river through the park, the Katuma River, dries to a few muddy pools during the dry season and it is here where you can see huge numbers of hippos crammed into small pools, resulting in terrifying fights between the males.

Things to see and do in Katavi National Park

The main activity, of course, is game viewing, which can be done on both game drives and guided walking safaris. The bonus of game drives in Katavi National Park is that you're unlikely to come across any other humans. Walking safaris are an experience not to be missed to really get up close to the African bush and experience its sights, sounds and smells.

Fly camping is offered. This is the ultimate definition of bush camping, where normal tents (don't expect luxury!) are set up in the bush at a temporary campsite. No fences, no flush toilets or showers. It's living in the wild; cooking food over a fire and spending evenings chatting around the campfire, staring up at the breathtaking African night sky and listening to the nocturnal calls of wild animals.

There are a number of places of cultural and historical interest in Katavi. These include Stone and Iron Age sites and sacred sites such as the Katabi Tree, where the Wabende spirit, Katabi, lives.

Best time to visit

Katavi National Park offers great game viewing all year round but reaches its peak during the dry season from June to November or December when the animals gather in their thousands around scarce water sources.

During the wet season, the floodplains turn to lakes and provide spectacular birdwatching opportunities.

Getting there

By car - Katavi National Park is a two- to three-day drive from Dar es Salaam and requires a definite level of adventure-seeking. The road from Arusha, even more so.

By air - By far, the easiest way to get to Katavi National Park is with twice-weekly scheduled flights from Dar es Salaam. Chartered flights can also be arranged.