Situated in the remote Western Rift Valley between lakes Rukwa and Tanganyika about 870 mi/1,400 km west of Dar es Salaam, the 2,750-sq-mi/4,500-sq-km Katavi is Tanzania's third-largest national park and possibly its most remote. Its isolation, difficult access routes and lack of facilities mean that it receives few tourists.
During the dry season (May-November) game viewing is superb and includes impressive concentrations of elephant, buffalo, giraffe and hippo, along with a high density of lions. For all practical purposes, Katavi is accessible by air only, and the handful of small tented camps that scatter the park are generally visited in conjunction with a few days' chimp-tracking in the nearby (but equally difficult to reach) Mahale Mountains. It's not a cheap option, but for those who can afford it, it offers unspoiled wildlife viewing far off the beaten track.
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