Katavi National Park

Katavi National Park is a Tanzanian national park created in 1974 and is located in Katavi Region, Tanzania. It is a very remote park that is less frequently visited than other Tanzanian national parks. The park is approximately 4,471 square kilometers in area, which makes it the third largest national park in Tanzania. The park encompasses the Katuma River and the seasonal Lake Katavi and Lake Chada floodplains

Katavi National Park offers the chance to experience unspoiled nature in the country’s third largest national park, in a remote, off-the-beaten-track setting. This national park represents Africa at its wildest: pristine bushland, breathtaking views and an abundance of wildlife.

Located in western Tanzania, the wild landscape of Katavi National Park is one of the most protected areas in the entire country.

Katavi’s picturesque landscape is as diverse as it is unspoiled. Dense floodplains and flowing rivers are home to abundant hippos and a variety of birdlife. In the western forests, the forest cover includes herds of buffalo and elephant. The seasonal lakes fill with dirty, stained water after rain, and animals from all over the park come to drink. The park is also home to rare species of roan and sable antelope and is a must-see for visitors who want to explore the continent’s wild landscapes.

Isolated, unsupervised and rarely visited, Katavi is a true wilderness that offers the few brave visitors a stunning glimpse of Africa as it might have looked a century ago.
Tanzania’s third largest national park lies in the remote southwestern region, in a truncated arm of the Rift Valley that ends in a mysterious, shallow section of Lake Rukwa.

Much of Katavi is covered by the fascinating and tangled Brachystegia forest, which is home to large but elusive populations of eland, sable and roan antelope that are scattered throughout the area. However, the Katuma River and its associated floodplains, such as the seasonal lakes of Katavi and Chada, are the main focus for wildlife viewing in the park. During the rainy season, this fertile, swampy lake is home to many water birds and is also home to the largest concentration of hippo and crocodile in Tanzania.

It is during the dry season, when the waters recede, that Katavi really comes alive. The Katuma River, reduced to shallow mud, is the only source of drinking water for miles around, and the surrounding floodplains support an incredible concentration of wildlife. An estimated 4,000 elephants can congregate in the area, as can several herds of buffalo numbering over 1,000, while large numbers of giraffe, zebra, impala and reedbuck are easy prey for the many herds of lion and spotted hyena whose territories converge on the coastal . flat land.

The most unique wildlife sight in Katavi is the hippo. Towards the end of the dry season, up to 200