13 days
Upon arrival at Dar es Salaam or Arusha, you will be welcomed by your safari representative and transferred to your hotel. You will receive a full briefing about your 13-day safari, including park routes, wildlife highlights, and flight schedules. The rest of the day is spent relaxing and recovering from your journey.
After breakfast, you travel to Tarangire National Park for your first game drive. The park is famous for its large elephant herds, ancient baobab trees, and seasonal river that attracts a wide variety of wildlife. You will enjoy a full afternoon safari before heading to your lodge for dinner and overnight stay.
Today is dedicated to exploring deeper areas of Tarangire. You will search for lions, leopards, giraffes, zebras, wildebeest, and numerous bird species. Picnic lunch is served inside the park, followed by continued game viewing until sunset.
After breakfast, you proceed to Lake Manyara National Park, known for tree-climbing lions, flamingos, and lush groundwater forests. You will enjoy a game drive along the Rift Valley escarpment, observing elephants, hippos, and diverse birdlife before returning to your lodge.
You travel toward the world-famous Serengeti National Park, enjoying scenic views along the way. In the afternoon, you begin your first game drive across the endless plains, home to lions, cheetahs, elephants, and wildebeest depending on the season. Dinner and overnight in the Serengeti.
Today is a full-day exploration of the Serengeti ecosystem. You will track predators, observe herbivore herds, and enjoy sunrise and sunset game drives. Depending on the season, you may witness the Great Migration.
A second full day in Serengeti allows deeper exploration of different regions of the park. You will focus on wildlife photography, predator action, and exploring river areas where animals gather.
After breakfast, you descend into the Ngorongoro Crater, one of Africa’s most famous wildlife destinations. Inside the crater, you will search for the Big Five including black rhinos, lions, elephants, buffalo, and leopards. Picnic lunch is enjoyed at the crater floor.
After the northern safari, you transfer to Arusha and take a flight toward western Tanzania via Dar es Salaam connection. Upon arrival, you continue closer to Lake Tanganyika region. Dinner and overnight at lodge.
After breakfast, you take a scenic light aircraft flight to Mahale airstrip. From there, you enjoy a boat transfer across Lake Tanganyika to your lodge inside Mahale Mountains National Park. The rest of the day is spent relaxing on the beach and enjoying sunset views.
Today you begin chimpanzee trekking in the rainforest. With expert guides, you hike through dense forest to locate chimpanzee families. You will observe them feeding, grooming, and interacting socially before returning to the lodge for relaxation.
This day offers a deeper trekking experience into Mahale’s rainforest. You may follow different chimpanzee groups and enjoy rich wildlife encounters including monkeys, birds, and forest scenery. Return to lodge for dinner and relaxation.
After breakfast, enjoy a final short chimpanzee trekking or forest walk depending on time. Later, you take a boat transfer to the airstrip and fly back to Dar es Salaam, marking the end of your unforgettable 13-day Tanzania Big Five and Mahale safari adventure.
This 13-day safari combining Tanzania’s northern safari circuit with Mahale Mountains National Park is one of the most complete and rewarding wildlife experiences in Africa, designed for travelers who want both Big Five game viewing and rare primate encounters in one journey.
One of the main reasons to choose this safari is the perfect combination of two world-class wildlife experiences. You will explore famous northern parks like Serengeti and Ngorongoro, where you can see the Big Five—lion, leopard, elephant, buffalo, and rhino—along with vast herds of plains game and dramatic predator action. Then, you transition to the remote west for chimpanzee trekking in the rainforest of Mahale.
Another key advantage is the incredible diversity of landscapes. The journey takes you from open savannahs and volcanic craters to dense rainforest and the crystal-clear waters of Lake Tanganyika, offering completely different ecosystems within a single trip.
The safari also includes the rare opportunity to trek wild chimpanzees in their natural habitat, one of the most intimate and emotional wildlife experiences in Africa. Mahale is one of the best places in the world to observe chimpanzee behavior up close.
With its extended 13-day duration, this safari allows a relaxed travel pace, more game viewing time, better photography opportunities, and deeper exploration of each destination without rushing.
This experience is ideal for wildlife lovers, photographers, honeymooners, and adventure seekers who want a once-in-a-lifetime safari combining Big Five wildlife, chimpanzee trekking, and lakefront relaxation in Tanzania’s most spectacular landscapes.
The best time to go on this 13-day Tanzania Big Five safari and chimpanzee trekking adventure in Mahale Mountains National Park is during the dry season from June to October.
During this period, wildlife viewing in northern Tanzania (including Serengeti, Ngorongoro, Tarangire, and Lake Manyara) is at its best because animals gather around water sources, making them easier to find. The skies are clear, and photography conditions are excellent.
In Mahale, the dry season offers the best chimpanzee trekking experience. The forest trails are more accessible, and chimpanzees are easier to track as they move to lower elevations near the lake and food sources.
Lake Tanganyika is also calm and clear during this time, making boat transfers, swimming, and beach relaxation more enjoyable.
The green season from November to May brings lush landscapes, fewer tourists, and excellent birdwatching opportunities. However, heavy rains between March and May can make some roads and forest trails difficult to access.
Overall, June to October is the best time for this 13-day safari, offering the perfect combination of Big Five wildlife viewing, chimpanzee trekking success, and comfortable travel conditions.
