Serengeti & Mahale Chimp Combo
Tanzania’s Big Game & Chimpanzees - 8 days
Witness the Serengeti’s incredible wildlife for 3 nights at Lamai Serengeti, followed by 4 nights with Mahale Chimpanzees at Greystoke Mahale!
Days 1-4 - FLY FROM ARUSHA INTO THE SERENGETI NATIONAL PARK
Depart Arusha by scheduled flight to the northern Serengeti. This flight is one of the most scenic in Tanzania, soaring past iconic landmarks like Ol Donyo Lengai and the Ngorongoro Crater. Flying over the Serengeti you realize the sheer scale of the seemingly never ending plains. Your guides will meet you at the airstrip and take you back to Lamai Serengeti.
Get yourself to Lamai between November and March, slow down a little and we'll show you another side to the Serengeti. Unlike the southern plains of the Serengeti that dry out, forcing all but the hardiest of species to leave, this area remains lush and green. There's a collective sigh of relief from the resident game when the one and a half million migrating wildebeest - and the madness that attends them - leave town for a few months. And the resident game at Lamai Serengeti is spectacular. We venture out in custom-built 4x4s, or on foot to explore the winding river lines, rocky outcrops and sweeping plains. If you were to visit just one part of the Serengeti, we really think it ought to be here.
Days 4-8 - FLY FROM THE SERENGETI TO MAHALE NATIONAL PARK
Your shared charter flight to Mahale will collect you from the Serengeti. This flight down to Mahale is a long journey, taking about four hours with a refuel stop in Tabora along the way. The arrival into Mahale is pretty unforgettable as you fly low over the mountains and land on the airstrip that sits right on the banks of Lake Tanganyika.
When you arrive at Mahale airstrip our wonderful guides will meet you and take you by boat to Greystoke Mahale. This journey takes about an hour and a half and skims along the banks of the impossibly clear lake with the Mahale Mountains rising dramatically from the beach. Coming around the headland and catching site of the iconic Greystoke mess sat on our own patch of white sandy beach is always a memorable moment.
We share the mountains and the lake with so many animals, but it's the chimps that really inspire us. Time spent with them is time away from everything else that is ordinary. But, there's more. Hike the forest paths looking for all the other animals who quietly live here. Swim in pools up in mountain waterfalls, take a kayak out for a dawn paddle and enjoy the sunrise coming up over the mountains. Have sundowners on our old wooden dhow or just relax on the warm sands of the beach with a drink in hand.
Day 9 - DEPARTURE
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