MAHALE NATIONAL PARK

The Mahale Mountain National Park (1’600km²) is located on the shores of Lake Tanganyika in the west of Tanzania, far from the normal tourist routes. It is home to many primates: Yellow baboons, mummel monkeys, various Vervet monkeys and about 1,000 chimpanzees.

Walks are made to find and observe the chimpanzees. These hikes can be exhausting and take several hours, so you have to bring a certain fitness, so you can enjoy the trekking. It is easier in the dry time (Aug-Oct) if the paths are easier to commit. When rain falls, the paths become slippery and the march more strenuous. The park is considered to be one of the most beautiful in Africa, with fine sandy beaches that pass into tropical jungles and steep mountainsides.

An encounter with chimpanzees in the wilderness is an unforgettable experience – however, the way is far and expensive. There are very few flights and the flight takes about four hours, with a break in Tabora. But it’s worth it – the great seclusion and the beauty of the beaches in front of the tropical forest slopes of the surrounding mountains exerts an unbroken fascination to the few visitors of this park out.

The Lake Tanganyika is after Lake Victoria is the second largest lake in Africa and with 1470m the second deepest lake The world and one of the world’s most diverse species. The lake is home to a very large number of different fish, 95% of which are also endemic, ie found only in Lake Tanganyika.

The transport on Lake Tanganyika the MS Liemba by. The ship was built in Hamburg and transported by the Germans in the most difficult way in individual parts to German East Africa. On the spot, the ship was assembled just before the first world war broke out. The MS Liemba then used to go as SMS Goetzen on the lake, but was sunk by ebendiesen when the German troops withdrew. Both Belgians and British lifted the boat, tried to repair it, and the MS Liemba somehow survived everything and continues today even after many overhauls on the lake.