TANZANIA WESTERN CIRCUIT SAFARI DESTINATIONS
Embark on a captivating journey through Tanzania’s Western Circuit, where untamed wilderness and cultural heritage converge to offer a truly immersive and unforgettable experience. Starting from the bustling city of Mwanza, perched on the shores of Lake Victoria, travelers are introduced to the vibrant spirit of the region. From there, the adventure unfolds into a world of breathtaking landscapes and rich biodiversity, with highlights including the remote and pristine wilderness of Katavi National Park. Here, vast floodplains teem with wildlife, from herds of buffalo and elephants to elusive predators such as lions and leopards. Continuing the journey, travelers venture into the untouched beauty of Mahale Mountains National Park, where lush forests provide a sanctuary for chimpanzees and other primates.
Trek through the dense foliage in search of these fascinating creatures, and immerse yourself in the tranquility of this remote mountain paradise. Along the way, encounters with local communities offer insights into traditional Tanzanian culture and way of life, adding depth and authenticity to the adventure. Concluding the circuit, the serene shores of Lake Tanganyika beckon, offering a perfect finale to an unforgettable journey through Tanzania’s Western Circuit. With its blend of natural wonders and cultural treasures, the Western Circuit promises an enriching and transformative experience for those seeking adventure off the beaten path.
When Is the Best Time to Visit Tanzania’s Western Circuit?
The western circuit, with its tall mountains and rainforest-like wilderness, is probably best visited in the dry season. However, this fully depends on what you are visiting for. Most tourists visiting the wild western circuit are there to spot chimpanzees, which are more easily spotted between June and October. While that is the time that the chimpanzees travel to the lowlands in search of food, some visitors prefer to visit in the green season as well, between November and February, as this is when the jungle is in full, lush bloom.
TOP DESTINATION FEATURED IN THE WESTERN CIRCUIT
Katavi, about 35km southwest of Mpanda, is Tanzania’s third-largest park and one of its most unspoiled wilderness areas. Katavi is a true wilderness, providing intrepid souls who make it there with a thrilling taste of Africa. Katavi National Park lies in Mpanda district in the west of Tanzania. With an area of 4471 km², it is Tanzania’s third largest park. Together with the neighbouring Rukwa, Lukwati and Luafi Game Reserves and numerous forest reserves, this ecosystem of 25 000 km² is the heart of one of the biggest and richest wildlife areas in Tanzania.
Mahale National Park is located in the western part of Tanzania, bordering Lake Tanganyika. The forested slopes of the Mahale Mountains rise behind the park, home to the world’s largest known population of chimpanzees, with approximately 800 individuals inhabiting the area. Tracking the chimps of Mahale is a magical experience. The forest also boasts amazing troops of red colobus, red-tailed, and blue monkeys and is home to an endemic race of Angola colobus monkey. For ornithologist, this is the perfect place to see a kaleidoscopic array of colorful forest birds.
With lush forest and a fascinating diversity of animals, Gombe stream National Park is home to one of the most beautiful and stunning natural forests in Tanzania. Stop at this park for an amazing chimpanzee trek. Chimpanzees are known to be the species of primates closest to humans, sharing 98% of the genes that we also have. Efforts to conserve the chimps are widely acknowledged and supported. The Jane Goodall Foundation plays a big role in the conservation of the Chimpanzees here as well as the gorillas in Uganda. Here, you will also find troops of olive baboons, red-tailed and red Colobus monkeys, which stick to the forest canopy due to being regularly hunted by the forest chimps, as well as more than 200 birds species.
Rubondo Island was gazetted officially as National Park in 1977. It is an important breeding ground for both migratory bird and fish species especially Tilapia and Nile perch as for a long time it stood to be the only area in the waters of Lake Victoria which was well protected and preserved. About 80% of the park is covered by a dense forest thus providing a variety of habitats for indigenous wildlife such as Sitatunga, hippos, bush bucks, velvet monkeys, genet cats, crocodiles, bush pigs etc sharing the ecological niches with the introduced species such as chimpanzees, elephants, giraffes, black and white colubous monkeys, suni and African grey parrots. The park is located on the southwestern corner of Lake Victoria in Geita region about 150 km (95 miles) west of Mwanza. The Lake Victoria is the second largest lake in the world. The park has 456.8 km2 of which 236.8 km2 is dry land and 220 km2 is water comprising of 11 small islets of varying sizes.
TRAVEL WITH TOTO AFRICA ADVENTURES
Embark on an unparalleled safari adventure with us, where the majesty of Tanzania’s wildlife meets unbeatable value. At our company, we take pride in offering the best safari packages at reasonable prices, ensuring that your journey into the heart of Africa’s most iconic landscapes is not only extraordinary but also affordable.
Don't take our word for it— let their testimonials be your guide
We have been receiving reviews from our served clients and Toto Africa Adventures is rated 5/5 by customers. This honor is given to us by customers because we always remain committed to all our customers to do whatever is needed by them to make their safari fully satisfied.
EXCELLENTBased on 25 reviewsVerifiedEric Salley2024-04-15The Ultimate Luxury Family Travel Experience: Secure, Adaptable, Flexible, Affordable, with Helpful Staff and Beautiful Accommod We recently returned from a 10-day Luxury family safari with Toto Africa Adventures, and we had an amazing time. While organizing our vacation, we looked at several safari operators; in the end, when we contacted Toto Africa in our first correspondence with Chris Japheth, we were impressed by his promptness and adaptability in creating a personalized safari itinerary we decided on Toto Africa Adventures because they provided the best itinerary accommodations for our Family requirements and were the most professional and attentive. Our safari was made extremely enjoyable, safe, and enlightening by our driver guide, Benard. He made an effort to find out what we were most interested in seeing at the start of the trip, and we were able to see a lot more than that. He has an extensive understanding of Tanzania's ecosystems as well as its animal and wildlife populations. He provided comprehensive answers to all of our inquiries and offered insightful commentary on Tanzanian culture and daily life. He made us laugh every day, drove very safely and skillfully, and was always polite. We visited Tarangire Park which is a beautiful park filled with Baobabs and Acacias with a large variety of game such as zebras, buffalo, giraffes, and waterbuck. Of note during this time are the massed elephants along the Tarangire River a tremendous sight and the healthy pride of lions. From there, we head to the Ngorongoro. This is the largest intact crater in the world abundant with wild game including elephants, rhinos, cheetahs, lions, leopards, and hyenas. we also visit the Serengeti, Tanzania’s most famous and largest national park and one of the most spectacular parks in the world. And we spend 4 days in Zanzibar with Toto Africa Adventures. Our chef Alli always prepares super tasty, fresh, and delicious meals every day. They brought various kinds of meals including meat, vegetables, fish, and fruits. We also had special dietary requirements that were met without a problem. We thank the Toto Africa Adventures team for the wonderful 10-day Luxury family safari. Without a doubt, we will tell our friends about Toto Africa Adventures in the future.VerifiedDan S2024-04-13Amazing family safari in Tanzania. Miss Neema and Guide Mr. Ben of Toto Africa Adventures truly exceeded our expectations! Their personalized service and expertise made our journey through Tanzania unforgettable. Miss Neema's attention to detail ensured every aspect of our trip was seamless, while Guide Mr. Ben's extensive knowledge of the region's wildlife and culture enriched our experience beyond measure. Together, they created an atmosphere of warmth and hospitality that made us feel like family. We can't thank them enough for their dedication and professionalism, and we highly recommend Toto Africa Adventures to anyone looking for an authentic and rewarding African safari experience.VerifiedSpencer M2024-04-11Really great trip With the most amiable, knowledgeable, and compassionate local guide, Livingstone, my spouse and I enjoyed the most amazing nine-day customized vacation around Tanzania. Every activity, including game drives, boat safaris, trekking with gorillas and chimpanzees, really cozy hotels, and delectable cuisine, was well planned to let us to make the most of our time in the nation! I heartily suggest taking Toto Africa Adventures tour.VerifiedSienna H2024-04-09Excellent Adventure It was an amazing five days on safari with Toto. Director Japheth ensured a smooth planning process by creating a custom schedule that included exhilarating game drives and luxurious lodge accommodations. Because of guide Livingstone's knowledge and enthusiasm for animals, amazing encounters and fascinating tales resulted. Everything about the experience—from breathtaking animal sightings to opulent lodgings—surpassed expectations. A trip that will never be forgotten is ensured by Toto's commitment to providing individualized excursions in conjunction with professionals like Japheth and Livingstone. Toto is a great choice for anybody looking for a customized safari experience full of unique experiences.VerifiedRuth M2023-09-15All amazing ! Our safari experience was all that we could have wished . It was relaxed with fabulous close up respectful views of the animals . We were a family of five on a camping safari.. Ben our guide , was a magician in finding the animals and was very easy company .Japheth punctually made our arrangements and Brighton cooked delicious local and European food helped by Inno who taught us SwahiliVerifiedAnna B2023-09-15A trip of a lifetime! Toto Africa gave us a family holiday we will never forget! Our 6 day itinerary was the perfect combination of safari and culture that really showcased Tanzania. I can not recommend them highly enough for organising your perfect African adventure!VerifiedGareth2023-09-07Family Tanzania experience We heard about Toto Africa Adventures from a good friend who had travelled with them recently. As a family of 5, mum dad and three daughters in their 20s, we were not disappointed, and the trip represented good value for money. A great combination of safari camping, cultural experiences and hot spring swimming was wonderfully put together by Japheth, who answered our many questions quickly prior to arrival. Special mention to our safari guide Ben, and also to the wonderful food cooked beautifully. Thank you Japheth, we will be back to conquer kili with you! Do remember to ‘ go with the flow’ as this is an adventure, Toto Africa adventures is thoroughly recommended.VerifiedPippa Watts2023-08-18Affordable tailored holiday in Tanzania We had such an amazing two week holiday thanks to Chris Japheth and Toto Africa. He put together an itinerary that was exactly what we wanted and ensured we had some truly unforgettable experiences - seeing the Wildebeest crossing the Mara river in the Northern Serengeti, a wonderful picknick in the Serenget near the Kenyan border. A hot air balloon safari, stunning hiking in the Usambara Miuntains and a relaxing end to the holiday on the coast. The guides were wonderful. All in all a great experience. Would definitely recommend booking with Toto Africa.VerifiedTour418223234532023-08-11A superb experience! My spouse and I just finished an incredible 9-day journey through Tanzania to see the Great Migration and it was all thanks to Toto Africa and its owner, Chris Japeth. We shopped nearly half a dozen tour operators and this was the best value for our itinerary. We booked a 5-day safari and beach holiday opting for the mid range package (Note: We booked the all-inclusive resort in Zanzibar separately as that saved us a couple hundred dollars). During our initial emails with Chris, we were captured by not only his responsiveness but also his flexibility in crafting a custom Safari schedule to fit our unique travel needs - 9 days is super short for this type of trip. Whenever we had a request the answer was always “yes”. Chris put up with dozens of our emails/WhatsApp messages and responded quickly and made us feel at ease. He even took the time to message us early in the mornings to make sure we didn’t miss our flights. What a guy! Toto arranged everything from our tasty meals on the safari, beautiful accommodations, and last but not least, airport pickups and drop offs. Special shout-out to our Safari guide Ben with over 20 YEARS of experience who went above and beyond to make sure we saw the as many incredible animals as possible while patiently answering our endless questions about nature and the culture in this incredible country. When we were tired and wanted to give up, Ben kept pushing us to keep looking and it paid off. We saw a Leopard, Cheetah, nearly a dozen lions, and all the grazing animals as well. Most importantly, we were one of only 15-20 vehicles to see the largest wildebeest crossing the entire day in Northern Serengeti and this was all because of Ben. Ben was also very respectful of the animals and would keep appropriate distance while other younger and more inexperience drivers would get too close to the animals. It was evident the other Safari guides respect him a great deal. All in all everything was great and if we could do the trip again, we would make only a couple of changes. For example, we would break up our drive from Northern Serengeti to Arusha/Moshi into 2 days because it’s a very long 11 hour drive otherwise. I would spend extra time in the central Serengeti and skip Tarangire National Park since while beautiful, it has similar animals as the Serengeti and is almost 3 hours away from the Southern entrance to Serengeti National Park. Also, bring a mask and saline nasal spray since there’s lots of dust on the drive and you want to be able to keep the windows of the land cruiser open to keep cool. Mosquitos were surprisingly not a big issue on the Safari but at the resort in Zanzibar they came out in swarms. I wish someone had told us this stuff. Have a great journey with Toto Africa and tell them hi for us!VerifiedSelma Turki2023-01-08Perfect experience I did 7 days Kilimanjaro climb, 3 days safari and 4 days Zanzibar with Toto Africa Adventures. Japheth is the manager of the company. He was always available to respond to my questions and to reassure me about the process. I trusted him because of his availability months before coming. And I was totally right. He has a great team for Kilimanjaro and safari ( I did Tarangire Ngorongoro and lake manara) he also has good advice and he’s always present to help in case of a problem or a change of plans. He took care of every detail and every need that I felt. It’s the best trip that I never had thanks to his commitment and work !