Katavi National Park

Katavi National Park is a remote protected area in western Tanzania established to conserve savanna, floodplain and woodland ecosystems and their wildlife. The park is characterised by large, seasonally flooded plains and networks of lakes and channels that attract dense wildlife concentrations during high-water periods.

Katavi is known for episodic, large aggregations of hippos, buffalo and predators on the floodplains, with viewing opportunities concentrated in the wet and post-wet seasons when animals gather at remaining water. The park’s remoteness means limited lodges and facilities compared with Tanzania’s more visited parks, and much of the park is experienced via game drives and boat or walking safaris in smaller groups.

The park lies in Katavi Region in western Tanzania and is accessed by regional roads and small airstrips; it forms part of Tanzania’s western conservation zone away from the main east-coast tourist circuit.

• Remoteness and visitation: The park is one of Tanzania's most remote and least-visited major national parks, noted for large seasonal wildlife concentrations rather than year-round tourism infrastructure.
• Seasonal wildlife: Seasonal floods in the park drive short-term concentrations of hippo, buffalo and predators, making the wet season especially productive for wildlife viewing.

What to See #

• Katavi floodplains: A seasonally flooded floodplain and central grassland sector where large aggregations of hippos and buffalo gather during high-water months.
• Seasonal lakes and channels: A network of small lakes and channels that provide year-round water for wildlife and form the focus of most game-viewing activity in the park.