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Orange sunset over the plains with grazing silhouettes

Southern Tanzania · Rivers & boating

Nyerere / Selous

The Rufiji river system opens up safari by boat and on foot, alongside classic game drives.

Best time
Jun–Oct
Getting there
45 min flight from Dar es Salaam
We suggest
3–4 nights
Known for
Boat safaris, wild dog, hippo
The landscape

A safari by water

Nyerere National Park was created from the northern part of the old Selous Game Reserve, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Its heart is the Rufiji river, which spreads into a chain of lakes and channels fringed with palms.

Here you can do what few northern parks allow: drift past hippo and crocodile by boat, and walk with an armed ranger. The open woodland around the lakes is prime country for African wild dog.

Hippos surfacing in the river
Why go

The best of Nyerere / Selous

  1. A boat safari on the lakes at sunset
  2. A morning walking safari
  3. A night in a simple fly camp by the river
  4. Wild dog pups at the den, in season
Wildlife

What you may see in Nyerere / Selous

Wild animals keep their own schedule — these are the species our guides know best here.

  • African wild dog

    One of the best places in Tanzania to look for them.

  • Hippo & crocodile

    Everywhere along the Rufiji and its lakes.

  • Lion

    Prides hunt around the lake shores.

  • Elephant

    Often seen wading between islands.

  • Birds

    Fish eagles, skimmers and carmine bee-eaters on the sandbanks.

When to go

Nyerere through the year

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Dry-season game
Boat safaris
Green season

Many camps close from April to May for the long rains.

  • Quiet
  • Fair
  • Good
  • Peak

Tap a cell to see the month.

Where to go

The lakes of the Rufiji

  1. Lake Manze

    Palm-fringed shores with elephant, lion and good wild dog country.

  2. Lake Siwandu

    Quiet channels ideal for boat safaris and birding.

  3. Lake Tagalala

    Hot springs nearby and big herds in the dry season.

  4. The Rufiji river

    Wide sandbanks, hippo pods and crocodile — best seen from the water.

Good to know

Before you go to Nyerere / Selous

Getting there
Short scheduled flights from Dar es Salaam or Zanzibar.
Pairs well with
Ruaha, and Zanzibar at the end.
Safaris

Journeys that include Nyerere / Selous

All safaris
Lion pride resting on a grassy rise

9 days · 8 nights Remote wilderness

The Southern Wild

Sand rivers, walking safaris and boat safaris in the parks most visitors never reach.

Ruaha · Nyerere

From $8,200 pp

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Destinations

Explore more of Tanzania

Dirt road across the green Serengeti plains

Serengeti

Plains & kopjes

Endless short-grass plains broken by granite kopjes — the stage for big cats, and for the migration as it moves through.

Best: Jun–Oct · Jan–Mar

Mist rolling along the Ngorongoro crater rim

Ngorongoro Crater

Caldera floor

A collapsed volcano holding 260 square kilometres of grassland, soda lake and forest, with resident wildlife year round.

Best: Jun–Oct

Baobab tree above the Tarangire bush

Tarangire

Baobabs & elephant

Great elephant herds along a single dry-season river, under some of the oldest baobabs in East Africa.

Best: Jul–Oct

Lionesses on a fallen tree

Lake Manyara

Rift escarpment

Groundwater forest, an alkaline lake and the wall of the Rift Valley within a compact, easily added park.

Best: Jun–Oct

Lion pride resting on a grassy rise

Ruaha

Southern wilderness

Tanzania's largest park: baobab hills, sand rivers and exceptional numbers of lion and wild dog, with very few vehicles.

Best: Jun–Oct

Cape buffalo bull lying in dry grass

Mahale / Katavi

Remote & wild

Chimpanzee tracking in forested mountains above Lake Tanganyika, paired with the floodplains of Katavi.

Best: Jul–Oct

Trekkers climbing a heath-covered mountain ridge

Kilimanjaro

Roof of Africa

Africa's highest peak, climbed over six to nine days on the Lemosho, Machame or Rongai routes.

Best: Jan–Mar · Jun–Oct

Horse riding along a white-sand beach at low tide

Zanzibar

Indian Ocean

Reef, dhows and Stone Town — the natural pause at the end of a safari.

Best: Jun–Oct · Dec–Feb

View from an escarpment over the valley under a passing storm

Arusha & Lake Eyasi

Culture & arrival

Where journeys begin, and where time with Hadzabe and Datoga communities adds a cultural layer.

Best: All year

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Plan with us

Plan your time in Nyerere / Selous

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