Safari to Ugalla River
Ugalla River
is a very remote reserve
with high biodiversity
a trophy location for experienced safari travellers
Ugalla River is an extremely remote conservation area located in western Tanzania, well over 700 km from the nearest international airports at Kilimanjaro and Dar es Salaam.
This is one of a string of huge wilderness areas that were previously used for trophy hunting, but which are now slowly converting to photographic safari.
This is a very important step for conservation and getting guests to visit this very unusual and little-known location is extremely important.
In Ugalla, the landscapes are relatively flat, with gently rolling hills and river valleys. It is renowned for vast floodplains and winding waterways, with open grasslands encircled by vast dry miombo woodlands.
Wildlife highlights include elephants, lions, leopards, buffaloes, wild dogs, yellow baboons, vervet monkeys, hippos, crocodiles and sitatunga antelopes.
A great diversity of birds includes African fish eagles, shoebill storks and kingfishers.
At present, Ugalla is only visited by cool pioneering safari operators and there is only one camp that remains open through the Jun-Oct dry season, the very simple Nomad Ugalla Camp.
It is usually possible to undertake the following activities …
- Vehicle safari
- Walking safari
- Motorboat safari (not always available)
Map
Ugalla tends to feature in an extremely low proportion of trips to Tanzania. It tends to appeal mainly to very experienced safari travellers, who have a very generous budget and plenty of time.
The usual stay duration is 3-4 nights.
Seasonality
The best time of year for safari in Ugalla is generally considered to be the Jul-Oct dry season, when the animals converge on the floodplains.
Getting there
Due to its remoteness, Ugalla is very expensive to access, although the light aircraft charters from the Serengeti region can be very convenient.
Your safari vehicle and guide is provided by the camp in which you are staying.
Where to stay
We are able to build genuinely tailor-made safaris to Ugalla, in the company of a leading safari guide and with a mobile camp being sent out a week in advance. We most commonly call upon our good friend Alex Walker to lead such trips.
Alternatively, a more conveniently, we can include nights at Nomad Ugalla Camp, a simple and authentic base, with good quality guiding.
accessed by light aircraft from the Serengeti area
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and we will help you create the perfect safari
Extraordinary tailor-made adventures,
from earthy and edgy to easy and extravagant
From around USD 2500 per person, you set the ceiling
Sample Trips
Here are some of our popular trip shapes
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