Mahale's grand scale, isolated character, magnificent scenery and idyllic beaches make it a rewarding wilderness destination on any level.

There are few natural environments more seductive than Mahale. It is achingly beautiful and unspoilt. Tropical mountains rise up from the pale sandy beaches of Lake Tanganyika, rivers tumble down waterfalls to the shoreline, through forest valleys, providing stunning hiking terrain. Over 90 unique species of fish swim meanwhile in the gin-clear waters of the lake.

The Mahale Mountains rise on the far western border of Tanzania, some 90 miles south of Kigoma. This is absolutely the best place in the world for tourists to view wild chimpanzees, and staggeringly beautiful besides. The Mahale Mountains lie on Lake Tanganyika on the far Western border of Tanzania. The park is 1613 square kms, rising up from the lakeshore through tropical forest to 2,462 metres at Nkungwe Peak. It is home to nine species of primate, including some 700-1000 chimps, forest antelopes, leopard and a great variety of birds and butterflies. There are no roads or cars for fifty miles. Getting there is by boat or on foot!

In the Mahale forest, activities concentrate on M group, currently an extended family of about fifty wild chimpanzees living in the valleys behind camp, which have been habituated to human contact by a Japanese primatologist research team. The project has been running for over 30 years now, and the chimpanzees therefore are very, very relaxed in the presence of humans. They are totally wild, but absolutely accessible. The habituated chimpanzees range over thirty square miles, are easily tracked by the skilled guides and trackers, and most visitors to camp will see them every day, after more, or less, hiking in the forest. The walking can be long, but is not over-strenuous. Most fit people under seventy can manage, and they're rewarded by extraordinary encounters with their closest living relatives. The chimps ignore the intrusion and you will achieve an intimate insight into their daily life, where the mood varies from the Zen-like calm of family life and sexual politics, to the high-tension power struggles of the dominant males and the wild excitement of their hunts for Colobus monkeys.

Children under ten are not generally allowed to view the chimpanzees, and anyone with an infectious illness will be asked to stay behind.

Size: 1,613 sq km (623 sq miles).

Location: Western Tanzania, bordering Lake Tanganyika.