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About the Southern Circuit
Tanzania's Best-Kept Safari Secret
Tanzania's Southern Safari Circuit is one of Africa's greatest wildlife destinations — yet it remains beautifully uncrowded. Parks like Ruaha National Park and Nyerere National Park (formerly Selous Game Reserve) are vast, remote, and teeming with wildlife, offering the kind of raw wilderness encounter that has become rare in East Africa's busier northern parks.
Here you will find the continent's largest concentration of lions, elephants, and wild dogs. You can walk through the bush at eye-level with elephants, drift along the Rufiji River as hippos surface beside your boat, or track leopards in silence under an endless sky. And you will do all of this with few other vehicles in sight.
Gnade Safaris specialises exclusively in Tanzania, and our Southern Circuit packages are designed by local experts who know every dry riverbed, seasonal track, and secret watering hole. Every itinerary is private — just you, your guide, and the wild.
Big Five Wildlife
Lion, leopard, elephant, buffalo & rhino across diverse southern ecosystems
Walking Safaris
Guided bush walks for an authentic on-foot wilderness adventure
More Affordable Safaris
Enjoy exceptional wildlife experiences with generally lower costs than Northern Tanzania safaris
Boat Safaris
Unique river & lake safaris in Nyerere — an experience not available in northern parks
Fly-In Options
Scenic light aircraft connections between southern parks and major destinations
Easy Zanzibar Connections
Convenient flights from southern parks to Zanzibar, perfect for a safari and beach combination holiday
All Gnade Safaris Southern Packages
Tanzania Southern Safari Packages
Every package is 100% private, fully all-inclusive, and designed by Tanzanian experts. Choose by duration, destination, or experience type — or contact us for a custom itinerary.
Why Book With Gnade Safaris
Tanzania's Southern Circuit — Done Right
Locally owned. Locally operated. Every guide, every vehicle, every camp is personally selected by our Arusha-based team who live and breathe this land.
Destination Guide
Southern Tanzania National Parks Guide
Everything you need to know about southern Tanzania's parks before you book your safari with Gnade Safaris.
Africa's Predator Capital
Ruaha National Park
Tanzania's largest national park and Africa's most important lion stronghold. Remote, dramatic, and entirely uncrowded, Ruaha's ancient baobab woodland, rocky escarpments, and Great Ruaha River create a landscape unlike anywhere else on the continent. The park is home to the continent's highest lion density, exceptional African wild dog packs, and over 12,000 elephants.
Night safaris reveal leopard, aardvark, civet, and genet. Walking safaris take you into the wilderness at ground level alongside your armed ranger. With a bird list exceeding 570 species, Ruaha is equally exceptional for birders. Our 7-Day Ruaha Fly-In Safari and 5-Day Honeymoon Safari are tailored specifically to this extraordinary park.
20,226 km² Best: June–Oct Fly-In Access Night Drives Walking Safaris 570+ Bird Species
Africa's Largest Game Reserve
Nyerere National Park (Selous)
Formerly Selous Game Reserve, Nyerere National Park is Africa's largest protected area — a UNESCO World Heritage Site larger than Switzerland. The mighty Rufiji River runs through its heart, creating a mosaic of lakes, channels, and forest that is the setting for Tanzania's most unique safari experience: the boat safari. Elephant herds of hundreds, vast hippo pods, and the continent's largest wild dog population call Nyerere home.
Our packages covering Nyerere range from the short 3-Day safari from Dar es Salaam and the convenient 5-Day safari from Zanzibar all the way to the 7-Day Photographic Safari and the 8-Day Best of Southern Tanzania.
30,893 km² UNESCO Heritage Best: Jul–Oct Boat Safaris Walking Safaris 440+ Bird Species
Southern Tanzania's Gateway
Mikumi National Park
Mikumi is Tanzania's most accessible southern park, just 5–6 hours from Dar es Salaam on good tarmac road. Its broad Mkata floodplain delivers Serengeti-quality wildlife viewing — lion prides, elephant herds, massive buffalo congregations, giraffe, zebra, and hippo — without the price tag or logistics of a fly-in safari. It's the perfect starting point for the southern circuit and an outstanding standalone destination for families and budget-conscious travellers.
Our 3-Day Mikumi Safari from Dar es Salaam (with Maasai cultural experience), 6-Day Mikumi & Udzungwa Safari, and 7-Day Mikumi, Udzungwa & Nyerere package all begin in this accessible, rewarding park.
3,230 km² Year-Round Road Access (Dar) Family Friendly Budget Options Maasai Village
Eastern Arc Biodiversity Hotspot
Udzungwa Mountains Park
Udzungwa is unlike any other Tanzania destination — an ancient Eastern Arc mountain forest that has been isolated for 30 million years, producing endemic species found nowhere else on Earth. The critically endangered Udzungwa red colobus monkey and the Sanje mangabey are both unique to this forest. Hike to the spectacular Sanje waterfall through canopy so ancient it feels primordial.
Udzungwa pairs brilliantly with Mikumi (just 65km away) or Ruaha for a safari that moves from primates and rainforest to big-game savannah in a single trip. Our 6-Day Mikumi & Udzungwa and 7-Day Mikumi, Udzungwa & Nyerere packages showcase this combination perfectly.
1,990 km² Best: Jun–Oct Road Access Endemic Primates Waterfall Hiking Eastern Arc Forest
Western Tanzania's Last Frontier
Katavi National Park
Katavi is Tanzania's most remote national park and one of Africa's last truly unspoilt wild places. Accessible only by light aircraft, it receives just a few hundred visitors per year — meaning the wildlife is completely unfamiliar with tourist pressure and encounters are profoundly raw. During dry season, hundreds of hippos are squeezed into shrinking pools in a spectacle of prehistoric intensity, while enormous lion prides stalk massive buffalo herds across open flood plains.
Katavi features in our 15-Day Southern Circuit Expedition — the only package that reaches this extraordinary, seldom-visited destination. Available June to October only.
4,471 km² Jun–Oct Fly-In Remote & Wild Hippo Spectacle Wild Dogs
When to Visit
Best Time for a Southern Tanzania Safari
The dry season from June to October delivers the finest game viewing across all southern parks. Wildlife concentrates around permanent water, vegetation thins for improved visibility, and tracks are dry and accessible. July and August are peak for predator sightings in Ruaha and for the extraordinary hippo spectacle in Katavi. Katavi and some Nyerere camps close March to May.
The short dry season (January to March) is also excellent — parks are green and beautiful, baby animals are plentiful, and bird life is exceptional with migratory species present. Prices are lower and visitor numbers are minimal. Mikumi and Nyerere's accessible areas operate year-round with consistently good results.
Peak: Jul–Oct Good: Jan–Mar Birding: Nov–Apr Katavi: Jun–Oct Budget: Feb–May Mikumi: Year-round
Frequently Asked Questions
Southern Tanzania Safari FAQ
Common questions from travellers planning a southern Tanzania safari with Gnade Safaris.
Plan Your Southern Tanzania Safari Today
Our Arusha-based team responds within minutes on WhatsApp — or send an email for a detailed, no-obligation itinerary and quote. Every safari starts with a free consultation.
No payment needed. No commitment. Just expert safari planning from Tanzania's southern circuit specialists.















