Mahale Mountains National Park is located in the remote west of Tanzania. It is widely regarded as one of the most beautiful national parks in the whole of Africa and was recently listed by BBC Wildlife as one of the world's top wilderness destinations.

The main attraction is the 1000 plus chimpanzee population, which are easy to observe as there has been a team of researchers here for over 40 years. Mahale is without doubt the best location in the world for viewing chimpanzee in the wild. Other highlights are the colourful birds and the 6 species of monkey.

The park is located on the shore of the enormous Lake Tanganyika and it is not served by any roads. Access is by boat from Kigoma or you can fly in to the small airstrip on the lakeshore just to the north of the park. All safaris inside the park are on foot through the forest and you must be an active type to search for the wildlife.

Mahale is probably one of the best beach locations in the world too, with superb swimming, sailing, snorkelling and fishing. Greystoke Camp on the beach is a great place to use as a base. The camp is small with only 7 tents so book a long way out. The owners have an ecologically sound approach to operating - no concrete or generators, and all structures built of local renewable materials. The staff are hand picked from local Tongwe people.

Mahale was established as part of the Primate Protection Programme. The area is inhabited by a wide range of animals, but it is chimpanzees for which it is rightly famous. Because the researchers are regularly trackking the chimps, they are now quite accustomed to humans.