Greystoke Mahale is a superb little camp with very stylish thatched bandas. Each is raised slightly on decking and set back into the vegetation, peeking out onto on an idyllic white beach. Inside each are sumptuous beds under mosquito netting and lovely wooden furniture. Thoughtful touches are provided such as kikois for the beach, bowls to wash the sand from your feet, bath and beach towels and comfortable loungers to enjoy the view. Each stylish double-storey wooden banda has a raised viewing deck with day-beds, and links into a private bathroom where there's a flush toilet and a hot shower. In the centre of the beach is the camp's landmark, double-storey dining and lounge area. Off to one side, amongst the vegetation and rocks, is a separate sunset bar.
Tracking chimps from Greystoke is very professional; you're always accompanied by one of the camp's expert guides and a scout from the park. Crucially, your guide is someone who knows all of these chimps individually, by name, and can explain their behaviour with reference to what's happened to that particular chimp in the past. This raises your whole experience beyond simply watching wildlife, and into the realm of watching individuals and their social conduct. This makes it, for us, one of the most riveting wildlife spectacles in Africa.
After a morning trying to understand the chimps, spend a lazy afternoon kayaking on Lake Tanganyika, or sailing on a beautiful old dhow, snorkelling, swimming, fishing and drinking as the sun sets. With a great staff team, superb food and an idyllic location, Greystoke is a very special camp indeed.
Honeymoons: One of the continent's most original and spectacular places for a honeymoon - and reassuringly expensive too!
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Beach holidays: It's on a freshwater lake, but Greystoke's beach is spectacular white sand!
- See more of our suggestions of the best places for beach holidays in Tanzania
Photographic: Perhaps Africa's best place for seeing, and photographing, chimps in the wild
- See more of our suggestions of the best places for photographic in Tanzania
Walking safaris: Mahale's chimp-tracking trips can be quite strenous walks, including some steep forest paths.
- See more of our suggestions of the best places for walking safaris in Tanzania
Wildlife safaris: Simply the best place for watching chimps and other primates in the forests of central Africa.
- See more of our suggestions of the best places for wildlife safaris in Tanzania
Greystoke Camp review
A wonderful experience! We saw the chimps every day! How perfect! On our way to the camp by boat, some chimps were near the shore feeding in the trees. The guides stopped the boat and we walked abo...
Greystoke Camp review
Hot and humid - "chimping" should not be undertaken by anyone who is not prepared to sweat. That said, the hardest tracking we did was only a 45 minute walk (up a very steep hill). We saw ...
Great experience at Greystoke
We did have some apprehensions before coming to Mahale as we had great expectations and were not sure how we would take to the chimps. Suffice to say, Mahale and Greystoke did not disappoint.
The ...
We want you to understand more about Greystoke Camp. We're also confident that a trip there with us cost you the same or less than booking it any other way, even directly. So follow the links below.
Greystoke Mahale's own website A great quick website with nice pictures and information about the accommodation and activities - plus a link to their own blog where you can read about the latest wildlife sightings and interesting news from the lodge.