Jongomero Camp

Jongomero is where we send people who want Africa without other people in it. The camp sits on the Jongomero River in the remote south of Ruaha National Park, eight tented suites and a long way from anyone else.

Ruaha is big and very quiet. Baobabs stand along the river beds, and the walking is as good as the driving. That is why we use Jongomero the way we do on Tanzania Complete. You spend two nights in camp on the river, then your guide walks you out into the south of the park for two nights of fly-camping. You walk all day, reading tracks and stopping for the birds, and sit out the heat under a tree. Dinner comes off the coals at a folding table in the open. You sleep on a bedroll under a mosquito net beside the fire, and in the dark the lions call to each other.

It is not for everyone. It suits people who are comfortable on their feet, like silence and have done a lodge safari or two already. Those who prefer a roof every night can stay all four nights at the camp.

Your Cessna Caravan meets your international arrival in Dar es Salaam and flies you south-west into Ruaha. Over the Jongomero strip the pilot makes a low pass to clear the runway before landing. You leave four nights later by Pilatus PC-12, north to the Grumeti.

Good to know

• The best months for Ruaha are the dry season, June to October.
• Fly-camping needs a reasonable level of fitness; a day's walking is part of it.
• Ruaha is a malaria area; take advice on prophylaxis.

Country: Tanzania