Returning as one of the continent’s finest wildlife destinations, Gorongosa offers the classic safari experience with sightings of some of Africa’s iconic species, without the crowds.
After years of dedicated and concerted conservation efforts following Mozambique’s civil war, Gorongosa National Park has now returned as one of the continent's finest safari destinations. Wildlife Worldwide founder Chris Breen discovered this first-hand as he returned to the park for the first time in more than 15 years in September 2025, and he was delighted to observe the diversity and abundance of wildlife which now reside in Gorongosa once again.
Given its recent reemergence, Gorongosa is not as popular as the other national parks in Africa, but that doesn't mean it's not worth exploring. The diverse habitats of Gorongosa allow this park to support a wonderful variety of plains game, with a particular profusion of antelope species including nyala, oribi, sable, and blue wildebeest. These all roam next to herds of elephants, gatherings of hippo, buffalo and crocodiles, and stunning birdlife.
Predators have been reintroduced in Gorongosa, with prides of lion and the pack of African wild dogs observed regularly and providing rewarding sightings.
If you would like to witness the fruits of one of Africa's greatest conservation success stories, and enjoy excellent wildlife sightings amongst pristine wilderness without the crowds, then Gorongosa may well be the place for you!
Typical Itinerary
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Day 1:
Depart UK
Today, we depart the UK on overnight flights to Mozambique.
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Day 2:
Arrive in Beira & fly to Gorongosa National Park
We're met on arrival in Beira and transferred to our light aircraft, which takes us to Gorongosa.
After touching down at the airstrip, we're transferred to our beautiful camp in the heart of the national park, our base for the next seven nights.
We have some time to settle into our camp and later in the afternoon, for those that feeling up to it after our travels, we head out on our first game drive in the Gorongosa, beginning our exploration of this fascinating national park. We return to camp in the evening in time for dinner and a good night's rest.
Accommodation: Chicari Camp, 7-nights
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Days 3-8
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Explore Gorongosa National Park
Over the course of the next six days, we enjoy morning and late afternoon excursions from our camp to experience the natural wonders that Gorongosa has to offer. These excursions are predominantly game drives, but there are also opportunities for guided walking safaris. This combination of excursions allows us to encounter a plethora of species, from the largest mammals to the smaller flora and fauna.
The national park is blessed with an array of habitats ranging from open plains, meandering rivers and extensive swamps, to hectares of fever trees, mighty baobabs, forests of palms and limestone caves. In turn, these myriad habitats support an enormous amount of biodiversity.
We should encounter a whole host of iconic African mammals during our time in Gorongosa, such as large family groups of African elephants, hippo, African wild dogs and (occasionally tree-climbing) lions.
Back in 2018, a pack of 14 wild dogs was reintroduced into the park, which was the first time this endangered species had been in Gorongosa for more than quarter of a century. This reintroduction has been another conservation success as, currently, the numbers of wild dogs in the park have more than doubled!
Gorongosa is a paradise for birds, with more than 450 species being recorded here; we could easily encounter over 100 different birds as we make our around the park, exploring its various habitats. African fish eagle, grey-crowned crane, green-headed oriole, marabou stork, lilac-breasted roller, fork-tailed drongo and African harrier-hawk are just a few of the possible highlights, not to mention any of the wetland species that we could also observe.
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Day 9:
Departure
Following our final breakfast at camp, it's time to depart Gorongosa after what's sure to have been an unforgettable week.
We return to the airstrip to board our light aircraft and fly back to Beira, in time to catch our onward flight connections back to the UK, arriving the following day.
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Day 10:
Arrive in UK
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