Mahale Greystroke has a castaway, jungle-chic feel that’s more beach hideaway than safari camp. You’ll be forgiven for thinking you’re in Zanzibar—you’re sitting on a powdery white sandy beach—except you’re looking out at hippos in the lake, and in the jungle behind, you can hear chimps grunt, hoot, and screech.
It’s not the most accessible place, but that’s its thing, a million miles from everywhere. After a two to three-hour local flight (depending on your itinerary) and a ninety-minute transfer in a sailing dhow (wooden boat), you’ll step onto one of Africa’s least visited and most charming beach hideaways. Casually plonked on a strip of sandy beach on the shores of Lake Tanganyika, and with only six beach bandas made from old dhows, combining wood and thatch to give you that isolated castaway feeling.
But the undeniable highlight? The chimpanzees and the trek to search for them. It’s as moving as witnessing the gorillas (but without the crowds). Meeting the chimps in their natural habitat and watching them romp in the jungle is a profoundly moving experience. They are intelligent, compassionate, playful, and utterly unique animals—and they love showing off (remind you of anyone?).
Mahale is one of the best places to see chimps in the wild. The forest behind the lodge is home to about 800 chimps living in different groups. And the trek? You almost expect it to be led by a handsome Tarzan-type or to find a group of hippies on the beach who’ve come to drop in and drop out. But regardless, it’s hard to imagine a more extraordinary or romantic beach hideaway than this. Are you coming?
