10-Nights Hidden Tanzania—Custom Safari — CALL

Situated in the remote Western Rift Valley between lakes Rukwa and Tanganyika about 870 mi/1,400 km west of Dar es Salaam, the 2,750-sq-mi/4,500-sq-km Katavi is Tanzania's third-largest national park and possibly its most remote. Its isolation, difficult access routes and lack of facilities mean that it receives few tourists.

During the dry season (May-November) game viewing is superb and includes impressive concentrations of elephant, buffalo, giraffe and hippo, along with a high density of lions. For all practical purposes, Katavi is accessible by air only, and the handful of small tented camps that scatter the park are generally visited in conjunction with a few days' chimp-tracking in the nearby (but equally difficult to reach) Mahale Mountains. It's not a cheap option, but for those who can afford it, it offers unspoiled wildlife viewing far off the beaten track.

Ruaha National Park, the second-largest national park in Tanzania, lies about a two-hour drive northwest from Iringa, but is most normally visited by air in conjunction with the Selous Game Reserve.

Wild and relatively little-visited, Ruaha is known for its high elephant densities and for great predator sightings, with prides of 20 lion likely to be seen, along with cheetah and leopard. It also harbors a substantial population of the endangered African wild dog.

The Ruaha River is the main feature of the park (where hippo and crocodile thrive) and as most of the park is on the top of a plateau, the ripples of hills, valleys and plains make the topography uniquely beautiful. Because it lies in a transitional vegetation zone, Ruaha supports an unusually wide variety of ungulates, most notably the rare greater kudu, and several bird species more normally associated with southern Africa. Striking features of the landscape are the plentiful baobab trees that stud the plains and the palms that line its dry river beds. The handful of safari lodges and tented camps dotted around Ruaha all possess an intimate bush feel in keeping with the park's untrammeled atmosphere, but the park is also accessible to campers in the areas by the main gate.

The park is 292 mi/470 km southwest of Dar es Salaam.

Established in 1922, the Selous Game Reserve is Africa's largest wildlife reserve (21,235sq mi/55,000 sq km), and is in fact roughly the size of Switzerland and four times larger than the Serengeti. The park is named after Captain Frederick Selous, a British explorer and hunter who wrote a book about the region and his travels. He was killed in action during World War I in 1917 while scouting in the area. His grave lies within the reserve at the foot of the Beho Beho Hills.

There are both tented camps and lodge accommodations in remote spots in the north of the park. The best way to get to these is to fly, though there is also the option of taking the train—the TAZARA railway runs through part of the reserve—or driving over a long day from Dar es Salaam.

The highlight of Selous (pronounced se-LOO) is its large variety of animals, including impala, hippo, buffalo, wildebeest, hyena, kudu, sable antelope, elephant, baboon, lion and waterbuck. It is of particular significance as a stronghold for the endangered African wild dog, hosting around one-third of the global population outside captivity. However, because of its remoteness and vast size, while the Selous offers a safari far away from paved roads and curio shops, you're less likely to see as much game as you would in parks where the animals are more concentrated.

Motorboat trips on the palm-lined Rufiji River, Tanzania's largest waterway (and where most of the Selous camps are located), are memorable for the large concentrations of hippos, crocodiles and various water-associated birds, such as the African fish eagle and African skimmer.

Selous begins 80 mi/130 km southwest of Dar es Salaam.