It's no exaggeration to say THERE'S nowhere in the world like Greystoke Mahale

Greystoke Mahale sits on a pristine, white sandy beach overlooking the turquoise water of Lake Tanganyika, with the forested slopes of the 8000 ft Mahale Mountains rising behind.

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For many years our camp in Mahale was simple tents.  So when we built Greystoke Mahale, while we wanted it to be as unique as its setting, it was important that it didn’t dominate its sensational natural surroundings.

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That's why we've tucked the rooms back into the forest line, so that your only view is of beach, and the lake beyond.  It’s also why we chose to make the rooms almost entirely from sustainable materials sourced here on Lake Tanganyika.

All the wood was reclaimed from wrecked or retired dhows bought (after much haggling) from villages along the lakeshore.  We’ve used old fisherman’s canoes as ladders and thatch from palm trees gathered outside the national park for the roofs.

The main mess is the only structure on the beach and it's the focal point of camp.  Here is where you can look out over the lake to the mountains of the Congo in the haze beyond.

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Your days can start there, eating breakfast whilst waiting to hear news of the chimps and deciding what to do with your day. Evenings end with sundowners on the rocks of the headland, where drinks are served around the lamp-lit bar whilst the mountains,  rising behind  camp, disappear into the darkness.

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Greystoke affects us in a way that no other place does; we think it's because of its remoteness, and because of the mountains rising from the beach at our backs, the wide lake with its many different moods and the feeling that we are the only ones here.

Little has changed since we first landed on the beach.

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Greystoke Mahale has just 6 wood and thatch bandas set on the edge of the forest line at the base of the mountains.

Each one has an en-suite bathroom - accessible by a short boardwalk - with hot and cold running water, strong showers and flush toilets. Dressing room and upstairs chill-out deck.

Dine in the main mess banda on the beach and enjoy sundowners in the bar on the rocks at the end of the beach. 

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Hike the forest paths looking for birds and butterflies, as well as the other shy mammals who quietly live there. Swim in ice-cold pools up in the mountain waterfalls, take a kayak out for a dawn paddle towards the middle of the lake; drink your morning coffee there and enjoy the sunrise coming up over the mountains.

Go for sundowners on the old wooden dhow,  lazily following the shoreline and stopping to fish along the way, or just relax on the warm sands of the beach with a drink in hand.