Official TANAPA rates
Mahale Mountains National Park entry fees
All fees below are VAT-exclusive. TANAPA adds 18% VAT on top: the $80 conservation fee is $94.40 at the gate, and a child pays $23.60.
If you only want the answer
Mahale charges the premium tier: $80 plus 18% VAT, so $94.40 per person per day, camping $35.40, and no vehicle fee because there are no roads. Chimpanzee trekking is folded into the entry; the boat to get here is the real cost.
Conservation fee (per person, per 24 hours)
| Non-East African visitor, 16+ | $80 | $94.40 incl. 18% VAT |
|---|---|---|
| Non-East African child, 5–15 | $20 | $23.60 incl. VAT |
| Child under 5 | Free | |
| East African citizen, 16+ | TSh 5,000 | TZ, KE, UG, RW, BI, SS, DRC |
| Expatriate / TZ resident, 16+ | $40 | child 5–15: $10 |
Flat rate year-round; Mahale has no peak/low season split. The fee is deliberately higher than most Tanzanian parks (Katavi is $30, Kilimanjaro $70) precisely because it covers the chimpanzees. Permits allow multiple entries within their validity: a day permit covers 12 daylight hours, a sleep-over permit 24 hours.
Updated 26 July 2026
TANAPA's own website says $70. Ours is higher, not lower.
The Mahale page on tanzaniaparks.go.tz currently lists $70 for international adults. The official TANAPA tariff sheet puts Mahale at $80 plus 18% VAT, because it is one of the premium parks.
The same $70 sits on the Ruaha, Katavi, Mahale, Nyerere and Tarangire pages, which is a giveaway: it is the Serengeti rate, repeated. The same block on both the Ruaha and Katavi pages also puts the nearest airport 40 km from Kilimanjaro, which is several hundred kilometres out. It reads as template text rather than a park-by-park figure.
So here we are the expensive one, and we would rather you arrived with too much than too little. Budget $94.40 per adult per day. If the gate charges you $82.60 instead, tell us and we will correct this page.
Chimpanzee trekking: what you actually pay
| Chimpanzee trekking permit | $0 | no such permit exists; see below |
|---|---|---|
| Conservation fee (this is the trekking cost) | $80 | per person per day, + 18% VAT |
| Guide/ranger fee | $20 | per group, per day; mandatory |
| Chimpanzee Habituation Experience (CHEX), 16+ | $100 | optional extra; child 5–15: $50 |
The correction that matters most: there is no separate chimpanzee trekking permit at Mahale. We read all 14 pages of the gazetted TANAPA tariff and no chimp permit line exists. The $80 daily conservation fee IS the trekking cost, plus the $20 per group guide fee. Any site quoting a Mahale chimp permit of $150, $200 or $250 is quoting Uganda or Rwanda figures, a lodge's bundled charge, or inventing it. The only chimp-specific line item is the optional CHEX, a longer researcher-style day at $100 extra, not offered by every camp.
Updated 26 July 2026
Camping & TANAPA accommodation (per person, per night)
| Mahale Mountains Cottages (Kasiha bandas) | $40 | self-catering; EA citizens TSh 20,000. Book ahead |
|---|---|---|
| Public campsite, 16+ | $30 | child 5–15: $5 |
| Special campsite, 16+ | $50 | prior booking required |
| Fly campsite, 16+ | $50 | prior booking required |
| Hotel concession fee (private lodge inside park), 16+ | $30 | added to lodge rates |
The Kasiha bandas are by an enormous margin the cheapest roofed bed inside Mahale. You still pay the $80 conservation fee and $20 group guide fee on top, so a budget chimp trek is still a real cost. Book via the TANAPA reservation system.
Updated 26 July 2026
Activity fees (per person)
| Walking/hiking, 1–4 hours | $20 | over 4 hours: $25. Ranger-led |
|---|---|---|
| Boating safari | $20 | Mahale is named explicitly in the tariff |
| Canoeing / kayaking | $10 | maximum 3 hours |
| Snorkelling, 3 hours | $10 | tariff says bring your own equipment |
| Sport fishing, 16+ | $25 | per day, 07:00–17:00 only; child 5–15: $10; rod hire $20/day |
| Night nature walk | $10 | |
| Bush meal / sundowner | $5 | each, per person |
There is no vehicle fee at Mahale for the simplest of reasons: the park has no roads. Boat entry for small vessels is priced in Tanzanian shillings (TSh 10,000 private, TSh 15,000 commercial per day for boats up to 10 seats).
Updated 26 July 2026
Something this page does not answer?
Fees are the one thing park authorities change without telling anyone, and some of them publish nothing at all.
Ask us. We answer questions about the park itself, and we can usually tell you which camps work on one route and who to write to. If what you want is a trip someone else arranges, we will say so and hand you to an operator we know, and we earn a commission if that becomes a booking.
Nothing on this site sits behind the form. Every figure we have is already on the page.