Weather and climate

Mahale Mountains National Park weather

What it is doing right now, what the next two weeks look like, and what each month of the year means for the game viewing.

Right now in the park

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The next two weeks

Straight from the forecast, updated when you open this page. Useful if you are packing. Not useful for choosing a month, which is what the year below is for.

Loading the forecast

The year at a glance

Bars are rainfall, the line is the daytime high. Thirty-year averages. The green band marks the months this park is at its driest, which is when most people want to be here.

Rainfall in millimetres along the bottom. Highest month 422 mm, daytime highs from 16.5 to 28.1 degrees.

Every month, and what it means for the wildlife

The temperature tells you what to pack. The rainfall column decides what you will see.

Month	Day	Night	Rain	Wet days	What that means here
January	23.7°C	17.9°C	248 mm	26	Open but wettish. Some camps price January as peak; trekking is harder as the chimps range higher. Fair.
February	24.2°C	18.1°C	221 mm	23	Green season value: Greystoke drops to its lowest rates. Camps close at the end of the month. Good value, harder trekking.
March	23.8°C	18.2°C	383 mm	29	Heavy rain, all camps closed, scheduled flights paused. Do not plan a trip; the park is effectively shut to tourism.
April	24.2°C	18.1°C	293 mm	23	Heavy rain, all camps closed, scheduled flights paused. Do not plan a trip; the park is effectively shut to tourism.
May	25.6°C	18.0°C	36 mm	6	Heavy rain, all camps closed, scheduled flights paused. Do not plan a trip; the park is effectively shut to tourism.
June prime	25.0°C	16.5°C	1 mm	0	Camps reopen on 1 June and flights resume. Forest still lush, chimps descending, shoulder rates. The value pick of the year.
July prime	26.5°C	16.7°C	0 mm	0	Dry season proper. Chimps low, trails firm, peak trekking conditions begin.
August prime	27.2°C	17.6°C	6 mm	1	Peak: chimps at their lowest, treks at their shortest, and the busiest month, which at Mahale still means a handful of visitors a day.
September prime	28.1°C	18.7°C	10 mm	2	Peak dry and hot, with superb lake visibility for snorkelling.
October	26.4°C	18.6°C	110 mm	14	Peak dry, second-busiest, the hottest month. Trekking still excellent.
November	23.4°C	18.2°C	376 mm	26	Short rains begin, migratory birds arrive, chimps start moving uphill. Good, with flights on request only.
December	22.6°C	17.9°C	422 mm	29	Green, festive supplements at some camps, chimps higher. Fair.

Climate figures are Open-Meteo climate normals, 1991 to 2020, taken at -6.15, 29.9. The wildlife column is ours, from the sources on the best time to visit page. Averages hide bad years: a dry January still happens, and so does a wet July.