Maps and navigation
Katavi National Park map
An interactive map of the park, the coordinates worth saving before you lose signal, and how to navigate a park where the signal is mostly gone the moment you leave Mpanda.
Download the official park map
TANAPA publishes park information pages for Katavi but no detailed downloadable road map, which is a genuine gap. The visitor guide page is the closest official reference, and rangers at Sitalike gate can advise on which tracks are currently passable, which changes with every wet season.
Key coordinates
Save these before you go. Mobile coverage inside the park is patchy at best, and a set of waypoints in an offline app will get you out of trouble faster than anything else.
| Place | What it is | Coordinates |
|---|---|---|
| Sitalike gate & park HQ | Main entry on the Mpanda–Sumbawanga road, TANAPA rest house and public campsite nearby | -6.6200, 31.1300 |
| Mpanda | Nearest town, ±40 km north: last reliable fuel, supplies, airport (MPA) and railhead | -6.3500, 31.0700 |
| Ikuu airstrip | The park's airstrip, served by Safari Air Link on Mondays and Thursdays | -6.8800, 31.2000 |
| Katisunga plain | The great central floodplain: buffalo, topi and most of the camps | -6.8500, 31.1500 |
| Lake Katavi floodplain | Seasonal lake in the north, near the spirit tree of Katabi | -6.6700, 31.0500 |
| Lake Chada floodplain | Seasonal lake in the south-east, buffalo and stork country | -7.0500, 31.3500 |
Getting a map that works offline
- Tracks4Africa is the standard for East African parks: paid, but the track data is far better than anything free and it includes camps and distances.
- OsmAnd and Organic Maps are free and use OpenStreetMap data. Download the Tanzania region before you leave and you will have the main tracks.
- Google Maps offline areas cover the Mpanda–Sumbawanga road but are unreliable on the park's internal tracks.
- TANAPA advises overlanders here to carry a satellite phone or radio, which tells you what to expect from the mobile network.
A note on accuracy
Coordinates here are approximate, good enough to navigate towards but not survey-grade. Katavi's tracks cross black cotton soil that reshapes itself every wet season, so a track shown on any map may be impassable or rerouted. Ask the rangers at Sitalike what is currently open, and take their answer seriously.
Off-road driving is restricted throughout the park to protect the floodplains, and driving is daylight-only, so plan every route to end at your camp well before 18:00.