A hidden gem in the heart of Africa
Bedroom at Lupita island, overlooking the lake
Each private villa has its own sundeck and plunge pool
If you are looking for the unusual to pander to your spirit of adventure, Lupita, a 110 acre private island situated in Lake Tanganyika, may be the place for you. It boasts 10 rustically luxurious cottages. All are totally secluded and open sided, each with its own personal plunge pool and magnificent views of the lake.
Guests enjoying a drink by the pool at Lupita
The main pool at Lupita, with the bar and dining area near by
Delicious cordon bleu cuisine makes dining gracious at Lupita
The main relaxing areas and pool are encompassed by thick indigenous forest and unique fauna and flora. From the private beach and deck overlooking the lake, otters can often be seen swimming between the rocks looking for their much-loved fresh water mussels.
A great place for weddings or honeymoons with its perfect privacy!
The clear waters of Lake Tanganyika near Lupita Island
Swim in mile deep, clear water! Rare cichlids (tiny fish), can be found whilst snorkeling and swimming around the boulders in the pristine waters surrounding the island and in the protected bay between Lupita and the neighboring island of Ulwile.
Lupita Island in Lake Tanganyika, showing the private villas set in its lush nature, overlooking the lake
Untouched by tourism, the southern part of Lake Tanganyika and especially Lupita Island, is one of the most undiscovered parts of Africa, though the early explorers including Livingstone and Stanley visited there! It is the perfect final stop in a Tanzanian safari, or a stand-alone destination for those who want total relaxation and anonymity for a week or two.
Smiling children on a nearby island greet a Lupita Island guest, with fishing nets laid out to dry
Fascinating tribal cultures can also be experienced if requested.
Check out: www.lupitaisland.com
Make enquiries at: info@lupitaisland.com
Getting there:
Return flights are now available from Arusha or Serengeti to Lupita Island, at amazing prices. Beginning from 21st June 2018 and from then on every Monday and Friday to end of October 2018:
Flights from Flights to Cost per seat
Serengeti Lupita $294.00
Arusha Lupita $399.00
Lupita Arusha $525.00
A little information about Lake Tanganyika:
Lake Tanganyika is located in the Albertine Rift Valley in western Tanzania and is the longest, the second oldest and second deepest lake in the world. It is the source of the Congo River and is considered one of the most ancient lakes on the planet.
Map of East Africa, with Lupita Island at Lake Tanganyika, on the western border of Tanzania
The people of the Lake
Western Tanzania is remote and relatively undiscovered. There is something mysterious and magnetic about Lake Tanganyika. Little travelled and little known to the outside world, the people still hold old beliefs true. It is a place where Christianity and Witchcraft live hand in hand. The countries surrounding the lake are: Tanzania, Zambia, DR Congo and Burundi.
In the south-eastern part of the lake, the Fipa (or Wafipa) are an ethnic and linguistic group based in the Sumbawanga ural and Nkasi districts of Rukwa Region.
The other tribal groups on the Tanzania side of the lake are the Holoholo and Jiji peoples in the north.
The History This vast inland sea was first made known to the European world in the mid 1800’s by the English explorers Richard Burton and John Hanning Speke. They pursued it as the source of the Nile, arriving at its shores in February of 1858, only to discover that the Ruzizi River in the north, which they thought to be the Nile, flowed into and not out of the lake.
A decade later, Dr David Livingstone disappeared in central Africa. Leading an expedition of approximately 200 men, Henry Morton Stanley headed into the interior from the eastern shore of Africa on March 21, 1871. After nearly eight months he found Livingstone in Ujiji, a small village on the shore of Lake Tanganyika on November 10, 1871.
The Birds of Lake Tanganyika
Rukwa ecosystem is a biologically rich area of western Tanzania including Lake Tanganyika and its Islands off the mainland of Kipili village, Lupita included. It has been recorded that there are upward of 500 species of birds occurring in this ecosystem.
This does not take into account the vast array of migratory birds that are flying to their destination over Lake Tanganyika often stopping to rest on the islands en route.
The Fish
Over 470 fish species, including about 300 cichlids and over 170 non-cichlids, are estimated to inhabit Lake Tanganyika lake basin (De Vos & Snoeks 1994; Snoeks 2000). Lake Tanganyika is the only lake with species-rich lineages of substrate-brooding as well as mouth-brooding cichlids (Coulter 1991; Snoeks 2000).
In the deep waters surrounding Lupita Island and the other islands the Giant Nile Perch (Lates angustifrons) and Small Nile Perch (Luciolates stappersii) can be found these are important commercial fishing species.
The Goliath Tiger (Hydrocynus goliath) can also be found in this part of the lake, it is not common and also a good sport fish if anglers were to visit this part of Lake Tanganyika. Other common species found in the waters around Lupita Island are the English Fish or otherwise called the Lake Tanganyika yellow-belly (Boulengerochromis microlepis. Seventy-nine percent of 287 described fish species are endemic, with more than 95% within the Cichlid family. The lake also supports species in the catfish families, Centropomidae (Lates), living in the muddy depths in the deep waters found around the islands and off the mainland.
Chimps and other wildlife
Gombe Stream and Mahale National Parks are both on Lake Tanganyika and have populations of Chimpanzees. Also, Katavi National Park is in the southern part of the lake, just 2-3 hours’ drive from Kipili village.