The Ivory Route


Tembe Elephant Park covers the area that was once known as 'The Ivory Route'. For many years this ancient route linked the ivory traders of Mozambique and Zululand. It is where the largest elephants in Africa – and the world - roamed. Today, over 220 of these gentle giants remain and thrive in their ancestral homeland. And this is where you can meet them…face to face.

This remote park, deep in an area of sand forests, pans and wetlands in northern Tongaland, lies on the border between KwaZulu-Natal and Mozambique. The diversity of birdlife is spectacular. The park is situated within the sand veld ecological zone and consists mainly of closed woodland and secondary thicket formation. The zone falls within a transition area between tropical and sub-tropical forms and therefore is home to a great diversity of vegetation.

With this diversity of habitats Tembe is home to a spectacular variety of animals and birds. Tembe is a special place with basic visitor facilities and a road system consistant with the wilderness management of the area.