Gombe National Park
Description: The smallest of Tanzania’s national parks, Gombe is a narrow strip of chimpanzee habitat on the shore of Lake Tanganyika. Its chimpanzees – habituated to human visitors – were made famous by the pioneering work of Jane Goodall’s studies. The matriarch, Fifi, the last surviving member of the original community, only three years old when Goodall first set foot in Gombe, is still regularly seen by visitors. Tracking the chimps is a fascinating experience.
It’s likely that you will observe them grooming each other in small groups, squabbling noisily, or bounding from tree to tree swinging on vines. Watching a mother chimp with her offspring is truly remarkable. Difficult to reach and relatively expensive, Gombe has few visitors each year.
Location: Just north of Kigoma, on the shore of Lake Tanganyika. Usually requires flight with Precision Air from Dar es Salaam (daily) or a shared charter flight from Arusha that flies on Tuesdays and Fridays only. A train (takes 2-3 days) from Dar might be possible.
Things 2 Do: Chimpanzee tracking, hiking, swimming/snorkeling, night walks
Time: Set aside at least 4 days (1 to get there, 1 to return and at least 2 nights actually in the park).
Animals: Chimpanzees, baboons, red-tailed and red colobus monkeys, more than 200 bird species.
Accommodations
$
TANAPA bandas
$$$
Kigoma Hilltop
“We have worked with various tour organizers in multiple countries over the years, and we all agree that A2T is the best we’ve experienced to date. They provided an excellent itinerary and helpful advice, ensuring we had great places to stay. The abundance of resources, including links to videos and other helpful information, made us feel well-prepared for our journey.
The guides from A2T were outstanding. We had three guides in total, with David being our primary guide. We also encountered several others at various lunch stops throughout the trip. One notable highlight was that we always had a cooler filled with cold water—something we struggled to find in other countries.
All the guides were friendly and exceptional. By the end of our trip, David felt like family to us, and we cherished our daily interactions with him. We truly could not find any negatives or areas for improvement with A2T on this trip.”