An untamed place of lush forests and clear lake views.
Spanning just over 14 square miles on the eastern shores of Lake Tanganyika, Gombe Stream is Tanzania's smallest national park. It is one of three places where you can see chimpanzees in Tanzania.
The park's diverse topography comprises vast grasslands, dense woodland areas and tropical rain forest, bisected by steep valleys, rivers and streams of water. Famously, this is the site where Jane Goodall completed most of her pioneering chimpanzee research.
The resident primatologist spent many years in Gombe observing the behaviour of Chimpanzees, an endangered species. Thanks to Jane Goodall, Many of the chimpanzee troops here are habituated (used to humans), meaning you can trek to see them up-close in their natural forest habitat.
Gombe is home to many rare primates alongside chimpanzees. There are olive baboons, red colobus, red-tailed monkeys, blue monkeys, and vervet monkeys.
The best time to visit Gombe Stream National Park is from June to September, during the dry season. Trekking through the forest is easier, and the likelihood of seeing the chimps increases.
From Dar es Salaam the best way is by domestic flight to Kigoma (approx 2 hours). From Arusha, shared charter flights operate twice a week. Driving is not recommended due to rough terrain.
