GOMBE STREAM NATIONAL PARK – CHIMPANZEE TREKKING

Not only in Uganda and Rwanda, Tanzania is also endowed with Chimpanzees found in Gombe Stream National Park. The park is located in the western Kigoma Region, Tanzania, 10 miles north of Kigoma, the capital of Kigoma Region.

Gombe Stream National Park is one of Tanzania’s smallest National Parks and the major attraction is Chimpanzees - therefore, chimpanzee tracking is the major tourism activity.

Gombe Stream is a thin strip of ancient forest straddling the steep slopes and river valleys that in the sandy northern shore of Lake Tanganyika, about 16 kilometers from Kigoma town.

Along side Chimpanzee, Gombe stream National Park hosts other primates like olive baboons, these have also been researched since the 1960s and are exceptionally habituated to humans. You may also spot the red-tailed and red colobus monkeys; the latter is regularly hunted by chimpanzees and so they stick to the forest canopy, Forest walks and visits to local villages, swimming and snorkeling.

Other attractions in Gombe Stream National Park include Leopard and bushbucks are also residents in the dense forest, along with fish eagles and palm-nut vultures, which are often seen flying overhead. Gombe Stream is the perfect place for a walking safari, allowing you to cool off along the way with a dip in one of the many streams that criss-cross the park.

Kigoma is connected to Dar and Arusha by scheduled flights, to Dar and Mwanza by a slow rail service, to Mwanza, Dar and Mbeya by rough dirt roads, and to Mpulungu in Zambia by a weekly ferry.

From Kigoma, local lake-taxis take up to three hours to reach Gombe, or motorboats can be chartered, taking less than one hour.

Safari activities in Gombe stream National Park:

Chimpanzee trekking – involves searching chimps in their natural habitat, hiking, swimming and snorkeling. Chimpanzees are easily found in wet seasons (February, June, November- mid December but better picture opportunities in the dry (July-October and late December).

Accommodation in Gombe Stream National park include: Gombe Forest Lodge - also referred to as Gombe Tented Camp) is a small tented lodge set on the shore of Lake Tanganyika in Gombe, offering good quality. It has six tents with en-suite bathrooms and verandas facing the lake and the sunset.