Introduction |
Northern Circuit |
Southern Circuit |
Coastal Circuit |
Western Circuit
Please select the National Park or Game Reserve from the list below:
Western Circuit
Gombe Stream National
Park
The smallest of Tanzania’s
national parks covering only 52 square km, 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. The area is heavily forested making it an
unsuitable habitat for carnivores and safe for walking safaris.
Difficult to reach and relatively expensive, Gombe has few visitors
each year.
Location:
Just north of Kigoma (around 16 km), 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 and then by
1 hour boat trip from Kigoma.
Things to Do:
Chimpanzee trekking, hiking, swimming/snorkeling, night walks.
Time to visit:
The best time to visit Gombe is during the dry season, May to
October and during the short rains in January and FebruarySet
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
For safari packages,
please visit Western
Circuit Safaris section on Packages page
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