Gombe Stream National Park

Gombe National Park, also known as Gombe Stream National Park, is located in the western Kigoma Region of Tanzania, approximately 10 miles north of Kigoma, the region’s capital. For Tanzania safaris, you want to include a visit to this park especially for Tanzania chimpanzee trekking. The park was established in 1968, Gombe National Park is one of Tanzania’s smallest national parks, with only 35 sq. km (14 square miles) of protected land along the hills of Lake Tanganyika’s eastern shore. Its incredible landscape is defined by steep valleys, and the vegetation ranges from grassland to woodland to tropical rainforest.

Gombe National Park is only accessible by boat, the park is best known as the site of Jane Goodall’s behavioral research on chimpanzee populations. The park boasts the Kasekala Chimpanzee community, which has been featured in several books and documentaries. Aside from chimps, Gombe is home to beachcomber olive baboons, red colobus monkeys, red-tailed monkeys, blue monkeys, and vervet monkeys, among many others. Red-tailed and blue monkeys have also been observed hybridizing in the area.

The park is home to over 200 recorded bird species, bushpigs, snakes, occasional hippos, and leopards. Visitors to Gombe National Park can trek into the forest to see the chimps. They can swim, as well as snorkel in Lake Tanganyika, which is home to nearly 100 different species of colorful cichlid fish.

Activities in Gombe National Park

Chimpanzee Trekking

Chimpanzee trekking is the most popular tourist activity in Gombe Stream National Park. The park is a great place to see chimpanzees up close and personal, as many family groups are habituated to humans. Walking up the hilly forested slopes to the primate territories is unquestionably the highlight of any visitor to the park, with instant pant-hoot calls of chimps as you get closer to these incredible primates.

Their instantly recognizable pant-hoot call heightens the excitement as you approach these incredible animals that share up to 98% of the human DNA. There is a sense of understanding as you make eye contact, almost as if you are both pieces of knowledge of the thin border between the two of you; and being a primates territory, you will encounter other primates such as monkeys that can be seen swinging around forest canopies, baboons and other creatures such as reptiles, bush pigs and elephants, etc.

Bird watching

Enjoy bird watching safaris in Gombe Stream National Park. Gombe National Park offers over 200 recorded species of birds, including a cross-section of East African grassland birds and West African forest species. A birding safari in Gombe allows you to see birds like the African broadbill, Black saw-wing, Crowned eagle, Double-toothed barbet, Kenya Rufous sparrow, Livingstone’s turaco, Palm-nut vulture, Peter’s Twinspots, Red-capped robin-

Boat Trips

The boat trips provide beautiful views of the park’s verdant landscape and turquoise waters. The boat rides are available on Lake Tanganyika and the park’s rivers and are selected based on one’s budget. They are provided on request and are available in the mornings and afternoons. You will enjoy the breeze off Lake Tanganyika while looking out at the Great Rift Valley escarpment, amidst stunning vistas of birds and animals.

Guided Nature Walks

Nature walks in Gombe National Park are remarkably impressive; the park is naturally endowed with steep slopes, rivers, streams, and a variety of plant covers such as alpine bamboo, tropical rainforests, and grasslands, which offer breathtaking scenery while on guided nature walks. While on the nature walk, you can also visit a Goodall Foundation old feeding station, where Dr. Goodall conducted research on chimp behavior and where Henry Stanley met Dr. Livingstone in 1871.

Hiking Safaris

Hiking safaris in Gombe National Park offer amazing encounters with the park’s green vegetation and scenic views of the surrounding area. Hiking is an adventurous safari activity as it not only treats you to spectacular scenery but also tests your physical ability. Enjoy the heavily forested green hills and tropical forests with abundant sights of unique wildlife species including plants species, animals such as chimpanzees, elephants, monkeys, and baboons as well as a variety of bird species including trumpeter hornbills, kingfishers, and palm nut vultures among others.

Sport fishing

The activity is known as catch and release and is done for fun. It is accomplished when the weather is calm. The crew is extremely knowledgeable in all aspects of fishing. A well-equipped sports fishing boat and an informed crew will ensure your complete enjoyment while fishing on Lake Tanganyika.

How to get to Gombe National Park

The only way to get to Gombe National Park is by boat from the town of Kigoma. In addition, you may book your domestic flight to Kigoma Airport (TKQ) and arrange for a private motorboat to take you directly to Gombe National Park. This boat ride will take you there in under an hour.

In addition, visitors take a charter flight into the park.

Best time to visit Gombe National Park

Like any other safari destination in Tanzania, Gombe National Park can be visited at any time of year. Chimpanzees are the main highlight of any safari to Gombe National Park, and these primates don’t move very far during the wet seasons of February – June and November-mid December, making them easy to spot. During the dry seasons of July – October, and December – January, however, they move in search of water and food. Moreover, the dry season is also the best time to take crisp photographs.