Gombe Stream National Park

Size: 52 sq km (about 32 sq miles), Tanzania’s smallest park

Location: 16 km (about 10 miles) north of Kigoma on the shore of Lake Tanganyika in western Tanzania

Getting here: Drive, scheduled or charter flight from Dar or Arusha, slow train from Dar or Mwanza or lake ferry from Burundi or Zambia to Kigoma then local or charter boat from Kigoma to Gombe (2-3hrs)

To do: Chimpanzee trekking, hiking, swimming/snorkeling; visit the site of Henry Stanley’s famous “Dr. Livingstone I presume” at Ujiji, near Kigoma and watch the renowned dhow builders at work.

Best time: The chimps don’t roam as far in the wet (February-June, November-mid December) so may be easier to find; better picture opportunities in the dry (July-October and late December).

Accommodation: One hostel, 1 guest house and 2 camp sites, all self-catering

NOTE:Strict rules are in place to safeguard you and the chimps. Allow at least 2 days to see them – this is not a zoo so there are no guarantees where, and when they’ll be each day.

Gombe the smallest of Tanzania’s national parks is a fragile remnant of chimpanzee habitat, a thin strip of ancient forest set in mountains cut with steep valleys clinging to the shores of Lake Tanganyika. The chimps sip the streams tumbling into the lake while at night, the lanterns of hundreds of small wooden boats light the horizon like a sprawling city. You can meet the stars of the world’s most famous chimpanzee community, made famous by the pioneering British researcher, Jane Goodall, whose years of constant observation since 1960 have made this the longest study of its kind.

Gombe is a place of personalities. Chimpanzees are as individually unique as humans and no scientific expertise is required to distinguish the different characters in this cast – their repertoire of pants, hoots, grunts and screams defining the celebrities, the powerbrokers, the supporting roles.

Perhaps you will see a flicker of understanding when you look into a chimp’s eyes assessing you in return. Sharing more than 95% of our genes, it’s a look of recognition from our closest animal relative.

The majority of the park’s mammals are primates – most of them forest species. Likely to be seen, in addition to the famous chimpanzees, are the colorful red-tail and blue monkeys. Herbivores and carnivores are a rarity in the forests, making Gombe a haven for walking safaris.