Gombe Stream National Park

Overview

It's a great place to see chimps up close and personal as many of the family groups are habituated to humans. With the possible exception of Mahale Mountains National Park , no other park in Africa can offer such a magnificent experience with chimpanzees.

It is a park without roads, where you can walk and experience nature with all your senses. Although the chimpanzees are the park's star attraction there are many other primates, and mammals. The birdlife is extraordinary, as there is a great crossover of East African grassland birds and West African forest species.

Info

Size: 52 square kilometres.
Location: 16km north of Kigoma on the shores of Lake Tanganyika.
Best Time: July-October or December.
To Do: Chimpanzee trekking, hiking, swimming, Dr. Livingstone's camp site, and dhow building.
Known For: Chimpanzees!

Details of Gombe Stream National Park

The smallest of Tanzania's national parks is one of its most unique, offering the opportunity to see the chimpanzees that Dr. Jane Goodall observed as part of her landmark study into primate behaviour.

Gombe is a park without roads, making it a perfect place to get out and stretch your legs as you seek to spot some of the park's native inhabitants in their natural habitats. In addition to chimpanzees, the park is also home to a number of other primate species including the beachcomber olive baboons, bush babies, and the red colobus monkeys that the chimpanzees hunt. The park is also home to hippos, crocodiles, and leopards

Birdwatchers will be particularly fascinated by the park, whose forest offers a cross-section of East African grassland birds and West African forest species. Over 200 species of bird call the park home.