Situated on the white sandy shores of Lake Tanganyika, Gombe Stream is an untamed place of lush forests and clear lake views. It is one of only two places in Tanzania where you can trek to see wild chimpanzees. When combined with Katavi and the Mahale Mountains, it is an excellent choice for travellers wanting a secluded safari experience.
Spanning just over 14 square miles on the eastern shores of Lake Tanganyika, Gombe Stream is Tanzania’s smallest national park. It is one of three places where you can see chimpanzees in Tanzania.
The park’s diverse topography comprises vast grasslands, dense woodland areas and tropical rain forest, bisected by steep valleys, rivers and streams of water.
Famously, this is the site where Jane Goodall completed most of her pioneering chimpanzee research. The resident primatologist spent many years in Gombe observing the behaviour of Chimpanzees, an endangered species.
Thanks to Jane Goodall, Many of the chimpanzee troops here are habituated (used to humans), meaning you can trek to see them up-close in their natural forest habitat.
Gombe is home to many rare primates alongside chimpanzees. There are olive baboons, red colobus, red-tailed monkeys, blue monkeys, and vervet monkeys.
Birds, butterflies, and a wide variety of rare forest flora can be spotted during forest walks and chimpanzee treks. There are no large predators in Gombe Stream, apart from the occasional leopard sighting.
From Dar es Salaam the best way to get to Gombe Stream National park is by domestic flight to Kigoma. There are daily scheduled flights, and they take approximately 2 hours.
From Arusha, only shared charter flights are available, and they operate twice a week.
Driving is not recommended due to the rough terrain and long distances.
Trains and buses are also available but can take up to 2 days if travelling from Dar es Salaam and are not recommended for people who like the luxury and comfort of travelling in business class.
How to get to Gombe National Park
Once you have arrived in Kigoma, lake taxi’s and private boats are the only way to reach Gombe Stream National Park.
Lake Taxi’s take approximately 4 hours from Kibrizi beach, just north of Kigoma.
This takes approximately costs 10,000tsh ($5), but don’t be afraid to haggle within reason.
Private charters are the most comfortable way to travel, and you won’t be confined to times that the lake taxis/ferry runs, However they can cost upwards of $200.
For something a bit different, The MV Liemba, a 100-year-old ‘indestructible warship‘, travels between Tanzania and Zambia as a passenger ferry ever other Wednesday on a five-day trip, and stops at Gombe.