Gombe Stream National Park is a national park in Kigoma District of Kigoma Region in Tanzania, 16 km north of Kigoma, the capital of Kigoma Region. Established in 1968, it is one of the smallest national parks in Tanzania, with only 56 km² of protected land along the hills of the eastern shore of Lake Tanganyika.
There are truly wild places in Tanzania, Gombe National Park is one of them. The natural value of Gombe was noticed in 1943 when it was designated as a game reserve. Gombe gained its popularity after the pioneering research activities of Dr Jane Goodall in 1960 which is believed to be the longest running study of primates in the world. Conservation status was upgraded to that of a National Park in 1968 and opened for tourism in 1978 after chimpanzees habituated to human visitors. It is located 16 km north of Kigoma town on the shores of the world’s second deepest Lake Tanganyika in western Tanzania with an area of 56 square kilometers.
How to get there
Drive, schedule or charter a flight from Dar es salaam, Mwanza or Arusha or take a slow or fast train from Dar es salaam or ferry along the shore of Lake Tanganyika from Burundi or Zambia to Kigoma.
To reach Gombe you must travel by boat from Kigoma. Depending on your budget, there’s an option of a speed boat, which takes much less time- or a passenger’s boat, which takes about 4 hrs.Boat ride is an amazing trip.
Park Attractions
Gombe wilderness worth a year round visit; enabling you to cruise along part of the historical inquisitiveness way back in the 19th century when Livingstone and Stanley searched the source of River Nile. Rainy season is the best for chimpanzees while the green vegetation blooms provide an astonishing scenic view and waterfalls are at their best (November to Mid- May) while the dry season provides a chance for best photo taking , short and long hikes(May to October).
Wild Animals
Gombe has abundant and diverse wildlife animals. Habitat preferences and seasonal food cycles determine in a general sense where a particular animal may be at a particular time (esp chimpanzee). Although Gombe chimpanzee are favorite among wildlife watchers that come to the Park, there are several notable animals,Olive Baboon, Chimpanzee, Blue Monkey,Red tailed Monkey, Red Colobus Monkey, Reptiles and Amphibians.Gombe is also attractive to herpetologist and other scholars as it harbors provides dozen of reptilian and amphibian species, which some of them are endemic to the Par
