2-Day Gombe Chimpanzee Trek

Gombe is a narrow band of forest on the eastern shore of Lake Tanganyika, just 52 square kilometres, reached by boat from the town of Kigoma. It is famous as the place where Jane Goodall started observing wild chimpanzees in 1960 — work that changed how science understands tool use and social behaviour, and that still runs today.

The park's roughly 100 chimpanzees live in habituated communities, and trekking to find them follows steep forest trails. Olive baboons, red-tailed and red colobus monkeys and a good range of forest and lake birds are also here. Most visits are a night or two, and Gombe pairs well with the historical sights around Kigoma or, for those going further, with Mahale to the south.