Gombe Stream National Park

Gombe is best known as the place where Jane Goodall studied her behavioural research conducted on the chimpanzee populations, from early 60's to date. Together with Mahale Mountains National Park, Gombe is one of two places in Tanzania where it is possible to see chimpanzees in the wild. Both parks offer the best opportunities for a chimpanzee safari throughout Africa.

Gombe consists of wild, mountainous terrain, dominated by steep cliffs and valleys, where small rivers flow. The views are fantastic. Given the terrain is only possible on foot to go search for chimpanzees, be prepared for brisk walks with some climbs. The rivers provide drinking water for the larger animals, which is of great importance during the drier months, because these animals do not come to the shores of Lake Tanganyika to drink. The area is covered with mosaic of different vegetation: rolling grasslands on the plateau, mixed forest on the slopes and a dense jungle at the bottom of the valleys.

The park is a closed ecosystem, because it is bounded by natural and artificial limits: Lake Tanganyika is situated at an altitude of 772 meters above sea level, west of the park. The high wall of the Rift Escarpment rises another 750 meters above the lake and forms the eastern border.  North and South of the park is bordered by a human settlement and farm fields. Particularly, it is clear from the air to see how the wilderness of the park merges into the cultivated land.