Gombe

Gombe National Park is one of the smallest national parks in Tanzania, situated on the shores of Lake Tanganyika, just south of the Tanzanian-Burundian border. About 30 miles (45 km) away on the other side of the lake, the mountains of the Congo rise dramatically into the sky.

CominGombe is where Dr. Jane Goodall began her pioneering research on chimpanzees, and her presence is still felt in the park. Descendants of the chimpanzees, whose lives she observed and documented so carefully, continue to inhabit the same dense tropical rainforests. The stories she told in her books, and the images shared by National Geographic, remain as vivid today as when they were first published.

Dr. Jane still visits Gombe, and her house within the park is open to visitors. It’s a humbling experience to stand in her study, with the notes from her most recent visit still on the desk. Her home serves as a reminder of the decades of dedication she gave to understanding the chimpanzees and her hope to inspire others to care for the planet and its creatures.

The park is also home to the Gombe Stream Research Centre, where researchers continue to study primate behavior. They are always ready to share their knowledge, offering insights into the animals’ lives and the work they do. The more time you spend with the chimpanzees, the more you recognize familiar behaviors. It’s fascinating and it will make you want to extend your stay.

Gombe’s roughly 80 chimpanzees are rather isolated these days. Once, they could move freely between the park and the greater Mahale ecosystem. Now, as a result of Tanzania’s growing population and the encroachment on their natural habitats, the chimpanzees are essentially confined to the park. However, the Jane Goodall Institute continues to work with local communities to regenerate the surrounding buffer zones and raise awareness about conserving the habitats of these amazing animals.

You reach Gombe by boat from Kigoma. There’s no other way in, and that adds to the feeling that you’ve arrived in a very special place. The park is accessible only through guided chimpanzee tracking, where you move through the forest and up the many hills in small groups. When you find the chimpanzees, you’re allowed to observe them for one hour, from a distance of at least five meters. They usually go about their usual activities, unconcerned by your presence. Oftentimes, they may even come much closer, passing the visitors at arm’s length.

Browse the photo-gallery below to get an idea of Gombe’s inhabitants and landscape or return to the destinations overview by clicking here.