1 day Gombe in a Day, from Kigoma
Two hours up the lake by speedboat, a morning tracking chimpanzees, and back to Kigoma by evening — the west without an overnight.
Chimpanzees
Gombe by Air — Four Days
Two tracking days in the forest where Jane Goodall started work in 1960, reached by boat along the lake shore from Kigoma.
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At a glance
- Destinations
- Gombe National Park · Lake Tanganyika · Kigoma
- Best for
- Chimpanzees, Hiking
- Travel style
- Chimpanzee tracking · On foot, with flights and boat transfers
- Activity level
- Moderate — walking days on forest and mountain paths
- Best time to travel
- July to October usually gives favourable conditions for Gombe chimpanzee tracking and forest walks. Tracking is possible outside this window but can take longer on wet paths; the Kigoma boat transfer depends on lake weather.
- Start and end
- Flies from Dar es Salaam via Kigoma, and back
Why this journey
- Two chimpanzee tracking days rather than one
- Chimpanzees habituated to people over decades of research
- A climb to the Kakombe waterfall in the forest above the shore
- An evening boat along the shore to Mwamgongo fishing village
- Flights from Dar to Kigoma included, so no three-day road journey
Day by day
Gombe is small — 35 km² of steep valleys running down to Lake Tanganyika — and it holds the longest-running study of wild chimpanzees anywhere. There is no road in; you arrive by boat and walk from the beach.
Day 1 — Dar es Salaam Airport to Kigoma to Gombe National Park
Depart Dar es Salaam at 07:30 on an Air Tanzania flight to Kigoma, arriving 09:30. A private motorboat transfers visitors to Gombe National Park (a one-hour journey). On arrival, check in for lunch and rest.
Stay Gombe Rest House Meals Dinner
Day 2 — Chimpanzee tracking and forest walk
After breakfast, morning chimpanzee tracking. Gombe Stream National Park's main attraction is the chimpanzee families that live and are protected inside the park's boundaries. Beyond chimpanzees, the park hosts colobus monkeys, baboons, forest pigs, dik-dik and diverse tropical birds.
Stay Gombe Forest Lodge Meals Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Day 3 — Chimpanzee tracking and boat safari
Breakfast precedes morning game viewing and chimpanzee tracking, followed by a climb to the Kakombe waterfalls. After lunch, an evening boat excursion to Mwamgongo fishing village for cultural exploration — observing fishing, palm oil extraction, embroidery, boat making and the chief's palace, and experiencing the traditional Ha Dance.
Stay Gombe Forest Lodge Meals Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Day 4 — Gombe Park to Kigoma to Dar es Salaam
An early breakfast concludes the park experience before the motorboat back to Kigoma for the 10:10 flight to Dar es Salaam, with airport shuttle to lodgings or onward connections.
Meals Breakfast
Stay and travel
Gombe Rest House on the first night and Gombe Forest Lodge for the next two, both inside the park, as listed in the programme.
Scheduled flights between Dar es Salaam and Kigoma, then a private motorboat up the lake to Gombe, about an hour each way. There are no roads in the park, so the tracking is on foot.
Camps fill and light aircraft schedules move. Where something changes we substitute at the same level and tell you before you travel, not after.
Included and excluded
What is included
- Every activity named in the day-by-day
- Accommodation as listed, or a similar alternative if a camp is full
- Meals as noted against each day
- Transfers between the agreed pick-up and drop-off points
- Park, reserve and conservation area fees
- An English-speaking Tanzanian driver-guide
- A 4×4 with a roof hatch, or the vehicle the route calls for
- Drinking water through the day
- Government taxes
- Boat safari and transfers
- TANAPA armed ranger where the park requires one
Not included
- International flights, airport taxes and visa fees
- Travel, medical and baggage insurance
- Personal spending — drinks, laundry, telephone
- Tips for your guide and crew
- Anything not listed as included
Practical information
- Activity level
- Walking days on forest and mountain paths, some of them steep and often wet underfoot. Ordinary walking fitness is enough.
- Luggage on light aircraft
- Bush flights cap baggage at around 15 kg in a soft bag. Anything else can wait at your first hotel.
- Chimpanzee trekking
- Tracking is on foot, on the animals’ terms, and can mean several hours of steep forest walking. Minimum ages and group sizes are set by the park — we confirm both when you book.
- Visas, insurance and tipping
- A visa is arranged before travel or on arrival. Travel and medical insurance is a condition of booking. Tipping is customary and we will suggest a range rather than set one.
Related journeys
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5 days Mahale in Five Days, from Dar
The same two tracking days at Mahale and an early trek on the last morning, with the flights from Dar and every transfer arranged for you.
Chimpanzees & Hiking
1 day Arusha National Park in a Day
The one northern park where you can drive, walk and paddle in the same day, thirty minutes from town under the wall of Mount Meru.
Wildlife & Hiking
Every route here can be changed
Tell us what you would keep, what you would drop and how long you have. We will send back a version that is yours.