Tanzania is a year-round destination, but the best time to visit depends on your activities.
For wildlife safaris, the dry seasons from June to October offer excellent game viewing, including the Great Migration in the Serengeti.
January to February is ideal for witnessing the calving season. For Mount Kilimanjaro treks, the best conditions are from January to March and June to October.
Beach lovers visiting Zanzibar will enjoy the dry months of December to February and June to October.
Gombe Stream National Park: A Primate Paradise
A sudden burst of excited whoops fills the air, rising rapidly into a cacophony of screeches and shrieks. This is the famous ‘pant-hoot’ call, a bonding ritual used by chimpanzees to identify one another through unique vocalizations. For those walking through the dense, ancient forests of Gombe Stream, this spine-tingling sound often signals that the park’s most famous residents, chimpanzees, are nearby.
Gombe Stream is Tanzania’s smallest national park, a narrow strip of chimpanzee habitat stretching along the steep slopes and river valleys on the northern shore of Lake Tanganyika. The park is renowned for its chimpanzees, which became globally famous thanks to the groundbreaking research of Jane Goodall. In 1960, Goodall established a behavioral study that remains the longest-running of its kind. Many of the chimpanzees, including Fifi, the matriarch who was only three years old when Goodall first arrived, are still regularly spotted by visitors.
Chimpanzees share about 98% of their DNA with humans, and observing their pant-hoots, grunts, and screams offers a fascinating insight into their social structure. Visitors might even experience a moment of recognition from a chimpanzee, as these intelligent creatures assess you in return with a gaze that transcends species barriers.
Other primates in Gombe include habituated olive baboons, studied since the 1960s, and red-tailed and red colobus monkeys, the latter often preyed upon by the chimpanzees. The park is also home to around 200 bird species, from the majestic fish eagle to the brightly colored Peter’s twinspot, often spotted near the visitors’ center.
In the evenings, the tranquil atmosphere is complemented by the sight of hundreds of small boats lit by lanterns, floating on the calm waters of Lake Tanganyika, creating a picturesque scene under the dazzling night sky.
About Gombe Stream National Park
Getting There
What to Do in Gombe Stream National Park
Best Time to Visit
Obtaining a Tanzania visa is simple and convenient. You can apply online via the Tanzania eVisa Portal, at a Tanzanian embassy, or on arrival at major entry points such as airports and border crossings.
Requirements typically include a valid passport with at least six months’ validity, a completed application form, and payment of the visa fee.
A single-entry tourist visa costs $50 for most nationalities, while US citizens pay $100 for a multiple-entry visa.
The eVisa process usually takes about 10 business days for approval.
Gombe is famous for its chimpanzee population, which has been studied for decades, especially by Jane Goodall. The park is a rare opportunity to observe these intelligent primates in their natural habitat.
You can reach Kigoma by flight from Dar es Salaam or Arusha. From Kigoma, you can take a local lake-taxi or a chartered motorboat to reach Gombe, which takes up to three hours or less than one hour, respectively.
The best time for chimpanzee viewing is during the wet season (February to June, November to mid-December), when the chimps tend to stay closer to the park. However, for better photography opportunities and a more comfortable visit, the dry season (July-October and late December) is ideal.
You can go chimpanzee trekking, hike through the park, swim or snorkel in Lake Tanganyika, and visit the historic Ujiji site where Dr. Livingstone was famously greeted by Henry Stanley.
Yes, Gombe is also home to other primates like olive baboons, red-tailed monkeys, and red colobus monkeys. The park is also rich in birdlife, with over 200 species present.
From Kigoma, it takes about one hour by motorboat or up to three hours by local lake-taxi to reach Gombe Stream.
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