8 days Chimpanzee Safari Gombe Stream + Mahale Mountains

Upon arrival at Dar Es Salaam airport, you will meet your Tanzania Specialist guide. This will take you to your hotel and the rest of the day is at leisure, you can relax and enjoy the African atmosphere. Your personal and experienced Tanzania Specialist guide not only knows a lot about the Tanzanian culture, but can also tell you a lot about the beautiful national parks and sights of the country. So don’t be afraid to ask your Tanzania Specialist guide questions – he will be happy to answer them all.

This trip is an exclusive private safari so you can enjoy your trip to the fullest! You can decide for yourself when to leave in the morning and when to return in the evening. You can also observe a specific animal or herd for as long as you like during the safari. You don’t have to be considerate of anyone. Your personal guide will advise you during the safari so that your trip will be an unforgettable experience.

Tomorrow morning your safari will begin!

Today you will fly from Dar Es Salaam to Kigoma. Your driver will wait for you at the airport and bring you to your hotel in Kigoma.

Today you can choose between the following activities:

• Kigoma city tour
• Visit the historical town Ujiji (Dr. Livingstone Memorial & Museum)
• Visit the village Mwamgongo
• Kayaking on the lake
• motor boat tour on the lake

Today your guide will bring you to Gombe Stream national park. It is only a 30 minutes drive and a 1.5 hour boat ride to the park.

Gombe is a famous place for those who want to see chimpanzees off the beaten track. You can take a guided hike into the forest to see chimpanzees in the wild. The area has steep valleys and the forest vegetation ranges from grassland to forest and tropical rainforest.

The Gombe Stream national park is the place where Jane Goodall did her research on chimpanzee populations. Step into her footsteps while you walk through the forest on the lookout for a chimpazee family.

Once you found the chimpanzees you are allowed observe their daily habits, watch the youngsters play and mothers nurse their babies. Enjoy this rare and intimate glimpses into chimpanzee society!

Besides chimpanzees, primates inhabiting Gombe Stream national park include beachcomber olive baboons, red colobus, red-tailed monkeys, blue monkeys, and vervet monkeys. Red-tailed monkeys and blue monkeys also hybridize in the area. And the park is home to over 200 bird species and bushpigs. You can spot many species of reptiles and even occasionally hippos and leopards.

On day 5 you will take a 2.5 hours drive and boat ride to Mahale mountains national park. It is a bit larger than its northerly neighbor Gombe and also home to some of the Africa’s last remaining wild chimpanzees, a population of roughly 900.

You will spend some time during your hikes throught the Mahale mountains national park searching for the chimpanzees. The hikes are led by knowledgeable and experienced guides. Once you meet a resident chimpanzee group, you have time to observe them.  The chimpanzees are habituated to human visitors and not shy. Meeting them is a once in a lifetime, magical experience!

Other activities:

• Kayaking
• Boat cruise
• Mountain climbing to Kungwe peak (another day is needed)

After a nice morning hike through the Mahale Mountains, your guide will bring you to Kigoma. You will spend the night there to take the flight back to Dar Es Salaam the following morning.

Today you fly from Kigoma to the international airport for your connecting departure flight and on day 9 you will arrive back home.

You like to extend your safari to visit more national parks or with a beach holiday? Tanzania offers perfect paradises to unwind after your safari, such as Zanzibar, Pemba and Mafia.