6-Day Gombe and Mahale Chimpanzee Safari

Pick-up from Kigoma Airport or your hotel, followed by transfer to Kibirizi Port for the private boat crossing of Lake Tanganyika to Gombe Stream National Park (approximately 1.5 hours). After park entry formalities and check-in, the first chimpanzee tracking session begins in the afternoon through the forested slopes of the Gombe Mountains, with colobus monkeys, baboons and red-tailed monkeys also commonly seen along the way.

Distance: Approximately 1.5 hours by boat from Kigoma to Gombe

Activity: Boat transfer, afternoon chimpanzee tracking

Accommodation: Accommodation inside Gombe National Park

Meals: Lunch and Dinner

An early morning tracking session gives a second opportunity to observe the chimpanzee families, with park regulations allowing up to one hour of observation at a safe distance. Afterwards, a visit to the Jane Goodall Research Centre covers the chimpanzee conservation research that has continued at Gombe since 1960. After lunch, the boat returns to Kigoma in the late afternoon.

Distance: Trekking within Gombe National Park, then approximately 1.5 hours by boat back to Kigoma

Activity: Morning chimpanzee tracking, Research Centre visit, afternoon boat return to Kigoma

Accommodation: Hotel in Kigoma

Meals: Breakfast and Lunch

A scenic road transfer follows the shores of Lake Tanganyika south to Mahale Mountains National Park headquarters at Mgambo Village, followed by a boat transfer across the lake into the park. The afternoon is free for a short forest walk, swimming in the exceptionally clear waters of Lake Tanganyika, or simply relaxing on the lakeshore.

Distance: Road transfer from Kigoma to Mahale HQ, then boat transfer into the park

Activity: Road and boat transfers, optional afternoon forest walk or lake swim

Accommodation: Mahale Mango Tree Bandas

Meals: Lunch and Dinner

After an early breakfast, guides and trackers lead the chimpanzee tracking expedition into the dense rainforest of the Mahale Mountains. The M-Group chimpanzees are one of the most extensively studied communities in the world, with decades of behavioural data collected under continuous research since the 1960s. The hike can range from one to four hours depending on the group's location that day, with up to one hour of observation once located. The afternoon is free for swimming, kayaking, fishing, or birdwatching on the lake.

Distance: Trekking within Mahale Mountains National Park, afternoon at the lakeside

Activity: Chimpanzee tracking expedition, afternoon lake activities

Accommodation: Mahale Mango Tree Bandas

Meals: Full Board

After a relaxed breakfast at the lakeshore, the boat returns to Mahale Park Headquarters, followed by the road transfer to Kigoma, arriving by early afternoon.

Distance: Boat transfer from the bandas to Mahale HQ, then road transfer to Kigoma

Activity: Boat and road transfers to Kigoma

Accommodation: Hotel in Kigoma

Meals: Breakfast and Lunch

After breakfast, transfer to Kigoma Airport for an onward domestic flight, most commonly to Dar es Salaam or Arusha for international connections.

Distance: Airport transfer in Kigoma

Activity: Departure transfer

Accommodation: N/A - end of safari

Meals: Breakfast

Extend your trip

Want more tracking days at each park? See our 8-Day Gombe and Mahale Chimpanzee Safari. Want to add Katavi National Park too? See our 9-Day Katavi, Mahale and Gombe Safari.