Gombe National Park Travel Guide and Map

Experience the most incredible wildlife spectacles, beach life, accomodation & safaris with us.

Gombe National Park is home to incredible wildlife

Overview

Gombe National Park is found in Kigoma Tanzania. It is a great place to track chimps in East Africa. It is also home to many other species of primates, mammals, and birds. Tourists can stay at least one night in the park at Mbali Mbali Gombe lodge. The only way to get to the park from Kigoma is via boat. You can visit Gombe National Park at any time across the year.

Travel with us to the Gombe National Park and unlock the infinite possibilities thanks to our West East Tour & Safaris highlights.

Featured Gombe National Park Trips

Our trips are crafted with an idea of leaving you with great memories. Guided by your budget, interests and the season of the year, we will create an amazing tour plan. Our tour consultants are ready to make your travel dream come true.

FAQs about Gombe National Park

Where is Gombe National Park? Gombe National Park is located in Kigoma in Tanzania. It is 16 km north of Kigoma. Its coordinates are 4.6983° S and 29.6446° E. The park is located in a remote area and is not easily accessible. Tourists need to get to Kigoma (by road, railway, or air), then travel by boat to the park.

Which activities are done at Gombe National Park? Tourists enjoy many activities in Gombe National Park. The most popular activity is tracking chimps. Tourists go on guided walks to track and observe these primates. Other common activities are wildlife viewing and bird watching.

How to get to Gombe National Park? Gombe National Park is located in a remote part of Tanzania. It is near the borders of Congo and Burundi. Getting to the park requires some planning. You can drive across the country to Kigoma by road. This takes about 22 hours. You can take a direct train to Kigoma. It takes about 40 minutes. You can fly directly to Kigoma.  From Kigoma, you take a boat to the park. A local boat takes about 4 hours to reach the park. A speedboat takes about 2 hours. Your tour operator will book scheduled or chartered flights for you.

Which is the best time to visit Gombe National Park? Between May and October, Gombe National Park is usually dry. There is a lot of sunshine. It rarely rains. Mosquitos are fewer. It is the best time to track chimps, view wildlife, and enjoy watching birds. The park receives rain between November and April. The wet climate may interfere with activities such as game drives and chimp trekking. But it is the best time to see butterflies and migratory birds.

Need to chat?

Find out more and tailor your perfect trip with the help of our specialist team

Some interesting facts about Gombe National Park

Gombe National Park animals

Gombe National Park chimpanzees are the major attractions in the park. The park is home to over 100 chimps. Tourists enjoy chimp trekking along the forest trails. After spotting them, tourists spend about an hour or more watching the primates. They can be found feeding, walking, or resting. People such as Jane Goodall have researched chimps in this park.

Apart from Gombe National Park chimpanzees, the park has other primates. These include vervet monkeys, red colobus monkeys, blue monkeys, and olive baboons. It is one of the parks with high concentrations of primates. Other Gombe National Park animals are leopards, antelopes, hippos, and bush pigs.

The best time to enjoy sightings of these animals is between May and October. Animals including chimps gather around water sources. It is much easier to spot them there. During the rainy season, it is difficult to enjoy activities such as trekking. But the park is always open.

Birdlife

Gombe National Park is a perfect place for watching birds. It has recorded over 200 bird species. The most common species are Livingstone’s turaco, African fish eagle, palm-nut vulture, and Kenya rufous sparrow. You can spot most resident birds all year round. But between November and April, bird watching is excellent. Migratory birds from northern Africa and Europe are common. Resident birds are nesting and breeding. Between March and April, it can be hard to spot birds. This is because forest trails may be slippery and interfere with trekking.

Scenery

Gombe National Park has attractive scenery. It has river valleys and steep slopes of vegetated mountains. It has streams that run down to a sandy beach. Gombe forest also lies on the shores of Lake Tanganyika. These features create a scenic view.

Central Kalahari Game Reserve

Khwai Area

Chobe National Park

Moremi Game Reserve

Okavango Delta

The Great Salt Pans

Linyanti, Kwando & Selinda

Your Accommodation Options in Gombe National Park

We have several accommodation options in Gombe National Parkwhich you can choose from depending on your budget and other interests. We have incredibly good hotels, lodges, and camps that offer good services which we believe all meets your expectations. With our fantastic relationships with these facilities, we can assure you that you’d definitely get value for your money in the facility that we’ll book you for your accommodation. Among others, some of them include the following:

Customer Reviews; What they had to say

Read what our customers said about their trip with us.

99% of reviewers recommend West East Tours & Travels (4.9* Rating) on review websites

Read more about Africa travel inspiration from West East Tours customers and travel specialists

Sign up to our newsletter

Need more travel inspiration delivered straight to your inbox? Then fill in your details here. Stay Informed!.

Well, start planning your holiday today

We're looking forward to hearing from you. Talk to us and let us plan your safari.