Chimpanzee Trekking in Tanzania – Gombe, Mahale & Rubondo National Parks
Experience one of Africa’s most intimate wildlife encounters with chimpanzee trekking in Tanzania. Western Tanzania’s remote Gombe Stream and Mahale Mountains National Parks, nestled along the shores of Lake Tanganyika, protect some of the last truly wild chimpanzee populations on the continent. In contrast, the chimps of Rubondo Island National Park in Lake Victoria were successfully re-introduced between 1966–1969 by Prof. Bernhard Grzimek and are now fully wild.
There are no roads inside Gombe, Mahale or Rubondo — only narrow forest trails. Every chimpanzee trek is led by an experienced park guide and strictly limited to small groups (max. 6 people). Strict health and conduct rules protect both visitors and the endangered chimpanzees that share 98 % of our DNA.
Walk quietly through ancient rainforest and watch habituated families groom, feed, play and even use tools — just as Jane Goodall observed in Gombe over 60 years ago. Mahale Mountains alone is home to approximately 900 chimpanzees, alongside red colobus, Angolan black-and-white colobus and other primates.
