Chimp Trails Of Western Tanzania

Pick up from Arusha and transferred to the Arusha Airport for your onward shared charter to Mahale

Lunch at the Lodge, and after lunch have a choice of fishing trip or boat safari for bird watching & game viewing

Pick up on arrival and transfer to Kigoma Hilltop Hotel where lunch will be served

Boat transfer to Kigoma where you will met and transferred to airport with picnic lunch for your onward shared charter to Arusha

Upon arrival at Arusha Airport, you will be met by the Wild Trails Safaris representative and transferred to Arusha

Silky white coves hem in the azure waters of Lake Tanganyika, overshadowed by a chain of wild, jungle-draped peaks towering almost 2km above the shore: the remote and mysterious Mahale Mountains.

Mahale Mountains is home to some of Africa’s last remaining wild chimpanzees: a population of roughly 800 (only 60 individuals forming what is known as "M group"), habituated to human visitors by a Japanese research project founded in the 1960s. Tracking the chimps of Mahale is a magical experience. The guide's eyes pick out last night's nests - shadowy clumps high in a gallery of trees crowding the sky. Scraps of half-eaten fruit and fresh dung become valuable clues, leading deeper into the forest. Butterflies flit in the dappled sunlight.

Then suddenly you are in their midst: preening each other's glossy coats in concentrated huddles, squabbling noisily, or bounding into the trees to swing effortlessly between the vines.

The area is also known as Nkungwe, after the park's largest mountain, held sacred by the local Tongwe people, and at 2,460 metres (8,069 ft) the highest of the six prominent points that make up the Mahale Range.

And while chimpanzees are the star attraction, the slopes support a diverse forest fauna, including readily observed troops of red colobus, red-tailed and blue monkeys, and

You can trace the Tongwe people's ancient pilgrimage to the mountain spirits, hiking through the montane rainforest belt – home to an endemic race of Angola colobus monkey - to high grassy ridges chequered with alpine bamboo. Then bathe in the impossibly clear waters of the world’s longest, second-deepest and least-polluted freshwater lake – harbouring an estimated 1,000 fish species - before returning as you came, by boat.

About Mahale Mountains National Park
Size: 1,613 sq km (623 sq miles).
Location: Western Tanzania, bordering Lake Tanganyika.

What to do
Chimp tracking (allow two days); hiking; camping safaris; snorkelling; fish for your dinner.

When to go
Dry season (May-October) best for forest walks although no problem in the light rains of October/November.

Gombe is the smallest of Tanzania's national parks: a fragile strip of chimpanzee habitat straddling the steep slopes and river valleys that hem in the sandy northern shore of Lake Tanganyika. Its chimpanzees – habituated to human visitors – were made famous by the pioneering work of Jane Goodall, who in 1960 founded a behavioural research program that now stands as the longest-running study of its kind in the world. The matriarch Fifi, the last surviving member of the original community, only three-years old when Goodall first set foot in Gombe, is still regularly seen by visitors.

The most visible of Gombe’s other mammals are also primates. A troop of beachcomber olive baboons, under study since the 1960s, is exceptionally habituated, while red-tailed and red colobus monkeys - the latter regularly hunted by chimps – stick to the forest canopy.

The park’s 200-odd bird species range from the iconic fish eagle to the jewel-like Peter’s twinspots that hop tamely around the visitors’ centre. After dusk, a dazzling night sky is complemented by the lanterns of hundreds of small wooden boats, bobbing on the lake like a sprawling city.

About Gombe Stream National Park
Size: 52 sq km (20 sq miles), Tanzania's smallest park.
Location: 16 km (10 miles) north of Kigoma on the shore of Lake Tanganyika in western Tanzania.

What to do
Chimpanzee trekking; hiking, swimming and snorkelling; visit the site of Henry Stanley's famous “Dr Livingstone I presume” at Ujiji near Kigoma, and watch the renowned dhow builders at work. .

When to go
The chimps don't roam as far in the wet season (February-June, November-mid December) so may be easier to find;
better picture opportunities in the dry (July-October and late December).

Situated on a stretch of golden sandy beach and overlooking the crystal clear waters of Lake Tanganyika the recently refurbished Kungwe Beach Lodge is the perfect blend of comfort and luxury in a romantic setting.

The light, airy and spacious tents are furnished in the traditional ‘safari’ style, with unbeatable sunsets over the mountains of Congo. In the gathering darkness fishermen’s lanterns light up across the lake, mirroring the stars above.

Candlelit dinners are served either on the beach or in our dining area, to the unique sounds of Africa - beetles, crickets and the night calls of chimpanzees, the perfect way to relax after a perfect day! As well as being famous for chimpanzee tracking, this part of Lake Tanganyika offers some of the best fresh water fishing in Tanzania. Here you can catch ‘Sangara’ (Nile Perch), ‘Kuhe’ (Yellow Belly) to name just a few.

So be it a strenuous chimpanzee trek, a scenic boat trip, an adventurous fishing excursion or just time spent relaxing on cushioned sun beds while listening to the lapping of the waves, your stay at Kungwe Beach Lodge will be a memorable experience to take away with you.

Situated on the shores of Lake Tanganyika, Gombe Forest Lodge has been designed with every comfort in mind, whilst minimizing the disturbance and impact on such a stunning environment.

The camp’s spacious tents, set on wooden platforms, are shaded by huge mango trees along the lakeshore, each tent featuring a writing desk and en-suite facilities with hot and cold running water. Chimpanzee trekking is generally conducted in the mornings, returning to camp for lunch. Afternoons are determined by how energetic you feel.

You can choose between further chimpanzee trekking, swimming in the crystal waters of the lake, fishing, snorkelling or just relaxing. For the more adventurous there are two spectacular waterfalls in the area, Kakombe, an easy thirty minute walk away from camp and Mkenke, a little further for the more energetic.