 With an area of only 52km2, Gombe Stream is Tanzania's smallest national park. It is also the site of the longest-running study of any wild animal population in the world and, for those interested in primates, a fascinating place.
The Gombe Stream area was gazetted as a game reserve in 1943. In 1960, the British researcher, Jane Goodall, arrived to begin a study of wild chimpanzees, and in 1968 Gombe was designated as a national park. Goodall's study is now in its fourth decade.
There are approximately 150 chimps in Gombe. They are well habituated, and you can sometimes get to within 5m of them. In addition to observing the chimps, visitors can swim in the lake or hike in Gombe's forest. Other animals you may see in the park include colobus and vervet monkey, bushbuck, baboon, bushpig, and a variety of birdlife.
Gombe Stream is located on the eastern shore of Lake Tanganyika, about 20km north of Kigoma.
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