What Can You Do At Gombe National Park? Gombe national park is considered one of the smallest national parks in the country, which covers a total surface area of about 52 square kilometers. Gombe national park is located in the western region of Tanzania and it shares boarders with other countries like; the Democratic Republic of Congo in kigoma region which along the shores of Lake Tanganyika. This national park first gazette as a game reserve in 1943 and later established as a national park in 1968 and then it was open for tourism in 1978 ranking it as a good destination to travel to while on a chimpanzee habituation and trekking safaris in the country. More so, Gombe national park stands at an elevated area of an altitude between 2516 feet and 5269 feet above the sea level. Gombe national park is famously known and commonly visited because it hosts large population of chimpanzees however; it is also a home to many other wildlife species, which all act as top attractions in the park. and touring around this park gives you chances to engage into so many activities where they gain new experiences hence granting a successful safari and some of these include the following below;
Things to do at Gombe National Park.
Chimpanzee trekking is considered the popular activity in the park done by many people due to the fact this game park is known to be a home to over 100 chimpanzees. And chimpanzee trekking always involves individuals to walk on foot through different areas in the park with the main purpose of tracking where the chimpanzee groups are being located where they are always being accompanied by a park guide whose role is to lead through the trails and the fact that they are so familiar with the park it is so easy for them to trace where the species are located. However, tourists should note that only individuals who are above 15 years are accepted to go trekking because the behaviours of the young ones is unpredictable while in the presence of the chimps. Chimpanzee trekking always goes for about 2 to 3 hours depending on where the species are located and after they are found, tourists are given around one hour to spend with the chimpanzees and it is during this period of time when individuals get to learn about the behaviours and characteristics of the species such as; watch how they feed their young ones, how they eat, rest and play and many others.
And there are so many rules and regulations that tourists are encouraged to follow during the trekking and some of these include; avoid maintaining the direct eye contact with the chimps, do not eat and drink while in the presence of the chimpanzees and keep a distance of about 10 meters between themselves and the chimpanzees in order to get rid of any harm and many others. however, while tourists walk through through the park, they also get opportunities to see some of the primate species like; olive baboons, blue monkeys, red colobus monkeys, red tailed monkeys, vervet monkeys and many others.
Bird watching.
Gombe national park is also seen a birding destination due to the fact that it harbours several types of birds that tourists can see as they explore through the park such as; migratory birds, endemic birds, forest birds. In addition, birds are best spotted along the lakeshore and within the forests. Therefore, some of these birds include; peters twin spot, black swaw wing, African broadbill, palm nut vulture, African fish eagle, Ross turaco, red chested cuckoo, double toothed barbet, paradise flycatcher, crowned eagle, living stones turaco, rufous sparrow, tropical boubou, rufous sparrow and many others.
Game Viewing.
Apart from the chimpanzees, Gombe national park is also known to be a home to over 35 mammal species, which can are available in different areas of the park. In addition, to see these animals, tourists are advised to embark on to game drives because it is one of the best ways to go through different parts of the park in a short period compared to when individuals choose to walk which abit is tiring. In addition, some of the species include; bush pigs, reedbucks, bushbucks, hippos and many others.
There are so many activities that tourists exploring with in Gombe national Park can participate in and some of these include; snorkeling, sport fishing however they are encouraged to acquire their fishing permits, guided nature walks because they are so many trails which tourists can walk through such as; the Goodall foundations old feeding station trail among others and during these walks tourist get chances to capture classic views of the rift valley escarpments, plant species and beautiful landscapes. More so, those who have good swimming skills can go for swimming, boat cruises which are best done on Lake Tanganyika, community visits, cultural encounters, and many others.
Contact our trusted tour operators for more information about what is there to do in Gombe National park and Book with our tours and travel companies such as; Focus East Africa Tours who offer the best tour packages while on your safari in Tanzania.
