In Search of the Chimpanzee in the African Jungle

The Mahale Mountains Park and Gombe Stream are a mixture of grass, woodlands and forest, although it is mostly forest with the majority of its mammals being primates. These forests are lush and green rising up to 15,000 meters above the waters of Lake Tanganyika.With over twenty years of research, the chimpanzees have become habituated to humans.

However, this does not make it easy to find them. Trekking through the forest, which can be quite dense, with steep and often slippery sloping terrain, can be strenuous, dirty work. It is well worth it though to get to see the chimpanzee in their natural habitat. You must expect to walk for three or four hours per day in search of the these primates.

Lake Tanganyika is in the remote west of Tanzania. Getting there is not easy and flying is by far the best option. There is a rail link but it can sometimes take days and is not reliable at all and not really recommended for tourists. From Kigoma there are no roads into Gombe and to hire a boat is the only way to get to Gombe.The camps in this area tend to be small and are often [charmingly] rustic and eco-friendly. The lake, unusually for Africa, has no crocodiles and many traveler swim in the clear waters.

Sunset cruisers and tourists go hand in hand and this destination is no exception. A sunset cruise here is especially enjoyable as the sunsets over the Lake and Eastern Zaire spectacular.As this park is remote and as the Government is anxious to keep tourism to a minimum, [so park fees are high] getting here and into the forests to spend time with the chimpanzees is expensive but you are in the wilds of Africa.[primates in this small park which was created especially for the thousands of chimpanzee are: chimpanzees, yellow baboon, Sykes monkeys, red tailed, savannah, colobus monkeys and 2 species of galago] The bird life is also spectacular as are the fish with over 90 species in the lake making snorkeling a safari in itself.The Tanzanian Tourist Board recommend visiting here between May and October.

uk go into the Patmos Community Initiative, which is a Non-Governmental Organization in Northern Tanzania - no. 11778. We are currently building a nursery school in Sokon One - Arusha.

We offer and encourage voluntary positions vacations to our charitable projects. Swahili Language courses are available twice per year, in March and in November.

By: Ian Williamson