Which Is The Smallest National Park In Tanzania? Gombe national park is known to be the smallest of the Tanzania’s national parks covering a total surface area of about 35 square kilometers and it is located in kigoma district of kigoma region. and it first gazette as a game reserve in 1943 and later it was was officially established in 1968 and it is situated in about 16 kilometers (10 miles) from the north of kigoma on the shores of lake Tanganyika within the western region of the country and it shares borders with other countries like; the Democratic Republic of Congo. Gombe national park stands at an elevated area of an altitude between 2516 meters and 5269 meters above the sea level. more so, Gombe national park is famously known and ranked as the best destination where tourists can visit when on a chimpanzee trekking in the country due to the fact that it is a home to large population of over 100 chimpanzee species. However, apart from the chimpanzees, there are more other tourist’s attractions, which lead many tourists to travel from different parts of the world and visit within the park and some of these, include below;

Tourist Attractions found in Gombe national park.

Birds.

Gombe national park is perfect destination for tourists who happen to be bird lovers to visit because it hosts a variety of bird species, which can be spotted in large numbers. In addition, there are several different types of birds, which can be found within this park such as; endemic birds, migratory birds and forest birds. Tourists can easily see these birds along the lake shores and within the forests and some of these birds to see include; crowned eagle, livingstone turaco, red chested cuckoo, double toothed barbet, paradise flycatcher, African fish eagle, Ross’s turaco, palm nut, African broadbill, rufous sparrow, black swaw wing, peters twins spot , tropical boubou and many others.

Chimpanzees.

Gombe national park is commonly visited because it is known for hosting large population of chimpanzees, which are considered to be among the top tourist’s attractions in the country. therefore, for individuals on a safari within this park can opt to participate in chimpanzee trekking activities which always involve them to  trek through different trails within the park within the main purpose of tracking where the chimpanzees are located and this always takes them about 2 to 3 hours. And trekkers are accompanied with park guides whose role is to lead the individuals through different trails due to the fact that they are well familiar with many areas in the park and they can easily track the species whereby they also apply in some skills such as; following the foot prints of the chimps, food left overs, areas with broken tree branches and many others.

However, after finding the species, tourists are encouraged to follow some rules such as; avoid eating and drinking while in the presence of the species, to keep a distance of about 10 meters between them and the chimpanzees in order to avoid any harm, to disable the use of flash lights in their phones and cameras when taking pictures and recording videos of the chimpanzees and many others.

Things to do in Gombe National park.

Exploring in Gombe National park gives tourists great opportunities to engage into many interesting activities where they learn new experiences and create remarkable memories hence marking a successful safari. And some of these things to do include; bird watching, guided nature walks which involves tourists to walk on foot in different areas in the park and they are always accompanied park guides and this also helps them to get close to nature. More so, tourists can also embark onto other activities like; wildlife viewing, sport fishing, community visits and cultural encounters where they get to interact with the local people and get to learn more about their traditions and cultures, boat cruises which are best done on Lake Tanganyika , snorkeling, chimpanzee trekking and many others.

Where to stay in Gombe National Park.

There are many accommodation facilities, which are always available for visitors to use, and they are categorized in different ranges such as; from budget, mid-range and luxury. In addition, some of these lodging facilities include; Gombe forest lodge, Gombe tented camp, Jane goodall rest house, Mbali mbali gombe lodge, gombe forest lodge, Mbuzui Mawe Serena camp, Kasekela public camp among others.