Mbali Mbali Gombe Lodge formerly Gombe Forest Lodge is the only lodge operating within Gombe Stream National Park, the smallest of Tanzania’s national parks and one of the most significant wildlife research sites on Earth. The park’s chimpanzee population, the Kasekela community, was made world-famous by the pioneering fieldwork of Dr Jane Goodall, who began her studies here in the 1960s in what now stands as the longest-running wildlife behaviour study in history. A stay at Mbali Mbali Gombe Lodge offers the extraordinary privilege of trekking with these habituated chimpanzees each day, spending time alongside our closest living relatives in the ancient montane forest that clings to the steep slopes above Lake Tanganyika’s shores.
Seven forest tents are named after individual chimpanzees known to the Jane Goodall Institute’s researchers. Each tent sits on a raised wooden platform beneath mango groves on the lakeshore, with an en-suite bathroom, mosquito nets, tea and coffee making facilities, and a private balcony with views over the lake. The small and intimate reception building on stilts over the beach houses a bar, lounge, library, and dining room. Beyond the daily chimpanzee trek, activities include kayaking, boat safaris, forest walks, birdwatching, swimming and fishing in Lake Tanganyika, and visits to the neighbouring Mwamgongo fishing village.
Seven forest tents (1 double / king, 6 twins) on raised platforms under mango trees on the Lake Tanganyika shore, each named for a chimpanzee from the research community. En-suite shower rooms, private balconies, solar power.
Gombe Stream National Park is accessible only by boat there are no roads into the park. The standard route is to fly from Arusha or Dar es Salaam to Kigoma Airport (daily commercial flights from Dar es Salaam, approximately 3 hours), transfer to Kigoma Hilltop Hotel’s private beach on Lake Tanganyika, then travel by dhow boat to the lodge approximately 90 minutes along the lakeshore. For guests with a minimum booking of 2 nights and 4 full-paying guests, complimentary return boat and airport transfers are included.
Note: The lodge is closed March to May each year. Minimum chimp trekking age is 15 years as per Tanzania National Parks regulations.
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