The other sanctuary of the chimpanzee, Mahale Mountains National Park, is only reached by charter flight or by boat from Kigoma. Covering an area of approximately 1,600 sq km, the park’s western boundary is the shore of Lake Tanganyika.
The chimpanzee population is estimated at around 1,000 and may be observed in their natural habitat in groups of up to 30. Yellow baboons, red colobus, red tailed and Vervet monkeys also live in the park and are commonly seen as are bush-babies, bush-pigs, bushbuck, blue duiker, civet, hyrax and white-tailed mongoose. Buffalo, Elephants, Giraffe, Leopard, Lion, Porcupine and other various types of antelope are also present but will prove more difficult to find. Lake Tanganyika is also home to more than 250 species of fish.
Getting there:
Between a four and a nine-hour boat trip, depending on the boat, from Kigoma. Or a two-hour flight from Arusha or Dar es Salaam.