10-Day Western Circuit: Gombe, Mahale & Kigoma

Your adventure begins in Dar es Salaam. A member of the Gip Adventure team meets you at 07:00 at Julius Nyerere International Airport or at your hotel in the city and checks you in for your domestic flight west to Kigoma, on the shores of Lake Tanganyika.

At Kigoma Airport another member of our team is waiting to welcome you and drive you the short distance to your hotel in Kigoma, a relaxed retreat above the lake with private verandas, warm and lively staff and every modern comfort for the weary traveller.

Spend the rest of the day unwinding with sweeping views across Lake Tanganyika – the longest freshwater lake in the world and the deepest and oldest in Africa – before a hearty dinner and your first night in western Tanzania.

After a hearty breakfast at around 08:00, you set sail along the shore of Lake Tanganyika to Gombe Stream National Park, about 16 km north of Kigoma. Your lodge sits in the shade of ancient forest trees right on the lakeshore, offering complete privacy, a small library, professional staff and breathtaking views over the water.

Set between the lake and the rift escarpment that rises to 1,524 m, Gombe is one of Tanzania's smallest parks at only 56 km², yet it is famous the world over for its prolific primates – above all the chimpanzee, alongside red colobus, blue and red-tailed monkeys.

Spend the afternoon settling in, strolling along the lakeshore and listening to the forest come alive as the sun sinks over the water. All meals and overnight at your lodge in Gombe.

Today is devoted to the great apes. After breakfast you head into the forest with your ranger, following the trails up the steep valleys as the guide reads the calls and fresh signs that lead to a chimpanzee community. A full day's excursion gives you ample time to watch them grooming, feeding and swinging through the canopy.

Between sightings, look out for red colobus, blue and red-tailed monkeys and the rich birdlife of the forest edge. Return to the lodge for a swim in the clear waters of Lake Tanganyika and dinner as the evening settles over the lake.

A final full day in Gombe offers more chances to spend time with the chimpanzees, combined with some of the park's other highlights. Hike to the Kakombe Waterfall, tumbling through the forest, and climb to Jane's Peak for sweeping views over the forest canopy and the lake beyond.

Later, there is time for fishing, lakeshore walks, birdwatching or simply swimming from the beach in front of the lodge. Dinner and overnight at your lodge in Gombe.

After breakfast at around 08:00, you transfer south along Lake Tanganyika to Mahale Mountains National Park. Mahale Mountains National Park lies 100 km south of Kigoma, running for 50 km along the shore of Lake Tanganyika. Its 50 km ridge is one of the largest mountain chains in western Tanzania, crowned by Mount Nkungwe at 2,462 m, and its forested slopes are home to some 800 wild chimpanzees, habituated to visitors through a Japanese research project founded in the 1960s.

Your luxurious lodge is ideally positioned on the beach beside the Mahale forest, with breathtaking views over the clear waters of the lake. Enjoy a sundowner around a crackling fire or a candlelit barbecue on the sand, and fall asleep to the chirp of crickets and the distant calls of the chimpanzees. All meals and overnight in Mahale.

Rise early for a day of chimpanzee tracking in Mahale, one of the finest places in Africa to encounter our closest living relatives in the wild. Your ranger leads you up forested slopes in search of the community, and when you find them you may watch them preening one another, squabbling noisily or moving through the trees above you.

Back at the lodge, cool off with a swim along the pristine beaches of Lake Tanganyika, try your hand at fishing or simply relax on the sand. Dinner and overnight in Mahale.

Mahale's six prominent peaks, the highest being Nkungwe at 2,462 m, offer superb hiking. Today you can choose to climb towards the summit ridge, go birdwatching along the forest edge, visit the sacred sites of the Tongwe people or track the chimpanzees once more. The client itinerary also suggests a visit to the Kalambo Falls, described as Africa's second-highest waterfall.

The afternoon is free for camping-style relaxation on the beach, swimming in the clear lake or a last sundowner as the sun sets behind the mountains of the Congo. Dinner and overnight in Mahale.

After breakfast at around 08:00, you leave Mahale and transfer back north to Kigoma, watching the forested shoreline of Lake Tanganyika slip by.

Check in to your hotel in Kigoma and spend the rest of the day at leisure, relaxing on your veranda with views across the lake. All meals and overnight in Kigoma.

Today is dedicated to excursions around Kigoma and Ujiji, the oldest historic town in the region. Ujiji, 10 km south of Kigoma and the oldest town in the region, is where, on 28 October 1871, Henry Morton Stanley found Dr David Livingstone during the search for the source of the Nile and reputedly uttered the immortal words, "Dr Livingstone, I presume?"

Visit the memorial at the meeting site, wander through the town's old streets and its busy lakeside, and learn about Ujiji's long history as a trading post on the routes between the lake and the coast. Return to your hotel for a final dinner by Lake Tanganyika.

After a hearty breakfast at around 08:00, you are transferred to Kigoma airstrip for your domestic flight to Dar es Salaam or Arusha, where you connect with your international flight home.

This itinerary can easily be extended into Tanzania's northern or southern circuits, or to the beaches of Zanzibar – just let us know.