 Tanzania offers some of the best chimpanzee safaris in the whole of Africa. On the eastern shore of Lake Tanganyika there are two areas where these wonderful endangered animals are found - Mahale and Gombe. Chimpanzee safaris offer a rare level of intimacy - they are often within a few feet of you and individuals are easily recognised - which sets this experience apart from any other safari in Tanzania.
Chimpanzee tracking is quite unlike any of the more traditional elements of safari. Here you are on your feet throughout and in awe inspiring forest that contains many west African species and bares no resemblance to anything you will have encountered elsewhere in the country.
When you find the chimps you are often in close proximity to them (sometimes they pass within a few feet of you) and they more or less ignore you. Consequently you are in a remarkable position to observe the extraordinarily complex social interactions and behaviour of the chimpanzees.
In both Mahale Mountains National Park and Gombe, individual animals are well known and their characters and relationships well documented so there is a very high level of intimacy, which is very rare in game viewing of any kind. It is somewhat unexpected and fascinating. Finally there is a significant element of the behavioural repertoire, which is (at first) puzzlingly familiar - nose picking and various facial gestures particularly, which serve as a candid reminder of our own origins.
In Mahale, where the University of Kyoto has studied the animals ("M" Group) since the sixties, there has been none of the controversial human interaction that took place in Gombe. Finding the chimps is largely a matter of luck as they can theoretically be anywhere from the top of the 8000 ft mountains to the lakeshore at 2500 ft. However, the trackers at the camp know the animals well and are nearly always in touch with their movements from day to day.
The length of walk can vary enormously - they are sometimes literally at the back of the camp and other days they are nowhere to be seen - but on average you should expect to walk for at least 2-3 hours.
In the last few years, chimp sightings in Mahale have been excellent with only a very small number of people not finding the animals and generally the trackers will continue until they find the chimpanzees or until you have had enough.
Best place to stay Greystoke Camp
Read more about Mahale Mountains National Park
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