The forested escarpments above Lake Tanganyika host two of the most celebrated chimpanzee parks in Africa. Mahale Mountains National Park — considered by many the most beautiful primate destination on the continent, with rainforest-clad mountains rising directly from white-sand lakeshore beaches — is home to the 75-strong Mimikere community, habituated by Japanese researchers since the 1960s. Gombe Stream National Park, 160 km to the north, is where Jane Goodall began her pioneering chimp research in 1960, now the longest-running wild animal study in history; around 100 chimpanzees live in its compact forest. Both require flights from Dar es Salaam or Kigoma and are best visited in the dry season (July-October).
