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DESTINATIONS
Gombe Stream National Park
Places to Visit in the Park
 Kakombe Waterfall
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The Lake Shore
There is much to be seen near your hostel or camp on the shore. The woods and forest reach down to the beach, allowing you to see many species of birds, butterflies and other creatures. Baboons commonly forage on the beach, and you can spend hours watching their behavior. You can walk along the shore as far as you like.
The Lake
It is safe to swim in the lake, and if you have a face-mask, there are fascinating fish in abundance. Rocky shores and stream mouths are the best places to see them.
The Chimpanzee Feeding Station
If you are staying at Kasakela, you can walk with a guide for 10-15 minutes up the forested Kakombe valley to the feeding station. This is a clearing with a couple of huts, where a researcher is on duty all day, every day, recording details of all chimps he sees. Each individual chimp who visits the site is given a few bananas, at intervals of a week to ten days. So any chimp passing through the area tends to visit the feeding station and wait for a little while, in the hope of getting bananas.
This is therefore a good place to begin, if you are looking for chimps. The researcher on duty will know if any chimps are around. If there are none, you can wait, or you can continue to the waterfall.
Kakombe Waterfall
An easy trail continues up the valley from the feeding station, through beautiful forest. You may see forest monkeys and birds on the way. The trail ends at the foot of the waterfall, where the Kakombe stream tumbles about 20 meter down a rocky cliff. It is a refreshing place to visit on a hot day. From the feeding station to the waterfall and back takes about 30 minutes, but you should take more time than that. When you walk through a forest you see little; stop and wait, and then you will notice the little movements and subtle sounds that you miss if you hurry along.
Mitumba Valley
Follow the stream trail through beautiful forest, and you are almost certain to see colobus, redtail and blue monkeys. Mitumba is about 40 minutes' walk from Kasakela.
The Rift
There are several routes from the beach to the Rift, but all follow steep ridge trails and are only for the physically fit. As you climb you pass through different zones of vegetation, and the grassy Rift crest offers superb scenery. You should start early in the morning and expect to be out all day. Take precautions against sunburn, rain (in season), and dehydration.
Special Thanks to Thomson Safaris and Tanzania National Parks for contributing Tanzanian information.
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