Gombe is Africa's most famous chimp trekking destination. It was here, in the early 1960s, that the celebrated English primatologist Jane Goodall established a pioneering research and habituation project now cited as the world’s oldest ongoing study of wild animals. A relatively small park, Gombe supports roughly 100 chimps split between three different communities. It has a beautiful location on the forested eastern shore of Lake Tanganyika – the world’s longest, second deepest and reputedly least polluted major freshwater body – and is sufficiently isolated that it seldom gets busy.

Pros: If you want to see chimps hunting red colobus or other monkeys, Gombe is where you probably stand the best chance.

Gombe is an attractive option for independent travellers with plenty of time and a limited budget. Inexpensive lake-taxis run back and forth daily from the port of Kigoma, which is connected to Tanzania’s largest city Dar es Salaam by flights, trains and buses.

Cons: Because it is relatively small at 52 sq km, Gombe lacks the dramatic wilderness feel of its southerly near neighbour Mahale Mountains.