Mahale Mountains National Park

　　    Mahale Mountains National Park covers an area of 1,613 square kilometers and is located in western Tanzania, adjacent to Lake Tanganyika. Like the nearby Gombe Stream Mountains to its north, the Mahale mountain range is home to one of Africa’s last remaining wild chimpanzee populations, numbering around 800.

　　    Walking along the chimpanzee trails of the Mahale Mountains is an incredible experience. Guides are adept at spotting fresh nests built the previous night, half-eaten fruits on the ground, and freshly deposited droppings in the lush undergrowth—clues that lead hikers deeper into the forest, where butterflies flit through dappled sunlight. Suddenly, you may find yourself face to face with chimpanzees as they groom each other’s glossy fur, chatter noisily, or leap effortlessly through the trees, swinging on vines.

　　    Chimpanzees are certainly the main attraction, but the mountainsides are also home to a diverse array of forest wildlife, including troops of red colobus monkeys, red-tailed blue monkeys, and a variety of colorful forest birds. You can follow traditional routes used by the local Tongwe people to worship the mountain spirits, hiking into the montane rainforest zone—a habitat for Angola colobus monkeys. Then take a dip in the world’s longest, second-deepest, and least-polluted freshwater lake, whose water is incredibly clear and teems with about 1,000 species of fish, before returning by boat.

　　    Mahale Mountains National Park     Must-visit reason: One of Africa’s last remaining wild chimpanzee populations     Continent: Africa 【Africa】     Country/Region: Tanzania [Tanzania]     Province/State: Kigoma Region [Kigoma Region]