Dr Jane Goodall’s Legacy and Chimpanzee Trek in East Africa: Dr. Jane Goodall, the famous primatologist, conservationist, and humanitarian, died at age 91 on October 1, 2025. The world is still mourning her remarkable life and contributions. Her pioneering study of chimpanzees in Tanzania, along with her extensive advocacy for wildlife and communities all around the world, is forever echoed by the enchantment of chimpanzee trekking in East Africa. Today’s explorers on Uganda safaris and Tanzania safaris tread that very path.
Who Was Dr Jane Goodall?
Jane Goodall was born in London in 1934 and had an early and continuing fascination with animals. In the late 1950s, she travelled to East Africa and met the anthropologist Louis Leakey, who invited her to study chimpanzees. While Jane did not have any scientific training, she had a tremendous degree of patience and curiosity and began her research at Gombe Stream National Park in Tanzania.
Goodall’s findings would alter science for good. Her research demonstrated that chimpanzees can make and use tools – this was previously thought to be a conscious line demarcating humans from the rest of the animal kingdom. Goodall dispelled the myth that chimpanzees are like apes; she showed us their robust emotional lives, the bond between mothers and infants, the playfulness of youngsters, and the social politics of adult male behaviour. Goodall also showed the darker side of chimp behaviour, aggression, and rivalry – meaning that chimpanzees are complex beings that contain the light and shadow that we all do.
In addition to her research, Goodall became an unwavering conservationist, spreading conservation education, community engagement, and youth programming throughout the world through the Jane Goodall Institute and her Roots & Shoots program. She reminded humans that we are all connected to chimpanzees, forests, and, of course, one another.
Goodall passed at age 91, a moment that resonates with the world to think back. However, much of her legacy will continue to exist in every walk through forests, every conservation project, and every traveller who ventures out to see chimpanzees in the wild on safaris throughout East Africa.
Chimpanzee Trekking in East Africa
Jane Goodall’s name will always be associated with chimpanzees, and East Africa will always be the epicentre of chimpanzee trekking. Both Uganda and Tanzania are still on the list for the best places in the whole world to see chimpanzees in the wild.
Chimp trekking is itself an experience that combines science, conservation, and tourism. It’s not merely about seeing chimps; it’s an opportunity to enter their world, observe chimps eating, playing, grooming, etc. It is the opportunity to appreciate them as intelligent, emotional beings, the way Jane Goodall has always implored us to see them.
Uganda: The Primate Capital of the World
Due to its impressive range of primates and large populations of chimpanzees, Uganda has been dubbed the “Primate Capital of the World.” For many travellers contemplating Uganda safaris, chimpanzee trekking will be a highlight familial along with gorilla trekking.
Kibale Forest National Park
The prized Uganda gorilla trekking location, Kibale Forest, provides more than 1,500 chimpanzees. This location boasts one of the highest success rates for sightings of chimpanzees while trekking, and oftentimes visitors are able to witness engaging behaviours like tool use and social play. Kibale is home to 13 other species of primates for the primate enthusiast.
Budongo Forest near Murchison Falls National Park
Budongo Forest, next to Murchison Falls National Park, is a rainforest that provides visitors with an opportunity to enjoy both chimpanzee trekking and habituation experiences. Treks often occur in the early mornings when the chimps are the most active.
Kalinzu Forest Reserve
Kalinzu is located near Queen Elizabeth National Park and offers the chance to trek with chimpanzees, and, more importantly, there is a high likelihood of viewing them. Additionally, if someone enjoys birdwatching, this is a great option for multi-interest safari experiences.
Kyambura Gorge
This fantastic gorge, sometimes referred to as the Valley of the Apes, provides a distinctive chimp trekking experience. Although chimps are relatively less reliable in viewing here than in Kibale, the merits of the gorge and the surrounding beauty merit the trek; forests and gorges in the heart of the savanna land are stunning.
Semliki National Park
This wonderful reserve, Semliki, is often overlooked but offers a mix of savanna and forest where chimps inhabit their native habitats. If someone is looking for an opportunity to trek with chimpanzees that is not touristy and more off-the-beaten-track, then this is a destination worth looking at.
Tanzania: Following Goodall’s Footsteps
For those wanting to pay homage to the legacy of Jane Goodall, Tanzania safaris do not have a rival. Gombe Stream National Park, where she embarked on her journey in 1960, still exists as a laboratory in nature, as well as a pilgrimage for those who love nature.
Gombe Stream National Park
This remote park on the southern shores of Lake Tanganyika is where Goodall conducted her studies with chimpanzees. Trekking here feels intimate and profoundly emotional; you will literally be retracing the same path she walked at a time in history when she made her remarkable observations of chimpanzee tool use and social life.
Mahale Mountains National Park
Another treasure in Tanzania, Mahale is a lovely park on the shore of Lake Tanganyika. It combines chimp trekking with spectacular views of the lake and provides some of the best encounters with wild chimpanzees in Africa.
For many, combining Uganda safaris with Tanzania safaris is the ultimate primate adventure in East Africa, with the legacy of Goodall and the biodiversity of Uganda’s rainforests.
What to Expect on a Chimpanzee Trek
Chimpanzee trekking in East Africa is operated in a highly structured fashion that protects both visitors and the primates.
- Treks are typically initiated with a briefing in the early morning hours.
- Small groups, usually 6–8 people maximum, are utilised for less disturbance to wildlife.
- Depending on how far the chimps may have moved, trekking will last anywhere from 2 to 5 hours.
- Once the chimps are located, you are permitted to observe their behaviour for around an hour.
- In Uganda and Tanzania, you will have the opportunity to encounter another Kafkaesque habituation – longer durations of observing them.
The first time you gaze at a chimpanzee or observe a baby cling to its mother, you immediately feel the wordless bond. This is the bond that Jane Goodall dedicated her life to relaying to the world.
Goodall’s Influence on Tourism and Conservation
The work of Jane Goodall has had a lasting influence on primate tourism throughout East Africa.
Welfare: Guidelines for tourism have addressed group size, short time frame, and safe effects on wildlife, scenarios born directly from her respect for the welfare of chimpanzees.
Community Benefits: Jane Goodall also taught that conservation must include local people in Uganda and Tanzania, where much of the revenue from chimp trekking goes to support nearby villages for schools, healthcare, and jobs.
Education: Trekking is not simply about watching wildlife; it’s a learning expedition, where travellers understand the challenges chimpanzees are experiencing due to habitat loss, disease and poaching, and find out how the traveller can enrich the process of conservation.
Practical Travel Tips
If you are a traveller looking to follow in Jane Goodall’s footsteps and include chimp trekking as part of your East Africa safaris, these are a few valuable tips to consider:
- Purchase your trekking permits well in advance, especially for Kibale and Gombe.
- Travel with excellent tour operators that care about wildlife and nature conservation.
- When preparing for a trekking experience, pack necessary items like hiking boots, rain jackets, insect repellent, binoculars, and water.
- Be prepared for whatever conditions you find yourself in. Forests can be muddy and humid, and can also produce some surprises!
- Last but not least, be respectful of the often-cited rules and guidelines – keep your distance, do not use flash photography even if your guide suggests it, and don’t try the trekking experience if you are not feeling well.
Reflecting on Dr Jane Goodall’s Passing
The world feels the loss of Jane Goodall. In every forest where chimpanzees wander free, her voice and visions are still present. When visitors step into Kibale’s great canopy or walk along the shores of Gombe, they recognise and honour Jane Goodall. Every initiative for wildlife conservation and every community initiative related to safari preserves builds upon her belief that people and wildlife can coexist and thrive together.
For Uganda safaris and Tanzania safaris, her impact is apparent everywhere. She changed how we think about chimpanzees, not as subjects of research and not as a vacation photo opportunity, but as fellow travellers in the circle of life.
Conclusion
Although Dr. Jane Goodall is no longer with us, her story and legacy remain alive and well in the forests of East Africa. Her original research at the Gombe Stream made history in the scientific community, her advocacy transformed conservation, and her kindness and empathy inspired generations.
Nowadays, maybe far more than yet another safari trip in Uganda and Tanzania, it’s wholly meaningful. It allows travellers to connect with one of our closest relatives in their natural habitat and to follow in the footsteps of a woman who devoted her life’s work to them.
When you take an East Africa safari that includes chimpanzee trekking, it’s more than a journey-you are continuing Jane Goodall’s legacy through empathy and respect for the creatures and their habitat, as well as for the future of all creatures great and small.
