The weather condition in Gombe is generally warm or hot and also damp. Different from the game parks found in the northern part of the country, in Gombe the nights aren’t cold however it is comfortable throughout the entire year. The Daytime temperatures are approximately 26°C or 79°F and in the night it drops to about 16°C or 61°F. The overall altitude here greatly varies, from 767 meters to 1606 meters (or 2516 feet to 5269 feet). This results into variations in the overall climate inside the park. For each 1000 meters you climb, the Temperatures fall by nearly 6.5°C (or 3.5°F per 1000 feet). Fortunately the areas accessible to the tourists are mainly on lower altitudes.
The dry spell starts in May up to October. Different from the coastal areas as well as the national parks found in the northern part of Tanzania (which experience 2 wet seasons and a single dry season in-between), Gombe has a single continuous wet season that begins in November up to April. It hardly ever rains the entire day here, however you can expect some afternoon thundershowers.
Dry season (May to October)
May – this month marks the finish of the wet season however, it could rain for some time during this month.
June, July as well as August – the temperatures in the Afternoons are basically about 27°C or 81°F. The Skies are most of the days cloudless and the sun is brightly shining. It hardly ever rains in these months. The nights in June, July and August are the coldest however they remain moderate with minimum temperatures dropping as low as 15°C or 59°F on average.
September as well as October – these two month experience the highest temperatures in the entire year, however the difference from that in the other months is only by a couple of degrees. The month of October marks the finish of the dry spell. Rains can be expected any day, as the humidity slowly increases.
Wet season (November, December, January, February, March and April)
During these months it’s a bit cooler since it is the wet season, however the humidity is much higher and may feel harshly hot. In the Afternoon the temperatures are normally around 25°C or 77°F and at night they drop to about 17°C or 63°F. It usually rains almost every day but will barely rains the whole day. In the afternoon there are usually thunderstorms.
Gombe national park has various wild animals and The most prominent of all are the primates. You may come across species like olive baboons, which since the 1960s, are uniquely habituated, you will also see the red-tailed monkeys as well as the red colobus monkeys which are commonly hunted by chimpanzees and for which reason they normally stay up in the forests
This national park has about 200 unique species of birds that range from the fish eagles to the impressive Peter’s twinspots which hop peacefully hang around the guests’ centre.
After nightfall, an amazing night sky is harmonized by the hundreds of lanterns on the small wooden fishing boats, floating on the lake just as an expansive city.