The walk
Kakombe is the waterfall in the valley of the same name at Gombe, and it is the park’s best-known walk after the chimpanzee trekking itself. TANAPA describes a cascade in a cool ravine, reached by a forest hike with butterflies and birds along the way.
TANAPA’s own park map puts Kakombe in the valley system immediately south of Kasekela, with Upper Kakombe on the ridge above it, and marks the fall with a waterfall symbol. The park carries over forty-five kilometres of trails in total, and the trails to the falls are steep and humid; TANAPA’s visitor guidance asks for sturdy footwear and sensible pacing. Gombe is small but it is not flat.
The height question
No Tanzanian authority publishes a height for Kakombe. The single number on any government surface is in TANAPA’s park brochure, which describes water gushing over craggy rocks in a twenty-five-foot plume into a pool. That phrasing describes a plume rather than a drop, and it is the only figure there is, so no height is stated here.
The honest expectation is a forest cascade in a shaded ravine rather than a major fall. The ravine and the walk to it are the point.
The second waterfall
A waterfall called Mkenke circulates alongside Kakombe, and it is widely reported as unconfirmed — Mkenke being, correctly, a valley name at Gombe.
TANAPA’s own park brochure contradicts that. Under scenic beauty it describes the water created by the Mkenke and Kakombe rivers gushing over craggy rocks, and states that a visit to the Kakombe and Mkenke waterfalls is a rewarding experience. That is a national authority naming both, in print, as two waterfalls fed by two rivers.
Against that, TANAPA’s park map carries a Kakombe label and a Nyasanga label at waterfall symbols, and no Mkenke label anywhere. So the position is: TANAPA’s brochure names a Mkenke waterfall and TANAPA’s map does not. Ask at Kasekela rather than assuming either way, and do not let anyone tell you the name is an invention.
When there is water
Flow is seasonal and the park’s own seasonal descriptions do not fully agree. TANAPA’s Gombe brochure describes a two-season pattern with short rains from November to December, long rains from March to May, and dry periods from late June to October and from January to early March. The national meteorological zoning applied in the park guide treats this part of Kigoma Region as having one long wet season instead. Either way the falls are fullest in the wet months and thinnest at the end of the long dry.
See the waterfall hiking guide for the walking, the forest walk guide for the ravine, and the bird watching guide for the 287 recorded species the walk passes through.
Common questions
How high is Kakombe Waterfall?
Not published. TANAPA’s brochure mentions a twenty-five-foot plume over craggy rocks, which describes the water rather than the drop, and it is the only government figure that exists.
Does Mkenke Waterfall exist?
TANAPA’s Gombe brochure names it explicitly and pairs it with Kakombe. TANAPA’s park map does not label it. Ask at the park rather than relying on either alone.
Can you do the falls and the chimpanzees in one day?
Many visitors do, since the park is small and Kakombe is close to Kasekela. Trekking length is unpredictable, so treat the walk as the afternoon option rather than a fixed slot.