Chimpanzee sitting in the forest canopy. The remote Mahale Mountains, located on a bulge along the eastern shores of Lake Tanganyika, rise spectacularly 8,069 feet. The mountain slopes are covered with rainforest, where many trees show a closer affinity to West African species than to those of East Africa. Protected as a national park since 1980, the mountains are home to one of the most important wild chimpanzee populations left in Africa.