Chimpanzee Tracking in Uganda- Primate Safaris Uganda.

Chimpanzees are man’s closest relatives sharing about 98.7% of the DNA with man. They adapt to their environments over time developing tools for survival much like humans. You can spend an hour with these creatures in their natural habitat by visiting one of the areas where the trekking happens in Uganda. You will be able to follow them with your ranger guide to get great pictures and learn more about the chimps.

Where in Uganda you can go chimp trekking?

There are several places where you can trek to see chimpanzees in Uganda. The most popular places are Kibale Forest and Kyambura Gorge. Both of these areas have groups of habituated chimpanzees. You can also go chimp trekking in Budongo Forest.

Kibale national park

Kibale National Park is located in western Uganda and is one of the most popular chimp trekking sites in the country with roughly 1500 chimps. This park is famously named the “Primate Capital” since it is home to 13 primate species such as chimps, grey-cheeked Mangabeys, olive baboons, red-tailed monkeys, L’Hoest’s monkeys, black and white colobus monkeys, blue monkeys, bush infants, and pottos. Chimpanzee trekking in Kibale National Park has two sessions: one at 8:00 a.m. and one at 3:00 p.m.

Chimpanzee trekking in Uganda’s Kibale National Park begins with training at the Kanyanchu Information Centre, following which tourists are divided into groups of six to hike each habituated chimp family. Following the briefing, you will begin hiking in the forest with a park guide who will show you the chimp routes to follow and share facts on the endangered chimps. Trekking in the forest takes around 2 to 3 hours, and after the chimps are located, you will be able to spend one hour with them in their natural environment shooting photographs, capturing the moments, and learning more about their lifestyle, customs, and mannerisms, among other things.

Visitors who wish to spend more time with the chimps can take advantage of Kibale National Park’s chimp habituation experience. Chimpanzee habituation is the process by which chimps are educated to get accustomed to human presence. The procedure is carried out by a team of researchers, guides, and trackers, among others.

Kyambura Gorge

Located in a valley within the Queen Elizabeth National Park, the Kyambura gorge is a convenient place to spot chimpanzee while on a safari to Queen Elizabeth National Park. The gorge is 16km long and about 100 meters deep with a thick underground forest. The Kyambura Gorge is famous for its large concentration of primates like Baboons, red-tailed monkeys, vervet monkeys and colobus monkeys. The population of chimpanzees here is quite small at about 30 but chimp trekking in Kyambura Gorge has two advantages.

Kalinzu Forest

Kalinzu is a natural forest reserve in western Uganda’s Bushenyi district, between the Maramagambo forest and the Queen Elizabeth National Park. The forest reserve is also home to chimps, which may be observed in the morning or afternoon by following woodland paths. Chimpanzee trekking in Kalinzu woodland takes around 2 to 3 hours, and once you’ve spotted the chimps, you’ll spend an hour with them in their natural habitat.

Murchison Falls National Park

Murchison Falls National Park is a home to numerous forests and these are the Budongo forest, the Kaniyo Pabidi and the Rabongo forest where the chimpanzee trekking takes place. These three forests have over 600 chimpanzees making Murchison a good destination for chimpanzee trekking.

The Rabongo forest, this is also a forest found within the Murchison and where trekking is carried out. There are no clear trek routes but with the help of a tour guide, you will be able to set out within the forest in search of the chimpanzees which when found, you will get an hour with them. The Rabongo forest however has fewer chimpanzee families as compared to the Budongo forest.

Budongo forest, Budongo forest is a top destination for chimpanzee trekking and has a large number of primates. With the help of a tour guide, trekking will be easy and you get to see other primates like monkeys, the olive baboons, and red-tailed monkeys, and do birding among other activities.

Kaniyo Pabidi forest, a home to chimpanzees, a wide range of bird species, insects, and other primates, the forest is one of the few in the country that has remained in its natural state without any tampering from humans.

Toro-Semuliki Wildlife Reserve

This protected wildlife reserve lies near the western border of Uganda with the D.R. Congo. The forest has a modest population of about 250 Chimps divided between three communities. The Chimps are under research by a group from the Indiana University but are still available for Chimpanzee tracking. The Chimps of Toro-Semuliki can provide an alternative or supplement to the nearby Chimps of Kibale Forest National Park. The Chimps here tend to move into the savanna habitat (in search of food) which is an interesting aspect about them as they will try to move upright in a humanely way.

What is chimpanzee habituation?

When they sense your intrusion, non-habituated chimps would have disappeared into the forest jungle long before you could see them. The habituation process, which takes at least six years, carefully reassures the chimps that humans do not pose a threat. So you will be helping out the researchers in habituating the chimps to accept humans as friends, not foes.

The Chimpanzee Habituation Experience (CHEX), considerably a much entertaining excursion, occurs in Kibale National Park for a permit cost of 300USD. Ugandans & East Africans pay a discounted pass of 300,000 Uganda Shillings, and Budongo Forest offers the same experience at 230USD per person.

Usually, about eight trekkers will join the scientists and guides from the Visitor center at dawn and head into the rain forest. They have to reach the night’s nests before the chimps are up and about. Then, the hikers will try to keep up with the hyper-active bunch all day until the chimps retire for the night. The Chimpanzee Habituation Experience in Uganda is recommended for primate nuts. If you want to see chimps on an easier escapade, choose the chimpanzee trekking excursion that takes half a day.

When to go for chimpanzee tracking in Uganda?

Although chimpanzee safaris are available year-round, the best time for chimpanzee trekking in Uganda is during the region’s two dry seasons: January and February and June to September. There are fewer rains during the dry season, the trails are dry and more comfortable to navigate, and sporadic downpours.

However, note that the dry season is the peak (high) travel period for the region; availability of good accommodation could be scarce and expensive.