Where to interact with Chimpanzees in Uganda : Uganda the pearl of Africa is the best destination for tracking chimpanzees in Africa whereby this point is emphasized by letting you know that the country harbours over a total number of 4950 chimpanzees. Chimpanzee trekking is a fascinating activity, which tourists who come to Uganda for safari should never miss out this experience.
Chimpanzee trekking is known to be among the most famous activities done Uganda and this activity takes about 3 hours but tourists are always given one hour to interact with the chimpanzee groups once allocated and they advised to keep a distance of 8-10 meters between them and the animals. During this activity, members are always put in small groups with a maximum number of six people and they are given a well-trained Uganda Wildlife Authority interpretive Ranger that leads them through the parks.
There are three good spots where one can for chimpanzee trekking in Uganda and these include; Budongo forest reserve in Murchison falls National park, Kyambura George in Queen Elizabeth National park, Kibale National park but there also other places like; Kalenzu forest, Toro-semliki wildlife reserve. However, among these places, Kibale forest has the highest population of over 1500 chimpanzees that live in this park alone marking it as the best destination for chimpanzee trekking in the country, Where to interact with Chimpanzees in Uganda.
Tourists who travel to Uganda for chimpanzee trekking safari they can an opportunity to combine it with other activities like; tracking the chimpanzee footprints, locating the nests that the chimpanzees made which makes it easy for them to locate the chimpanzee groups/ families, Hiking through the forests.
Where can one go to Interact with a Chimpanzee in Uganda?
Kibale National Park.
Kibale National park is situated in Kabarole district in the southwestern part of Uganda and it is located near the biggest fort portal. The main attractions of this park are chimpanzees. Kibale National park is a home to over 1500 chimpanzees, which offer tourists who visit in this park to engage in Chimpanzee trekking and Chimpanzee Habituation experiences.
Chimpanzee trekking activities in Kibale National Park begin from Kanyanchu visitor centre, which start at 8am in the morning and 2pm in the afternoon. Tourists are always advised to arrive an hour before for a small briefing and a registration process. After the briefing, they are placed in groups of 6 members each group and given a Uganda Wildlife Authority guide or ranger will lead through while trekking. Tourists are always asked to present their passport identification cards or the National Ids before going for the trekking.
In Kibale forest, chimpanzee trekking activity takes about 2-5 hours and after the tourists have found a group of chimpanzees, they are given one hour to interact with and during period, they learn about the chimpanzees social behaviours and characters as these animals always tend to be free and friendly to humans, they watch how they feed and breastfeed their young ones. However, visitors are advised to keep a distance of 8-10 meters during their social hour with the chimpanzees and this activity is available for only individuals who are above 16 years of age, Where to interact with Chimpanzees in Uganda.
A chimpanzee trekking permit in Kibale national park costs 120 USD person for the foreign non-residents as the foreign residents pay 110 USD and the East African citizens pay a fee of 80 USD per person. The advantage about this fee is that it covers other charges like the entry fees and the Uganda Wildlife Authority guides but tourists who need services of a porter will be encouraged to pay an extra fee.
Kyambura George in Queen Elizabeth National Park.
Kyambura George is situated in a valley within Queen Elizabeth National Park and it is the best spot where people can track chimpanzees while on their safari to this park. Tourists who want to go for chimpanzee trekking in Kyambura George are advised to first acquire a permit, which costs 50 USD per person for both foreign residents, and non-residents and the East African tourists pay 30,000 UGX per Person.
Chimpanzee trekking activities in Queen Elizabeth national park takes about 1-3 hours and tourists can choose to go for trekking in either the morning or evening. This activity always begins at 8am in the morning and 2pm in the afternoon. Chimpanzee trekking is an adventurous, thrilling and educative because it involves teaching the tourists the ecosystems in Kyambura George such as; its vegetation, bird species, monkey species, primate species, rainforest, and its islands especially the punishment island where women who got pregnant before marriage were abandoned there to starve and die.
Budongo forest in Murchison Falls National Park.
Budongo forest is known as the third best place in Uganda where tourists can go for chimpanzee trekking activity. This forest is located wit in Murchison Falls National Park and it takes travelers about 3 hours and 825 square kilometers from Kampala city to reach the park.
Budongo forest is a good place for chimpanzee trekking because it is a home of over 800 chimpanzees and chimpanzee trekking activity are done in two sessions, the morning session, which begins at 7am in the morning and 2 pm in the afternoon. However, the best time to visit Murchison falls national park foe chimpanzee trekking is during the rainy season in the months of May to August because during the dry seasons it is always hard to track these chimpanzees because during dry season they always tend to move deep in the forests to look for the scarce food and water.
Chimpanzee trekking permit in Budongo forest which is within Murchison falls national park costs 80 USD per person and there is Chimpanzee Habituation in the forest, which costs 160 USD per person. In addition, the tourists are advised to acquire the permits at least 6 months in advance to avoid any inconveniences. More so tourists in this park also get an opportunity to see other beautiful attractions that exist within the park and these include; bird species, unique tree species and the butterfly species, Where to interact with Chimpanzees in Uganda.
Kalenzu Central forest reserve.
Kalenzu central forest reserve is located just one hour away from Queen Elizabeth National Park and this makes it easy for tourists who are visiting Queen Elizabeth National park on a wildlife safari to easily be connected to the forest.
Chimpanzee trekking permit in Kalenzu forest is cheap according the permits in Queen Elizabeth national park or kibale national park. This permit is charged at a fee of 30 USD per person excluding the entry fees. In addition, tourists visiting Kalenzu forest can opt to book their accommodation facilities since there are no any accommodation facilities found in Kalenzu forest, Where to interact with Chimpanzees in Uganda.
Toro- semliki wildlife reserve.
Toro-semliki reserve was established in 1926 as a game reserve, it covers a total surface are of 542 square kilometers, and it is located near the border between Uganda and the Democtaric Republic of Congo.
Toro-semliki wildlife reserve harbors over 260 and this Chimpanzee trekking activity always takes about 3-4 hours however, tourists tracking chimpanzees also get a chance to sight see other wildlife animals like, baboons, black and white colobus monkeys, red-tailed monkeys , buffaloes, waterbucks and elephants.
Chimpanzee trekking permit in Toro-semiliki wildlife reserve cost 30 USD per person for both foreign residents and non-residents and the East African citizens a charged a fee of 20,000UGX per person. The advantage of this fee is that it covers the nature walk fee, the Uganda Wild Authority guides and ranger’s fees but excludes the entrance fees.
Therefore, Tourists with an interest to go for chimpanzee trekking safari in Uganda the Pearl of Africa can come and visit all the above-mentioned places. Book with our trusted tour operator companies such as Achieve Global Safari or Explore Rwanda Tours for the best offers or inquires about where to go for chimpanzee trekking tour in Uganda.
