Where to do a chimpanzee trekking safari in Uganda?
Kibale National Park
Kibale National Park is Uganda’s primary chimpanzee trekking destination, with about 1500 chimpanzees living. You need to book a Kibale chimpanzee trekking permit from the Uganda Wildlife Authority for the morning or afternoon session.
Chimpanzee habituation experience is available in Kibale National Park, where a maximum of 4 tourists accompany a team of researchers to follow a semi-habituated chimpanzee community for four hours.
More than 13 primate species are residents of Kibale National Par,k that i,s bush babies, grey-cheeked mangabey, blue monkeys, black and white colobus, L’hoest’,s and others.
The current chimpanzee trekking permit cost for Kibale National Park is $300 for international nonresidents, $250 for foreign residents, and 180000shs for East Africans.
Kyambura Gorge in Queen Elizabeth National Park
Living in about 100 meters of the forested gorge on the floor of the Albertine Rift Valley is Kyambura Gorge. The chimpanzee community in this forested part of Queen Elizabeth National Park can be trekked by hiking on the slopes of the escarpments along the gorge. The Kyambura Gorge results from the erosion of River Kyambura as it makes its way towards the Kazinga channel.
You can book the morning or afternoon chimpanzee trekking sessions at Kyambura Gorge. You must secure a chimpanzee trekking permit for Kyambura Gorge from the Uganda Wildlife Authority.
The current Kyambura Gorge chimpanzee permit costs $100 for international nonresidents, $80 for foreign residents, and 50,000 ugx East Africans.
Kaniyo Pabidi Forest in Murchison Falls National Park
From the Kicumbanyombo game of Murchison Falls National Park, you drive 8 kilometers to Kaniyo Pabidi forest, the home of chimpanzees. This forest part of this park has fully grown mahogany trees, one of Uganda’s few fully grown species.
This forest hosts other primates like the black and white colobus, olive baboons, and vervet monkeys.
Kalinzu Forest Reserve in Queen Elizabeth National Park
On the outskirts of Queen Elizabeth National Park is Kaniyo Pabidi forest, where a community of Chimpanzees mainly used for research purposes live. The Kalinzu forest reserve can be opened to the public during times of scarcity, especially during the peak seasons when chimpanzee permits are scarce.
Ngamba Island chimpanzee sanctuary
Ngamba Island in Koome Island of Lake Victoria gives a second home to abandoned, rescued, and hard-to-return chimpanzees to their community. You can sail to this island in the morning, where you may get to help feed the chimpanzees from the feeding platform. Enjoy the cool scenery around the beach and the cool breeze off the freshwater of Lake Victoria.
