Chimpanzee Tracking is one of the main attractions for many tourists to Uganda. It involves moving through the jungle in search of the chimpanzees who are always swinging from one branch to the next, much like gorilla trekking. Each group gets to spend an hour with the chimpanzees before heading back to the camp, regardless of how long the trek takes.
There are groups of chimpanzees you may trek with at a number of Ugandan chimpanzee spots. The Kibale Forest National Park is the primary location for chimpanzee trekking; other locations include the Budongo Forest in the Murchison Falls National Park, the Kyambura Gorge in the Queen Elizabeth National Park, the Semuliki Wildlife Reserve, and the Kalinzu Forest in Busenyi. Chimpanzee Trekking begins very early in the morning, with tour guides announcing the laws and regulations that travelers must abide by. You may witness a range of bird species, red-tailed monkeys, black and white colobus monkeys, and other primates and fauna while trekking.
Chimpanzee Tracking Permit
The Chimpanzee Tracking Permit is the legal document that will allow you to see the chimpanzees. They are handled by the Uganda Wildlife Authority and remain the property of the Republic of Uganda even after they have been granted to you. Like the permit for gorilla trekking, these permits are only valid from the day they are printed, a limited number are issued each day. Reducing human-chimpanzee contact is the aim of the few licences that are granted in order to safeguard the primates. There isn’t much interaction with chimps because they are prone to disease.
Making a reservation through a reputable tour operator is the easiest way to obtain a permit for a chimpanzee trek. It is best to allow local tour operators handle the planning since they have greater knowledge about the booking procedure and other associated expenses. After payment has been made, a scanned copy of the permit, which includes information on your name, passport details, trekking date and time, and unique serial number that sets it apart from the others, will be emailed to you by the tour organisers. The permit will be booked at the Uganda Wildlife Authority.
Chimpanzee Tracking in Kibale National Park
About 1500 chimpanzees, 120 of whom are habituated, may be found at Kibale National Park, which is situated in the southwest of the nation. Because there are so many chimpanzees in this area, it is easy to spot them, and trekking takes place twice a day, in the morning and the afternoon. The Kibale National Park also conducts chimpanzee habituation, allowing visitors to spend extended periods of time with the primates for as long as six hours or a whole day.
The park is considered to be the greatest place in Uganda to go chimpanzee trekking. In addition to seeing chimpanzees, visitors may also observe other primates, like as red-tailed and colobus monkeys, as well as 400 different species of birds and other wildlife.
When going chimpanzee tracking in Kibale National Park, there are a number of lodging options available, such as the Primate Lodge and Kyaninga Lodge. Tracking chimpanzees in Uganda is the park’s most popular tourist activity and begins at the Kanyanchu Visitor Centre at 8:00 and ends at 15:00, lasting two to three hours. During the tracking, guests look for the primates. These include the red-tailed monkey, the grey-cheeked Mangabey, and the black and white Colobus.
Chimpanzee Tracking in Budongo Forest.
Budongo Forest is the third best spot in Uganda to track chimpanzees, covering an area of around 825 square kilometres and home to over 800 chimpanzees. Budongo Forest is located in the Murchison Falls National Park; a three-hour drive from Kampala gets you there. These incredible apes and other primates have the ideal refuge in the forest’s native mahogany trees. Out of the entire chimp population, about 100 habituated chimpanzees are accessible for tracking at Kaniyo Pabibi. For those interested in learning more about chimpanzees, Budongo offers a full-day programme called the Chimpanzee Habituation Experience.
In Budongo, chimpanzee tracking begins at 7 a.m. for morning sessions and 2 p.m. for afternoon sessions. The rainy months of May through August are the ideal times to follow chimpanzees in Budongo. The chimps travel far into the forest during the dry season in search of food, water, and shelter. Trackers have to travel long distances in search of them, therefore this movement drastically lowers their chances of being seen. It is possible to schedule a wildlife safari to the Murchison Falls National Park in addition to chimpanzee trekking in Budongo.
Chimpanzee Tracking in Kyambura Gorge
Chimpanzee tracking is among the most exhilarating safari activities available to tourists in Uganda in Kyambura Gorge. The gorge is 16 km long, 1 km wide, and 100 m deep. It is situated in the Queen Elizabeth National Park in Western Uganda. In Kyambura Gorge, permits for walking with chimpanzees cost $50 USD per person. While visiting Kyambura Gorge, visitors can also partake in other tourism activities like guided nature hikes and birding. The best places to book accommodations for an overnight visit are Kingfisher Camp, Katara Lodge, Elephant Hub Lodge, Kyambura Gorge Lodge, and Jacana Safari Lodge.
Chimpanzee Tracking Kalinzu Forest
Kalinzu Forest is an excellent location for chimpanzee tracking on safari. This is a must-see spot if you want to see chimpanzees in the wild while on a safari in Uganda. The Kalinzu Forest in Western Uganda, near Queen Elizabeth National Park, is home to at least 300 protected chimpanzees. With chimpanzee permits costing approximately USD 35 per person, Kalinzu is one of the most affordable chimpanzee safari spots in Uganda and East Africa. Rich natural forest that protects many primate species, such as blue monkeys, L’Hoest monkeys, and baboons. A wide range of birds, including sunbirds, cuckoos, great blue turacos, and black-and-white casqued hornbills, can be seen while following chimpanzees in Kalinzu Forest.
Chimpanzee Tracking in the Ngamba Island Chimpanzee Sanctuary
One of the locations in Uganda where you may experience chimpanzee trekking is Ngamba Island, which is situated along Lake Victoria and is conveniently reachable by speedboat from Entebbe. The chimpanzees’ enclosure on the island, which Goodall established to protect primates, is fenced off to prevent the apes from harming their neighbours while they are free to walk around. The speedboat that travels to Ngamba operates in two shifts, departing in the morning for a half-trip and returning in the evening for the entire trip. Since Dr. Jane Goodall and a few villagers first began to save roughly 13 chimpanzees, the sanctuary has grown to include over 50 chimps who have either been rescued or left as orphans. In addition to getting up close and personal with the chimpanzees, you may engage in other activities including swimming, fishing, village exploration, and bird watching.
Best Time to go Chimpanzee Tracking in Uganda
It is possible to go chimpanzee trekking in Uganda throughout the year at any of the popular destinations. But the greatest time to trek chimpanzees in Kibale, Semliki, Kalinzu, Kyambura Gorge, Budongo Forest, and other tourist destinations is unquestionably during the dry season. June, July, August, September, and December, January, and February, the months of the year with little to no rainfall, are frequently considered to be the dry season. While there are tourists throughout the rainy season as well, one drawback is that excessive rainfall during this time of year makes the ground muddy and hazardous. In the majority of these chimp tracking locations, the rainy or wet months run from March through May and October through November.