Top Places to See Chimpanzees in Uganda

It is clearly known that Uganda has the best places to watch and trek chimpanzees in the world, the chimpanzees are believed to be the closest to the human race because of similarity in the DNA which is about 96% identical to that of these primates making some people believe that there are our relatives or cousins. The chimps move in troops as a family and some of the troops have been habituated for some good time to enable them to be in the presence of humans. Chimpanzee trekking starts  early in the morning at around 8 am and late afternoon where the guides and rangers form small groups of visitors to follow a certain troop in the wilderness or jungles. Discovering a certain group of chimpanzees is a bit challenging, It can take hours to spot them however following the trail of broken vegetation or dropped fruits can lead you to some chimpanzee’ troops. It takes almost extra hours to witness fascinating social interactions of the chimpanzees and their natural wild behavior once you discover them. It’s advisable to keep a safe distance and keep your face masks on when with the chimps to avoid spreading or contracting respiratory diseases to these amazing creatures. Uganda has different places that harbor chimpanzees and they include;

Kyambura gorge

Sparing some time to adventure into the valley of apes is an exciting experience when venturing around Queen Elizabeth national park. Tourists are able to spot chimpanzees troops deep into the ravine’s thick forests around the low key of Kyambura gorge hiking.

Kyambura gorge protects a number of habituated chimpanzee troops and other wild species which include baboons, vervet monkeys and many more. Kyambura gorge is also a home of different bird species like blue headed bee eater, African finfoot and many more, this enables birders to amazingly watch these birds as they fly from tree to tree in the wilderness. The best time for chimpanzees trekking is 8 am in the morning and around afternoon, chances of spotting chimps are quite high though it’s a bit difficult to discover these precious creatures.

Kibale forest national park

Kibale forest national park is widely known for harboring the highest number of primate species in Africa, the park also contains several monkeys which include black and white colobus, blue monkey, olive baboons and habituated chimpanzees. 

Chimpanzee trekking starts in the early morning around 8 am with a short briefing on how to behave while in the presence of these wonderful creatures and also in the late afternoon. The guides groups tourists into small groups to track a certain chimpanzee troop before they set for the tour. The chances of sighting these creatures is 98% since they are free to forage everywhere in the park. Uganda Wildlife Authority sells the chimpanzees trekking permits at their head office in Kampala  so a non-foreign resident can buy it at 200 dollars and foreign resident can buy it at 150 dollars.

East African tourists who would wish to engage in this activity can buy the ticket at UGX 150000. You can also book with Trek Africa Expeditions company for better facilities and have a great time in the pearl of Africa.

Kanyonyi Pabidi forest

Kanyonyi pabidi forest is found in northwestern Uganda near Murchison falls national park around budongo Forest which is 29km from Masindi town alongside Parra main road. The forest is around 268km.sq and it is widely known for containing the highest number of Mahogany and ironwood trees in East Africa. Kaniyo Pabidi Chimpanzee Tracking in Budongo Forest are one of the best locations in Uganda for Chimpanzee Tracking. The forest also harbors a large number of monkeys like blue monkeys, black monkeys and white colobus monkeys, large troops of olive baboons and many more. The chimpanzees tracking starts in the morning at 8am to about 6-7 hours in the wilderness tracking these gorgeous creatures. 

Kalinzu forest

Kalinzu forest offers great opportunities to trek chimpanzees in Uganda, it is among the forests that provide night guided walks, the forest is also found in South western of Queen Elizabeth national park along Mbarara- kasese road east of Maramagambo forest. Kalinzu forest has more than 240 chimpanzees and two habituated chimp troops ready to be trekked and chances of discovering these two troops are regularly high. The forest also harbors 5 groups of primates and these are black and white colobus monkey, red tailed, blue monkey and many more. You are likely to encounter poto, galago and hyrus during night walks, it is also believed that the rare pygmy antelopes reside in Kalinzu forest reserve. One needs to purchase a chimpanzee trek permit from kalinzu head offices at 50 dollars.

There is no other place that you will have a memorable dwelling with the forest cousins( chimpanzees) other than Uganda , Contact Trek Africa Expeditions company for any assistance in booking your permit, accommodations and transportation, we will help you plan and budget for your Uganda safari  and ensure that you enjoy the experiences in Uganda.