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Chimpanzee watching experience on primate safari in Uganda

Each of these destinations has a group of chimpanzees to trek and apart the chimpanzees.

Chimpanzees are species of great ape native to the forest and savannah of tropical Africa. Also known as chimps, chimpanzees are believed to have a closest DNA which is almost 98% to humans. They relatively stay in groups of 10 to 100 with one dominant male as a leader. Adult female chimp weighs between 30 to 50kgs at a height of 2 to 4 feet while the adult male weighs between 35 to 75kgs at a height of 3 meters.

Primate safaris offers unique chimpanzee watching in Kibale forest national park and in other destinations like Budongo forest in Murchison Falls National park, Kyambura Gorge in Queen Elizabeth national park, Semliki wildlife reserve and Kalinzu forest. Each of these destinations has a group of chimpanzees to trek and apart the chimpanzees; there are other primates to be seen in these destinations including grey cheeked mangabey, red tailed monkey, black and white colobus and many others.

Chimpanzee trekking in Uganda 
Chimpanzee trekking is done depending on the booked time on the chimp trekking permit. It begins with some briefing at the park headquarters where you will get the rules and regulations to be followed during the trek. The experience involves hiking through the rainforests of the park in search of the chimps and upon allocating them, the trekker is allowed to spend one hour with them in their natural habitat. Besides the chimpanzees, expect to spot other primates during the trekking including the black and white colobus monkeys, red tailed monkeys, olive baboons and many others.

Chimpanzee trekking in Kibale national park
Situated in the south western part of Uganda, Kibale national park is one of the leading destinations for chimpanzee trekking. The park boasts over 1500 chimpanzees where 120 of these are habituated. It also hosts over primate species like red tailed monkeys, colobus monkeys, and more than 400 species of birds.

While in the park, the activity – chimpanzee trekking starts in the morning at Kanyachu Visitor Center and lasts for 2-3 hours. By the lead of a skilled park ranger, hike through the rainforests of the park and during the search for the chimpanzees; spot a number of bird species and other wildlife species. Each group of 6 individuals is allowed to take part in the experience.

Chimpanzee trekking in Murchison Falls National park
Murchison falls national park is characterized by numerous forests including Kaniyo Pabidi forest, Budongo forest and Rabongo forest where chimpanzee trekking takes place. Though famous for the powerful mighty waterfalls, the park hosts over 600 chimpanzees in its forests making it a good destination for chimpanzee trekking. With the help of a skilled tour guide, spot other primates like olive baboons, red tailed monkeys, black and white colobus monkeys and a number of bird species.

Chimpanzee trekking in Ngamba Island Chimpanzee Sanctuary 
Ngamba Island is located along Lake Victoria and is one of the destinations for chimpanzee trekking. The island was set up by Goodall to conserve the primates and the chimpanzees are faced up so as they don’t cause damage to the neighbors. During the time of conservation, the sanctuary had 13 chimpanzees and now has grown to over 50 chimpanzee individuals.

Chimpanzee trekking in Queen Elizabeth National Park
While on a Primate safari in Uganda , chimpanzee trekking is done in Kyambura gorge and the activity begins in the morning and takes about 1 to 2 hours. The trek is led by a skilled park ranger to the rainforests of the park and expects to spot a number of wildlife species and various bird species. The park also offers other experiences like game drives, boat cruises, nature walks and many others.

Cost of the chimpanzee trekking permit
For one to take part in chimpanzee trekking experience, he or she must possess a chimpanzee trekking permit which gives him or her access to them. The chimpanzee permits are processed by the Uganda Wildlife Authority and they are valid for the date that they have been printed. Besides booking from Uganda Wildlife Authority, one can also get a chimpanzee permit from a trusted tour operator. The cost of the chimpanzee permit goes high during the high season for $1500 per person and during the low season, it goes as low as $100 per person in Kibale forest national park, in Budongo it is at $90 and in Kyambura gorge it goes for $50.

Chimpanzee habituation in Uganda 
Chimpanzee habituation is where chimps are trained to get used to the human presence. Chimpanzee habituation take place for a full day since the visitors are given 4 hours to spend with the chimps. For one to take part in the experience, he or she must have a chimpanzee habituation permit which costs about $150 for foreign residents, $70 for East African citizens and $220 for non-foreign residents. 

Best time to visit Uganda for chimpanzee safaris
Uganda can be visited any time throughout the year for chimpanzee safaris but the best time is during the dry season where the trails to the natural habitats are dry thus making the trekking easy.

Where to stay while on a chimpanzee safari in Uganda 
There are a number of improved accommodation facilities where one can stay while on a chimpanzee safari tour on Uganda. These accommodations range from budget, midrange and luxury accommodation. Among these include;

Lodges in Kibale national park include; Primate lodge, Kyaninga lodge and others.

Lodges in Queen Elizabeth national park include; Kyambura gorge safari lodge, Jacana lodge, Kingfisher camp, Katara lodge, Mweya safari lodge and many others.

News Editor - TravelDailyNews Media Network | + Posts

Tatiana is the news coordinator for TravelDailyNews Media Network (traveldailynews.gr, traveldailynews.com and traveldailynews.asia). Her role includes monitoring the hundreds of news sources of TravelDailyNews Media Network and skimming the most important according to our strategy.

She holds a Bachelor's degree in Communication & Mass Media from Panteion University of Political & Social Studies of Athens and she has been editor and editor-in-chief in various economic magazines and newspapers.

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