Chimpanzee Trekking in Uganda: Chimpanzee trekking is one of the most sought after Uganda Safari Activities after by many tourists on Africa Safari to Uganda. Chimpanzee trekking involves trekking through the forests in search of the chimpanzees that keep on swinging from one tree to the next.
Uganda has several chimpanzee destinations, each of these places have its own chimpanzee groups that you can trek. Visitors mainly enjoy chimpanzee trekking in Uganda at Kibale National Park, the Primate Capital of Africa. Other destinations include Budongo Forest found in Murchison Falls National Park, Kyambura Gorge in Queen Elizabeth National Park among others.
About Chimpanzees
The average weight of an adult well grown male chimpanzee is between 35 and 70 kilograms, with a height of approximately 3 meters whereas an adult female chimpanzee weights between 26 and 50 kilograms and a height between 2 and 4 feet.
Life expectancy of a chimpanzee is at 40 years whereas those living in captivity can extend up to 60 years.
Chimpanzees are the closest relatives to humans sharing about 98% of their DNA composition with humans, they are sociable, intelligent and communicative, chimps have the ability to utilize tools like rocks for crushing nuts, empty pods for hollowing out water plus stick for capturing termites from the holes. These skills have for long been passed on from generation to another and researchers say that different troops have specialist tasks, basing on their habitat as well as diet.
Chimpanzees are social creatures staying in groups of 10-100 members, they can babysit each other’s young, kiss, groom one another and even hold hands. The young chimpanzees become independent at the age of 4 year. Nonetheless, chimpanzees can be aggressive and unsociable, mainly if disturbed.
Where to do Chimpanzee Trekking in Uganda
Kibale National Park
Crowned the Primate Capital of Africa, Kibale National Park is the best place to do chimpanzee trekking in Uganda. The park is located in the south western part of the country and is home to a large number of chimpanzees. Kibale National Park is home to more than 1,500 chimpanzees, including 120 habituated individuals.
The chimpanzees in Kibale Forest are easily located due to their high number and trekking is done twice a day. That is in the morning and in the afternoon.
Murchison Falls National Park
Murchison Falls National Park is home to numerous forests. These include the Budongo Forest, the Kaniyo Pabidi and the Rabongo Forest where chimpanzee trekking takes place. These forests are home to over 600 chimpanzees, making Murchison Falls National Park Uganda a great destination for chimpanzee trekking.
Queen Elizabeth National Park
Queen Elizabeth National Park is the most popular wildlife destination in Uganda after Murchison. Here, chimpanzee trekking is done in Kyambura Gorge. The Kyambura Gorge is in the northeastern corner of Queen Elizabeth National Park. It lies within Kyambura Game Reserve and was created as a buffer zone, to protect the park from encroaching human activities.
Chimpanzee trekking in Kyambura Gorge is best done in the mornings and takes about 1 to 2 hours.
Ngamba Island Chimpanzee Sanctuary
Ngamba Island Sanctuary is along Lake Victoria and easily accessed by a speedboat from Entebbe. The sanctuary is one of the best places where you can enjoy chimpanzee trekking on a safari in Uganda.
Jane Goodall helped establish Ngamba Island Chimpanzee Sanctuary to protect and conserve rescued chimpanzees. The sanctuary’s protected forest habitat allows the chimpanzees to roam freely in a secure environment while preventing them from straying into neighboring communities. Today, the sanctuary plays a vital role in chimpanzee conservation, wildlife protection, environmental education, and primate tourism in Uganda. The speedboat that goes to Ngamba has two shifts with a half trip starting in the morning. The full trip starts in the evening at 5 pm.
A few local conservationists and Jane Goodall founded the sanctuary with about 13 rescued chimpanzees. Since then, the number of chimpanzees has grown to over 50 chimpanzees that have either rescued or orphaned. Here, you get to see the chimpanzees at different stages, get in close contact with them and also carry out other activities. These activities include fishing, swimming, exploring the villages, and birding.
Best Time to see Chimpanzees in Uganda?
Visitors enjoy chimpanzee trekking in Uganda throughout the year. However, the best time to chimp trek is during the dry season. The dry season occurs from June to September and from December to January. During this period, many tourists visit Uganda for wildlife safaris and chimpanzee trekking in Uganda, making it the peak tourism season. Favorable weather conditions and excellent trekking trails attract visitors to Kibale National Park, a premier destination for chimpanzee trekking in Uganda.
The trek trails are passable and it is easier to see the chimpanzees during the dry season. This is unlike during the rainy season. The rainy season has the roads become slippery and the vegetation is dense.
Nonetheless, visitors enjoy chimpanzee trekking in Uganda throughout the wet season. This is because abundant food sources attract chimpanzees to accessible areas, making them easier to spot. The wet season offers excellent opportunities for Uganda chimpanzee trekking, especially in Kibale National Park, the best place for chimpanzee tracking in Uganda and one of Africa’s premier primate safari destinations.
