Budongo Forest Chimpanzee Trekking

Budongo Forest Reserve is one of the top chimpanzee trekking destinations in Uganda, covering a total surface area of approximately 825 square kilometers. 430 square kilometers of the total surface area is continuous forest. Budongo forest is located within the boundaries of Murchison Falls National Park atop the Albertine Rift. The reserve is in Masindi district, on an elevation of 1110 -1590 meters. The forest is a medium-altitude, moist, semi-deciduous tropical rainforest.

The word Budongo is derived from the local Bunyoro dialect, a word that means “fertile soil”. It offers extremely rich biodiversity including 24 species of small mammals, 9 primate species, and 280 butterflies. Among the primates in the park are chimpanzees, Budongo forest is a natural habitat for about 600 chimpanzees with a small community habituated for Uganda chimpanzee trekking safaris. The habituated chimpanzee family has about 80 individuals that offer a very unique experience of viewing the apes in their natural habitat.

Trekking Trails in Budongo Forest

Budongo forest has a well-developed and extensive trail system with a length of 115 km in total is found in the forest. The 115 km trail enables chimpanzee trekking in the forest as well as other activities like forest walks, chimp tracking, and birding.

Budongo Forest Chimpanzee Trekking

The forest offers a great experience trekking chimpanzees in the reserve famous for the age-old mahogany trees which can grow up to 80 meters. Within the forest is also 465 plant species, all offering a great jungle experience which is a natural habitat to the chimps living in the forest.

Chimp Trekking Experience in Uganda – Budongo Forest Chimpanzee Trekking

Chimp tracking in Budongo forest is done twice each day which is in the morning and in the afternoon. Tourists can choose which group they desire to join or booking can be done according to the itinerary schedule. Tracking begins from the Kaniyo Pabidi eco site where tourists are briefed on chimpanzee trekking.

After the briefing, they then head into the forest through the tracking trails along with a tour guide. Chimpanzee trekking takes about three hours with a maximum of one hour of viewing the chimps and taking pictures. In the dry season, it can sometimes get hard to trek the chimps as they move deeper into the forest in search of food.

Only 8 individuals can join each group.

The eligible age for chimpanzee trekking in Budongo forest is 15 years and children below this age cannot trek.

Other attractions in Budongo Forest

One of the best bird watching in Uganda can be at an area known as the Royal Mile which is also part of the Budongo forest reserve. More than 360 bird species can be seen in this area including the rare Puval’s Illadopses which is endemic to this region.

Other bird species that can be spotted here include the Chocolate-backed kingfisher, Dusky Long-tailed Cuckoo, Chestnut Crowned Eremomera, Yellow-browned Camaroptera, Forest Robin, Black-headed Paradise Flycatcher, Lemon-bellied Crombec, Little Green Sunbird, African Emerald Cuckoo, Slender-billed Greenbul, Crested Malimbe, and many more.

Apart from chimpanzees, other primates in the park include the Black-and-white Colobus Monkey, olive baboons, red-tailed monkeys, blue monkeys, and grey-cheeked mangabeys.

Best time to visit Budongo Forest – Budongo Forest Chimpanzee Trekking

Budongo forest can be visited all year round due to the equatorial climate in the region which doesn’t have very extreme conditions. However, April-May and September – November are the rainy seasons, therefore June-August and December – February is generally the best time to visit for chimpanzee trekking as well as other activities in Uganda.

Budongo forest is actually the closes natural chimp habitat in Uganda from the capital Kampala, this makes it convenient for short chimpanzee trekking tours.

Uganda safaris also go beyond chimpanzee trekking and include Uganda wildlife safaris, gorilla trekking safari Uganda and a lot of adventure activities. Beyond Uganda, Acacia safaris can customize combined East African tours including Rwanda gorilla tours, Kenya safaris, and Tanzania wildlife safaris.