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Gorilla and chimpanzee trekking in Uganda – Best Primate Tracking Trip

Published by Acacia Safari on April 12, 2021

Gorilla and chimpanzee trekking in Uganda – Best Primate Tracking Trip

Uganda is blessed to be a top destination for primate tracking or gorilla trekking in Africa with the mountain gorillas and chimpanzees on top of the list. Gorilla and chimpanzee trekking in Uganda is the Best Primate Tracking Trip while exploring Uganda the Pearl of Africa on the great adventures of a lifetime.

Uganda has a big population of chimpanzees living within their natural habitat as well as half of the remaining mountain gorilla population still living within their natural habitat.

Trekking and seeing the gorillas and chimpanzees in their natural habitats is such a unique experience worth having and therefore many would prefer to have a trip that makes it possible to see all of these.

Trekking or hiking through the tropical rainforests is an awe-inspiring experience and to very much explore these primates one can visit the different habitats.

Here is one perfect way to have gorilla trekking in three chimpanzee trekking habitats as well as gorilla trekking and gorilla habituation experience.

Here is a sample itinerary for an extensive primate trekking experience for gorilla and chimpanzee trekking in Uganda;

Day 1: Transfer to Budongo forest and spend the night at an eco-lodge near the forest.

Day 2: Chimpanzee trekking in the morning and then transfer to Kibale Forest National Park in the evening.

Day 3: Have a chimpanzee habituation experience in Kibale Forest National Park in the morning and spend the night around the park.

Day 4: Transfer to Queen Elizabeth National Park, relax, and spend the night at the park

Day 5: Go for chimpanzee trekking at the Kyambura Gorge. Experience the valley of apes. Transfer to Mgahinga Gorilla National Park and spend a night around the park.

Day 6: Trek mountain gorillas in Mgahinga Gorilla National Park

Day 7: Transfer to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and relax at a hotel around the park

Day 8: Have a gorilla habituation experience in the Rushaga sector of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park.

Day 9: Departure

Gorilla and chimpanzee trekking in Uganda

These destinations offer such wonderful experiences and here is a highlight of each of them;

Gorilla and chimpanzee trekking in Uganda – Best Primate Tracking Trip

Budongo Forest Reserve

Budongo forest is the closest spot from Kampala-Uganda’s capital for tourists to trek chimpanzees. The forest is part of the Murchison Falls Conservation Area.

2 habituated chimpanzee families can be trekked by those interested in the activity. For Budongo forest chimpanzee trekking, a well-developed and extensive trail system with a length of 115km in total is found in the forest.

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 are also 465 plant species, all offering a great jungle experience which is a natural habitat to the chimps living in the forest.

Kibale Forest National Park

Kibale Forest hosts the highest total population of chimpanzees. The park has over a thousand chimpanzees and is still home to over 13 primate species, that’s why it’s dubbed the primate capital of the world.

Chimpanzee habituation is the process of making chimps used to the presence of human beings. The process takes about 2 years or more to fully get used to people.

The chimpanzee habituation experience enables tourists to accompany researchers and habituation (those who take the chimpanzees through the habituation process) into the forest.

For chimpanzee habituation, the groups that are visited are less accustomed or used to the presence of human beings than those that are visited during chimpanzee trekking.

During the habituation experience, those involved follow and view the chimps as they exhibit their characters.

Kyambura Gorge

Kyambura Gorge is the only destination in Uganda where you will have to visit the chimps below sea level. The chimpanzees live in a gorge that is about 100m deep at its deepest spot.

Unlike other chimpanzees, this population lives below the gorge which makes it an extraordinary experience to trek them. However, the chimpanzees here are few, and therefore sightings are not that marvelous.

If you want to have a magical experience, then trek in Kyambura you may never find this experience anywhere else.

Mgahinga Gorilla National Park

Mgahinga Gorilla National Park just like its name portrays is a gorilla habitat, home to 1 habituated mountain gorilla family known as the Nyakagezi gorilla group.

Tracking the Nyakagezi gorilla group is amazing with the fact that this group is big and social compared to many other habituated gorilla groups.

Nyakagezi family is one of the easiest to track given the fact that it prefers a narrow home range for feeding, resting, relaxing, and recreation.

In case you are not ready to hike for a long distance, Mgahinga is a better option since they can be found after a short time of trekking rather than those of Bwindi which may require a longer time to trek.

Gorilla Habituation in Bwindi Forest Uganda

There’s no such an exhilarating way of learning about the elusive mountain gorillas than with a Gorilla habituation experience.

Bwindi Forest in Uganda is the only national park where the gorilla habituation experience can be undertaken by tourists.

It is an opportunity to meet a group of wild gorillas that haven’t been fully habituated and therefore behave like they would before getting familiar with humans.

This is a better way of learning the lifestyle of the mountain gorillas within their natural habitat.

Have a chimpanzee trekking or Uganda gorilla safari with a well-planned primate tracking tour. Primate trekking in Uganda can also be planned and well-tailored with any other trips in East Africa including Kenya safaris, Tanzania tours, and Rwanda gorilla tours.