Low season and chimp permit discounts

Low season and chimp permit discounts. Uganda does not offer discounted chimpanzee trekking permits during the low season. The Uganda Wildlife Authority used to offer discounts for chimpanzee permits during the low season, which is also known as the rainy/green season, which is from March, April, May, November and early December months. The discounted permits were discontinued by the Uganda Wildlife Authority and the cost of the permits is the same throughout the dry and low season.

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Contact Encounter Africa Safaris for more information about the low season and chimp permit discounts. Be aware of frauds who might tell you that the chimpanzee permits are discounts because they are not. In case there is news about any discounts, they will officially be communicated through the Uganda Wildlife Authority website but as of now, the permits are only purchased through a registered tour operator.

Chimpanzee trekking permits

Chimpanzee tracking/trekking permits are legal documents that allow travelers to access the national parks for the chimpanzee trekking exercise. Just like gorilla trekking, travelers are required to have purchased and own a permit before getting close to the chimpanzees. The chimpanzee trekking permit cost is different depending on the safari destination you have chosen and the different destinations you can choose from for chimpanzee trekking in Uganda include Kibale National Park, Queen Elizabeth National Park, Murchison Falls National Park and Kalinzu Forest. Chimpanzee permits are scarce and purchased on a first-come, first-served basis, meaning that if you intend on trekking chimpanzees in Uganda, you have to purchase the permits in advance, mainly if you are planning on visiting during the dry/peak season.

The cost of the permit: The cost of the chimpanzee trekking permit differs depending on the category of tourist you belong to. There are three main categories of tourists and these are foreign non-residents (these are tourists who do not live in Uganda and East Africa and have just come for a visit), foreign residents (these need to have lived in the country at least 6 months and need to provide proof of residence like a valid National ID or work permit) and East African citizens (these are citizens that are from countries Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, South Sudan, Rwanda and Burundi).

The cost of the permit in Kibale National Park for international tourists/foreign non-residents is $250, foreign residents $200 (you need to show a valid ID or working permit) and East African Citizens 180,000 UGX per person. The chimpanzee habituation permit cost in Kibale for foreign non-residents (International tourists) is $300, foreign residents $250 and East African Citizens (Uganda, Kenya, South Sudan, Tanzania, Rwanda) 250, 000UGX per person.

The cost of the permit in Kyambura Gorge found in Queen Elizabeth National Park for international tourists $100, for foreign residents (with a valid ID)$80 and 50,000 UGX for East African citizens.

The cost of the chimpanzee trekking permit in Budongo Forest is $230 for foreign non-residents, $120 for foreign residents and $85 for East African citizens per person.

The cost of the chimp permit in Kalinzu Forest is $130 for foreign non-residents, $65 for foreign residents and $65 for East African citizens per person.

Are there discounted permits in Uganda? No, there are no discounted chimp trekking permits in Uganda, and this is because they were scrapped by the Uganda Wildlife Authority and the Association of Uganda Tour Operators. The discounted permits that had been introduced were to be offered in the low season and were introduced in 2020 to attract more tourists and by December 2020, the normal cost of the permits was re-introduced. Contact us for more information.

Purchasing chimpanzee permits in Uganda

Purchase of chimpanzee permits in Uganda has been made easy, and this can be done directly from the Uganda Wildlife Authority website; however, this is a long process and might frustrate you, especially if this is your first time purchasing permits. The permits can easily be purchased through a tour operator like Encounter Safaris to help you purchase the chimpanzee permits.

The first step is to contact the tour operator with the chimpanzee trek dates and other details like a copy of the passport, especially the biodata page, name and the number(specify if you are purchasing more than one) of the permits that you need to purchase. After you have sent in the details, we check for the availability of the permits on the dates that have been provided and once we have established that the permits are available on the said dates, an invoice will be sent to which payments have to be made. Note that the permits cannot be purchased if payments have not been made. Note that all the payments have to be made on a company account that is not personal.

After the payments have been made, we shall then proceed to make the purchase of the permits on your behalf and proceed to send a scanned copy as proof. A copy of the permit has to be brought with you when coming for the chimpanzee trek safari in the country and note that once the permit has been purchased, it cannot be exchanged with another person because it is printed in the names of the persons that have purchased the permits. Get in touch with us.

The low season during chimpanzee trekking

The low season during chimpanzee trekking is from March to May and late October to early December; however, it is safe to note that the weather change is unpredictable and can change from time to time. The low season is mainly considered not to be a good time for chimpanzee trekking in Uganda because of the slippery routes, mud and rain experienced during this period. The low season is also a good time to go for chimpanzee trekking in Uganda and below are some of the reasons as to why the low season is better than the dry season.

Discount on accommodation: Because of the few tourists visiting the country for chimpanzee trekking in Uganda, many of the accommodation facilities offer discounts in a bid to attract more tourists. This is the best time to go for chimpanzee trekking if you are traveling on a budget because the discounted rates ensure that you travel and sleep comfortably while on your safari.

Less crowds: The crowds during the low season are low because of the rains which makes it the perfect time to travel for tourists who plan on avoiding the large crowds that are mostly seen during the dry season. Accommodation facilities are always practically empty during the low season, and tourists get a chance to choose the facilities that they want on a first-come, first-serve basis. You have a lot of space to enjoy the national parks and other activities carried out during this period.

The weather is not bad: Although the rainy season is characterized by rain and slippery trekking routes, it necessarily does not mean that it rains throughout the day, every day during the rainy season, meaning that the weather during the low season is not as bad as written in blogs. There are days when the rains will last half a day, sometimes just two hours or 30 minutes and sometimes it does not rain at all with the sun coming out after the rains, and other days it shines all day.

The beautiful scenery: Uganda as a country has beautiful scenery throughout the year but during the low season, the lush green vegetation brings life to the different landscapes around the country and the destinations where chimpanzee trekking takes place.

The chimpanzees are near: During the dry season, chimpanzees are all over the place, moving from one place to the next in the national parks, which is not the case when it comes to the rainy season, which is also the low/green season. The chimpanzees can easily be found during the low season because there is plenty of food which forces them to stay in one place and nearer the trek routes and not deep in the thick forests. However, note that chimpanzees are wild animals and are unpredictable so expect anything when it comes to chimpanzee trekking.

More adventure: The other advantage of traveling for chimpanzee trekking during the low season is that you get to experience and see more as compared to the dry season with the large crowds. The few crowds mean that there is minimal noise made making it easy to see other wildlife in the national parks.

The chimpanzee experience in Uganda

Chimpanzee trekking in Uganda is an unpredictable experience carried out in the natural habitat of the chimpanzees and this can take as low as 30 minutes or more than 6 hours depending on where the chimpanzees are located and the physical fitness of the trekkers. Chimpanzees are always on the move within the national parks, hunting for food, and that is why the trek is only carried out in the presence of trained and experienced guides and armed rangers.

Chimpanzee trekking starts early morning with a briefing where the trekkers are divided into groups and told what to expect during the trek. This is also the time when rules and regulations that need to be followed during a trek are re-echoed to all trekkers. The rules/guidelines that are to be followed when trekking chimpanzees include the following:

• The age limit for tracking chimps is 12 years.
• Trekking can only be carried out in the presence of experienced guides
• All trekkers need a permit to be able to trek chimpanzees
• To avoid human-to-chimpanzee disease transmissions, sick trekkers will not be allowed to trek with chimpanzees
• No feeding of the chimpanzees
• Avoid eating when with the chimpanzees because this has been prohibited
• Smoking is not allowed
• Turn off the flash on your camera when taking photos of the chimpanzees
• No touching of the chimpanzees’
• Keep a 7-meter distance from the chimpanzees after trekking them
• Avoid making noise while tracking and when with the chimpanzees
• Every group has an hour with the chimpanzees. Chimpanzee habituation takes almost the entire day.

After locating the chimpanzees, you have an hour studying the chimpanzees, learning more about their behaviors, taking photos and recording videos. During this one hour, you have to follow the guidelines given by the guides and after the one hour is up, the group returns to the park headquarters of accommodation to prepare for other safari activities. Get in touch with our team for more information.

Chimpanzee destinations in Uganda

Uganda is considered to be the best primate trekking destination in the world, with thousands of primates, including chimpanzees. Uganda has the highest number of chimpanzees on the African continent with over 1500 chimpanzees found in Kibale. The different safari destinations for chimpanzee trekking in Uganda include:

Kibale National Park: Located in Western Uganda, Kibale National Park is the best place to go for chimpanzee trekking and chimpanzee habituation in Uganda. The park can be visited all year round, and after the purchase of the permit, tourists not only get a chance to see the chimpanzees, but they also get to see 13 primate species in the park, including bird species, among other animal species.

Budongo Forest and Kaniyo Pabidi: Budongo Forest and Kaniyo Pabidi Forest are found in Murchison Falls National Park, which is one of the top most visited National Parks in the country. The forests have many chimpanzees but few of which are habituated. This is one of the safari destinations that you can visit for a chimpanzee trekking experience.

Kalinzu: Kalinzu Forest is a good destination for chimpanzee trekking in Uganda after Kibale National Park. It is home to a large habituated community of chimpanzees, and these can be trekked and seen throughout the year, both in the dry and low seasons.

Kyambura Gorge: Kyambura Gorge is in Queen Elizabeth National Park and it was named the ‘’Valley of Apes’’ because of the chimpanzee population in the national park. A visit to the Kyambura Gorge will give you a chance to also see other wildlife in the national park.

To know more about the discounted permits in Uganda and the low season, contact Encounter Africa Safaris to help you book the chimpanzee permits and plan your safari to Uganda. permits alone, a small administrative fee will be charged