Best Offer For Gorilla And Chimpanzee Trekking In Uganda

For the best offer to do a gorilla and chimpanzee trekking safari in Uganda, you may consider the time of booking this safari, interests, secure the gorilla and chimpanzee permits, where to go for this adventure, and others.

Booking the gorilla trekking and chimpanzee trekking permits for Uganda is the only guarantee that this adventure will happen. 

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Uganda has two gorilla trekking parks, Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and Mgahinga National Park, located in the country's southwestern part. Currently, Uganda has about 21 gorilla trekking families open to public booking.

Several destinations are open for chimpanzee trekking in Uganda, such as Kibale National Park, Kyambura Gorge in Queen Elizabeth National Park, Kaniyo Pabidi in Murchison Falls National Park, Ngamba Island Chimpanzee Sanctuary, and others.

You must secure a chimpanzee trekking permit for the morning or afternoon session to gain access to this adventure.

Knowing the time of the gorilla and chimpanzee trekking adventure, depending on your interests, helps you make the right choices of when it is best to organize this primate safari in Uganda.

Note that Uganda no longer offers discounted gorilla trekking permits for any low season or high season.

When is the best time to book a gorilla and chimpanzee safari in Uganda?

The best time to book Uganda gorilla and chimpanzee trekking safaris is when you are ready. Still, the dry season is exceptional because of the high demand for this primate safari combo. The dry season is usually June, July, August, September, December, and January. The precipitation in the forest is relatively lower, even though they are tropical rainforests.

Demand for gorilla and chimpanzee permits during the dry season in Uganda is high, creating scarcity at the last minute, so it is best to book these permits for at least 6 months to a year upfront. This season, the number of gorilla and chimpanzee permits is limited to a maximum of 8 per gorilla family per day or 6 per chimpanzee troop per session.

Logistics that support gorilla and chimpanzee trekking safaris, like accommodation, are also overbooked in the dry season, so you must also book them in advance.

From March to September and December to January, the wet season receives less demand for gorilla and chimpanzee permits. You may take advantage of the low season if you wish to have quality time while on a primates safari in Uganda. Even if you want less disturbance while on gorilla and chimpanzee safari in Uganda, the low season may open this opportunity without spending extra money.

Where to Do Gorilla Trekking Safari In Uganda?

Bwindi Impenetrable National Park

Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is a historical forest believed to be one of the survivors of the Ice Age period. This biosphere reserve has about 20 gorilla trekking families whose permits are booked according to area. Bwindi forest is divided into four regions: Buhoma, Rushaga, Ruhija, and Nkuringo.

You can also do a gorilla habituation experience in the southern part of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. The gorilla habituation experience is an adventure where tourists accompany a team of researchers for four hours with a semi-habituated gorilla family.

Before booking accommodation during gorilla trekking in Bwindi, it is best to note where your gorilla permits are secured to avoid waking up early to catch up with a briefing in another area.

Mgahinga National Park

Although Mgahinga National Park is the smallest Uganda National Park, it hosts mountain gorillas. So far, the Nyakagezi gorilla family is fully habituated and open to public booking. The Nyakagezi gorilla family used to wander into Rwanda but is currently steadily living in Uganda, and gorilla permits are available for pre-booking.

Golden monkey safaris can also be done in Mgahinga National Park. This is a charming monkey species with golden brown hairs, and although they are habituated to human presence, they still possess their natural traits. 

You can do mountaineering adventure excursions in Mgahinga National Park since there are three volcanoes: Muhavuravura, Mountain Gahinga, and Mountain Sabyinyo.

Where to do a chimpanzee trekking safari in Uganda?

Kibale National Park

Kibale National Park is Uganda's primary chimpanzee trekking destination, with about 1500 chimpanzees living. You need to book a Kibale chimpanzee trekking permit from the Uganda Wildlife Authority for the morning or afternoon session.

Chimpanzee habituation experience is available in Kibale National Park, where a maximum of 4 tourists accompany a team of researchers to follow a semi-habituated chimpanzee community for four hours.

More than 13 primate species are residents of Kibale National Par,k that i,s bush babies, grey-cheeked mangabey, blue monkeys, black and white colobus, L'hoest',s and others.

The current chimpanzee trekking permit cost for Kibale National Park is $300 for international nonresidents, $250 for foreign residents, and 180000shs for East Africans.

Kyambura Gorge in Queen Elizabeth National Park

Living in about 100 meters of the forested gorge on the floor of the Albertine Rift Valley is Kyambura Gorge. The chimpanzee community in this forested part of Queen Elizabeth National Park can be trekked by hiking on the slopes of the escarpments along the gorge. The Kyambura Gorge results from the erosion of River Kyambura as it makes its way towards the Kazinga channel.

You can book the morning or afternoon chimpanzee trekking sessions at Kyambura Gorge. You must secure a chimpanzee trekking permit for Kyambura Gorge from the Uganda Wildlife Authority.

The current Kyambura Gorge chimpanzee permit costs $100 for international nonresidents, $80 for foreign residents, and 50,000 ugx East Africans.

Kaniyo Pabidi Forest in Murchison Falls National Park

From the Kicumbanyombo game of Murchison Falls National Park, you drive 8 kilometers to Kaniyo Pabidi forest, the home of chimpanzees. This forest part of this park has fully grown mahogany trees, one of Uganda's few fully grown species.

This forest hosts other primates like the black and white colobus, olive baboons, and vervet monkeys.

Kalinzu Forest Reserve in Queen Elizabeth National Park 

On the outskirts of Queen Elizabeth National Park is Kaniyo Pabidi forest, where a community of Chimpanzees mainly used for research purposes live. The Kalinzu forest reserve can be opened to the public during times of scarcity, especially during the peak seasons when chimpanzee permits are scarce.

Ngamba Island chimpanzee sanctuary

Ngamba Island in Koome Island of Lake Victoria gives a second home to abandoned, rescued, and hard-to-return chimpanzees to their community. You can sail to this island in the morning, where you may get to help feed the chimpanzees from the feeding platform. Enjoy the cool scenery around the beach and the cool breeze off the freshwater of Lake Victoria.

Are gorilla trekking and chimpanzee trekking safaris in Uganda difficult?

Both gorilla and chimpanzee trekking adventures happen in different areas with different terrains.

Both the gorilla trekking destinations, Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and Mgahinga National Park, are in a volcanic area, so the trek is quite tiresome. The way to the mountain gorillas is soggy and boggy from the rains that fall without warning, yet less sunray penetration is allowed through this dense canopy to the ground.

Since dense and tangled vegetation has accumulated over the years, the ranger guides you with a machete and uses it to trim the vegetation to create a way for you to find the mountain gorillas. Even the time of finding the mountain gorillas is quite hard to determine.

Generally, the topography of the chimpanzee trekking areas in Uganda is relatively flat, with less undergrowth on the ground. Finding the chimpanzees may take between 2 hours to 3 hours. You have one hour with the chimpanzees during chimpanzee trekking in the different destinations in Uganda.

For the gorilla and chimpanzee trekking experience in Uganda, you need to pack the right gear so you do not get hurt while in the wilderness from the rough surfaces.

What is the cost of gorilla and chimpanzee trekking safaris in Uganda?

At Encounter Africa Safaris, we package our safari according to Luxury, mid-range, and budget. When calculating the quotation for our gorilla and chimpanzee safaris, we may consider factors like the number of people on safari, the number of days, additional safari activities with this primate adventure, time of booking this adventure, and others.

The cost of the gorilla and chimpanzee trekking permits cuts across all safari categories, and this is a significant expenditure before confirming the gorilla and chimpanzee tour.

We can tailor safaris to suit your needs and interests to help you make everlasting memories of your Uganda primate safari. We aim to provide value for money at Encounter Africa Safaris, so we hand-pick our safari service providers. With the experience of organizing these safaris for over ten years, we now understand where to find the best service according to our tourist budget.

What guarantees seeing chimpanzees and mountain gorillas on the Uganda safari?

Purchasing the gorilla and chimpanzee permits is one of the guarantees to see these primates in Uganda.

Before the gorilla and chimpanzee troops are opened to the public, they are first habituated. The habituation process is where researchers follow a wild mountain gorilla or chimpanzee troop to get used to human presence without altering their nature.

The process of either gorilla or chimpanzee trekking takes an unknown amount of time, depending on how fast or slow these primates adapt. This process allows these primates to stay with humans for at least an hour before they can continue their day-to-day activities.

Each day, a team of ranger guides patrols the habitats where these primates live to establish where they might have nested and possibly head to the location for the day. These clues are what rangers leading the tourists on gorilla or chimpanzee treks use to locate these primates in the vast tropical rain forests.

If you fail to find the mountain gorillas or chimpanzees, the Uganda Wildlife Authority uses the refund policy to re-reimburse part of your money or give you a second chance to do the gorilla or chimpanzee trek the following day.

What do you pack for gorilla and chimpanzee trekking in Uganda?

• Insect repellant to keep away stinging insects that would harm you while walking to locate the mountain gorillas or chimpanzees.
• Garden gloves protect your palms from stinging nettles and even rough surfaces you may land on when you trip and fall.
• Bug spray in case your room is infected.
• Toiletries in case your skin is very sensitive or your lodge does not provide.
• Snacks to munch on in case you get hungry because breakfast is taken too early to last the entire time in the wilderness.
• A raincoat or poncho is used if it rains in the wilderness. This area receives rain at any time without warning.
• Wear long trousers and a long-sleeved shirt in the wilderness to protect your body from harsh conditions in the forest.
• A pair of stockings to tack in your trousers and protect your body from insects that would creep into your clothes.
• Safari boots can go through the soggy surfaces in the jungle as the wilderness is wet most of the time, and rivers overflow, especially in the severe rainy seasons.
• Safari hat to protect your hair from getting wet in case it rains, or dew drips off the leaves.
• Pajamas to wear in the night when getting to bed.
• Duffel bag to carry with your belongings, as you may get no help offloading your bags.
• Flip flops to change into in case you come from gorilla and chimpanzee trekking and are tired of wearing closed shoes.
• Some cash to exchange into local currency when purchasing anything locally.
• Clean Face masks to wear when standing before the mountain gorillas or chimpanzees. This was adopted after the Covid-19 period. The mountain gorillas and chimpanzees can be victims of this virus since they are susceptible to human infections because they have about 96% human DNA.
• A camera to take photos and protect memories of your experience during gorilla and chimpanzee trekking. 

Our team is ready to plan the best gorilla and chimpanzee safari for you today. Contact us for more information.