Comparing gorilla and chimp habituation experiences in Bwindi and Kibale NPS

Going for gorilla habituation in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and chimpanzee habituation in Kibale National Park immerses you into the life of these great primates of the world. Each of the two adventures allows you four hours of following semi-habituated chimpanzees and mountain gorillas in the wild.

Let us understand what gorilla habituation or chimpanzee habituation is 

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What Is Gorilla habituation experience?

The gorilla habituation experience is following a semi-habituated mountain gorilla family and staying with them for four hours upon tracing them. The Gorilla habituation experience helps in forming a gorilla trekking family. It is a way of getting semi-habituated gorilla families used to the presence of humans without changing their behavior.

What is a chimpanzee habituation experience?

The Chimpanzee habituation experience is an adventure where you follow a semi-habituated chimpanzee family in the company of a team of habituators and researchers to get them used to human presence without altering their nature.

 Chimpanzee habituation helps form troops within a chimpanzee community that can be followed during the two sessions of this activity: morning and afternoon.

What is the difference between gorilla habituation in Bwindi Forest and Chimpanzee habituation in Kibale National Park?

The cost of chimpanzee habituation and Gorilla trekking

A chimpanzee habituation permit for Kibale National Park is $300 per session, while a gorilla habituation permit is $1500 per person per trek.

Number Of Times For Doing Gorilla Habituation And Chimpanzee Habituation

Chimpanzee habituation is done twice daily, in an early morning session and afternoon session in Kibale National Park, while gorilla habituation is done once a day in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park.

Destinations For Chimpanzee Habituation and Gorilla Habituation in Uganda

Chimpanzee habituation is done from Kibale National Park and Kaniyo Pabidi Forest, while Gorilla trekking can only be done from the Southern Part of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park.

The drive time from Entebbe to Kibale National Park or Bwindi impenetrable national park

The drive time from Entebbe Airport to Kibale National Park is about 5 to 6 hours, while from Entebbe Airport to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is about 9 hours.

The difference in Topography of The Gorilla Habituation Area and with Chimpanzee Habituation Area

The topography of the Gorilla habituation area is generally volcanic, with ragged landforms in Bwindi Forest with dense undergrowth, which is challenging to walk over at times, while the topography of Kibale National Park, which is chimpanzee habituation forest is fairly flat with less undergrowth making the trek easier.

What is included in the cost gorilla habituation Permit and Chimpanzee Habituation Permit?

The cost of gorilla habituation or chimpanzee habituation permit includes park entrance fees, ranger guide services, researcher fees, four hours before the mountain gorillas or chimpanzees, community support, conservation support for the chimpanzees or golden monkeys, and security during habituation expedition. 

What is excluded from gorilla or chimpanzee habituation permit cost?

The accommodation cost, tips, transport to destinations, porter fee, and any other items of personal nature. 

You can use a tour operator to assemble your golden monkey or chimpanzee trekking adventure, including accommodation, vehicle hire, and other safari activities tailored to suit your needs.

At Encounter Africa Safaris, we pride ourselves on finding the best solution for your Uganda primate habituation adventure. We have over ten years of experience in chimpanzee and gorilla habituation safari. 

We provide free advice on the accommodation you can book for either gorilla habituation or chimpanzee habituation safaris.

Can I purchase The Gorilla Habituation Permit or Chimpanzee Habituation Permit in Instalments?

Paying for your gorilla or chimpanzee habituation permit in full is the best approach; however, you may purchase them in installments due to unpredictable circumstances.

 The Uganda Wildlife Authority allows installment purchases for gorilla or chimpanzee habituation permits in 30 % and 70 %, respectively. 

 This is, however, only applicable to permits purchased 90 days before the gorilla habituation or chimpanzee habituation date, and remember to top before 90 days before the habituation date.

A penalty is applied when you do not honor the date for topping up your gorilla or chimpanzee habituation permit.

Can I Reschedule the Gorilla or chimpanzee habituation Permit?

When you learn of the high chances of you not honoring your chimpanzee or gorilla habituation date, you can reschedule your permit to a future date in case you are sure about traveling for your holiday then.

Tourists have different reasons for being unable to travel and do gorilla or chimpanzee habituation but can follow this procedure to reschedule the permit.

Write to Uganda Wildlife Authority requesting for gorilla or chimpanzee habituation rescheduled and state why you wish to reschedule your permit. If you have evidence to back this up, attach it as a backup.

When your request is approved, your gorilla or chimpanzee habituation permit is moved per your new dates. This move depends on the permits' availability per your new preference dates. 

 Note:

 The Uganda Wildlife Authority allows two free chances for gorilla and chimpanzee habituation permit rescheduling. The executive director of Uganda Wildlife Authority first approves the third time. A surcharge of 25% is added to this change. 

How Much Can I Pay For Gorilla Habituation And Chimpanzee Habituation Safari

The gorilla and chimpanzee habituation cost is packaged according to luxury, mid-range, or budget. Each activity requires you to have a habituation permit from Uganda Wildlife Authority.

Other factors to consider during gorilla or chimpanzee habituation safari quotation include

The number of people traveling with for Gorilla and chimpanzee habituation adventure

The more people included in the gorilla and chimpanzee habituation safari, the lower the cost per person. You share costs like vehicle hire, gas, driver guide fees, etc. As solo tourists, you incur gorilla or chimpanzee habituation safari costs.

Number of days on gorilla and chimpanzee habituation tour

The more days on gorilla habituation and chimpanzee habituation safari, the higher the safari cost, as service providers charge per-day expenses. 

Time for booking gorilla and chimpanzee habituation safari

The peak seasons for gorilla and chimpanzee habituation safari, which are June to September and December to January, have high safari quotation costs, while the low tourism season may attract discounted costs on safari.

Number of activities to combine with gorilla and chimpanzee habituation safari

The more activities combined with gorilla and chimpanzee trekking safari, the higher the cost. Each activity is costed differently per your choice. You can add Uganda safari activities like game drives, Queen Elizabeth National Park launch trips, birding, white water rafting on River Nile, and others.

How Dangerous Is Gorilla or Chimpanzee Habituation?

During Gorilla or chimpanzee habituation experience, you follow a troop of semi-habituated primates, so expect to see odd behavior not found amongst fully habituated primates.

The gorillas or chimpanzees may retreat into hiding at any time or hoot at their visitors, but this should not scare you because you are in the company of a team of researchers you have an idea of how to deal with them. 

 You need to follow the rules and regulations of either gorilla or chimpanzee habituation given during the briefing. 

Try not to provoke the mountain gorillas or chimpanzees during habituation because they are wild animals with feelings too.

Is Gorilla or chimpanzee habituation safe?

Going Gorilla or chimpanzee habituation is safe as rangers are in place to protect you from anything that may attack you during this adventure. Even other Uganda security operatives are in place to keep law and order in Kibale Forest and Bwindi Forest areas.

It would be best if you minded personal safe by not moving alone in the forest without an escorting ranger guide. The forest has other unhabituated dwellers that may not be happy to see you.

Don't eat street food in case you wish to taste local cuisines. Ask your driver guide for the most credible restaurants where you can taste local meals.

Wear the right gorilla or chimpanzee habituation gears to feel safe during this adventure.

 Have some level of fitness, especially for gorilla habituation, because you may have to hike to locate the mountain gorillas. Pack insect repellants to protect your skin from stinging insects. Were wilderness-friendly colors like khaki or tan other than black, blue, or white that attract insects like tsetse flies?

Only count a little money in public because you may attract thieves.

Avoid bringing strangers you are unfamiliar with to your room because they may be the wrong people.

Carry baggage you can monitor, so pack relevantly but light for gorilla or chimpanzee habituation experience.

What To Pack for Gorilla and Chimpanzee Habituation Experience?

• Safari boots are comfortable for you to wear in the forest and walk through the different conditions in the woods.
• Warm wear is comfortable for you to wear early morning or late afternoon when temperatures drop. 
• Safari foldable hat to protect your head from buzzing insects in the jungle that can creep into your hair.
• A camera that does produce flash lighting during photography. Carry one with a great lens that can catch a good photo amidst dripping water from the tree and surfaces of leaves.
• A pair of garden gloves to grip the creepers you pass by tightly.
• An extra fully charged battery to exchange with when one runs low.
• A shawl or sweater to keep you warm because this area is generally cold throughout the day and night
• Energy snacks to feed on when you get hungry in the forest. Trekking sometimes gets challenging and tiresome, so you need some energizers.
• A torch for extra light at night when lights go out.
• A waterproof backpack to carry with your belongings and to keep them from getting scattered in the forest in case you fall while trekking in the wilderness.
• Some cash to change into local currency if you wish to do any transactions while on the ground, like buying souvenirs. In Africa, credit cards are rarely used as a means of transaction because the procedure of collecting money from them is long.
• Toiletries, just in case your lodge does not provide
• Travel adapter and charger in case your electronic gadgets need to be recharged
• Warm Flipflops to use while in the room because the floors get cold in most rooms, yet the slippers available may be cold too.
• Pajamas to wear at night and keep warm because this area gets cold at the night
• A pair of stockings to tack in your trousers and offer protection during the walk
• Another pair of batteries to exchange with in case some run low in power.
• Insect repellant is friendly to your skin to protect your skin from stinging insects in the wilderness.
• Sunscreen Because Africa is a tropical continent, you need to protect your skin from sun rays that may affect your skin.
• A water bottle to carry drinking water to quench thirst while you trek to locate the mountain gorillas.
• Long sleeve shirt and trousers that are convertible but comfortable to cover your entire body from stinging insects moving in the jungle.
• Sunglasses protect your eyes from buzzing insects in the wilderness.
•  Binoculars to see far-ranging features that exist in the wilderness
•  A notebook or journal to put down your moments with the mountain gorillas
• Duffel bag to carry in your belongings when traveling for gorilla habituation.
• Bug spray in case your room has these bugs.
• First aid kit with items to use in an emergency while searching for these primates in the wilderness.

What not to do during gorilla or chimpanzee habituation?

• Try not to feed the chimpanzees or mountain gorillas. They are wild animals that must look for their food
• Do not make noise during gorilla habituation or chimpanzee habituation.
• Do not spit on the ground or vegetation. You can pass infections to these primates.
• Keep a distance of about 8 meters from the mountain gorillas or chimpanzees when you locate them.

Contact us for more information.