How to organize a gorilla and chimp trekking safari from Masaka city

How to organize a gorilla and chimp trekking safari from Masaka City. Planning a gorilla and chimpanzee trekking safari in Uganda from Masaka City starts with purchasing the necessary permits. From Masaka city, the most appropriate destination for this primate adventure is visiting Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and Kibale National Park.

Encounter Africa Safaris can assist you in booking the gorilla or chimpanzee trekking permits. Still, we need details like the gorilla and chimpanzee trekking dates and the number of eligible participants traveling with us. Our team of professional safari consultants is always ready to plan these primate safaris with your input to make holiday memories.

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Book accommodation to use during Gorilla and chimpanzee trekking for each destination. Since Bwindi gorilla permits are booked according to area, this also influences where you spend the nights of your gorilla safari.

Reserve transport means from Masaka to either Bwindi Impenetrable National Park or Kibale National Park, depending on the flow of your itinerary.

How To Plan Gorilla and Chimpanzee trekking safari From Masaka city

Reserve gorilla and chimpanzee trekking permits

To confirm a Uganda gorilla and chimpanzee trekking safari, you must possess permits from the Uganda Wildlife Authority. At Encounter Africa Safaris, we can assist you in booking the gorilla permits when you contact us, but based on prevailing availability status.

Upon receiving your inquiry, our safari consultant checks for the gorilla and chimpanzee trekking permit availability per your inquiry details and gets back to you as soon as possible.

When Gorilla and chimpanzee permit availability is favorable, we advise clients to secure their tickets 

immediately. Gorilla permits are booked with payment, and a first come, first served basis is used to reserve them.

What is the price of Uganda gorilla and chimpanzee trekking permits?

Uganda gorilla permits cost $800 for foreign nonresidents, $700 for foreign residents, and 300000 shs for East Africans.

Kibale chimpanzee trekking permit costs $300 for foreign nonresidents, $250 for foreign residents, and 300,000 shs for East African residents.

The gorilla and Kibale chimpanzee trekking permit inclusions are park entrance fees, ranger guide fees, local community support, one hour with the mountain gorillas or chimpanzees, conservation fee, Government tax, security, and briefing.

Book accommodation to use during gorilla and chimpanzee trekking safari

You must book accommodation during gorilla trekking in Bwindi within or closer to the areas where the permits are secured. Bwindi Impenetrable National Park was subdivided into four administrative regions: Buhoma in the North, Ruhija in the East, Rushaga, and Nkuringo in the South.

Bwindi Impenetrable National Park has different categories of accommodations to book, including Luxury, mid-range, and budget facilities.

• Bwindi accommodations: Clouds Lodge, Gorilla Forest Camp, Rushaga Gorilla Safari Lodge, Nkuringo Gorilla Lodge, Silverback Lodge, Nshongi Camp, Engage Lodge, Ruhija Gorilla Lodge, Bwindi View Bandas

Kibale National Park also offers a variety of accommodation choices that you can secure for your stay.

• Kibale accommodations: Ndali Lodge, Primates Lodge, Kibale Safari Lodge, Chimps Nest Camp, Kyaninga Lodge, C.V.K

Book transport to the Uganda gorilla or chimpanzee trekking destinations

Depending on the flow of your itinerary from Masaka city, you may start with gorilla trekking in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, then proceed with chimpanzee trekking and vice versa.

By road

You need a 4x4 wheel drive vehicle that can withstand the potholes in the wilderness and the rough, dusty surface of the countryside roads. A professional and experienced driver guide makes your trip more fun, but these must be booked in advance, especially during the peak season.

From Masaka city, the distance to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is about 245 kilometers, which is about 5 to 6 hours.

By air

Charter flight services from Masaka city to Kihihi airstrip can be arranged as these are available in Kajjansi and Entebbe airstrip to Kihihi or Kisoro airstrips. Booking is needed so that the necessary clearances can be arranged from CAA.

You can also depart by domestic daily flight from the gorilla and chimpanzee trekking safari as this option is possible too, in case you are flying out of Uganda on return. You have to reserve a seat in advance because they sell out fast.

Secure additional activities to combine with gorilla and chimpanzee trekking safari.

Uganda is endowed with various optional safari activities you can be part of and combine with this gorilla and chimpanzee trekking adventure. Birding is top on the list of additional activities you can engage in while on this Uganda primate tour. Forest walks in Kibale forest and Bwindi forest where you may spot other primate species like black and white colobus, vervet monkeys, blue monkeys, olive baboons, grey-cheeked mangabey, bush babies, L’hoests’ to mention but a few.

You can make a detour to Lake Mburo National Park for a game drive through the different tracks of the park, where you may spot zebras, giraffes, elands, herds of buffaloes, elephants, waterbucks, bushbucks, reedbucks, sitatungas, warthogs, Uganda Kobs and so many others.

A visit to Queen Elizabeth National Park is worth adding to your primate safari as this biosphere reserve hosts several wild animals on the floor of the Rift Valley. During the game drive on the Queen Elizabeth National Park tracks, you may spot animals like a pride of lions, herds of elephants, waterbucks, bushbucks, topis, cape buffaloes, warthogs, and leopards. Queen Elizabeth National Park is another optional chimpanzee trekking destination in Kyambura Gorge.

Pack The Right Gorilla And Chimpanzee Trekking Gears

Both gorilla and chimpanzee trekking adventures happen in the wilderness, which requires a person to walk in the jungle. To be comfortable, you must wear the right Gorilla and chimpanzee trekking gear, so pack appropriately and appropriately. 

Some of the items you need to pack for gorilla and chimpanzee trekking gear include safari boots, garden gloves, a safari foldable hat, long-sleeved shirt and trousers, a camera, a pair of binoculars, foldable water bottle, insect repellant, rainproof gear, light waterproof backpack, flip flops, extra wear to change into and so much more.

You do not have to carry so many bags but pack relevant and light bags to avoid inconveniences while travelling.

Master the ages of gorilla and chimpanzee trekkers

While organizing a Gorilla and chimpanzee trekking adventure, you must note that the age limit for gorilla trekking is 15 years, while chimpanzee trekking is beyond 15 years. 

These age limits for each primate trekking safari were set considering the nature of the way to see these primates. The topography of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is volcanic with highlands, which you may have to hike in case the mountain gorillas are spending the day on the slopes or deep in the valley.

The chimpanzee trekking age limit was set to beyond 15 years because a child below this age may not be patient with the provocative chimpanzees, and keeping their voices low may be hard sometimes. 

In Kibale National Park, children can engage in eco-friendly activities with the help of a children’s guide while parents go chimpanzee trekking. The children can do short interesting walks, games, pond dipping, batik making, photography, cyanotype, etc.

When is the best time to do a gorilla and chimpanzee trekking safari?

Any time is gorilla and chimpanzee trekking time; however, most tourists prefer the dry season, usually June, July, August, September, December, and January. During the dry season, the mountain gorillas and chimpanzees are more active in this season. The forest precipitation is lighter, and sunlight can penetrate the dense canopy to the ground.

Bwindi forest is known for receiving rains anytime without warning, yet less sunlight can reach the ground. Kibale forest is also a tropical rainforest that receives heavy rains and gets very cold, especially in the early morning, regardless of the season.

Both gorilla and chimpanzee trekking permits are highly in demand in the dry season, so you need booking as peak season permits get scarce. 

The wet season is usually the low tourism season in March, April, May, and November. Demand for gorilla and chimpanzee safaris tends to reduce, making it possible sometimes to find last-minute permit availability.

If you are traveling on a budget, the low season may be a great opportunity, as sometimes service providers offer discounted costs to break even. The chances of going solo on Gorilla or chimpanzee trekking are more open in the low season since there are fewer bookings.

How safe Is Gorilla and Chimpanzee trekking in Uganda?

Although Gorilla and chimpanzee trekking in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and Kibale National Park, respectively, require you to walk in the wilderness, these are led by well-trained ranger guides. One of the ranger guides carries a Machete and another a rifle in case of an emergency. These ranger guides are often in constant radio call communication with security on the ground in case of an emergency.

The ranger guide follows the pace of the slowest trekker so that nobody is lost in the jungle.

Follow the guidelines of gorilla and chimpanzee trekking given during briefing so as not to cause a stampede in the wilderness, like not touching the infants of these primates, and avoid mimicking the primates because you may not know what you may be communicating and others.

Individually, it would help if you minded personal safety by not walking in the jungle without an escorting ranger guide when encountering unhabituated forest inhabitants that may hurt you.

What are the guidelines for Gorilla and chimpanzee trekking?

• Please avoid the mountain gorilla chimpanzees even when they move towards you. Avoid touching the mountain gorillas and chimpanzees when you locate them. Although they are habituated, they still possess wild traits. 
• Speak at a low time or quietly with the mountain gorillas and chimpanzees, as you may scare them. Keep your voice down when searching for the mountain gorillas and chimpanzees. They are easily frightened of unfamiliar noise in their presence, which may push them into hiding.
• When you trace the mountain gorillas and chimpanzees, keep a distance of about 8 meters from them. This reduces the chances of passing an infection to the already vulnerable mountain gorillas. 
• Spitting on the vegetation is forbidden, as this is food for the mountain gorillas and chimpanzees. You may pass germs that may lead to there massive death. Mountain gorillas and chimpanzees are mobile primates whose life entirely depends on the forest for survival, so keep some level of hygiene.
• The gorilla trekking age limit is 15 years; chimpanzee trekking is beyond 15 years and above because of the nature of the forest where these primates live. There is a need to keep fit to locate the mountain gorillas and chimpanzees that live in a rugged area, which a child below this age may not have.
• Using flash photography during Gorilla and chimpanzee trekking is forbidden because unfamiliar light in the presence of these primates may push them into hiding.
• Volunteer to stay behind if you catch a communicable infection like coronavirus, cough, or flu because this may lead to the massive death of mountain gorillas and chimpanzees.
• Keep in a tight group when you locate the mountain gorillas or chimpanzees so they do not feel ambushed by your presence. Mountain gorillas and chimpanzees are easily scared by unfamiliar people in their vicinity.
• When you wish to eat or smoke, do this at least 300 meters from the mountain gorillas to prevent the gorillas or chimpanzees from grabbing food from you. Wild animals must search for their own food and not depend on human provision.
• When you locate them, only one hour is allowed with the mountain gorillas or chimpanzees. This is because they are habituated to be in front of humans for just that time.
• Provoking the mountain gorillas or chimpanzees is forbidden because you may agitate the primates and push them into hiding.

Contact us for more information on planning your safari today.