How to organize gorilla and chimpanzee habituation experience safari from Mbarara city

 Managing a gorilla and chimpanzee habituation experience from Mbarara City means visiting Kibale National Park and the Southern part of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. Both gorilla and chimpanzee habituation experiences require you to purchase a gorilla permit. The Uganda Wildlife Authority is the only body that sells and regulates these permits, but you can book through a tour operator.

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At Encounter Africa Safaris, we can assist you in securing a gorilla and chimpanzee permit. Still, we require your booking details, like the date and the number of eligible participants. Upon presenting your safari details, our safari consultant checks availability, but you are requested to secure your permit as soon as possible.

With the help of our safari consultant, you can tailor the flow of your gorilla and chimpanzee habituation experience safari. You may start with chimpanzee habituation followed by gorilla habituation and vice versa.

Book accommodation within or close to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and Kibale National Park, as these primate safaris kick-start very early in the morning. Attending a briefing is a must for both gorilla and chimpanzee habituation experience.

Reserving transport from Mbarara City to Kibale National Park and Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is vital as you need to consider the type of safari vehicle to travel with. It must be a 4x4 wheel drive vehicle because of the nature of the roads in the countryside, which get messy sometimes.

 Before proceeding with the details of how to organize this Uganda primate adventure, let's first understand what:

Gorilla habituation experience 

The gorilla habituation experience is a safari where a maximum 4 tourists accompany a team of gorilla researchers and trackers in the wilderness to follow a semi-habituated gorilla family and spend four hours with them. 

Chimpanzee habituation experience 

The Chimpanzee habituation experience is an adventure where tourists escort a team of chimpanzee researchers and trackers to follow a semi-habituated chimpanzee community and spend four hours with them.

What to consider when organizing gorilla and chimpanzee habituation experience from Mbarara city

Reserve gorilla and chimpanzee permits

The gorilla and chimpanzee habituation permits are the only assurance to attending this primate adventure. To reserve these permits, you need a date when you hope to do each and the number of people to travel with and are eligible to attend each.

When you send us an inquiry, our tour consultant checks availability from the Uganda Wildlife Authority list and gets back to you as soon as possible. 

Upon finding availability, we advise clients to purchase these gorilla and chimpanzee habituation permits as soon as possible, especially high-season permits that sell out quickly. The status of gorillas and chimpanzees allows changes in time without warning.

Late, you must forward personal details like your full name as presented on your passport and nationality. Date of birth, passport expiry date. These are added to your permit card and retrieved upon presenting it on habituation day.

How Much is the Gorilla habituation permit

Currently, a gorilla habituation permit costs $1500 for foreign nonresidents, $1000 for foreign residents, and 750,000 for East African residents.

The cost of gorilla permits covers mountain gorilla conservation, security, researcher fee, ranger guide fee, local community conservation, certificate after completing the adventure, government tax, four hours with the mountain gorillas.

Exclusions of gorilla habituation experience include transportation, accommodation, porter hire, and any other items of personal expenditure.

What is the cost of a chimpanzee habituation permit?

Currently, the chimpanzee habituation permit is $300 per person for foreign nonresidents, $300 for foreign residents, and 300,000 shs for East African residents.

The Chimpanzee habituation experience permit includes:

• A chimpanzee researcher fee.
• Chimpanzee conservation.
• Four hours with semi-habituated chimpanzees.
• Security.
• Government tax.
• A ranger guide fee.

Exclusion of chimpanzee habituation experience permits porter hire, accommodation, and other personal expenditures.

Book accommodation to use during gorilla and chimpanzee safari

Since gorilla habituation is in the southern part of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, you need to book accommodation in this sector. Two areas for the southern part of Bwindi are the Nkuringo and Rushaga, so that you can reserve accommodation in either area. Accommodations are categorized into Luxury, mid-range, and budget facilities.

Southern Bwindi Accommodation: Clouds Lodge, Chameleon Hill Lodge, Rushaga Gorilla Safari Lodge, Nshongi Camp, Ichumbi Lodge, Bwindi Backpacker's Camp, Trekker' Tarven.

Chimpanzee habituation experience in Kibale National Park requires you to book accommodation in and on the outskirts of the Park.

Kibale National Park accommodation: Primates Lodge, Ndali Lodge, Kyaninga Lodge, Kibale Safari Lodge, Chimps Nest Camp, C.V.K 

Secure transport to Kibale and Bwindi Impenetrable National Park

By road

Road transport is the mains means of transport from Mbarara city to Kibale National park. The drive time is about 2 hours, covering 155.9 kilometers. From Kibale National Park, the distance to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is about 357 kilometers.

Secure a 4x4 wheel drive vehicle in good condition, as the roads upcountry are sometimes rough.

By air

You can charter a flight from Mbarara to Kisoro airstrip, then Bwindi, an impenetrable national park. Still, you need a transfer vehicle as there is a distance of about 35 kilometers on a winding road for about 1 hour and a half.

You can also charter from Mbarara to Kasese airstrip, but you need a transfer vehicle to your lodge in Kibale National Park.

Choose additional activities to combine with the Gorilla and chimpanzee habituation experience. 

Uganda is a country endowed by nature, so if you still have extra time on holiday and hope to explore more of Uganda, you may engage in the following:

 Game drives, birding, white water rafting, launch trips, visiting the source of the river Nile, mountaineering, Uganda cultural experiences, forest walks, religious, Kampala city tour, and Ngamba chimpanzee sanctuary, to mention but a few.

 When is the best time to book a Gorilla and chimpanzee habituation experience from Mbarara city?

All year round, you can do gorilla and chimpanzee habituation experiences; however, the dry season is most tourists' preference. This period's mountain gorillas and chimpanzees are usually more vibrant and quicker to find. The dry season is usually June to September and December to January, but this is the peak tourism season, too.

To be safe, reserve the gorilla and chimpanzee permits in advance as they sell out fast, especially in high season permits. Most people book tickets as early as 6 months to a year upfront because they are limited to a maximum of 4 per Gorilla family per day or per chimpanzee community per session.

Note that Last-minute gorilla and chimpanzee permits are hard to get because of their overwhelming demand, yet a first come, first served basis is used to acquire them.

The wet season usually is March, April, May, and November. Although gorilla and chimpanzee habituation permits may be available at the last minute, they are only a guarantee sometimes.

What is the age minute for gorilla and chimpanzee habituation experience safari?

Fifteen years beyond is the age limit for gorilla habituation experience, whereas beyond 15 years is the age limit for chimpanzee habituation experience. The ages are limited to this because of the nature of these primate activities that require one to walk in the jungle, follow the rules of gorilla and chimpanzee trekking religiously, and so much more. Even the time of finding the mountain gorillas and chimpanzees is not easy to determine. All of these may be hard to withstand by children below these ages.

How Long Is Gorilla And Chimpanzee Habituation Experience?

When you find the mountain gorillas and chimpanzees during the habituation experience, you are allowed four hours with them. From the starting point of Gorilla and chimpanzee habituation experience, it is hard to determine what time to find these primates as finding them is determined by factors like the proximity of their food, in case of a fight with another family, weather conditions prevailing in the day, the pace of other tourists and others.

You are requested to have some level of patience and open your mind to other exciting features in the wilderness like sparkling waterfalls in Bwindi forest, dense network of rivers, look out for other primates like black and white colobus, vervet monkeys, grey-cheeked mangabey, numerous forest birds including Albertine endemics and so much more. The ecosystem in both Bwindi and Kibale forests is mind-blowing. 

Is Gorilla And Chimpanzee Habituation Experience Safe?

Yes, gorilla and chimpanzee habituation experience is safe even if these primates are semi-habituated. Before allowing public visits to the mountain gorillas and chimpanzees, they are first habituated to human presence without altering their nature.

Each group of habituators is also escorted by ranger guides, one holding a machete and another carrying a rifle in case an emergency is required. The rangers constantly communicate with the park security team via radio calls in case backup is needed. The habituators are also in the company of researchers who now have a clue about the characteristics of the semi-habituated gorilla family. If the family gets agitated, they can tell and may know how to calm the situation.

It would help if you were safe by not walking into the forest without an escorting ranger guide, as you may cause land to disappear in these tropical forests. Do not provoke the mountain gorillas or chimpanzees because you may cause them to rage.

Is Gorilla And Chimpanzee Habituation Experience Strenuous?

Both gorilla and chimpanzee habituation are strenuous, though gorilla habituation is more challenging. The walk in the jungle is complex, as you may be required to hike to get to the mountain gorillas. Chimpanzees tend to stay in the treetops, especially in the rainy season, making it quite hard to trace them.

It would help if you had some fitness to complete the gorilla and chimpanzee habituation experience. Wear the right gear to protect your feet from harsh surfaces in the jungle.

What are the guidelines for Gorilla and chimpanzee habituation Experience?

• Anyone with a contagious infection cannot go Gorilla or chimpanzee habituating 
• because these primates are susceptible to human diseases. Yet, you do not know what it will do to the now-celebrated gorilla population.
• Keep a distance of about 8 meters from the mountain gorillas or chimpanzees when you locate them. This is to reduce the chances of passing any infection to these primates.
• Using flash photography is forbidden because it scares mountain gorillas or chimpanzees.
• When 
• You do not need to surround the mountain gorillas or chimpanzees because they feel ambushed, and when they get agitated, they may move into the deeper ends of the forest.
• Provoking the chimpanzees or mountain gorillas is forbidden because they are shy animals that may get uncomfortable.
• Never smoke or eat close to the mountain gorillas because they may grab what you have, and it may not go well with their health. Losing even a single mountain gorilla 
• or chimpanzee for careless mistakes is a big loss.
• If you need to cough or sneeze, turn away from the mountain gorillas or cover your mouth to reduce the chances of passing germs to the mountain gorillas or chimpanzees.
• For long calls in the forest, request the ranger guide to dig a hole for you 30 cm deep and cover all waste beyond recognition. This is to prevent the forest dwellers from exhuming anything.
• Littering the forest is forbidden because it alters the nature of the forest where mountain gorillas or chimpanzees feed.
• Spitting on vegetation is forbidden because it is unhealthy and disgusting to look at, too. Keeping the habitat where mountain gorillas or chimpanzees live as you find it is the best practice.
• Wear a clean mask before meeting the chimpanzees or mountain gorillas as a COVID-19 precaution. Even your boots are sanitized before starting the trek.
• People under 15 years old for gorilla habituation and 15 and below for chimpanzee habituation experience can only attend these activities.
• Only four hours are allowed with the mountain gorillas or chimpanzees when you locate them.

Contact us to plan your gorilla and chimpanzee safari today.