Queen Elizabeth National Park is not only a home to the wildlife mammals but it is as well a habitat to the great primate animals that found in the tropical rainforests of Kyambura valley gorge and Maramagambo forest. Some of the primates found in the park include the great chimpanzees, the white and black colobus monkeys, the grey checked mangabey, the red-tailed monkeys, the L’Hoest’s monkeys among others.
Chimpanzee trekking in Queen Elizabeth national park is one of the great adventure experiences that a number of travelers prefer to enjoy when they visit the park.
Where to go chimpanzee trekking in Queen Elizabeth national park?
Chimpanzees in Queen Elizabeth national park are found in only two forest destinations that is Kyambura gorge and Maramagambo forest. However, chimpanzee trekking in queen Elizabeth national park is only done in Kyambura gorge that is located in eastern side of the park due to fact there are no habituated chimpanzees in Maramagambo forest and the forest has not yet been declared as a safe chimpanzee trekking destination although there are very many chimpanzees that can be spotted in Maramagambo forest.
Chimpanzee trekking in Kyambura gorge is extremely interesting and an exciting adventure as it gives an insight to travelers to explore other primates that are found in the park as well as other wildlife animals. Such as the grey checked mangabey monkeys, the blue monkeys, red tailed monkeys, the white and black colobus monkeys, the L’Hoest’s monkeys, as well as wildlife animals that come to the valley gorge to drink water from the Kyambura gorge, such as the elephants, the hog forest hogs, the buffaloes, bushbucks among others.
Chimpanzee trekking in Kyambura gorge is done into two phases the morning phase and the evening phase, however the best time recommended is during the morning hours when chimpanzees are waking up to go and look for food in the forest and when it’s not yet hot in the forest. The chimpanzees trekking experiences in Kyambura gorge can take about 3-4 hours to find a chimpanzee community due to the fact that chimpanzees are found of moving from one place to another.
Once you meet a chimpanzee community, you will be allowed to spend only one hour with the chimpanzees, as you enjoy their feeding lifestyle patterns, you will enjoy watching the babies of the chimpanzee’s breastfeeding, watch them as they de-nest among other behaviors of the chimpanzees in the jungle.
Chimpanzee trekking in Kyambura will give travelers an opportunity to enjoy bird watching experiences since the forest is one of the best spot destinations for bird lovers. Birds expected to be seen include the African Skimmer, falcon flycatcher, African broadbill, the papyrus gonolek, white winged warbler among others.
Travelers are advised to carry enough batteries and cameras so that they take photos and videos of the chimpanzee communities that will act as take-home unforgettable memories about the chimpanzee trekking experiences.
Kyambura Gorge
The Kyambura Gorge experience is more than discovering Chimpanzees in their natural environment; it teaches visitors about the ecosystems of Kyambura Gorge’s “underground” rain forest, including vegetation types and fruiting seasons, forest bird identification and behavior, and chimpanzee and other primate ecology.
Although chimp sightings are not guaranteed, visitors stand a pretty good chance at hearing and seeing these dark cousins of man because the chimp family is habituated. Tours last between one and three hours and start at 8am and 2pm daily.
Chimpanzee Tracking in the Kyambura Gorge
The Kyambura Gorge jungle is the best spot for chimpanzee tracking lovers as it does offer the finest tracking experiences.And while on the mountain gorilla trek,be ready to enjoy various sights of different interesting wild life species like savanna elephants, a number of baboons, vervet monkeys, different bird species, water bucks among others, all habituated in the thick forests of Queen Elizabeth National Park.
Unlike mountain gorilla tracking, chimpanzee tracking in Queen Elizabeth is quite easy; as the Kyambura forest gorge has a well-developed tracking network of trails rising right from top of the gorge running down the forest and the river, providing you with a beautiful scenic view over the varying forest vegetation.
Usually, there are game rangers available to guide your tracking process while giving you all the necessary information on these creatures. The tracking process can last from 30 minutes to long hours according to the movements made by the chimpanzees as they look for food and water. On your hunt, be ready to witness great views of birds as they sing and rejoice through the woods of Queen Elizabeth national park.
To track chimpanzees, you must wake up early and report to the starting point by 8:00 am which is the morning tracking time while 2:00pm is the afternoon time for late trackers. Tracking chimpanzees in Kyambura gorge can be engaged in at any time of the year.
What is the cost of chimpanzee trekking in Queen Elizabeth national park?
To enjoy the chimpanzee tracking tourist activity in Uganda, one to first acquire the tracking permit that is usually at US$50 at Uganda Wildlife Authority. Or buy the chimpanzee permits from the park headquarters (Katunguru).
Chimpanzee trekking in Queen Elizabeth national park is one of the best alternatives for chimpanzee safari adventures due to fact that the trekking permit is more affordable than in Kibale forest national park and Budongo forest.
The chimpanzee trekking permit in Kyambura gorge costs US$50 per person per day while in Kibale it is costs US$150 per person thus it’s a cheaper option for the budget travelers. The permits can be acquired at the Uganda wildlife authority headquarters offices or travelers can book with the Uganda safari experts before they travel. At the same time the chimpanzee trekking permits can be acquired from Mweya information center in the park. Adventure in wild is one of the best Uganda safari experts that has experience and knowledge in organizing chimpanzee trekking safaris in queen Elizabeth national park, please contact us for more information regarding your chimpanzee safari in the park.
Best time for chimpanzee trekking in Queen Elizabeth national park
Best time to visit Queen Elizabeth national park for the chimpanzee trekking adventure is during the dry season in the months of June, July, august, September to mid-October which is the long dry season as well as in the months of December, January and full February that is referred to as the short dry season. During these months, there is no or even little rainfall that might be expected to destruct the chimpanzee trekking in Kyambura gorge. The ground in the valley gorge is not wet and slippery therefore movement in the forest to search for the chimpanzee community becomes easy compared to the rainy season when trekking trails are slippery and muddy thus making trekking in the forest difficult.
What to pack for chimpanzee trekking in Queen Elizabeth national park?
Travelers planning to come to Queen Elizabeth national park for the chimpanzee trekking experiences need to prepare themselves for the jungle after they have confirmed their booking for the chimpanzee trekking permit.
Kyambura gorge is tropical thick rainforest that will require travelers to carry long sleeved shirts and tops for ladies as well as trousers to protect their body skin from the thorny bushes and wild insect bites, travelers can as well carry along an insect repellent.
Travelers are advised to carry strong hiking gum boots and long socking for firm and easy movement in the forest, socking will help to protect your skin from thorny bushes as you go through the jungle.
Travelers are as well advised to carry along strong water rain jackets that will help you in case it rains while trekking. The rain jackets can be carrying both in the rainy season as well as in the dry season due to fact that its tropical rainforest where there is alike hood of raining any time.
An African head hat and sun glasses that will protect your eyes from direct sun rays during the dry season, other requirements that might of help during the chimpanzee trekking experience include, strong binoculars to enjoy bird watching while your trekking in forest, extra batteries and cameras to take videos and photos with the chimpanzee community as well as capturing their behavioral patterns of life in jungle.
The chimpanzee trekking gears is a long list that travelers need to know, you can contact us for the chimpanzee trekking gears before you set off for your chimpanzee trekking safaris so as you plan accordingly what to carry for the perfect experiences.
What To Carry
When planning a Kyambura gorge chimpanzee tracking trip in Uganda, one should be aware of what to include in their package as this too adds on the experience you get while on this adventure. Among the things that should be considered is a pair of hiking shoes to ease movements within the gorge forest, sweater since hiking may start very early in the morning, and possible rains, a cape / robe, a pair of binoculars and long trousers or pants.