Uganda offers the world’s best Chimpanzee trekking experience-Uganda safari news

Indeed, the Pearl of Africa or one can refer to it as a “summary of Africa” Uganda is home to numerous wildlife species and yes, the primate capital of the world is here. Chimpanzees or chimps are a species of the great ape in the genus pan and one of the closest relatives of man. DNA evidence from fossils shows that the species constitutes of the sister taxon to the modern human lineage sharing about 98.7% DNA. A chimpanzee as an animal is covered in coarse black hair leaving the face, fingers, toes, palms of the hands, and soles of the feet bare or without hair. It weighs between 40 and 65 kg (88 and 143 lb.) and measures about 63 to 94 cm (25 to 37 in). The female gestation period lasts about eight months and weaned at about 3 years. After birth, its lifespan in the wild can exceed 40 years and about 50 years in captivity.

What is chimpanzee trekking?

Lively, energetic and charming, chimpanzees are fascinating to watch and this is one of the reasons why chimpanzee trekking is one of the key activities for tourists on Uganda wildlife safaris. It’s rare to just encounter wild chimps by chance or just by driving through their habitat so that’s why tourists go chimpanzee trekking. Chimpanzee trekking can be in the morning or in the afternoon, On the morning of your planned trek, park rangers will set off in advance to find the nests the chimps made the night before. They then track the group’s movements, listening for calls and looking for dung, knuckle prints and scraps of half-eaten leaves and fruit. When they locate the chimps, they’ll alert your guide, who will lead you through the forest. It all starts by following paths in a time range of between 30 minutes and several un predictable hours one that is an amazing experience of its own. As soon as you can see the chimps clearly, your one-hour encounter officially begins. After the 1 hour you return to the trek start point where you meet your Uganda tour guide for a transfer to your next destination.

Where to find chimpanzee trekking in Uganda

In Uganda, chimpanzees are found in Kibale Forest National Park, Budongo Forest, Kalinzu forest and Kyambura Gorge within Queen Elizabeth National Park.

Kibale Forest National Park

Known for numerous chimpanzees, the Kanyanchu sector of Kibale Forest National Park is Africa’s most popular and busiest chimping destination. With about 1400 chimpanzees, Kibale Forest National Park is low lying and the terrain is mostly flat and easy with little undergrowth and some relatively open areas – great for clear sightings and photography. The forest offers the favorite food source to the chimpanzees from plenty of fig trees each fruiting at a slightly different time to the next. With the habituation of chimpanzees in Kibale Forest national Park, you can opt for the 1-hour chimp tracking experience or go for a half or full day chimpanzee habituation experience.

Budongo Forest

Close to Uganda’s oldest national park Murchison Falls National Park within the Murchison Falls Conservation Area, Budongo Forest is home to over 600 chimps. The chimpanzees are found within the Kaniyo Pabidi sector where you can undertake a half day or full day trek. The forest is fairly flat and the chimps fairly easy to find, but the canopy is denser than Kibale, making photography more challenging.

Kyambura Gorge

On a Uganda wildlife safari to Queen Elizabeth National Park, including a chimpanzee trekking tour to the Kyambura Gorge is one of the greatest options. Unlike other chimpanzees, the ones in Kyambura Gorge live 100m below sea level in a gorge with a path that runs along one side of the Kyambura River. The trek alone is one of a kind and memorable enough within a beautiful setting as you walk through the gorge in search of the chimps.

There’s a lot to do in Uganda, however, when planning a wildlife safari in Uganda, you can even tailor your safari with a Uganda gorilla trekking safari to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park before or either after the trek to include chimpanzee trekking for a much more memorable experience.