Kibale chimpanzee tracking
The second reason to choose Uganda over Rwanda. Chimpanzees are faster, louder and more chaotic than gorillas, and tracking them is a completely different morning.
What Kibale is
Kibale Forest National Park sits in western Uganda near Fort Portal, on the route between Entebbe and Bwindi. It holds one of the highest concentrations of primates anywhere in East Africa — chimpanzees are the draw, but red colobus, grey-cheeked mangabey, L'Hoest's monkey and several others share the forest.
How it differs from gorilla trekking
Almost entirely, and that is the point of doing both.
Gorillas are still. A family feeds, grooms and dozes, and you stand seven metres away watching a slow domestic scene. It is quiet and unexpectedly moving.
Chimpanzees are not. They move fast through the canopy, they call constantly — a pant-hoot carrying through the forest is one of the great wildlife sounds — and tracking them means keeping up rather than approaching carefully. It is noisier, more energetic and less composed.
Physically it is easier. Kibale's terrain is flatter than Bwindi's and treks are generally shorter, though you may have to move quickly when the group does.
Why this matters to the Uganda-or-Rwanda decision
Rwanda has chimpanzees at Nyungwe, but Nyungwe is far enough south that most combined itineraries cannot reach it. In Uganda, Kibale sits directly on the road between Entebbe and Bwindi. Doing both primates in one trip is straightforward here and awkward there.
The tracking morning
Briefing at the park headquarters at Kanyanchu, then into the forest with rangers who have been following the community. Once the chimps are found you have one hour with them, as with gorillas.
Sightings are usually good but less certain than gorilla trekking — chimps range more widely and move faster. Rangers give honest odds at the briefing.
The habituation experience
Kibale also offers a chimpanzee habituation experience: a full day with researchers following a community still being habituated, from their morning nests to their evening ones. Longer, smaller groups, and a great deal more walking.
Permits
Chimpanzee tracking permits are issued by the Uganda Wildlife Authority and cost considerably less than gorilla permits. We quote the current rate for your dates rather than publishing a figure here, because permit tariffs in Uganda have been revised more than once recently and a stale number is worse than none.
The minimum age for chimpanzee tracking differs from the gorilla minimum of fifteen. We confirm it with your quotation.
Where it fits
Kibale works naturally on the drive from Entebbe to Bwindi, which is why it appears in our 12-day itinerary. Two nights near Fort Portal gives you a tracking morning and the Bigodi wetland walk in the afternoon — excellent for birds and the other primate species.
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Current UWA chimpanzee tracking and habituation permit rates, and the minimum age, to be confirmed and added. Owned photography needed.
Plan your Kenya and gorilla safari
Tell us roughly when you want to travel and how long you have. We will send a written itinerary and a quotation.