Chimpanzee Trekking In Kibale Forest National Park : Kibale national park is found in the western part of uganda in Kabarole district covering an area cover of 795 square kilometers. The national park is a home to 70 wildlife such as buffaloes, forest elephants, antelopes among others. The forest is as well a habitat to the primates such as the chimpanzees, black and white colobus monkeys, grey checked mangabeys, blue monkeys, olive baboons, vervet monkeys, red-tailed monkeys and many more to thrill while in Uganda Chimpanzee Trekking Safari
Chimpanzee trekking within Kibale forest national park is the most done activity in Uganda and this involves tourists moving on foot within the tropical rain forest looking for the habituated chimpanzees. Once the chimpanzees are found the tourists spend an hour with them in their habitat as they get to learn their feeding patterns, breast feeding and there day to day activities.
The trekking in Kibale forest national park starts early in the morning with a briefing about rules and regulations as well as expectations at kanyachu park headquarters. When the briefing is done the tourists are divided into groups of 6 people where each group is assigned a chimpanzee family to trek and a well skilled park ranger who is good at trekking the trails in the forest.
Trekking of the chimpanzees takes about 30 minutes to 5hours depending on the whereabouts of the chimpanzee family as they keep moving from one place to another in hunt of food. As tourists trek they will be able to spot other primates such as grey cheeked mangabey, red tailed monkeys, black and white colobus monkeys, spot various bird species as well as tree species and many more. When the tourists find the chimpanzees, they are allowed to spent with the chimpanzees only one hour which gives them a chance to learn about the chimpanzees behaviors, watch them feed, play, fight, breastfeed, mate, hunt, rest and later take photos with them.
COST OF THE CHIMPANZEE TREKKING PERMIT
A chimpanzee trekking permit within the national park costs 200 USD for foreign non-residents per person, for foreign residents its 150 USD per person and 150,000UGX for east African citizens per person.
HOW TO BOOK THE CHIMPANZEE TREKKING PERMITS
A chimpanzee trekking permit in Kibale forest national park can be obtained through Uganda wildlife authority by either email or telephone call.
As well the chimpanzee trekking permit within Kibale national park can be obtained through a trusted tour operator where the tourists can contact them and consult by either email or phone call. After an agreement the tourist can send in her credentials such as name, date, month and year when to visit the chimpanzees. Then after they can check for the availability of the permit on the mentioned dates and if there are permits available then the tourist can deposit and the tour operator gets or purchases the permits on their behalf.
BEST TIME TO GO FOR CHIMPANZEE TREKKING SAFARI IN KIBALE NATIONAL PARK
The chimpanzee trekking within Kibale national park can be carried out any time throughout the year but the favorable period is the dry season in the months of June to September and December to February. Within the dry months, the national park receives less rainfall hence making the chimpanzee trails to be dry as well as making them to be passable compared to the rainy seasons which makes the trails to be muddy and slippery.
Chimpanzee trekking within the national park is an enjoyable activity that tourists shouldn’t miss while on their safari in Uganda which can be combined with other amazing activities such as wildlife viewing, bird watching, nature walks and many more.
