All about chimpanzee trekking in Uganda

If you’re keen on seeing mountain gorillas in the wild, chances are you’d also love to see chimpanzees in the wild! Trekking to see endangered chimpanzees in the wild is a wonderful excursion to add to a trip in Uganda. In fact, we include it in our Top 20 things to do in Uganda – the definitive list!

Similar to gorilla trekking, in chimpanzee trekking a small group goes on a hike with trained rangers to see and spend time with a chimpanzee troop in the wild. Chimps are very similar to gorillas in many ways, while also of course having easily noticeable differences.

One of the main differences between a chimp trek and a gorilla trek is that chimps live primarily in trees while gorillas live on the ground. This means chimps are a little harder to spot and photograph. The best times of year for chimp trekking are the same as for gorilla trekking: November to February, and June to October. This makes it easy to take on both treks during a trip to Rwanda or Uganda.

Chimpanzees also live in much larger troops than gorillas: chimp troops constitute around 50 to 150 individuals. 

Chimpanzee in Kibale Forest in Uganda

There are several places where you can trek to see chimpanzees in Uganda. The most popular places are Kibale Forest and Kyambura Gorge. Both of these areas have groups of habituated chimpanzees. You can also go chimp trekking in Budungo Forest.

The beautiful Kibale Forest National Park in Uganda is one of the best places in the world to see chimpanzees in their natural habitat. The park is about 230 km from Bwindi Impenetrable National Park.

Kibale Forest is home to around 1,200 chimps. It also hosts 12 other species of primates, namely:

A red colobus monkey

The park is a remnant of a once huge central African rainforest. It covers 776 km on the edge of the Queen Elizabeth National Park. It's one of the most diverse and varied rainforests in Africa. There are several habituated groups of chimpanzees in Kibale and groups of up to eight people can trek to see them.

Kyambura Gorge is a gorge on the edge of Queen Elizabeth National Park. It's filled with a tropical rainforest that's home to about 16 chimpanzees. This forest is cut off from the larger forests like Kalinzu and Maramagambo where other chimps live, a fact that has led to them being called 'the lost chimps of Kyambura'.

The forest is beautiful and home to many species of birds as well as primates, including red-tailed monkeys, black-and-white colobuses, baboons and vervet monkeys.

Please note that it's a very steep hike down into the gorge. And what goes down, must also make its way back up! Trekking to see the lost chimps of Kyambura is thus a taxing enterprise, but also an incredibly rewarding one!

Mist lingers in Kyambura Gorge

It's also possible to trek to see chimpanzees at Budungo Forest near Murchison Falls. This is a beautiful rainforest which is home to 800 chimps. It's the largest remaining tropical forest in East Africa, covering 825 km. It's under the protection of the Jane Goodall Institute and there are several habituated chimpanzee groups here.

Unlike mountain gorillas, chimps spend much of their time up in trees

Here are seven facts about chimp trekking in Uganda which we feel should answer your practical answers ...