Chimpanzee Tracking Permit

Chimpanzee Trekking Permit

Chimpanzee Tracking Permit

Chimpanzee tracking permit is an identification provided by Uganda Wildlife Authority to authorize a tourist/traveller/trekker to access the forest and track chimpanzees.  Chimpanzee tracking in uganda is done in Kalinzu forest and Kyambura Gorge in Queen Elizabeth National Park.

Chimpanzee Tracking Permit in Kalinzu

Kalinzu is a perfect option for a budget chimp tracking and it is located near to Queen Elizabeth national park. At Kalinzu Forest Reserve in Queen Elizabeth National Park you stand a 95% chance to see the habituated chimpanzees and still at a reduced rate of just US$40. Kalinzu forest reserve is under the national forest authority (NFA), and so, the permission to enter Kalinzu Forest Reserve is given by the national forest authority at Kalinzu Forest Reserve head office in Bushenyi/ Rubilizi District or the visitor reception. Kalinzu Forest Reserve chimpanzee trekking activities are enjoyed by visitors on private safaris.

The chimpanzee tracking permit is not given to children under the age of 12years. You can book your chimpanzee tracking permit from the Uganda wildlife authority (UWA) in Kamwokya-Kampala, or else, you can release the work to your tour operator agent. The park entry to a forest reserve like Kalinzu is; US$10 for a foreign nonresident (FNR), US$5 for a foreign resident (FR), and UGX2,500 for East African citizens. However, you are prompted to present valid document that talk about your status in this case; for example the passport, valid working permit and a national ID respectively.

Kalinzu Forest Reserve has over 300 chimpanzees and 40 of them have been habituated. These chimpanzees where habituated by a Japanese researchers group in 1998, and they really did a good job habituating them. The number of the chimpanzees in kalinzu is bigger than that in kyambura, giving you a high chance of seeing them. However, they run swiftly in the trees plus the area of kalinzu forest reserve is very big; about 147sq km, thus making chimpanzee trekking in kalinzu forest reserve very tedious. Chimpanzee tracking in Kalinzu is the major activity done in this forest reserve. It involves following trails to find out where these chimpanzee groups or communities have gone.

Chimpanzee tracking at Kalinzu is better than at Kyambura Gorge, since Kalinzu has more chimpanzees than Kyambura. The chimpanzee tracking activity at Kalinzu Forest Reserve can be a 1hour or a full day activity depending on your preference. It is good to move with enough water for drinking if you are intending to do a full day chimpanzee tracking with in Kalinzu Forest reserve.

Apart from the camp site in Nkombe with in Kalinzu Forest Reserve, Kalinzu has no any standard accommodation facility within and outside the premises. The accommodation is a real deal for visitors that love out door camping in the campsite. However, you can book a lodge in Queen Elizabeth national park that is nearer to Kalinzu Forest Reserve; Queen Elizabeth is near to Kalinzu thus being easy to move to Kalinzu and back to Queen Elizabeth National Park within the shortest time.

Getting there;

Kalinzu Forest Reserve is an en-route to queen Elizabeth national park found in south-western Uganda region. Kalinzu Forest Reserve is just 50km away from Queen Elizabeth national park along Mbarara- Kasese Road. A visitor centre is situated in a convenient location for visitors from, or to Queen Elizabeth national park; it is located at Butare.

By bus from Kampala, Kalinzu Forest Reserve is a 5 hours’ drive away from the bus terminal. The transport fare is about 13000UGX to 16000UGX and this depends on the time of the season. From Butare where the bus stops it is just 1000UGX, however it is also fun to walk to the forest reception; you can get a chance to take pictures here of moneys, birds and other interesting things before even starting your real intended activities within Kalinzu Forest Reserve.

Before choosing Kalinzu chimpanzee tracking activity, you should know some rules that include the following;

  • Children under 12years of age are not issued a permit to Kalinzu Forest Reserve
  • Stay on a fixed trail for tourists
  • Don’t stay at one place for more than 15minutes
  • Do not leave garbage in the forest/ do not litter during the nature walks
  • Keep your voices low when doing the chimpanzee trekking

A Chimpanzee tracking permit at Kalinzu Forest Reserve is easy to get. Advance booking of the permits for chimpanzee tracking with in Kalinzu Forest Reserve is not a must a must; you can get your ticket from the visitor reception on the day of the visit. Plus the charge for chimpanzee trekking in Kalinzu Forest Reserve is the cheapest among all places where this activity is done in Uganda.

Chimpanzee trekking permit – Kyambura Gorge

Chimpanzee tracking permits are needed for one to enjoy this activity in Kyambura Gorge with in Queen Elizabeth national park. Chimpanzee tracking is an activity you do not want to miss when your visit queen Elizabeth national park found in western Uganda. There is a way to save about USD100 for chimpanzee trekking in Uganda; permits for chimpanzee trekking with in Kyambura Gorge is as low as USD50( for both foreign nonresidents and foreign residents in Uganda)compared to Kibale’s chimpanzee tracking permit the is at USD150. However, the citizens of east African community are charged 30,000UGX.

NOTE; the chimpanzee tracking permit charge is exclusive of the entrance fee to Queen Elizabeth national park. And the charge for the chimpanzee tracking permit is inclusive of the charge for the nature walk through the magnificent Kyambura Gorge.

The charge for chimpanzee tracking in Kyambura Gorge has been put quite lower than Kibale by Uganda wildlife authority (UWA) to promote activity with in Queen Elizabeth national. Kyambura Gorge is a hidden rain forest with in a vast savannah grass land. This has made the tourists to bypass the opportunity to see the wonders that exist in this strip if beauty with in a vast wilderness.

The charge for chimpanzee tracking in kyambura Gorge is exclusive of the park entry fee. However, chimpanzee tracking permits of Kyambura Gorge come along with an armed professional guide assigned by Uganda wildlife authority (UWA) to lead your way when trekking through Kyambura Gorge. The UWA guide will answer all your questions about the chimpanzees with a lot of expertise so that you learn a lot about these primates with in Queen Elizabeth national park.

The chimpanzee family in Kyambura Gorge is allowed to be visited twice a day by a number of just six persons per shift. The morning shift start at 8qm and the evening shift starts at 2pm; the shifts take about 2-3 hours. Therefore, this means that every day only two groups of tourists are permitted to engage in the chimpanzee tracking activity within Kyambura gorge in Queen Elizabeth national park. A number of 12 permits are issued to only 12 tourists in a day.

There are a number of genuine reasons as to why chimpanzee trekking is best in Kyambura Gorge with in Queen Elizabeth national park;

  • Booking for a chimpanzee tracking permit from Kyambura Gorge will help you save some dollars a day in comparison to Kibale. You save 100USD if you are a foreign nonresident visitor and 50USD for visitors who are foreign residents of Uganda. Also the citizens of the East Frican community save over 70000UGX when they carry out their chimpanzee tracking from Kyambura gorge and not Kibale National Park.
  • A chimpanzee tracking permit for kyambura gorge will give you a chance to combine more activities done with in Queen Elizabeth national park. Chimpanzee trekking in kyambura gorge with in Queen Elizabeth national park is a half day activity thus allowing you to do other activities before or after your chimpanzee tracking activity.
  • The chimpanzee community in kyambura gorge is mainly habituated; familiar to humans. The chimpanzees climb down from the trees when they see the visitors. You will learn more about their behavior and also take clear pictures because photography here is allowed unlike in kibale national park where flashy photography should be on a low.
  • Kyambura Gorge is a beauty on its own; the gorge is a spectacular view with a verdant roof made by the tall rain forest tall trees in Kyambura Gorge. It’s not just the view, Kyambura Gorge is also endowed with beautiful butterflies, birds; Black Headed Gonolek, brown snake eagle, falcons among others, monkeys; Black And White Monkey, the blue monkey, Red tailed colobus monkey among the rest.

Chimpanzee tracking is another amazing activity through the jungles of Africa; visitors that love studying the behavior of African primates move to wild Africa in the national parks and forest reserves to see habituated chimpanzees. However, is a lot of fun if also the permit charge is affordable, that’s why Kyambura chimpanzee trekking is recommendable for your budget option.

book a trip