Uganda's forests hold some of East Africa's most accessible chimpanzee populations, offering a livelier, noisier counterpart to gorilla trekking. Tracking often means craning your neck upward as much as watching the trail ahead.
Here is what to expect, from choosing where to track to the habituation experience some travellers add to their itinerary.
Kibale Forest is Uganda's best-known chimpanzee destination, with a high density of habituated groups, though Kyambura Gorge and Budongo Forest also offer good sightings with fewer visitors. We help match the location to the rest of your itinerary.
Chimpanzee permits are less scarce than gorilla permits but still worth booking ahead, particularly in peak season. Morning treks tend to offer more active sightings, since chimpanzees are often busiest feeding in the early hours.
Tracking usually moves faster and covers more ground than gorilla trekking, since chimpanzee groups travel widely through the canopy. Expect a livelier encounter, with calls, movement overhead and a more dynamic hour once the group is found.
A small number of sites offer a longer chimpanzee habituation experience, following researchers as they track a group from dawn. It runs most of the day and gives a far closer look at chimpanzee behaviour than a standard one-hour track.
Tell us roughly when you would like to travel and what draws you here, and we will take it from there.
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