2 Days Chimpanzee Trekking In Uganda Kibale National Park

After breakfast at your place of stay in Kampala (at around 6.30 am), we’ll embark on a 300km (5-6 hours) drive to the Fort Portal area. We’ll drive through the impressive countryside landscapes of Uganda with impressive scenic views including the scenic Mubende inselbergs not forgetting the small towns en route including Mpigi, Mityana, Mubende and Kyenjojo.

You arrive in Mpanga tea estates in the mid-morning and then embark on a cycling experience. The green tea plantation is spread over a beautiful undulating landscape with endless scenic views which makes it ideal to encounter on your mountain bikes. On your cycling, you encounter the estate staff plucking tea and you are free to participate in the exercise to gain the exact touch. Retreat from the activity and continue to Fort Portal town where you will settle for lunch. The fort that gave the town its name might not stand anymore, but this is a beautiful town in another scenic area of the country.

After lunch, we’ll visit the Amabeere Caves which is named after the live stalactite formation, Amabeere ga Nyinamwiru (literally, Breast of Nyinamwiru). These breast-like features in the caves are believed to have belonged to Nyinamwiru, the daughter of King Bukuku who is said to have been so beautiful that no man could leave her alone. When Nyinamwiru father King Bukuku became weary of receiving marital requests from unsuitable suitors, he took the extreme measure of cutting off his daughter’s breasts to make her less attractive.

After visiting the caves we will then embark on the hike to the dramatic Fort Portal Crater Lake field where you traverse the challenging slopes of Kyeganywa hill, surrounded by a range of picturesque crater lakes and crater hollows (some of them over 400 metres deep) presenting one of the beautiful scenic sites in Uganda.

The top of Kyeganywa hill offers spectacular views of the Rwenzori Mountains on a clear day. We’ll retire from the activity and transfer to Kibale National Park, about an hour to the south arriving at the lodge in the evening for relaxation, dinner and overnight.

After an early morning breakfast (at around 6.30 am), we’ll drive to Kanyanchu Visitor Centre where you’ll meet the expert local ranger guide who will lead you into the magnificent rainforest of Kibale on your unforgettable Chimpanzee tracking encounter on foot which starts at 8 am. In fact, beforehand you’ll be given an informative talk on tracking etiquette after which you’ll embark on a trek in search of Chimpanzees.

Kibale’s chimpanzees have been tracked since 1993 and there is over 95% chance of locating some of Kibale’s 1500 Chimpanzees. The trek to see these intelligent apes lasts between 2-5 hours. Contact time with chimpanzees is limited to one hour; group size is limited to 6 visitors and participants must be aged 12 or over.

While tracking in the depths of the lush green forest, you’ll be surrounded by bird song, colourful butterflies and can expect to see at least 5 or 7 other types of monkeys, most probably the Black and white colobus, Uganda red colobus, Uganda mangabey, Red tailed monkey, Vervet monkey, L’Hoest’s monkey, and Olive baboons.

Finally, you approach the common chimpanzees which have been fully habituated and thus offer you an opportunity to draw closer, watching them (from a safe but intimate distance of 8-10 metres) and take pictures. Coming face to face with your closest relatives in the animal kingdom is a surreal experience.

You will feel a fascinating sense of familiarity as the chimpanzees mirror distinctly human behaviours and emotions. Whether you witness a mother’s love for her baby or the mischief of a younger sibling, chimpanzee trekking is the ultimate adventure. You have hours availed to you to encounter these precious apes and you are free to take as many photos as you can.

Retreat from the activity which tends to last 2 – 5 hours and get back to the starting point where you will rejoin your company safari guide to embark on a 300km journey driving for 5– 6 hours arriving in Kampala in the evening to mark the end of the tour.