Chimpanzee habituation experience is a done activity where travellers spend a day with a group of chimpanzees that are habituated in their natural forest as a day learning about the habituation process as they to get to know about facts on chimpanzee’s lifestyle and behaviour. They also to spend more time with them because they are being trained on how to get close to human presence. You should note that you will not be with chimpanzees in sight all the time, and you will also involve in learning about them through collecting their droppings, learning about their feeding habits, tracking them in case you come across them when they have left nests behind.
Chimpanzee habituation experience is one of the unique activities done in some of Uganda’s protected national parks where travellers spend the whole day enjoying their natural habitats participating in a day chimpanzee habituation experience which is abbreviated as “CHEX“. Uganda is a blessed country which hosts to more than 5000 chimpanzee individuals of which half of the number inhabit Kibale National Park of Uganda which is a home of over 1500 chimpanzees and the possibility of seeing chimpanzees along here is very high. Other places include; Budogo forest in the boundary of Murchison falls national park, kyambura gorge in Queen Elizabeth national park. Chimpanzee habituation experience this is the only activity where you can get to know the lifestyle of chimpanzees and observe this apes all day long as a learning experience where the researchers join you through habituating chimpanzee in their inhabitants of the forest trails unlike golden monkey habituation and Gorilla habituation but also it has contributed a lot on Uganda’s tourism industry because number of tourists is increasing each year who do engage in chimpanzee habituation activity.
Chimpanzee habituation experience is categorised into two active ways one can spend an hour with them and another experience is to be with them a full day. However, most people have failed to understand the different between Chimpanzee trekking and Chimpanzee habituation experience in a way that they do not realise these two activities. Chimpanzee trekking is an activity accompanied by the guide who leads you to forest trail heads of kibale forest and when they are found you being given an hour or even half-day tracking while Chimpanzee habituation experience is full-day or half-day activity depending on tourist’s choice he prefers, he might decide to spend full day with them or half-day but the costs of Chimpanzee permits differ on hours of the day as you continue to read through. Most tourists come in Uganda for mountain gorillas and chimpanzee tracking of which this are the most famously done activity on Uganda’s tours, come along with game drive not knowing that there are other exciting and amazing chimpanzee habituation experience which allows you to learn more about this great apes unlike chimpanzee tracking which can be done in an hour. There are over 5000 chimpanzees within Uganda and above all kibale forest alone boosts with 1500 chimpanzees.
Fortunately, a number of tourist visit the chimpanzees much like the mountain gorillas for one hour not knowing there’s another option that allows them to be with chimpanzees all day long in the forests of Budongo forest and kibale forest which are their natural habitats and are said to be 98% DNA of human being. Below are the facts about chimpanzee habituation experience.
Chimpanzee habituation experience
This is the most preserved and exciting experienced available on full days or half-day basis which starts early in the morning at 8:30 am since it is mostly enjoyed in kibale forest which harbours with the highest number of them. Our ranger will pick you from your lodges drive you off to Kanyanchu visitors centre at exactly 7:30 for registration and short briefing about chimpanzees rules, you will be given packed lunch, mineral water which you will take in the midst of the forest while observing the chimpanzees.
Visitors will be accompanied by researchers and habituators into the forest as walking keep your eyes open because there is high chances of coming across other forest species like bush pigs, over 350 bird, 12 other primates, forest elephants, buffaloes and many more. Since kibale forest habituates the highest population of chimpanzee you will be lead to the most popular activity in kanyanchu group in kibale forest which has been visited since 1993 tourists who have visited this group for over 25 years they can witness.
In kanyanchu primates walk there is high chances of locating to chimpanzees, years back it used to be 20% of chances to see chimpanzees in the wild and today it has increased to 90% because of the habituation processes where you spend all day present in the forest. Chimpanzees of kanyunchu group in kibale forest are trained to get closer to human presence than those visited on the primate walk, viewing them is bit challenging and once they are found you will spend all day long watching their behaviours, playing, feeding their young ones, grooming and displaying their overnight nests between 6:00 to 6:30.
Visitors are advised to carry clear cameras for such exciting experience you will be able to take quality photos of chimpanzees physically as many as you can ,as you also learn to identify as individuals through their markings, since it involves in researchers you will learn more by collecting their drops, learn about chimpanzees features that make them stand apart from rest until evening time you watch over some unique activity done by them by building their new nests at around 7 pm after you will be driven back to your lodges for evening resting and dinner. There is a limited number of four people who allowed to participate in this wonderful experience.
In Uganda where can I book Chimpanzee habituation permits?
In order to ensure with your chimpanzee habituation permit, there are several ways of getting your permits at the spot. Travellers can book their chimpanzee habituation permits through tour operators, tour companies or by booking your permits directly from ‘’UWA’’ the Uganda wildlife Authority the body that governs all the national parks of Uganda. Travellers are advised to book for their permits in advance before you embark to Uganda, all you need to do is to send in your scanned personal document for example passports and Visas for easy verification of your reservation arrangements.
How much do Chimpanzee permits cost?
In Uganda Chimpanzee habituation experience permit Full day costs USD200 per person and half-day cost USD100 which are exclusive from entrance fees.
More so, by 1st July 2020 Chimpanzee habituation experience full day will be costing USD250 and half-day activity will be at a fee USD150 per person while chimpanzee tracking will increase from USD150 to USD200 per person to Uganda primates tour that will be booked after 1st July 2020 to reflect the price increase. Participates must be above 15 years of age.
Where can we go for Chimpanzee Habituation Experience in Uganda?
The best place to do chimpanzees habituation experience in Uganda are kibale forest which is located in kibale national park in the western part of Uganda approximately 5 to 6 hours by drive, Budongo forest found in the boundary of Murchison falls national park in the northwestern region of the Country estimated 3:40 hours by car. Then chimpanzee tracking which is one of famously done activity in Uganda can be highly recommended to kibale forest, Budogo forest, Kalizu forest in the south western region, in kyambura gorge found in the second-largest park known as Queen Elizabeth national park in the south western part.
When to do Chimpanzee habituation experience?
Travellers can do Chimpanzee habituation experience throughout the year but during peak season, it’s when most numbers of tourists do engage in remarkable activity from the month of June to September and December to February when the primates forest trails are drier and these are the best months of seeing chimpanzees get to know the full information concerning about these apes since it is a day-long experience.
The essentials to bring for chimpanzee habituation Experience.
Travellers are required to carry long sleeved shirt, long trousers, insect repellent, warm clothes, waterproof day pack, a clear camera with batteries, energy snacks, packed lunch, mineral water bottle, binoculars, hats and many more you might like to bring.
Chimpanzee habituation experience tour and chimpanzee tracking tours can be mostly done in kibale forest which is a montane rain forest, these two activities can be changed into one activity of habituation experience. To note, chimpanzee habituation experience and Gorilla habituation activity here in Uganda are the best-done activity unlike chimpanzee tracking and Gorilla tracking experience.
Visit Uganda’s tours on Chimpanzees habituation experience where you can spend all day in the forest observing these chimpanzees and gain much more about their nice-looking, watch over their unique lifestyle and this is truly rewardable activity you will ever remember in a lifetime. Even making you come back for more experience.
Where to stay
Travellers shouldn’t get worried about the accommodation facilities to whatever place to encounter chimpanzee habituation experience offers with beautiful lodges and hotels ranging between luxury, mid-range and budget. Book your accommodation to tour operator.
