Kibale holds the highest density of primates on the continent and around 1,500 chimpanzees, of which several communities are fully habituated. The tracking success rate runs near 95%, which is why almost every serious primate itinerary starts or ends here.
- Size
- 795 sq km
- Primates
- 13 species
- Chimpanzees
- ~1,500
- Permit
- US$250 for one hour
- Habituation
- US$300, four hours from 06:00
- From Bwindi
- 5–6 hrs by road
What tracking is actually like
Nothing like a gorilla trek. The forest floor is flat and the walking is easy, but chimpanzees move fast, high and loudly, and you often move fast with them. A community on the ground can shift a kilometre in minutes; a pant-hoot chorus from fifty metres away is one of the loudest things in an African forest.
Briefings run at Kanyanchu at 08:00 and 14:00. You get one hour once the community is found. Where gorilla trekking is contemplative, this is closer to being swept along.
The habituation experience
Kibale's four-hour habituation option starts at 06:00, when the chimpanzees are still in their night nests, and runs until they build new ones or you run out of stamina. It costs US$300 — only US$50 more than the standard permit — and for anyone genuinely interested in primates it is the better buy.
The other twelve primates
Red colobus, black-and-white colobus, grey-cheeked mangabey, red-tailed monkey, blue monkey, L'Hoest's monkey, olive baboon, bushbaby and potto all occur here. A guided forest walk that is not chasing chimpanzees will usually turn up four or five species and a great deal more birdlife.
Bigodi Wetland Sanctuary
Run by the local community through KAFRED, the Magombe swamp boardwalk just outside the park is one of the best-value activities in Uganda: swamp birds, red colobus at eye level and guides who know every call. Revenue funds local schools directly. Allow three hours.
Where to stay and getting there
Lodges sit around Kanyanchu and out among the Ndali–Kasenda crater lakes, which are worth an extra night on their own — small volcanic lakes ringed by tea and forest, with the Rwenzori mountains on the horizon on a clear morning.
Fort Portal is 30 minutes away. By road, 5–6 hours from Entebbe, 2–3 from Queen Elizabeth. By air, Kasese airstrip is about an hour from Entebbe — the basis of our 4-day fly-in gorillas and chimpanzees.
Questions
Frequently asked
Is chimpanzee trekking worth doing if I'm already seeing gorillas?
They are genuinely different animals and a genuinely different hour — gorillas are calm and close, chimpanzees are fast and noisy. Most travellers who do both say the pairing was the best part of the trip.
Where is the best chimpanzee tracking in Uganda?
Kibale, comfortably. Budongo near Murchison and Kyambura Gorge in Queen Elizabeth are cheaper but less reliable. Full comparison on our chimpanzee page.
What is the minimum age for chimpanzee tracking?
Twelve in Kibale, against fifteen for gorillas — which makes Kibale the better option for families with teenagers.
Next
Keep planning
- Chimpanzee trekking — every option compared
- 5-day gorillas and chimpanzees — the classic pairing
- 4-day fly-in gorillas and chimpanzees — the same trip, two days shorter
- Birding safaris — green-breasted pitta and 370 more