Chimpanzees belong to a family of apes, which include orangutans and gorillas, and have a close relationship with humans sharing almost 98% DNA. Chimpanzees keep on learning new things every day, and each has a unique characteristic from the others. All these are noticeable when you spend valuable time with the chimpanzees during a chimpanzee trek. Chimpanzees usually live in groups ranging between 10 to 100 individuals. The male dominant is always in charge, and they look out for each other in case of danger. The large chimpanzee communities often split into smaller groups during the day as they search for food and get back together after feeding.

Chimpanzee trekking is an amazing safari experience that takes you around the national parks where it is carried out. Chimpanzee trekking involves tracking the chimpanzees in their natural habitat, following them around, and spending an hour with them as you study their behaviors and learn more about their nature and behaviours. During a chimpanzee trek, small groups go on a hike with trained rangers and experienced guides to spend time with the chimpanzee communities in the wild.

The best place to trek chimpanzees in Uganda is Kibale National Park, with the highest chimpanzee population recorded over 1500 chimpanzees living in communities. Chimpanzee trekking in Uganda is one of the best and amazing wildlife experiences where tourists get to spend time with the chimpanzees in their natural habitats. Kibale National Park is the best destination to do it,because tourists have a 90% chance of seeing the chimpanzees all year round because of the dense chimpanzee populations. There are other chimpanzee destinations in Uganda, and these are Queen Elizabeth National Park, Murchison Falls National Park and Kalinzu Forest.

Kibale National Park is considered to be the best chimpanzee trekking destination in Uganda with over 1500 chimpanzees. Located in southwestern Uganda, Kibale National Park can easily be accessed from Entebbe or Kampala via road. Tourists in Kibale National Park have a 90% chance of seeing the chimpanzees while in there, unlike other destinations in the country. The national park offers two sessions of Chimpanzee trekking, one starting at 8:00 am and the last one at 2:00 pm but tourists should note that the morning treks are the busiest and the best time to for chimpanzee trekking because chimpanzees are more active in the morning and the afternoon finds them resting and grooming each other. It is also only in Kibale National Park where chimpanzee habituation is carried out and it starts at 6:30 am till late in the evening when the chimpanzees go back to their nests. The cost of the Chimpanzee trekking permit is $250 for foreign non-residents, $200 for foreign residents, and EAC citizens UGX180,000. The habituation permit is UGX250,000 for EAC citizens, $300 for foreign non-residents, and $250 for foreign residents.

In Queen Elizabeth National Park, Kyambura Gorge is the only area to have a chimpanzee safari destination in Uganda. Kyambura also known as ‘’the valley of apes’’ is home to a sizeable number of habituated chimpanzees (17) which can be seen all year round, however, the best time is during the dry season. Chimpanzee tracking in Kyambura can easily be combined with a game drive in Queen Elizabeth National Park and the cost of the chimpanzee permit in Kyambura Gorge is $100 for foreigners, $80 for foreign residents (who have resident or work pernits) and Uganda and EAC citizens UGX50,000 per person.

Also, in Murchison Falls National Park, Budongo Forest is home to habituated chimpanzees which are tracked throughout the year. Tourists have an 80% chance of spotting the chimpanzees in Budongo forest and the forest is in association with the Goodall Institute which has increased the population of the chimpanzees in the forest. The cost of the permit for foreign non-residents is $230, $120 for foreign residents, and $85 for EAC citizens

How long does it take to find chimpanzees and what is the time spent with the chimpanzees?

Chimpanzees are primates that are always in motion searching for food and sometimes keep on making new nests in different parts of the forest, you will never find a permanent address for the chimpanzees in the forest and after making the new nests, this is where they end up spending the whole day. This means that the time taken to find the chimpanzees is unpredictable and can take between 2 to 3 hours for tourists to find the chimpanzees. The chimps are on the move once they wake up. However, some trackers are sent out early morning ahead of the trek group to find the chimps before they leave their nests and the trackers communicate to the guides who have stayed back with the tourists about the location and this makes it easy for the guides to find the easiest route to locate the chimpanzees that are always on the move.

After locating the chimpanzees in their natural habitat, visitors have an hour with the chimpanzee communities and this is the best time to observe the chimpanzees, their features and actions and take photos.