Have you ever thought about going on a chimpanzee tracking safari in Africa? Chimpanzee Watching is one of the interesting adventures that travelers seek for in East and Central Africa. Chimpanzees are among the known six apes! These primates that share more than 98% of human DNA and thus they are our distant cousins! There are a few destinations where travelers can enjoy chimpanzee tracking and the most popular are Uganda, Rwanda and Tanzania. Here is a review on chimpanzee tracking in Rwanda vs Uganda;
Uganda is a primate capital of Africa due to the fact that many of the primates colonized the tropical rain forests of Uganda. Apart from gorilla trekking, the next best activity in this country is chimpanzee trekking in the tropical rain forests of Uganda.
In Uganda, there are many forests that host wild chimpanzees and the areas that have habituated chimpanzee communities. Top places visited on Uganda safaris that feature chimpanzee tracking include Kibale Forest National park in western Uganda, Budongo Forest in northern Uganda, Kyambura Gorge in Queen Elizabeth National park, Semuliki National Park and Kalinzu ecotourism site. The other exsitu conservation areas where one can see chimpanzees in Uganda include Uganda Wildlife Education Centre (UWEC) and Ngamba Island in Entebbe.
In Rwanda, the chimpanzees are found in Nyungwe forest National Park and in case you get to visit Rwanda, this is the best place to see them.
In Rwanda, a chimpanzee permit costs $ 200 per person per trek and in Uganda, the different places have got different prices. In Kibale, the permit is at $250 per person, in Kyambura Gorge, its costs $150, in Budongo, it’s at $80 and in Kalinzu at $150. At the zoo, you get to pay entry fees and you will have access to the chimpanzees.
In Nyungwe forest, the chimps are semi habituated and this needs the tourists to wake up so early and look for them and in Uganda, the chimps are fully habituated and are used to the people and the experience is so different.
In Uganda, chimp trekking takes up half day while in Nyungwe Forest, you can’t rule how long you will spend looking for the chimps since their movements are so unpredictable.
More so, in Uganda, the chimps live in communities and then divide into small groups that are called the parties due to the efforts of trying to reduce the competition on food. These will then come together in the evening to make up their nests for sleeping. During the trek, you will be briefed and 6 people will trek a given party in order to avoid the congestion, since these parties keep joining and separating, you may also find yourselves separating and joining.
Within Uganda, the guests can enjoy the chimpanzee habituation in Budongo and in Kibale National park. In this activity, the tourists will move with the researchers and also participate in the habituation of new communities. The price for this activity is also higher due to the fact that it takes the whole day and not one hour.
Similarities
Uganda and Rwanda have got a few similar things and the people will visit these two countries either to view the gorillas or the chimpanzees as well as the golden monkeys.
