Walking  With  the  great  Apes  of  Uganda ; Gorillas  and  Chimps  Habituation  experience .

Create the most tranquil family safari vacation hideaway  with the great apes of Uganda .This is so amazing and memorable to stay with these apes for quite some good time .The apes include the gorillas , chimpanzees .You will have some  good time with them having fun ,taking photos and so on with these apes .The trekking of these apes is done in Bwindi , mgahinga and kibale national park .

 

 

Things to remember when going to walk with the great Apes of Uganda.

Since the journey for habituating takes some time, be ready to carry your own lunch into the jungle.

The tourists to be involved in this activity should be physically fit because it involves hiking to the jungle to look for these apes.

Lastly, you have to be steady, patient and strong because you will have to take some long journeys driving to the destination where you are going to find the apes.

 

Brief introduction to the great Apes of Uganda in Entebbe, Ngamba island and Chimpanzee sanctuary.

For one to enter into Uganda, the only entry is the Entebbe airport located along the shores of Lake Victoria in Kampala. This is a very peaceful place that is so welcoming and hospitable to all people in spite of their culture, religion and tribes.

Entebbe has a variety of tourist attractions which have attracted more people to the country. For example, the attractions include visiting the jane Goodals orphaned chimpanzees in the northern part of Lake Victoria, making reviews on the collection of animals in the UWEC zoo and lastly trekking the enormous shoebill bird in Mabamba swamps. As you reach Uganda, you will get a tour around the city as you get to see the different attractions their and the businesses that people do to achieve their leaving for example, visiting the markets places, the Entebbe environs and the Ngamba chimp island.

From there, you will then have to drive to kibale national park which is a 6-hour drive to reach the destination through fortpartal where you will have lunch, relax and then continue to kibale where you will be checked in and directed where to stay during   your time in Uganda .

Walking with wild Chimps in Kibale National forest park on a Habituation experience.

Lets first understand the term habituation before we continue .We define habituation as a way of making the primates get used to the human behavior .Therefore you have to bring them closer to humans in order to adapt their behavior .The habituating of the chimpanzees takes over a full  day habituating and looking for the chimps to bring them closer to humans . It starts at 6 am immediately as the chimpanzees rise up before they go to start grazing and end at around 7 .am when the chimps are going to make them their nests to rest.

Here, you will have to wake up very early in the morning, grab yourself a cup of tea or coffee  then head to the headquarters to have a briefing about the habituating of the chimps .This is done at kanyanchu visitor center .After the briefing , you will head to the jungle and then start the habituation .This habituation is done to reduce on the fearing of the chimpanzees so that they stop hiding away from humans and get used to them .When you find these primates , you will be given ample time to see them hunting ,grazing fornicating and then resting lastly .The habituating of the chimpanzees takes some quite long time which is over 2 years .It is done till the chimpanzees get used and they see humans as their friends .

The chimpanzee habituation experience

When doing this experience in kibale national park, you will do it with the help of the chimpanzee family which has already got used to the presence of humans and understands them. This will help you to easily habituate these apes in the jungle. However, this cannot make the chimps get used to the humans immediately.

The experience when one is with these  chimpanzees is really physically  still lucking because it requires one to continue walking following the movements of the chimps .These chimps are always active and busy playing , drumming the trunks of the trees and jumping .You will then take the photos while they are on ground playing .

However, we said it earlier that the habituation takes over the whole day but incase you are done with the habituating when it is still early, you are free to go back to the lodge and have a rest.

 

Walking in the valley of Apes and game viewing in queen Elizabeth national park.

This national park is located in kasese district in the south western part of Uganda. It is located north of kibale national park and it is about 2 and 30 hour drive to reach queen Elizabeth .Queen Elizabeth national park is a park known for different activities such as boat cruise on kazinga channel ,game drives to see a number of animals such as the buffaloes , elephants ,leopards , crocodiles to mention but a few.

In the park, you also get to see the tree climbing lions in the ishasha sector which also have attracted very many people. The park has got the lost chimpanzees in the Kyambura gorge which are also trekked by tourists who may wish to trek in queen Elizabeth.

 

Walking with the lost great Apes.

Queen Elizabeth national park is a park covering over 2500 square kilometers and that is specifically in the western part. The park has got the lost apes and that is the chimpanzees which are found in the Kyambura gorge .This is where the tourists come to trek the chimpanzees from .The habituation  starts very early in the morning  by 7 am and it goes up to around 7 in the evening where by the first habituation session is in the morning and the other one in the evening  .This takes quite a long time therefore you have to have to pack your lunch as you are going for the habituation .However incase you got the chimps a bit earlier you can leave and go back to the lodge .

 

Habituating the wild mountain gorillas of Bwindi impenetrable national park.

 

This is the park in Uganda where gorillas are most found and habituated .It is located in kanungu district in the western part of Uganda .However It  also has other animal species such as the elephants , buffaloes monkeys to mention but a few .The park has got  a number of beautiful  bird species which attract the tourists to move with the great apes of Uganda and these  include the swamp warbler , African green broadbill , eremomela and so many others .

The habituation of the mountain gorillas in Bwindi impenetrable national forest starts very early in the morning by 6 am before the gorillas set off to go and start grazing .Here you will have to wake up very early in the morning  , have your tea breakfast  and  then start your journey to rushaga sector   where you will do the habituation  from .You will be advised to go with your packed lunch because this takes almost a day habituating the gorillas .From there you will have to back to your lodge and rest .

 

When to go for the great apes of Uganda.

It is said so far that there is no specific time designed  to go for the great apes in Uganda .There fore as soon as possible you can join the race to go for these great  apes  .But however ,The best time would be during the dry season when the land is dry and favorable  for all types of trucks to pass in without getting any problem and breaking down .

Best weather when to move with the great apes.

For one to be happy and get a memorable journey or trip , the best  time should be in the dry seasons in the months of June to August ,and then December to February .This time is very favorable because there will be no problems of sliding ,falling and more others .However remember to carry some umbreras , water proof shoes , rain fall coats to mention but a few because this is a tropical rainforest and they always expect rain all the time abruptly .

Heavy rains during the walking with the great apes.

The heavy rains of march to May ,September to November attract less tourists  because most tourists have their own allergic diseases and more so the grounds are so slippery which cause accidents to the clients while hiking .However the tourists also prefer these months of rain because the apes are always near and they do not always move too far to go and graze .This gives a great chance to these tourists to see them easily with out moving to long distances . More on that, for those who like taking photos, the environment is clear and looks so good to give a greater view and a clear picture.

The last thing is that during these heavy rains, the lodges and hotels tend to give discounts to its clients in order to attract more clients and there fore this makes some clients to move during these months.

 

The costs for chimpanzee and mountain gorilla’s habituation.

The cost for chimpanzee habituation is at 250 dollars which is a bit higher than chimpanzee trekking which is 200 dollars. The reason behind this is that the habituation takes quite a long time compared to trekking.

More so the cost for mountain gorilla habituation is 1500 dollars also higher than that of trekking which is 700 dollars.

The permits can be booked at the Uganda wild life Authority before going for the trip to  habituate the apes .This can help you to avoid inconvenience while in the park ready for habituating .