Chimpanzee Tracking at Kyambura Gorge
Kyambura Gorge is one of the most fantastic places to visit in the Queen Elizabeth National Park area. It stretches for about 16kms long and is composed of a tropical rain forest and a savanna type of undergrowth that dominates the park and this whole area. Kyambura Gorge is also known as “the valley of Apes” with in Queen Elizabeth National Park. The Chimpanzees can best be spotted in this place when you are on a trip in Queen Elizabeth National Park and at the lowest cost. The tall trees and the thick undergrowth are favorable for the mobile chimpanzees by providing the seasonal fruits that are a delicacy for the Chimpanzees.
The chimpanzees in this area have ben habituated and are available for tracking. Some of the chimp groups have not been habituated and may be a bit hard to track but the guides will help you access the habituated ones.
Chimpanzees in Kyambura gorge live in groups of 30-80 individuals feeding on forest seasonal fruits, buds, leaves, seeds, termites and sometimes feeding on the meat of small antelopes and birds. Kyambura Gorge is rich in all these different food species that make it easy for the Chimps to stick around. Some of the most interesting character of the Chimps is that it uses tools like sticks and stones to crash and hit their meal. This makes them more/less like humans as we share 98% DNA with them.
Other primates found in Queen Elizabeth include; Baboons, black and white colobus monkeys, red-tailed monkeys and the Vervet monkeys that are seen during your drive through the park and as you enter the park.
Chimpanzee tracking
The activity starts in the morning or afternoon with a briefing that starts with the park staff guiding you on the way to carry on the activity. You are then led into the forest to search for habituated Chimpanzees deep in a thick forest where they spend their day feeding. The tracking exercise will normally take 2-4 hours deopending on the movement and location of the Chimps. On meeting the Chimps, you will be allowed to spend one full hour with them as you take pictures you want and having all your imaginations fulfilled at the sight of these close relatives of human beings in the forest.
Cost of Chimpanzee trekking at Kyambura Gorge
Nonresidents and foreign are charged $50 per person while the East African residents are required to pay only 30000 Uganda shillings for this exercise. This charge is such lower that the $200 charged for those tracking the habituated Chimpanzees in Kibale National Park for nonresidents. It should be noted that the presence of Chimpanzees at Kyambura gorge gives Queen Elizabeth National Park a higher advantage over other places especially if the visitors are interested in game driving activities and tracking the Chimpanzees.
Where to stay at Kyambura Gorge
Queen Elizabeth National Park is a place with a number of accommodation facilities ranging from high end, mid-range and budget facilities. Some of the places to stay include; Mweya Safari lodge, Kyambura Gorge safari lodge, Katara lodge and Jacana Safari lodge among others.
