Chimpanzees in Semuliki national park

Chimpanzees in Semuliki national park are part of the great ape family that includes gorillas, humans, and orangutans. They are famous for being close relatives of human beings sharing about 98.8% of DNA with human beings. This is one of the reasons as to why tourists move from different parts of the world and come to Uganda to see chimpanzees.

In Uganda, chimpanzees are found in so many places but Semuliki national park is one of them. Seniliki national park is located on the borders of Uganda with DR Congo in Bundibudgyo district south of Lake Albert. The 220 sq. km piece of land was gazetted in 1993 by the Uganda Wildlife Authority to protect different attractions of the park including chimpanzees.

Not so many chimpanzees are in Semuliki national park but the few that are there can be trekked. Some of the chimps in Semuliki national park have been habituated and are open for chimpanzee trekking activities. Chimpanzees of Semuliki national park live in the lowland tropical rainforest and that is where tourists can find them during trekking activities.

Chimpanzee trekking in Semuliki national park

Chimpanzee trekking in Semuliki national park is an activity that involves tourists looking for the chimpanzees and spending some time around them in their natural habitat. The activity is done every day and starts early in the morning at the park headquarters with a briefing from the park rangers.

The briefing involves rangers teaching trekkers the rules and regulations of trekking. Later grouping is done and trekkers are led into the jungle by armed ranger guides who know the best areas to use to locate the chimpanzees and also protect trekkers from animals that could be dangerous.

Chimpanzee trekking in Semuliki national park can take 3 to 5 hours and the time taken depends on the location of the chimpanzees, the nature of trails, and the speed of the trekkers. During the such, trekkers are able to meet different attractions of the park along the way. The moment the chimps are spotted, trekkers are given 1 hour to be around them and this gives them an opportunity to learn about their habits, take photos, and record videos.

How much is chimpanzee trekking in Semuliki national park?

To do chimpanzee trekking in Semuliki national park you need to purchase a chimpanzee trekking permit. This can be purchased from Uganda Wildlife Authority offices or Semuliki national park headquarters.  A chimpanzee trekking permit costs $30 for foreign non-residents and foreign residents and citizens of East African member states its $20.

Other animals in Semuliki national park

Semuliki national park does not only harbor chimpanzees but also other 8 primates and 53 mammals. All these can be seen when tourists take part in the different activities organized within the park. Animals of Semuliki national park include forest elephants, leopards, Uganda kobs, blue monkeys, warthogs, crocodiles, olive baboons, sitatungas, forest giant squirrels, mangabeys forest buffaloes, de brazza’s monkeys, hippos, side stripped jackals, red colobus monkeys, black and white monkeys, and vervet monkeys to mention but a few.

Best time to see chimpanzees of Semuliki national park

Tourists can see chimps of Semuliki national park at any time of the year however some months are better than others. The dry season months from June to September and December to February is the best time to see chimpanzees of Semuliki national park. This is because the trekking trails are dry and easier to go through while the vegetation is short with good views of chimpanzees.

Tourists can still see chimpanzees in Semuliki national park when they visit during the rainy season. The rainy season happens from March to May and October to November and tourists should know that these months have plenty of rainfall and little sunshine. During the rainy season, the trekking trails are muddy and slippery and the vegetation is tall giving unclear views of some chimpanzees

Getting to Semuliki national park

Tourists can access Semuliki national park using road transport or air transport. The commonly used mode of transport is road where tourists starting from Kampala/Entebbe drive through Mityana, Mubende, Kyegegwa, Kyenjojo, Fort Portal, and Bundibugyo to the park. The journey takes 5 to 6 hours and tourists have a great view of different attractions along the way.

Tourists who want to fly to Semuliki national park can still fly with any of the local airline companies including Bar Aviation Uganda and Aerolink Uganda. These flying companies have flights from Entebbe Airport and Kajjansi Airstrip to Kasese Airstrip. From Kasese airstrip, tourists will have to use road transport for a few hours to get to Semuliki national park.