Kibale chimpanzee trekking from Jinja

Kibale chimpanzee trekking from Jinja: Jinja is one of the busiest towns in Uganda with a lot of travelers from different parts of the world. Are you leaving in Jinja or are you planning to visit Jinja and you would love to spend time with the chimpanzees of Kibale forest national park? This article is going to show you what it takes to do chimpanzee trekking in Kibale forest national park.

Kibale forest national park is located in western Uganda and it’s the most loved chimpanzee destination in the country. The national park is loved because it has the highest number of chimpanzees in the country and the sightings are guaranteed. Kibale forest has 1500 chimpanzee individuals that have created over 13 communities.

Travelers that are from Jinja can visit the chimpanzees of Kibale forest national park at any time of the year as long as they have a chimpanzee trekking permit. A chimpanzee trekking permit is a document from the Uganda Wildlife Authority that allows tourists to be part of trekking activities.

How much are chimpanzee permits from Jinja?

Chimpanzee trekking permits from Jinja cost $200 for foreign residents, $150 for foreign residents, and UGX150,000 for East African citizens. The price of the permits is set by Uganda Wildlife Authority and they get to know which category you belong to after sending them your personal details to include on the chimpanzee permits.

Tourists that are in Jinja and want to trek chimpanzee permits for Kibale forest national park are advised to book them early in advance of 3-4 months or more to avoid inconveniences or last minute bookings. The chimpanzee permits are sold on a first come first serve basis so the earlier the better especially during the dry season when the park is receiving a lot of visitors.

The chimpanzee trekking experience from Jinja

On the day of the chimpanzee trekking, tourists from Jinja will wake up to a morning breakfast and then drive to Kanyanchu visitor’s center where briefing does take place. You must move with your chimpanzee trekking permits here in order to be allowed in the chimpanzee trekking exercise. After the briefing, trekkers are grouped not exceeding 8 people and they are given armed ranger guides to lead them into the jungle.

The trekkers drive to the starting point of the trekking which is in the middle of the forest. Here armed ranger guides lead the trek and take tourists to different areas where these chimpanzees normally hang.  The search can take you 2-6 hours and during that time there are opportunities of meeting different mammals, primates, birds, water sources and plants among others.

When the chimpanzees are spotted, trekkers are allowed to be around them for 1 hour and this enables them to learn about their habits, take photos and watch members do daily activities such as nesting, coupling, feeding, grooming, breastfeeding, patrolling, and much more. After spending some good time with chimpanzees, you will be able to trek out of the jungle back to your safari vehicle using the shortest routes.

Accommodation in Kibale forest

Tourists that are coming from Jinja have a lot of lodges in Kibale where they can stay. These lodges range from budget to mid-range to luxury and where to stay in most cases depends on the travelers’ budget. The lodges to use while in Kibale forest national park include Ndali Lodge, Turaco Treetops, Primate Lodge, Crater Safari Lodge, Rweetera Safari Park, Kibale Forest Camp, Kibale Forest Lodge, Chimpundu Lodge and Chimpanzee Forest Lodge to mention but a few.

Best time to go chimpanzee trekking from Jinja

Kibale chimpanzee trekking from Jinja can be done at any time of the year however certain months are better than the rest. The dry months that occur from June to September and December to February are the best to carry out Kibale chimpanzee trekking because they are characterized by little or no rainfall. During the dry season the vegetation dries up and the chimpanzee views are clear, and the roads leading to the park are passable.

Travelers from Jinja that get time during the rainy season can still visit Kibale for chimpanzee trekking because the park will be open. The rainy season happens from March to May and October to November and it’s not the best for chimpanzee activities though it favors budget travelers because lodges are at a discount. Too much rainfall makes the trekking trails muddy and slippery, vegetation is tall and thick with unclear views of wildlife, and roads leading to the park are impassable.

Getting to Kibale

Travelers from Jinja can get to Kibale forest national park in just a single day. Travelers from Jinja can get to Kibale by first driving to Kampala and then use any of the two routes to Kibale forest. From Kampala, tourists from Jinja can go through Masaka, Mbarara, Bushenyi, and Kasese to the park. The second route is from Kampala via Mityana, Mubende, Kyenjojo, and Fort Portal to the park.