What is the Difference Between Gorilla Trekking & Chimpanzee Tracking?
Sir Winston Churchill described it all “The Pearl of Africa” and it can be such an incredible and unforgettable experience if you travelled to Uganda for mountain gorillas or chimpanzee adventures and you will agree with the inspiring description! Come and explore trueness about Africa in Uganda, the outstanding tourist destination to offer you the astonishing world’s primate experiences in a life time. Uganda is also amazing tourist destination in Africa to provide for you the safari experiences with minimal crowds together with the rich primate species or other wildlife experiences. Traveling to the pearl of Africa rewards you more than mountain gorillas and chimpanzees but also encounters on the rare golden monkeys, the endangered mangabay, uncommon L’Hoest’s, the localized red Colobus, several primates and nice melodies of forest birds where possible have a sight at some them while in your adventure. Indeed it would be amazing moment if you got into a group of 8 persons or 6 people to stare into the eyes of the most delightful Giant Apes, closest to human creatures than any things!!
Most interestingly, the pearl of Africa boasts of half of the world’s star tourist attractions, the Mountain gorillas and with over 5000 Chimpanzee species. If you have been in Uganda or planning to travel for your primate adventure, you will agree that truly the pearl of Africa offers the ultimate gorilla experiences and the primate capital of East Africa. Meaning Uganda offers unbeatable number of primate species and chances are you will have choice to meet your life time dreams. In addition, there are over 480 mountain gorillas in Uganda out of about 900 Giant Apes in the world and over 1500 Chimpanzees all confined in Kibale Forest National Park and this incredible growth of primate species is based on the sound conservation measures and dedication put on the mountain gorillas and the chimpanzees.
Currently, there are several travelers in record who travel for mountain gorilla trekking or chimpanzee tracking. However, the experience attained from the impressive world creatures is slightly different based on the destination’s terrain.
Most importantly, let’s compare the gorilla trekking and chimpanzee tracking to make us understand the experiences between these adventures.
Habituated Mountain gorilla families and Chimpanzees for tourism
To find the habituated mountain gorillas for your tourism purposes in Uganda is only possible in two destinations; Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and Mgahinga Gorilla National Park in South Western part of the country. The destinations harbor the half of the world’s Giant Apes in the world. For the chimpanzees, they are widely spread in several destinations in the country but most importantly, the habituated families are in Kibale Forest National Park, Western Uganda, Kyambura Gorge and Kalinzu forest in Queen Elizabeth National Park, Budongo Forest in Murchison Falls National Park, North Western Uganda. Or alternatively, you can visit the orphaned Chimpanzees at Ngamba Island in Lake Victoria.
To trek the mountain gorillas, the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) the managing body of all the 10 national parks in the country allows the maximum of 8 individuals per gorilla family per day either in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park or Mgahinga Gorilla National Park where as the Chimpanzee tracking experiences in Kibale Forest National Park, the maximum number is strictly 6 individuals. Interestingly, the chimpanzee tracking can be done twice a day as compared to Mountain gorilla trekking which clients do once a day. In addition, chimpanzees in most cases tend to break off from their groups and there is possibility that you can meet other groups of trackers in converged chimp groups but while at your briefing, communication would be passed about meeting other groups by either the head guide or reminder from your tour guide.
More often, the mountain gorillas can easily be trekked because they mostly keep themselves on ground and based on the vegetation cover, something different from the chimps that keep themselves on tree, but not all the time.
Mountain gorilla adventure is organized in that the Giant Apes stay in families which are headed by dominant male and this gives about 95% chances for visitors to stare into the mountain gorillas. In terms of organization, the gorilla adventure is unbeatable because trackers are first sent to the forest in the morning to search the possible gorillas to be trekked and communication is given to direct the guides where to find the Giant Apes. Meaning once your group finds the gorilla family, you are given 1 hour to stare into the impressive world’s creatures and do your photo taking. Whereas, the Chimpanzee adventures are not organized because more chances are only in Kibale National Park, Budongo forest or possibly in the Kalinzu forest and Kyambura Gorge. Though during the chimpanzee adventure the trackers go to the field to search possible areas for chimpanzee tracking, unfortunate part of it is that these species live in communities of about 100 and beyond, meaning they tend to break off into small groups to hunt for food. However, the clients are also given 1 hour to encounter the endangered species!
The Mountain gorilla permits and Chimpanzee permits
When you have access to a permit, chances are you stand 95% surety of trekking or tracking the mountain gorillas or the chimpanzees in the pearl of Africa. The permits for mountain gorilla trekking go at $600 during the peak season, while during low season the permits cost $400 for foreign residents, $450 for foreign non-residents and East African residents pay shs150000. Whereas the chimpanzee adventures tend to differ depending on the place where you will be tracking them, in Kibale national Park, the chimpanzee permits cost the client about $150 and in the Kyambura about $50 each person. The costs cater for your park entrance, guide and for your enjoyment while with the primates.
The distances of destinations
To do mountain gorilla trekking means that you have to travel to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park or Mgahinga Gorilla National Park and you spend about 8 to 9 hours (about 600 kilometers) on road from the city center. This also depends on the route taken, but each route has its pre trekking experiences because there is a lot of encounter on your way to gorilla home. However, you can fly from Kajjansi or Entebbe to kisoro then connect to the park for your adventure and it takes you about an hour and half to reach. Whereas the chimpanzee tracking, means you travel for about 5 to 6 hours from the city to Kibale Forest National Park or Budongo forest and 7-8 hours to the Kyambura Gorge. However, the thrill of experiences the visitor encounters is worthy rewarding traveling to Bwindi and Mgahinga national parks or Kibale National Park. Enjoy the world of primates’ experiences in the pearl of Africa!!
In conclusion, gorilla trekking and chimpanzee tracking are all worthy rewarding adventures that offer travelers the unforgettable and astonishing world experiences on classic primates. If you are willing to achieve your primatology dreams, look no further than visiting Uganda for reward of amazing world primates you have thought about to encounter in life. However, come prepared because gorilla adventure is breathtaking and needs you to be fit enough to hike the hills compared to chimpanzee tracking. For your primate safaris or wildlife safaris in Uganda, consult; Maranatha Tours and Travel
