Chimpanzee Trekking in Budongo Forest
Budongo Forest is the second popular destination for chimpanzee tracking in Uganda after the popular Kibale National Park which is referred to as the “Primate Capital of the world”. Budongo Forest Reserve covers about 825 square kilometers in a natural forest reserve. Budongo forest is located northwest of Kampala city-Uganda’s capital adjacent to Murchison Falls National Park. Situated in the southern sector of Murchison Falls National Park, Budongo forest is made up of 3 areas which are the woodland forest, the high forest, and the grasslands which have encouraged a wide diversity of wildlife. There are about 360 bird species, 95 mammal species, and 29 amphibians. The forest has various mahogany trees that are fascinating and one of the forest’s iconic features is taking about 8 people holding hands to circle around the full 20 meters circumference.
Two sites in Budongo forest are developed for tourism activities and these are Kaniyo Pabidi and Busingiro Eco-Tourism sites. Kaniyo Pabidi is located along the southern edge of Murchison Falls National Park about 30 minutes drive from the Kichubanyobo gate to the Budongo Visitor Information Centre which is also the start for the trails to the forest. Busingiro Eco-Tourism site lies further to the western edge of the forest outside Murchison.
Chimpanzee trekking is done in the Kaniyo Pabidi sector one of the best destinations for chimpanzee trekking in Uganda. It is in the Kaniyo Pabidi sector where the only habituated chimpanzee group in the Budongo forest is found. Chimpanzee trekking starts from the visitor’s information center at Budongo Eco Lodge taking about a few minutes to trek.
Chimp tracking experience takes a few hours as the chimps tend not to be very far and can be heard from the trek start point. However, during certain periods of time when there is less food in the forest, chimps travel to further points wandering deeper into the forest in search of food and water which makes tracking them longer and finding them becomes less certain.
Each day, there are two chimpanzee trekking sessions in Budongo forest in the morning and in the afternoon. These are chosen by the client or tour operator depending on the schedule of the trip. Whether individuals choose the morning or afternoon chimpanzee trekking session, a maximum of one hour is what is allocated to the visitors to spend in the presence of the chimps.
