The Coronavirus Pandemic may have turned our lives upside down but it hasn’t managed to kill the inner wanderlust to those who truly desire to track primates and encounter our closest cousins in their natural habitat. And with Adyeri Creations we are delighted to introduce you discounted primates safaris this festive season, make memories this coming festive season with the mountain gorillas, chimpanzees, golden monkey, olive baboon, red tailed monkey, black and white colobus, L’hoest’s monkey, blue monkey, patas monkey, vervet monkey in their natural domain, Uganda is a primate capital of the world, there are many places where visitors can track primates in their natural habitats namely Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Mgahinga Gorilla National Park, Kibale National Park, Kyambura Gorge, Semuliki National Park and Bugoma Forest Reserve. Tracking primates in their natural habitat is arguably the biggest draw!
Best Places to see Primates in Uganda
Bwindi Impenetrable National Park
Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park is best known for its Mountain Gorilla populations and gorilla tracking although, it also offers some of the finest montane forest birding in Africa and is a key destination for any birders doing a Safari to Uganda. With over 347 species of forest birds recorded in the Park, at least 70 out of 78 montane forest bird species occurring in the Albertine Rift region are found in the forest, and 22 of the 36 endemics.
Baby Gorilla and Mom
Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is located in south-western Uganda, at the junction of the plain and mountain forests; the Park covers 32,000 ha and is also known for its exceptional biodiversity, with more than 160 species of trees and over 100 species of ferns.
Due to its various habitats ranging from 1,160 to 2,706 m in altitude, location at the intersection of the Albertine, Congo Basin and Eastern Africa ecological zones, Bwindi has the highest miscellany of tree species (over 200 species including 10 endemics) and ferns in East Africa, and maybe the most important forest in Africa for montane forest butterflies with 202 species (84% of the country’s total), including eight Albertine endemics.
Mgahinga Gorilla National Park
At the extreme south western tip of Uganda on the borders with Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo - Uganda’s smallest national park covering 33.7 square kilometers, home to one habituated gorilla family and troops of golden monkeys. The Park was established in 1991 is also one of Uganda’s newest national parks. It is an integral part of the Virunga Conservation Area and is contiguous with Parc National Des Volcanos in Rwanda and Parc National Des Virunga in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
Golden Monkey
Three extinct volcanoes lie within the park: Mount Muhabura at 4,127 meters; Mount Gahinga at 3,475 meters; and Mount Sanbinyo at 3,645 whose peak lies along Uganda’s border with Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Mgahinga is afro montane tropical rainforest, and the vegetation is typical of this terrain, with a montane forest belt, a bamboo zone, and an alpine zone.
Mountain Gorilla Sectors in Uganda
There are 4 Gorilla Sectors in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park namely Buhoma, Ruhija, Rushaga and Nkuringo. Bwindi alone has a total of 14 habituated gorilla families active for gorilla tracking every day and 1 habituated gorilla family at Mgahinga Gorilla National Park. 15 habituated mountain gorilla families are open to tourism in 5 different sectors of Uganda namely Nyakagezi, Rushaga, Buhoma, Ruhija and Nkuringo in southwestern Uganda. There are 120 gorilla permits available every day, 8 of these are for Mgahinga Gorilla National Park and 112 permits are for Bwindi Impenetrable National Park.
Kibale National Park
Kibale National Park is arguably the best place in the whole world where tourists can track Chimpanzees in their natural habitat. Uganda’s top chimpanzee trekking destination also protects the countries densest and the most varied monkey population and an array of forest birds.
The Park is dominated by rainforest but this is intercepted with tracts of grassland and swamps. Spanning altitudes of 1100-1590m, Kibale boasts a floral composition transitional to typical eastern Afro-montane and western lowland forest with more than 200 tree species recorded in total and approximately 1200 habituated Chimpanzee live in Kibale National Park. Areas of mature forest are still liberally endowed with large buttressed mahoganies, tall fruit figs and other hardwood trees whose canopy is up to 60m above the ground.
Infant Chimpanzee
Discounted Primates Permits in Uganda
The Uganda Wildlife Authority has reduced Gorilla tracking permits in Uganda this festive season effective 1st December 2020 to 31st March 2021 from USD 700 to USD 400 for foreign non residents, USD 600 to USD 300 for foreign residents and East African Citizen gorilla permit from UGX 250,000 to UGX 150,000.
Chimpanzee tracking permits this festive season have been reduced as well; foreign non residents’ chimpanzee tracking permits reduced from USD 200 to USD 150, foreign residents’ chimpanzee tracking permits from USD 150 to USD 100 and East African Citizens chimpanzee tracking permits from UGX 150,000 to UGX 100,000. For more info about primates safaris in Uganda kindly contact Adyeri Creations Limited so we can tailor your remarkable encounter with our mighty cousins in the Pearl of Africa.