Can I combine gorilla and chimpanzee trekking on a 4-day trip?
This question is quite interesting and has been asked on several occasions. As we break it down for your utmost understanding, by the end of this article your question will surely be answered. Combining gorilla trekking and chimpanzee tracking is like two sides of the same coin. This is because you will be trekking two primates on the same trip. Let us first understand what both experiences of gorilla trekking and chimpanzee trekking are below.
Gorilla Trekking
Gorilla trekking involves walking through dense vegetation and challenging terrain in a search for endangered mountain gorillas. In Uganda, gorilla trekking is one of the major tourism activities in the country. This activity is only offered at only two national parks, Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and Mgahinga Gorilla National Park. These two combined national parks harbor more than half of the world’s mountain gorilla population. These two national parks of Bwindi and Mgahinga are part of the Virunga Conservation Area. This area stretches from Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo through Bwindi and Mgahinga Gorilla National Parks of Uganda to Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda. This is the only area in the world where mountain gorillas are located. This is why mountain gorillas are considered an endangered species of primates.
Bwindi Impenetrable National Park takes the lions' experience in gorilla trekking. The park was established in 1992 after the discovery of the gentle giants, the mountain gorillas. Bwindi was initially a forest reserve because it harbors some of the oldest tree and plant species that date to as far as 25,000 years back. It is on this account of harboring both the endangered mountain gorillas, other primate species, and also the flora species that Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, in1994, was recognized as a world heritage site by UNESCO.
There are over 459 individual mountain gorillas in Bwindi, making it the largest habitat for the endangered mountain gorillas in the whole of the Virunga conservation area. Bwindi has over 50 gorilla families and of these, only 24 are habituated and available for trekking. Each of the gorilla families in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is protected by a territorial male gorilla called a silverback as it is in the tradition of all these primates. These gorillas and their families are scattered across the entire 331 square kilometers area of the park in four sectors. These sectors include the Buhoma, Ruhija, Rushaga, and Nkuringo gorilla sectors. These sectors are strategically located across the different compass directions, having the best access for any visitor from any direction.
Gorilla trekking starts with a pre-trekking briefing that is always conducted at the briefing centers in the park by an experienced ranger guide. This briefing takes the visitors through the required rules and regulations of gorilla trekking and the expected code of conduct around these primates. This briefing also involves cross-checking your permits and grouping in groups of 8 since each gorilla family is trekked by 8 people a day. You will then be allocated a ranger guide who will guide you through the dense vegetation to the gorilla habitats. Upon location of these magnificent mountain gorillas, you will be given a maximum of an hour in the presence of these endangered primate species. You will get a chance to observe them feed, play, care for their young, and generally roam around with their daily chores. You will take pictures and make everlasting moments.
Mgahinga Gorilla National Park is the smallest national park in Uganda stretching for over 33.7 square kilometers. It was established in 1991 after the discovery of the mountain gorillas in the park area. The park is located in the southern region of Uganda in Kisoro district, bordering Rwanda. Mgahinga Gorilla National Park was, in 2007, recognized as a UNESCO heritage site since it harbors rare golden monkeys and endangered mountain gorillas.
Mgahinga Gorilla National Park has over 100 individual gorillas, however, with only a single gorilla family habituated. This family is known as the Nyakagezi gorilla family and is headed by a silverback called Mark assisted by the Silverback Ndugutse. Trekking to this gorilla family is quite easy because the mountain gorillas in the park harbor the low slopes. They spend most of their time feeding on the bamboo shoots found on the low slopes of Muhabura mountain.
Chimpanzee Trekking
Chimpanzee trekking in Uganda is very rewarding as it takes you to the natural habitats of these playful primates. Encountering these chimpanzees is one of the most interesting activities, as you will get a chance to come close to them in a face-to-face interaction. Chimpanzee trekking or tracking involves moving through the dense tropical forests to the habitats of the chimpanzees. The chimpanzees are social primates that live in groups known as troops and they are protected and defended by a male chimpanzee.
Tracking these chimpanzees is quite easy as they spend most of their time of the day in the group and with a lot of noise that can be heard from afar. Just like gorilla trekking, chimpanzee trekking begins with a pre-tracking briefing. It is in this briefing that the visitors are grouped in groups of 8. They are notified of the rules and regulations, their permits are checked, and ranger guides are allocated. After trekking through the tropical rainfalls for a few hours with the help of a ranger guide, visitors finally have a glimpse of these primates. The visitors then spend an hour with these chimpanzees, watching them as they go by with their daily chores of feeding, caring for their young, playing, and resting. Chimpanzees occupy the largest population of the primate species in Uganda, with over 5,000 of them. Chimpanzee trekking in Uganda is mainly done in Kibale National Park, Kyambura Gorge in Queen Elizabeth National Park, and Budongo Forest.
Combining Gorilla Trekking and Chimpanzee Trekking On A 4-day Trip
Is it possible to combine both gorilla trekking and chimpanzee trekking? The answer is yes, very much so. Gorilla trekking in Uganda is only done in the morning hours, unlike chimpanzee trekking which can be done both in the morning and afternoon in any of the chimpanzee locations. Since gorilla trekking takes an hour, visitors can do a gorilla trekking in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park in the Buhoma gorilla sector and cross to Kibale or Queen Elizabeth National Parks for an afternoon chimpanzee trekking.
The Buhoma sector of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is located close to Queen Elizabeth National Park and a few kilometers from Kibale National Park. This distance has made it very possible to track both the mountain gorillas and chimpanzees on a 4-day trip.