Murchison Falls National Park
Easy-going chimp trekking in Budongo Forest
Effectively a southern extension of Murchison Falls National Park, Budongo is a vast and biodiverse rainforest that is home to around 800 chimpanzees. This includes one very well habituated community whose core territory lies within easy walking distance of a main road. Despite Budongo’s convenient location for those doing a Murchison Falls safari, it receives relatively few visitors, making it a good alternative to Kibale for those hoping to avoid crowding. Other wildlife often seen from the road includes large troop of olive baboons, smaller monkeys such as black-and-white colobus, and the spectacular Abyssinian ground hornbill.
Pros: Chimp trekking in Budongo can easily be done en route to or from the popular Murchison Falls National Park, or as a half-day excursion from one of its camps or lodges
Budongo is a good choice if you are worried about your fitness. It’s the flattest of East Africa’s chimp-trekking destinations, and most of the time you'll be walking on a well-maintained grid of researchers’ paths.
Cons: The success rate, though greater than 80%, is lower than in Kibale or Kalinzu, and it may drop lower when the habituated community moves outside its core territory.