Queen Elizabeth National Park
For an incredible wildlife experience with second-to-none photo opportunities, head to Ishasha in Western Uganda’s Queen Elizabeth National Park, where you can see the area’s rare population of tree-climbing lions snoozing happily up above the ground in fig and acacia trees. One of the most popular parks in Uganda, the area possesses incredible biodiversity, with 96 species of mammals, including good numbers of elephants, leopards and hippos.
Kyambura Gorge, in the far eastern corner of Queen Elizabeth National Park is a gem known as the “Valley of Apes.” The gorge’s rich biodiversity comes from the draining of the Kyambura river which left a deep (100m) channel in the landscape. Home to a small family of 16 chimpanzees, this is a chimp trek for those already looking to visit one of Uganda’s most popular national parks.
A hike through the gorge gives you the opportunity to see habituated chimpanzees and other types of primates including red-tailed monkeys, black-and-white colobus, baboons and vervet monkeys.
This green-riverine forest also offers shelter to several forest birds. Although the chance of spotting chimpanzees is not as high as on an official trek in Kibale or Budongo, the gorge’s shimmering green landscape is among the most impressive in Uganda and absolutely worth visiting.
Hidden gems in Queen Elizabeth National Park
Queen Elizabeth National Park
Low cost chimp trekking at Kyambura Gorge
Kyambura Gorge is a sheer-sided 100m-deep chasm named after the river that babbles through its forested base. It is sometimes referred to as the Valley of the Apes, in reference to its small resident chimp community, which has sadly become isolated from its counterparts in Kalinzu and Maramagambo as a result of deforestation. The chimps here are very habituated and in my experience they are usually seen with relative ease on guided treks, partly due to the gorge’s confined nature. Even if you miss out on chimps, Kyambura is very pretty and you can expect to see black-and-white colobus monkeys in the trees, hippos in the river, and a wide range of forest birds. Pros: Kyambura Gorge runs along the eastern border of the popular Queen Elizabeth National Park, and chimp trekking is easily incorporated into a safari there. At US$50 for foreigners, Kyambura Gorge is currently the cheapest place to track chimps in Uganda. This tracking fee excludes the Queen Elizabeth National Park entrance fee of US$40 per 24 hours, but if you are visiting the park, you’ll be paying the latter anyway. Cons: The community here is relatively small (around 25 individuals) and numerically dominated by males, so you’re unlikely to see youngsters.
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Queen Elizabeth National Park
Hidden gems in Kalinzu Forest
This underrated chimp-trekking destination protects 141 sq km of hilly escarpment rainforest bordering the similarly extensive Maramagambo Forest in Queen Elizabeth National Park. These two forests collectively protect a population of around 600 chimps, including two habituated communities in Kalinzu. Chimp tracking here operates as part of a well-organised community project, and the success rate stands at around 90%. General guided walks to see forest birds and monkeys are also offered, and funding has been obtained to start construction on Uganda's first suspended canopy walkway in 2024. Pros: Kalinzu is very accessible to independent travellers. The trekking trailhead lies alongside a main road and borders Queen Elizabeth National Park, a popular safari destination. This is one of Uganda's quietest chimp-trekking destinations. There’s no need to book a permit in advance, and you're unlikely to encounter other tourists once in the forest. Cons: Slopes at Kalinzu are steep, and finding the chimps often involves a relatively long walk, so it generally requires a higher fitness level than other venues. You may read elsewhere that Kalinzu is Uganda’s cheapest chimp trekking venue. This was true until January 2024, when the fee shot up from US$40 to US$130.
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