How to Combine Gorilla & Chimpanzee Trekking in Uganda

How to Combine Gorilla Trekking with Chimpanzee Trekking – Combining these two experiences is a great way to maximize your adventure in Uganda while seeing two of our closest cousins.

To combine gorilla trekking and chimpanzee trekking, you need to plan carefully for costs, accommodation, duration, and transport to have a smooth and memorable trip.

A gorilla trekking permit costs USD 800 per person, while a chimpanzee trekking permit costs USD 250 per person per trek.

Gorilla trekking is best done in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park or Mgahinga Gorilla National Park in Uganda. Chimpanzee trekking is best in Kibale National Park, but you can also trek chimpanzees in Budongo Forest and Kyambura Gorge near Queen Elizabeth National Park.

Your trip will start from Entebbe or Kampala, where you can choose to travel by road or air to Kibale National Park for chimpanzee trekking, and then continue southwest to Bwindi or Mgahinga for gorilla trekking.

Chimpanzee trekking in Kibale Forest begins early in the morning at the park headquarters with a briefing on park rules. After the briefing, tourists follow forest trails and trek for about 1 to 4 hours before finding the chimpanzees. Once you find them, you are allowed to spend one hour with the chimpanzees. This is a rewarding experience, especially when you hear the chimpanzees calling loudly in the forest.

Besides chimpanzees, Kibale is home to other wildlife, including red colobus monkeys, grey-cheeked mangabeys, and many birds.

After chimpanzee trekking, you will continue to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park in southwestern Uganda, which is home to nearly half of the world’s remaining mountain gorillas. The journey from Kibale to Bwindi takes about 5 to 7 hours and offers beautiful views along the way.

Gorilla trekking is more challenging than chimpanzee trekking because it involves hiking steep slopes and walking through dense forests. Gorilla trekking starts in the morning at the park headquarters, where tourists are briefed and divided into groups of eight, each group assigned a gorilla family.

The trek can take from 30 minutes to 6 hours, depending on where the gorillas are located. Once the gorillas are found, tourists can spend one hour with them, observing how they interact, feed, and play. This experience is often described as life-changing.

Combining both gorilla and chimpanzee trekking is a chance to trek in Uganda’s forests and observe these two close relatives in their natural habitat.

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