Budongo Central Forest Reserve is one of the Best Reserves to track chimpanzees in Uganda today. It is part of Murchison Falls National Park in the southern part of the park as you exit via Kichumbanyobo Gate. For clients who do not opt to use Kibale National Park for chimpanzee tracking, Budongo Central forest Reserve remains the best option to track the chimpanzee today. The reserve offers both chimpanzee tracking experience as well as chimpanzee habituation experience. The chimpanzee Habituation in Budongo Forest goes for 230 USD Dollars per person per trek for Foreign Non Residents and 160 USD Dollars for Foreign Residents as well as 90 USD Dollars for the Ugandan citizens. Budongo Forest is one of the largest mahogany forests that we have in Africa today. During your tracking Hours, you will have a 4-5 hours interaction with the chimpanzees. You will be led by an experienced Guide who will be educating you as well as taking you through the possible different tracks in the forest to enable you to track chimpanzees safely.
During a chill jungle trek, you’ll be weaving through some pretty thick bushes and passing by some seriously tall trees, all while keeping your ears peeled for those cheeky chimp calls. The guides? They’re like chimp whisperers, using their savvy to track them down. They are on the lookout for clues like the chimps’ chatty noises, their cozy little sleeping spots, and the leftovers from their snack sessions. Once you stumble upon a group of these little guys, you get to hang out and watch them do their thing for a bit, but not too close, obviously. It’s like getting VIP access to their personal lives, seeing them play, eat, and interact with each other. It’s a pretty amazing deal, really, like watching a live nature show starring some seriously clever animals.
The Chimpanzee tracking experience in Budongo Central Forest Reserve
The Budongo Central Forest Reserve in Uganda is well known for Chimpanzee tracking that provides an entailing and exciting wildlife encounter in one of the most biodiverse regions in Eastern Africa. Covering an area of 825 sq. km Budongo forest is situated in the north western Uganda part of the Murchison Falls Conservation Area and well-endowed with loads of bio diversity, particularly the chimpanzees. It is always an amazing experience to track these wonderful primates in their natural setting attached with an educationally enriching experience of the rainforest.
Budongo Central Forest Reserve covers about 825sq.km and Albertine Rift and the Geological province dominated by a variety of the tropical high forest-savannah and wood land. These diverse habitats are apt for a rich plant and animal species’ existence. The forest especially is rich in mahogany trees whose age’s range of 200-300 years and heights of above 60 meters. These tremendous trees afford the apt natural protection needed for the base of the chimpanzees and other animals that live in the forest.
Chimpanzee tracking is in Budongo done with the help of experienced persons who definitely know a lot about those animals. These individuals are conversant with the lifestyle of the chimps and are into the vigorous task of seeing to it that tracking is safe and is completed successfully.
Such a day usually starts early in the morning with a briefing session with the tour guides at the Kaniyo Pabidi Ecotourism site where participants are educated on the dos and don’ts of tracking. The information given in this briefing is vital not only for the satisfaction of all the visitors but also for the care of all the chimpanzees. The actual tracking requires going deeper into the forest where, trails that the chimpanzees themselves help in opening, are found. To get close to the chimpanzee groups, the guides fight through the forest and go by the sounds of the chimps.
Encountering a bunch of chimpanzees out in the wild is like, totally unforgettable. You can’t help but notice how much they are like us humans, especially when they are all chilling together. It’s wild to watch a chimp family go about their day, like, looking for food, giving each other makeovers, and just generally vibing with vocal cues and hand gestures. It’s crazy how smart and emotional they are, and it’s this mix of feeling really small and also super amazed by these cool creatures.
What to pack for Chimpanzee tracking in Budongo Central Forest Reserve
When one is preparing for the tracking activity in this forest, there are qualities that should be prepared for to make the trip safe, comfortable and fun. Start with the basic wear that could be easily worn in a hot and humid climate, including the cotton apparels. Once again, the casual pants and other informal items of clothing necessary to guard oneself against the insects and thorny plants will be the long-sleeved shirt and long trouser. Shed colors such as greens and browns are advisable to minimize the attractiveness of the Lekking areas to human interception. It is recommended to have proper footwear: strong hiking boots to have a stable stance in a forest with rather slanting and sometimes even slippery ground and mud. Also, do pack a thin and light weight raincoat, for the showers are frequent in the rainforest. To avoid mosquito and other insects DEET containing insect repellent is required and to guard from sun even when you are in deep forest properly use sun block cream. A hat and sunglasses may help shield the skin from the sun in addition to the main garment.
Do not leave out a small bag in which you will be carrying some of the important items that you will need. It recommended to carry personal portable water bottle for drinking during the trek and it is good to have snacks like nuts, energy bar etc to have energy throughout the trek. It is recommended that you take binoculars as it will make it easier for you to look at the chimpanzees and other animals from a distance. A good zoom lens for a camera is also necessary to capture the interesting events to happen but always switch off the flash to avoid disturbing the wild animals. An example of emergency equipment is a wallet first aid kit which entails a small quantities of bandages, gauze pads, wipes, and pain medication. Also, one should ensure to bring a waterproof bag to avoid damage to their electronics and important documents due to rain and humidity. Finally, pack all prescription medicines you may require, and a small memo note and pen to write a few details throughout the hiking. With all the above items packed, you will be in a good position to have a fabulous chimpanzee tracking exercise in the Budongo Central Forest Reserve.