
Rules of chimpanzee tours in Kibale national park
Rules of chimpanzee tours in Kibale national park : Safety is important during chimpanzee tours in Kibale national park which is the reason why there are different rules and regulations put in place at the destination.
Kibale national park is a chimpanzee trekking destination which is located in the western part of Uganda. The park is home to over 1500 chimpanzees and many other primate species which can be seen during tours.
Chimpanzee tours around Kibale forest national park involve taking part in chimpanzee trekking and also chimpanzee habituation experiences. During both these activities, tours spend time with the chimpanzees and watch their behavior closely.
The rules and regulations put in place for chimpanzee tours in Kibale national park include the following;
The minimum age of individuals allowed to take part in chimpanzee tours in Kibale national park is 12 years. Children can engage in other activities around the national park such as guided nature walks or village walks among others.
Tourists who have sickness such as flu are not allowed to engage in the chimpanzee trekking or habituation experiences in Kibale forest to prevent spreading the disease to the chimpanzees.
Littering in the Kibale forest during the chimpanzee trekking experience is also discouraged since there are places where rubbish can be disposed off around the park.
Noise making during the chimpanzee tours is also discouraged since it disturbs the primates and makes it difficult to see them since they get scared by the noise.
A distance of about 8 meters is to be kept by tourists from the chimpanzees during their chimpanzee tours in Kibale national park. This makes it easy to spend time with the chimpanzees and tourists can safely watch them in their natural habitat.
Use of flash photography to record the chimpanzees is also discouraged during the chimpanzee tours around Kibale national park.
Eating in the presence of the chimpanzees is also prohibited when visiting Kibale national park so as to avoid interrupting the feeding habits of the chimpanzees.
Tourists are also discouraged from feeding the chimpanzees during their primate encounters in Kibale forest. This is because chimpanzees can feed themselves and survive on the forest.
Mimicking sounds of the chimpanzees is also not allowed during tours in Kibale national park.
Tourists are also not allowed to chase the chimpanzees when visiting them in Kibale national park.
Only 1 hour is to be spent in the presence of the chimpanzees of Kibale national park to avoid stressing out the chimpanzees.
These rules among others are communicated during a briefing at the park headquarters at Kanyanchu during visits to Kibale national park. Tourists are encouraged to follow them for purposes of safety when visiting the chimpanzees in the forest.
The briefing is done before engaging in the chimpanzee tours in Kibale national park and is mandatory for all individuals.
Chimpanzee tour experience in Kibale national park
As early as 08:00 am, tourists can engage in the morning chimpanzee trekking activity in Kibale national park. The chimpanzee trekking experience starts with briefing done at the park headquarters by the ranger guides.
Chimpanzee trekking in Kibale national park is also done in the afternoon around 02:00 pm and also starts with a briefing. Tourists then proceed to move in the forest in search of the chimpanzees with their assigned ranger guides and spend up to about 4 hours exploring the forest.
After finding the chimpanzees, tourists spend time of about 1 hour in the presence of the chimpanzees and watch their behavior, record photos and videos of the chimpanzees. Other primates like red tailed monkeys, black and white colobus monkeys, vervet monkeys, l’hoest monkeys among others can also be seen during tours around the forest.
Another encounter with the chimpanzees of Kibale forest is the chimpanzee habituation experience which takes a full day and involves interacting with chimpanzees undergoing habituation process of being introduced to presence of humans in their natural habitat.
Cost of chimpanzee tours in Kibale national park
There are different costs incurred during chimpanzee tours in Kibale national park and they include permit costs, transport costs, accommodation and meal costs, additional activity costs and also personal expenses.

Permits for chimpanzee tours in Kibale national park are issued by the Uganda Wildlife Authority and they can be booked through licensed tour operators. The cost of chimpanzee trekking permits in Kibale national park is 250 USD for foreign nonresidents, 200 USD for foreign residents and 180,000 Uganda shillings for East African citizens. Chimpanzee habituation permits in Kibale cost 300 USD for foreign nonresidents, 250 USD for foreign residents and 250,000 Uganda shillings for East African citizens.
Transport costs when visiting Kibale national park vary depending on the form of transport used to get there which can be public transport or private transport. Public transport from Kampala can cost about 35,000 Uganda shillings per person. While private transport to the national park can cost about 100 to 300 USD per day.
Accommodation costs around Kibale National Park can range between 100 USD to 500 USD per night depending on the class of accommodation which can be budget, midrange or luxury accommodation. Meal costs range between 5 USD to 40 USD per person. Some of the lodges found around the national park include Ndali lodge, Chimpundu lodge, Crater safari lodge, Kibale forest camp, Turaco treetops lodge, Primates lodge among others.
Park entrance fees for Kibale National Park is 40 USD for foreign nonresidents, 30 USD for foreign residents and 20,000 Uganda shillings for East African citizens. During chimpanzee tours, permit fees are inclusive of the park entrance fee for the national park.
What to pack for chimpanzee tours in Kibale national park
Some of the items to pack for the chimpanzee tours in Kibale national park include long sleeved shirts, long trousers, hiking shoes, thick socks, insect repellant, water bottle, snacks, camera, sunglasses, sunhat, garden gloves, rain jacket, sweaters, binoculars, sunscreen among others.
The items to pack for the chimpanzee tour around Kibale national park depends on when the tour is done which can be the dry season or the rainy season. The best time to visit the national park is the dry season from June to October.