Common Mistakes To Avoid When Planning A Chimp Trekking Safari in Uganda and Rwanda.
Among the top holiday experiences in Uganda and Rwanda is definitely a chimp trekking safari. Between the two nations, there are more than four sites to see chimpanzees with a high concentration of chimps and the other 13 primates you may come across.
Though chimp trekking in East Africa’s natural rainforests is an amazing experience, many problems arise in safari trip preparation. For most first-timers, planning a chimpanzee safari is difficult from choosing the incorrect lodging to tracking in the incorrect location and hoping for more than you could find.
It need not be difficult for you however. Here we will discuss the typical errors you should avoid while organizing a chimp safari in Uganda and Rwanda along with travel tips for a good vacation.
Selecting the incorrect primate habitat
Travelers who select the incorrect primate park for the chimpanzee trekking experience can ruin their whole trip if they cannot locate the chimps. Given more than four sites in Uganda and one in Rwanda for seeing chimpanzees, you have to choose which one fits your budget and convenience.
Kibale National Park in Uganda is the ideal location for chimp treking. Protecting the largest chimpanzee population and the greatest number of primates in the area, the 296-sq-mi rainforest park With regular chimp trekking twice every day, the park has the most entertaining battalions of habituated chimpanzees.
For a permit, $300 will let you join the Kibale hiking teams. Kanyiyo Padibi in Budongo Forest is the closest substitute for Kibale chimpanzees; a permit costs $40 per person.
Currently blocked off is the subterranean woodland Kyambura Gorge inside Queen Elizabeth National Park. Steer clear of arranging your safari in the park and hoping for a decent chimp walk in Kyambura.
From the Entebbe International Airport, it is simple to get to Kibale, five to five-hour journey west of Kampala. There is plenty of accommodation outside the park with simple access to the Kanyanchu tourist center.
For the chimpanzee experience particularly for visitors following mountain gorillas in Volcanoes National Park, Nyungwe Forest at Rwanda’s southernmost point is highly recommended. Usually, visitors add chimp treking to their tour after seeing gorillas in Volcanoes NP.
Booking under the incorrect business or individual
One typical error first-time guests make is booking your chimp trekking with the incorrect provider. Steer clear of scheduling your monkey trekking expedition with unlisted businesses running from briefcases. They can fail to show up when most needed or reserve some of the worst lodging for you.
For a first-time visitor, selecting the ideal firm for a chimp trekking safari from hundreds of local operators might be difficult. The finest suggestions come from the individuals you know or from evaluations from past travelers.
Blogs and travel guides regarding chimp trekking safaris in Uganda and Rwanda may be found online very easily. You will come across someone or business you can rely on to arrange your safari.
Consultants at Katland Safaris Ltd. provide informed guidance on chimp safari planning. Email us; we would be happy to assist you in avoiding the most common errors made by other travellers on the chimp trekking safari.
Making incorrect hotel bookings
Making the incorrect hotel booking might lead you to miss the planned chimp trekking safari trip if your resort is far from the gate to the park. Make sure your lodging is near the park and avoid the typical error of choosing a random resort.
Every chimp trekking site has lodging immediately outside the gate; your difficulty will be to choose anything appropriate. Booking via a local operator ensures a greater choice.
More lodging options than any other chimp trekking park in the area are offered by Kibale National Park. Right outside Kanyachu are reasonably priced lodges ranging from middle to luxury. From low-budget to premium hotels, the Kasekende area (crater lakes region) and as far as Fort Portal town will have you covered.
For a luxury option with first-rate facilities, Nyungwe National Park has Nyungwe House and Nyungwe Forest Lodge. The middle range pricing is offered by Nyungwe Top View Hill and Gis Sakura Guesthouse. For the lower end of the budget, you have to travel a bit to the closest town; so, you have to wake up early to ensure you make it for the trip.
Dealing with a difficult season for travel
Based on the meteorology, a chimp trekking safari in Uganda and Rwanda has two seasons. The rainy season with consistent rain and the dry season.
The dry months are the busiest travel months in the area as most tourists skip the rainy season months and opt to go during the dry season. Plan your chimp trekking safari away from the weather; walking on muddy paths and under heavy rain can ruin your experience.
The greatest times for the chimp experience are June through September and December through February; book your safari for either. During that period, the paths and highways used for treking are dry enough for a pleasant walk. Though most visitors opt to go during that period, a self-planner will find availability to be somewhat difficult.
Start preparing your chimpanzee vacation a year in advance so that your travel dates line up with the availability of hotel rooms and trekking permits, should you want to visit during the busiest season.
Less people travel during the rainy season, which runs from March to May, October, and November that may negotiate muddy pathways or rain. Service providers often provide discounts during the wet season and extra value for budget visitors.
Still, getting to see the chimpanzees during the wet season might be a challenge. From your accommodation to the trailhead, you may have to pay 4×4 vehicles for transportation. Nyungwe is one area Many visitors choose such demanding trekking adventures over the pleasant dry month pleasures. Make sure you avoid the error of booking in the incorrect month.
Overextending your degree of fitness
Avoid the typical error of overestimating your degree of fitness and starting an activity that might physically break you. The monkey hiking safari calls for just modest athletic capabilities. Walking for unknown hours, tracking the chimpanzees, and following them around is part of it.
Expert trackers guide a party of visitors into the forest searching for hints of the chimp’s existence. There are no used trails to follow and no idea how long the tracking may last. You will stroll over the forest until you come across the chimpanzees, then spend at least one hour with them.
Primates including chimps are very active. Unless they are engaged in social grooming or resting, they cannot remain in one spot for more than five minutes. You spend over an hour on your feed, an activity that calls for your constant mobility.
Ignoring the chimp trekking rules.
Since chimps are an endangered species, conservation rules that control chimp trekking safari activities help to conserve them. Ignorance of the rules that may endanger the primates or you would be a big error.
Apart from that, the safari takes place in a real wild habitat where the actions of the primates cannot be regulated. The rules will let you and the park authorities control the risks involved.
The most crucial of all rules is to avoid if you feel unwell. Having 98% of our DNA, chimps are vulnerable to human illnesses. Should you display symptoms of illness, you will not be permitted in the park in order to keep the chimpanzees free from contagious infections.
Should you be permitted on the route, you will have to don a facemask near the chimpanzees to protect both yourself and the animals from unplanned illnesses. You willYou will be instructed to keep at least seven meters away from the apes and refrain from touching them at all.
Clearly for reasons not related to eating, drinking, smoking, or shitting close to the chimpanzees Keep close to the hiking group; do not scare the primates.
Other guidelines are provided at the briefing at the entrance point; make sure you open an ear and apply the guidelines to the dot.
The Safari Trekking for Chimp Travel
Book your chimp safari with Katland Safaris LTD either in Rwanda or Uganda. We licenced and registered to run safaris in Rwanda and Uganda. Our local advisors will handle everything for you and assist you avoid the errors associated with organizing an African safari.
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