Back to HomeUganda has 20 primate species. No other country in Africa has more. Most visitors come for the gorillas, which is understandable. But there is so much more here.
Why Uganda
Uganda holds more non-human primate species than almost any country in Africa. Most visitors arrive for the gorillas and leave having seen only gorillas. This is a profound missed opportunity. Within three to four hours of Bwindi, you can sit with the world's highest density of wild chimpanzees, track golden monkeys through bamboo forests at altitude, and encounter more than a dozen other primate species on a properly threaded circuit.
The geography works in your favour. Kibale National Park, Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, and Mgahinga Gorilla National Park form a rough triangle in western and southwestern Uganda. A well-designed itinerary moves through all three without doubling back, adding each layer of encounter in a way that feels natural rather than rushed.
Kibale Forest
Kibale National Park holds approximately 1,500 chimpanzees in 795 square kilometres of forest. That is the highest density of wild chimpanzees anywhere in Africa. Chimp tracking here is different from gorilla trekking: chimps move, loudly, through the canopy. A morning with them involves sound before it involves sight. The experience is chaotic, joyful, and unlike anything you have seen.
For a deeper encounter, the Kibale chimpanzee habituation programme allows you to spend a full day with a chimp group being slowly acclimated to human presence. This is a research programme as much as a safari product. Your presence contributes to a science effort that matters.
Mgahinga Gorilla National Park
The golden monkey is endemic to the Virunga volcanoes: found in Mgahinga, Rwanda's Volcanoes National Park, and the Congolese side of the range, and almost nowhere else on Earth. They move through high-altitude bamboo forest with vivid energy, fast and acrobatic. A morning with them is one of the most distinctive primate encounters available in East Africa.
Mgahinga pairs naturally with Bwindi. They sit in the same corner of Uganda, and the gorilla trekking at Mgahinga is quieter than Bwindi's more established sectors. A combined Bwindi-Mgahinga itinerary covers gorillas, golden monkeys, and the Virunga volcano landscape in a single sweep.
Where to Go
Western Uganda
1,500 wild chimpanzees
The highest density of chimpanzees anywhere in Africa. Chimp tracking and habituation, plus red colobus, l'Hoest's monkey, and ten other primate species in a single forest.
Southwest Uganda
550+ mountain gorillas
The world's most important gorilla habitat. Sixteen habituated gorilla families across four trekking sectors, plus colobus, red-tailed monkeys, and olive baboons.
Virunga Volcanoes
Golden monkey trekking
Perched on Uganda's border with Rwanda and the DRC. Home to golden monkeys found only in the Virunga volcanoes, and a small population of gorilla families.
Western Rift Valley
Congo Basin species
Uganda's most biodiverse forest in terms of bird and lowland primate species. A remote extension for serious primate and birding itineraries.
Journeys for Primate Travellers
From Bwindi’s mountain gorillas to Kibale’s chimpanzees and Mgahinga’s golden monkeys, these journeys bring Uganda’s great primate landscapes together without wasting days in transit.
Best MatchThree forests. Three primate worlds. Gorillas, chimpanzees, and golden monkeys in one composed Uganda journey.
Best for travellers who want gorillas, chimpanzees and Uganda’s wider primate world in one journey.
From $7,300 per person
The deeper gorilla product in Bwindi's southern Rushaga sector. Road journey, one UWA habituation permit included. Second permit and fly-in routing quoted separately.
For travellers who want more time in the forest and a deeper gorilla encounter.
From $5,950 per person
A place to begin
Choose a length of stay. We’ll show you a considered starting point, never a fixed formula.
Best Match
Primate Kingdom
7 nights / from $7,300 per person
A journey made for your dates
Stay here and share your travel window. We’ll check the right permits, lodges and route for this journey.
Compose Your Primate Circuit