Overview
This 2 days chimpanzee trekking experience at Ngamba Island, located on Lake Victoria in Uganda, offers an incredible opportunity to observe these fascinating primates up close. Ngamba Island is a renowned sanctuary dedicated to the care and conservation of orphaned chimpanzees. The island offers a safe haven for chimpanzees rescued from poaching, trafficking, and habitat destruction. Expect to see chimpanzees, spot-necked otters, marsh mongoose, genet cats, fruit bats, and monitor lizards; birds like papyrus gonolek, malachite kingfisher, marsh harrier, orange weaver, double-toothed barbet, blue swallow, blue-checked bee-eater, wood sandpiper, water thick-knee, great cormorant, and many more. The trip starts and ends in Entebbe.
Detailed Itinerary
Day 1: Transfer to Ngamba Island
Our driver from Glory Summit Tours will pick you up from the agreed-upon point and brief you on how the 2 days will be, then set off for the bay, where you will get onto a boat that will take you to the island. The boat ride will take 2-3 hours, depending on the currency of the waves, as you enjoy the scenic views of Lake Victoria. When you arrive at the island, you will check into your lodging for the night and then have lunch. After lunch, you will proceed to the visitors’ center, where you will be briefed about the different operations of the sanctuary. You will then be led into the sanctuary and given the opportunity to care for the chimpanzees through feeding and observe how the chimpanzees interact and the different group dynamics. You will be given the full feel of what it entails to take care of these chimps and also help raise funds for the sanctuary. Once done for the day, you will get to enjoy the sunset cruise, spot fishing villages, and fishermen working as you enjoy the evening with the beautiful views of the sunset over Lake Victoria. You will have dinner and retire for the night.
Day 2: Forest walk
You will wake up early, have breakfast, and then head out for a forest on the island. The walk will allow you to walk within the chimpanzees’ forest habitat, providing you will an opportunity to observe their behaviors and interactions up close with a guide to ensure the safety of the chimps and yourself. The walk takes about 1-2hours and during the walk, you will spot chimps, otters, lizards, and fruit bats with birds like grey heron, little egret, African jacana, African fish eagle, crakes, pelicans, bee-eaters, and many more. Once done, you will head back to the visitors’ center for another feeding session with the chimps and when done, you will have lunch. When lunch is done, you will check out, and get to the boat to take you back to Entebbe which will take 1-3 hours. Once back on land, you will be picked up by our driver who will drop you at the point agreed upon, marking the end of your 2 days of chimpanzee trekking at Ngamba Island.
