Uganda’s Great Wildlife: Up Close with the Country’s Chimpanzees and Primates

Uganda is incredible in a lot of ways. It is one of Africa’s most secure and friendliest countries where locals treat visitors like their own and great adventures await those who are ready for them.

But what a lot of tourists travel halfway across the world for is Uganda’s wildlife where the opportunity to get up close with some of the mightiest primates in the world through photo safaris is a dream of many.

Primates of Uganda

The primates that you will see in Uganda on photo safaris are unlike any other. After all, the country is the primate capital of East Africa where a diverse population of gorillas, golden monkeys, chimpanzees, and other primates thrive.

Chimpanzees

Uganda is home to a population of more than 5,000 chimpanzees, 1,500 of which live in the Kibale Forest, a rainforest jungle that’s included in most photo safaris and a top attraction for tourists in the country.

There are 13 kinds of other primates found in this jungle and you can track them or do a nocturnal walk where you get to see these primates, especially the chimpanzees in their natural habitat.

Some photo safaris will also take you to the less crowded Budongo Mahogany Forest in Murchison Falls, the Semliki Rainforest Jungle down the Albertine Rift Escarpment and the Kyambura Gorgeat Queen Elizabeth Park.

Mountain Gorillas

Aside from chimpanzees, a lot of travelers also visit Uganda to see mountain gorillas up close at the Mgahinga Gorilla Park and the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest.

There are 14 Gorilla Family Groups available for visitation in the country and 80 permits are issued on a daily basis by the Uganda Wildlife Authority to give more people a chance to see the gorillas in their natural habitat while protecting them at the same time.

Golden Monkeys

There are only three countries in the world where you can find the rare golden monkey—Congo, Rwanda, and Uganda. The Cercopithecus Mitis Kandti is a kind of money related to the mountain gorillas that can be found in the foothills of the Virunga volcanoes.

The golden monkeys look unique because of their golden body, cheeks, and tails. They also have black limbs, the tail ends and a crown on their heads that make them an instant hit for tourists who are supposed to be on the hunt for mountain gorillas or chimpanzees but have spotted them in the same habitat.

The golden monkeys are a bit elusive to cameras, but with the right shutter speed and the perfect lighting, you’ll surely capture them during your photo safari.

Uganda Expeditions

Aside from the three famous primates of Uganda, you’ll also find olive baboons, blue monkeys, black and white colobus monkeys and de brazza’s monkeys in the country, all of which are protected by the government from extinction.

Uganda will never disappoint, that’s for sure. So, bring your best photography gear and prepare yourself for an adventure like no other in this beautiful country in Africa where you get to see these amazing primates up close and take photographs while you’re at it.

Wild Focus Expeditions is based out of Santa Fe, New Mexico but we’re happy to go on expeditions with those of you all over the world. Here are some of our more famous expedition destinations: Greenland, Indonesia, Japan, Svalbard, Namibia, Botswana and Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, Pantanal, India, Kenya, Uganda, and the Galapagos