The Kyambura gorge is a densely populated tropical forest located in a valley in the eastern side of Queen Elizabeth national park. It is also referred as the “Valley of Apes” because it is home to hundreds of chimpanzees including the habituated ones which are accessible to both the researchers and the tourists. this is a great place to visit while on Safari in Uganda Kyambura is sometimes referred to as the Kyambura game reserve and considered part of Queen Elizabeth part in the western rift valley arm. Kyambura gorge lies close to the equator, it has a beautiful vegetation cover and it’s a home to so many other attractions other than the chimpanzees and these include bird species, tree species, small animals and other primates like different monkey species, among others.
Within this forest is the River Kayambura that serves the entire forest, keeping the flora and the fauna in this forest fresh. Worth mentioning too is the fact that there is a beautiful landscape, very fun for hiking during your nature walks or chimpanzee trekking Safari. A visit to the gorge and a chimpanzee trek is an additional activity that is often offered to tourists who are visiting Queen Elizabeth national park.
This is an amazing activity but unfortunately, researchers have revealed that there are just a few chimpanzees left in this valley of Apes which is saddening because that means there will most likely be a decline in the number of tourists that are visiting that place thus a decline in the amount collected from chimpanzee watching in Kyambura per year.
Main activities done in Kyambura gorge
Chimpanzee Tracking
is the main activity done in this forest. There are both the habituated and no habituated chimpanzees living in this forest. The exercise of habituating takes about 2 years giving them enough time to get used to seeing humans around and once they are no longer bothered by human presence, that means they are ready to be used for tourism purposes. During the chimpanzee trek, you will also be able to see other attraction like the beautiful vegetation and everything as you may see during the trek.
Guided nature walks/ the forest walks
Nature walks are very rewarding because you get humble time for game viewing, have closer look at those Black and white colobus monkeys, there are the giant forest hogs, expect to see the red-tailed monkeys and many more other attractions.
Bird watching in Kyambura Gorge
There are hundreds of different birds leaving in this forest. Keen bird watchers will find this place as much amazing as Kibale forest is and with the flying around in plenty, you can take as any pictures as possible. Most of these birds are forest dweller birds but you will find other species which you can also find in some other parts of the country. Birds like the papyrus canary, different types of falcons and the blue headed bee eater birds, African skimmers, papyrus gonolek, African broad bill, white winged warbler, lesser plus greater flamingo, among so many others are commonly seen in this forest.
Accommodation in Kyambura Gorge
You can plan for a wonderful primates safari in Uganda heading to Kyambura Gorge. While there, you can spend your nights at any of the accommodations that are within or around Queen Elizabeth national park.
There are so many accommodation facilities including the budget lodges like Simba safari lodge, mweya hostel. The moderates include Ihamba safari lodge, bush lodge, hippo hills lodge and then the luxury hotels include Katara lodge, there is Jacana Safari Lodge, the Kingfisher camp, Mweya safari lodge and the Kyambura Gorge Safari Lodge and so the choice is really yours depending on your budget.
Queen Elizabeth National Park is an amazing park with variety of places you can visit while there and one of them is this Kyambura gorge, there are the crater lakes which you can also visit, the salt lakes and any other places. You can expect the best ever Uganda safari.
