Virunga National Park Chimpanzee Habituation Tours, DR Congo Wildlife Safaris
Chimpanzees in Virunga National Park in eastern DR Congo are only habituated and this is an exciting and great activity for tourists that visit the park. Chimps in this park are found in the Rumangabo sector in the Mahura forest.
The tropical rainforests, savannah woodland, and grassland forests at the slopes and bottom of the Virunga volcanoes in the Democratic Republic of Congo are home to 3 great apes; mountain gorillas, lowland gorillas, and chimpanzees. They are among the main attractions in the wilderness of DRC. There are however other primates like red-tailed monkeys, De Brazzas monkeys, golden monkeys, blue monkeys, baboons, and more.
Chimpanzees are said to be the closest relatives to humans with an estimated percentage of 98 human genes. They walk on their four limbs but are capable of walking on legs alone for about a kilometer. Chimps have subspecies that are identified based on their appearances and distribution; eastern chimps, Western chimps, central chimps, and Nigeria-Cameroon chimps. They also live in groups of up to 80 members with a dominant male as the leader of the group. They can be spotted up in the trees or on the ground, though the nights are spent in nests up in the trees.
Chimpanzee habituation starts at 6:00 am and the probability of seeing them is high. Unlike gorillas, chimps love to spend time on tree tops. They don’t stay in one place for long and you might have to follow them for some time before taking good photos. Chimpanzee permits in Virunga cost $100 per person.
Chimpanzees are among the amazing primates that live deep in the tropical rainforest jungles of Virunga National Park on the slopes of the Virunga Mountains in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Chimpanzee habituation was introduced in 1987 by Frankfurt Zoologist in the Tongo forest of the Virunga region in Congo where he developed an 80km trail into the forest.
After 2 years, more than 50 chimpanzees were habituated and available for tourism activities, however, this activity was interfered with by the insecurity of rebels and poachers. Consequently, Virunga National Park was closed with no tourism activity taking place including chimpanzee habituation not until 2014 when a team from the local community that was trained by Frankfurt Zoologist restarted the activity.
This team visits the chimpanzees in the Virunga forest daily at 4:30 am to check where they spent their night before taking the visitors for chimp tracking. Booking permits for chimpanzee trekking is done at Mikeno Lodge and the activity starts at 6:00 am. Guests who book Mikeno Lodge and Burkina tented camp for accommodation have a more advantage to go for Chimp trekking at Rumangabo sector.
A group of 4 guests is allowed to visit a particular chimpanzee family and once tourists spot these chimps, you will be allowed to spend ample time with them, watch them how they de-nest, hunt, play, breastfeed, and a lot more behaviors. After an hour of magical interaction with the chimpanzees, you will be retrieved from the forest and go for relaxation or any other activities. Travelers interested in chimpanzee tracking are always advised to stay at Mikeno Lodge overnight because the activity starts very early morning.
The chimpanzees are swifter in their movements compared to gorillas in terms of covering large ground while looking for food. Gorillas tend to eat in the same area for a while. Therefore, if you booked a chimpanzee trekking activity in Virunga National Park, you need to start your trail into the forest early enough.
Just like with gorilla trekking experience, you are expected to be 15 years and above to be allowed to go for chimpanzee trekking in Virunga.
Throughout the trek, you are advised to listen and pay attention to your ranger guide and don’t get off the trail.
Besides viewing chimps, guests can also visit the Chimpanzee Resource Centre in Tongo. You’ll get to know more about the habituation project and how the local community is participating in the conservation and protection of wildlife. Hiking to Tongo River would be a good additional activity for you to explore more of the virgin destinations of Virunga.
Best time to visit:
The best season for chimp trekking in DR Congo, is June, July, and late August which stands to be the best months for the activity. During this period, the fig trees are rich in fruits, and there's no rain to disrupt the movement of trekkers with slippery and muddy trails hence making it a booming period.
Arrange and Book with Ultimate Wild Safaris for the Chimpanzee Habituation Experience in Virunga National Park in DR Congo.
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