Uganda hosts a variety of primates found in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Kibale National Park, Mgahinga National Park, Kyambura Gorge in Queen Elizabeth National Park, Budongo Forest, Semuliki National Park among others.

Top primates in Uganda include; chimpanzees, black and white colobus monkeys, grey cheeked mangabey, Red tailed monkeys, L’ Hoest , Olive baboons and the Blue monkeys, mountain gorillas, Golden Monkeys among others.

There are several primate safaris that you can enjoy in Uganda’s tropical rain forests. Here are top primate safari experiences that you should try out to make your holiday special:

Gorilla Trekking

Mountain Gorilla trekking is the top primate experience in and climax for all safaris in Uganda. Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and Mgahinga National Park protects more than twelve Habituated Gorilla families/ groups. Bwindi alone hosts fourteen while Mgahinga with one.

Gorilla permits to view these endangered species are sold out by Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) and incase a client misses out on getting a permit, Association of Uganda Tour Operators is always in position avail its members with important information about the availability of gorilla permits on specific dates.

Not only Gorillas, Bwindi Forest also protects some chimpanzees and monkeys as part of its primate species. There are also many other tourist activities that can be enjoyed apart from the mountain gorilla trekking, some of these include; visit to the pygmies, guided nature walks, bird watching.

Chimpanzee Trekking

In Uganda, Chimpanzees are found in Kibale National Park, Kyambura Gorge, Budongo Forest and Toro- Semliki National Park. Chimps are our closest relatives and they are over 5000 found in Uganda. It should be noted that Kibale National Park offers the best chimpanzee trekking experience- there is also Chimpanzee habituation experience which takes the whole.

Chimpanzee trekking starts daily with briefing at 7:30am and the actual trek start from 8:00am and the time of ending the trek depends on the movement of Chimpanzees.  The other place were chimpanzees are kept is Uganda Wildlife Education Centre (UWEC) as well as in Ngamba Sanctuary Island were these orphaned primates are kept for tourism purposes.

Golden Monkey Tracking

Golden monkeys are unique creatures and are relatives to both the Gorillas and the chimps. These species can be found in three countries including Uganda, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). These also weigh between 10 to 25 pounds and have got a golden body, tails, cheeks, body and black limbs. They are also known as sub specie of the blue monkeys which are mainly found in bamboo forests in Virunga Volcanoes of Democratic Republic of Congo.

Their number has never been put to paper but researcher recently found out that this specie of monkeys is greatly declining since they face many difficulties like the mountain gorillas like poaching, diseases, habitat loss, war and unrest and local community encroachments. Golden monkey can be done in Mgahinga National Park situated at Uganda- Rwanda boarder.

Golden monkeys have been habituated to human presence and these offers a wonderful experience to visitors like the mountain gorillas and the chimpanzees. The male golden monkeys have got a reddish color on the back with darker patches while the females are lighter in color and have less brown patches. These also live in groups of 30 to 80 individuals being led by an adult male. The female golden monkeys usually defend the territories and provide protection. They fed to about 20 to 30 plant species including the leaves, fruits, invertebrates as well as the bamboo. This species of primates have a gestation period of 5 months and give birth to only one off spring.

They can as well be tracked in Mgahinga national park and usually a guide will escort you when you are in small groups and start to hike the bamboo forests where these beautiful primates live. These playful species are hard to get on camera and tourists are advisable to use a low light in the dense forest.

Baboons viewing

They are also known as olive baboons and found in Uganda especially in Ishasha sector, Busitema, Murchison Falls National Park among others. More so, these olive baboons can be found in almost 25 countries of Africa. These are known to live in large groups of about 150 individuals comprising of few male individuals, many females and there young ones  , large in size and are fierce due to their dog like faces and menacing teeth. These baboons are large enough to be viewed by all the visitors that come to visit the national parks where these beautiful primates are found.

Black and White colobus Monkey viewing

These are known as old monkeys of the genus colobus family and mainly live in Africa. They are related to the brown colobus monkeys and mainly live in Riverine forests, wooded grasslands and forests. Their groups are made of nine individuals including a single male, many females and their young ones. They are black in colour, with a white face as well as a tail. Black and white colobus monkey viewing is viewed in Entebbe botanical gardens, and in many National Parks of Uganda.

Blue Monkey viewing

Many of them are found in East Africa and mainly found in Democratic Republic of Congo, Angola, Zambia and Uganda. They have little hair on their faces and gives a blue appearance most of the times but not really blue in colour. They dominate the montane, bamboo forests, ever green forests, and also in forest canopy. They like humid and shady places with plenty of water. Blue Monkeys feed on leaves, invertebrates as well as fruits. Their groups are made of 4 to 12 individuals and mainly consist of one male, many females with their young ones.  Blue Monkey can be seen Murchison falls national park and Lake Mburo national park.

De Brazza’s Monkeys

These are mostly found in central Africa and it’s widely spread in the forests of Africa. These are mainly known as swamp monkeys with grey fur and a reddish brown back with black tail and limbs. These mainly stay in swamps, dry mountain forests, bamboo areas and situated in countries including; Cameroon, Uganda, Congo, Angola, Ethiopia, Kenya and South Sudan.

They also have a life span of 22 years and live in small social groups of 5 to 30 individuals headed by a male whose main job is to provide protection to the group members. These also communicate through shaking tree branches, making booming sounds, and nodding. In Uganda, the can be found in Mount Elgon National Park and Semliki national park.

The Grey Cheeked Mangabee Monkey

It’s known to be specie of the World old monkey found in Uganda. These are mainly grey and black in color. These also live in moderate and low altitude rain forests. These pose features of the baboons and have got a shaggy appearance and mainly located in Kibale national Park and in Semliki national park. These can also be tracked in Mabira Forest which is considered to be the largest of forests in Uganda. In most of the parks above, these species of monkeys are being habituated and will be soon available for visitors to track.

L’ Hoest’s Monkeys viewing

Sometimes called mountain monkeys and most found in Uganda and in the Congo basin, Rwanda and Burundi. The species mostly live in mountainous areas and dominate small groups. These are short and have got a dark brown coat across their bellies and back.

In Uganda, they are found in Bwindi impenetrable national park, Queen Elizabeth national park, Kibale National park, and in Budongo Forest.

 Patas Monkeys viewing

Sometimes called wadi monkeys and close relatives of the vervet Monkeys. The adult patas monkey is larger than the females and these are considered to be the fastest among all the primates. These species always live in a group of 60 individuals with one adult male, and many females.  They live in savannah, dense woodlands as well as semi deserts areas and mostly feed on insects, seeds, gum, tubers as well as smaller primates. In Uganda, patas monkeys are mostly found in Murchison Falls National park, Pian Upe wildlife reserve and Kidepo valley national park.

Red Colobus Monkey viewing

They are closely related to the black & white colobus monkeys and are found in western, eastern and central Africa. These live in large groups of about 80 individuals and the groups are dominated by females. In Uganda, they are found in Kibale National Park and Semliki national park.

Red Tailed Monkey viewing

It’s common monkey s in Uganda and are usually in black, orange or red in color. They are also found in Cameroon, DR. Congo, Rwanda, Kenya, Zambia and Angola. These are relatively small primates since males weigh only 4.1kgs and females weigh 2.9 kgs. Red tailed monkeys live in large variety of habitants mainly found in canopy tropical rain forests, swamps, riverine forests and many types of woodland. In Uganda, they are found in Kibale National Park, Bwindi impenetrable national park, Semliki and Queen Elizabeth National Park.

Nocturnal Primates

They are mostly move at night. They include Bush Babies, pottos. In Uganda, nocturnal walks can be done in Kibale National Park.