This safari will focus on photographing Africa’s wild chimpanzees, mountain gorillas and Golden Monkeys up close. Photographing these incredible primates is unlike any other experience in Africa or the world. Mountain gorillas, chimpanzees the golden Monkeys are under increasing threat and these are some of the last remaining places where one can gorilla safaris to spend time with them in protected areas.

We will have three full days of chimpanzee viewing and photography in Kibale National Park near the Ruwenzori Mountains in south western Uganda. There are a very limited number of full-day chimpanzee permits allocated each day (our permits allow full days spent with the chimps while the majority of the permits are only for one hour of viewing). This will enable our photography workshop capture all the necessary shots in this safari.

We rise early for a 30 – 40 minute drive to join the Chimpanzee Habituation Team that goes out every day to study and habituate the chimpanzees. Our activity starts at 5:30am and ends in evening at around 6:30pm. There is an option to end the habituation experience earlier than nesting time each day and we will make that decision based on that day’s specific situation and photographic opportunities.

Our days with the chimps are spent following them as they move from feeding trees (generally large fig trees that are fruiting) and along the ground as they move within their home range. There are around 1,450 chimps in Kibale, of which 320 are habituated to human visitation. The group visited for tourism includes 120 chimps, but often times the group is split between two or three sub-groups. The alpha male also spends time with seven or eight other large males as he patrols through the forest and we may spend time with him if we encounter him.

Our guides are in radio contact with the trackers and researchers and so we will have ample opportunity to photography multiple sub-groups throughout our day. Other primates that we will have a good chance of seeing each day include Grey-cheeked manageable, red-tailed monkey, L’Hoest’s monkey, blue monkey, red colobus, black-and-white colobus and olive baboon. After our long day of chimpanzee viewing and photography, we will return to our lodge for dinner and downloading of our images. There after transfer to Mgahinga Gorilla National Park where silver meets gold and also take a serious photography of the mountain gorillas as well as the golden monkeys.