Chimpanzee Trekking in Congo

Chimpanzee trekking in Congo is done in the Virunga National park, in the Albertine Rift valley which is located in the Democratic Republican of Congo. Virunga National Park was created in the year of 1925 it is among the national parks in Uganda that are protected in Africa.

The park ranges from 680m in Semiliki River Valley to 5120m in the Rwenzori Mountains, the park extends from the north to the south part which takes 300km, between Rwanda and Uganda in the Eastern part, covering an area of 8100 sq.km and has also been listed as a World Heritage site since 1994.

Chimpanzee trekking in Congo is done in the Volcano ranges of Virunga and there are two active Volcanoes that are found in the park including Mount Nyamuragira and Mount Nyiragongo. The volcanoes are a habitat to a diverse range of wildlife. Among the Fauna and Flora species that are recorded, is the golden monkey, Eastern Gorilla, and the chimpanzees.

There are over 3000 plant species and these include 230 plants, 250 trees that are endemic to the Albertine Rift, filled with grasslands, wetlands, papyrus sedge, African caper and many more species in the place where they do chimpanzee trekking in Congo.

Besides chimpanzees trekking in Congo there are other species to see including Mountain Gorillas, Kobs, Lions,  African bush elephants, Hippos, duikers, yellow-backed duiker, red river hog, Giant forest hog, Topis, waterbuck, reptiles species, bird species, amphibian species, mammal species, other primate species including red-tailed monkeys, Olive baboons, Grey-cheeked mangabey among others.

Chimpanzee trekking in Congo takes place early morning and afternoon hours, with a short briefing about the chimpanzees.

Habituation is the process in which chimpanzees are trained to be close to human beings as they continue with their daily activities such as feeding, playing, grooming each other, swinging on trees and many more. It’s an incredible moment to encounter during your trekking experience in Virunga National park.

Chimpanzee trekking in Congo starts at 4:00 am when the Rangers first go in the forest to locate the chimpanzees before the trekkers start at 7:00 am.

This activity allows only a maximum of four people to trek the chimpanzees for one hour in the Forest when they encounter the primates.