Kyambura Gorge is located in the beautiful Queen Elizabeth National Park in southwestern Uganda. It is also known as “The Valley of Apes.” This amazing underground forest is about 1 kilometer wide, 32 kilometers long, and 100 meters deep.
The name Kyambura comes from the Kyambura River, which flows through the forest. The word “Kyambura” means “I couldn’t find it.” The river got this name because, according to local stories, it once flooded and swept away people and property. When locals searched for their belongings and loved ones, they could not find anything.
The gorge is home to habituated chimpanzees, a type of great ape that shares 98% of its DNA with humans. Unfortunately, chimpanzees are endangered, with fewer than 300,000 remaining in the wild across tropical Africa.
Chimpanzee Trekking in Kyambura Gorge
Chimpanzee trekking is the main activity in Kyambura Gorge. Tracking can be done in the morning or afternoon. Visitors walk through the forest searching for chimpanzees, and once they are found, you can spend one hour observing them in their natural habitat.
The number of chimpanzees in Kyambura Gorge is small, so sightings are not guaranteed. Chimpanzee trekking permits cost $100 per person per trek, and children under 15 years and people with infections are not allowed to join the activity.
There are 16 tracking permits available daily—8 for the morning and 8 for the afternoon. Permits can be booked through the Uganda Wildlife Authority, a tour operator, or the Mweya Visitor Information Centre. During the peak season, permits should be booked in advance.
Wildlife Watching in Kyambura Gorge
Besides chimpanzees, Kyambura Gorge is home to other animals and primates, including black-and-white colobus monkeys, red-tailed monkeys, giant forest hogs, vervet monkeys, olive baboons, bush babies, and bushbucks.
The gorge also hosts many bird species, some of which are unique to the forest. Examples include the blue-headed bee-eater, African finfoot, bar-tailed godwit, lesser flamingo, greater flamingo, martial eagle, Verreaux’s eagle-owl, African skimmer, rare shoebill, black-rumped buttonquail, white-tailed lark, white-winged warbler, African broadbill, Chapin’s flycatcher, black bee-eater, papyrus gonolek, corncrake, pink-backed pelican, and many others.
How to Get There
Kyambura Gorge is located 420 kilometers from Kampala, Uganda’s capital. It takes about 6 to 7 hours to drive there by road. Visitors can also take a chartered flight from Kajjansi Airfield or Entebbe International Airport to Mweya and then drive about an hour to the gorge.
Kyambura Gorge does not have hotels, but visitors can stay in nearby accommodations in Queen Elizabeth National Park. Some options include Kyambura Gorge Lodge, Katara Lodge, Kingfisher Camp, and Jacana Lodge, among others.
