Days 4 and 5 – Kyambura Gorge, Queen Elizabeth National Park
From Kibale Forest you head south travelling parallel with the Rwenzori Mountains towards the Queen Elizabeth National Park. The Kibale Forest and Queen Elizabeth National Parks form an important wildlife corridor allowing game to move freely between the grasslands of the Queen Elizabeth National Park and the forests of Kibale Forest National Park.
Your destination is Kyambura Gorge which is a stunning gorge that cuts through the grasslands of Queen Elizabeth. Down in the gorge the humid weather creates an Eden with thick forests and tall trees with clear streams flowing through. This afternoon enjoy a boat cruise on the Kazinga Channel and spot elephant, buffalo, waterbuck, hippo and crocodiles along the river bank. This is a birders paradise with plenty of water birds taking advantage of the good fishing. The Queen Elizabeth National Park is home to lion and leopard as well, so keep your eye pealed.
The following morning you have the chance to track the lost chimpanzees of Kyambura Gorge. Around 20 chimpanzees live in the Kyambura Gorge, cut off from their cousins in Kibale by villages and farms. During the trek, you head down the steep sides of the gorge into the forest below where you start to track the troop. You will often hear them before you see them as they use focal calls and tree thumping as a way to communicate to each other. Once you find the troop you get to spend an hour with them as they go about their daily lives.