Chimpanzee tracking in Burundi(Kibira national Park)
Burundi Chimpanzee trekking tours: Chimpanzee Tracking in Burundi is done in Kibira National Park. The park is located 66km from Bujumbura city, which is about 2 hours’ drive. Kibira National park occupies a total land area of 400 sq kilometers, which is part of the Albertine rift valley, which joins Nyungwe Forest National Park in Northwest Rwanda.
16% of the total land area of Kibira National Park is made up of the virgin pristine tropical rainforest, which protects more than 644 plant species like boarwood (Symphonia globulifera), Albizia gummifera and Entandrophragma excelsum, and Newtonia buchananii.
The chimpanzee trekking permits can be purchased from Institute National pour l’Environnement et la Conservation de la Nature or from a tour operator.
A chimpanzee trekking safari in Burundi can be combined by visiting other sites of Bujumbura, Bugarama, Teza Burundi’s oldest tea plantation, Kayanza coffee station, Bururi Forest Nature Reserve, Kigwena Forest Reserve in Ngozi- Kirundo and Gishora Burundi Drum Sanctuary and national museum at Gitega and Mawimbi beach club on the shores of Lake Tanganyika.
What to Pack for Burundi Chimpanzee trekking Tours in Kibira National Park
Trekking boots- must be waterproof, fitting and beyond the ankles, so as to safeguard you from bush thickets, as well as traversing over slippery surface easily.
Wear Long sleeved shirts to protect you from insect bites and piercing thorns.
A waterproof rain Jacket to protect you from untimely downpour when in the forest.
Wear Long pants or trousers, but not jeans to enable you navigate with ease through the trails of the forest.
Other things to pack for chimpanzee tracking includes: Gardening woolen gloves, a sweater, a hat/ cap, a camera without a flash, Water bottle, back pack bag, Woolen socks.
Burundi Chimpanzee Trekking Rules & Regulations
Chimpanzee Tracking Rules & Regulations
Each chimpanzee tracker must have a chimpanzee tracking permit before accessing them
Maintain a distance of 7 meters away from Chimpanzees.
Maintain silence when with the chimpanzees in their natural habitat.
Only 8 people are allowed to track chimpanzees.
All trekkers are allowed to spend at most 1 hour in the presence of the chimpanzees
Wear the appropriate tracking gear like trekking boots, rain jackets, cap etc.
Don’t eat and litter the park while trekking and tracking chimpanzees
Don’t go chimpanzee trekking in case you are sick. Sick people are not allowed to track chimpanzees because they are vulnerable to human diseases.
In case of sneezing or coughing, all trackers are urged to do it aside from the chimpanzees
