Ngamba Island

Ngamba Island Chimpanzee Sanctuary was established in October 1998 to care for rescued chimpanzees within Uganda. Ngamba Island itself is 100 acres (approximately 40 hectares) of rainforest situated 23kms from Entebbe, near the equator in Lake Victoria, Uganda. It supports a rich diversity of natural wildlife (over 120 species of bird, hippos, a crocodile, monitor lizards) and provides a variety of natural foods for the chimpanzees.

As well as providing a safe home and ensuring the welfare of the rescued chimpanzees the establishment also aims to care for the environment on Ngamba Island, as well as providing a high quality educational experience for visitors and benefiting the island local communities. The island is set up as an eco-friendly project with compost toilets, rainwater collection, proper waste management practices and solar energy (for electricity and hot water). Guests stay in an East African style tented camp on the island with each of the four tents overlooking the lake and accommodating two people in comfort. They are well furnished and each has an en suite bathroom and solar lighting.

Guests staying on the island can choose to take a ‘forest walk’ experience or become a caregiver for the day. The ‘forest walk’ experience offers an opportunity to join a group of infant chimpanzees on a one hour walk through their forest habitat, either in the late afternoon or very early morning. There are very specific instructions regarding clothing, cameras, glasses, and behaviour when signing up for this unique opportunity as these chimpanzees are used to human contact and they will play-bite, climb on you, grab your glasses, and pull your hair or even just walk along holding your hand. The ‘caregiver’ is a unique program where visitors get the opportunity to experience a day in the life of a Chimpanzee caregiver. Guests will prepare food and feed the Chimps, assist the staff with any activities happening at the sanctuary that day – medical check ups, research and monitoring, preparing the holding areas for the chimps and other activities. The staff will work with you to show you just what is involved in taking care of these animals, how individual they are, and what makes them so special.