Top places to film primates in Uganda

Top places to film primates in Uganda –  Best places to film Gorillas, Chimpanzees and Golden monkey’s in Uganda

Top places to film primates in Uganda – Uganda the Pearl of Africa has many places where you can film primates in their natural habitats. Any Media or Production house intending to shoot documentaries about primates in Uganda should start with acquiring all required permissions to allow you to film primates in Uganda. Great Adventure Safaris will assist you in processing all filming permissions, Press Accreditation, location scouting, allocating the right local fixers, temporary kit customs clearing, transport, and accommodation plus security while in Uganda.

Popular locations  to film primates in Uganda

Uganda is popularly, well known for primates hence the name “Primate Capital of Africa”. Uganda boasts of over 13 primate species located in different National Parks and forest reserves.  When it comes to primates in Uganda the Mountain Gorillas are the top, located in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest and Mgahinga Gorilla National Parks. We have the Chimpanzees in Kibale Forest National Park, Budongo Eco-Forest in Murchison Falls National Park, Karinzu Eco-tourism site, and Kyambura Gorge in Queen Elizabeth National Park. You can also film Golden Monkeys in Mgahinga National Park. Depending on the type of primates you are interested in filming, Great Adventure safaris will assist in making all arrangements to make sure that your pre-production and production are achieved without hassle.

Primate Filming Locations

Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park for Mountain Gorillas

Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park has almost half of the wild Mountain Gorillas in the whole world. Great Adventure Safaris is in a position to help in booking Gorilla permits, processing filming permissions, advising on which region you should choose since Bwindi forest has four Gorilla tracking regions of Buhoma, Ruhija, Nkuringo, and Rushaga. We are also in the position to advise you on which Gorilla family to film depending on your interests. We will arrange your transport to and from Bwindi Impenetrable Forest plus accommodation as well.

Mgahinga Gorilla National Park for Mountain Gorillas and Golden Monkeys

Mgahinga Gorilla National Park is another best place to film primates in Uganda where you can film the Mountain Gorillas and it is located in Southwestern Uganda. Unlike Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park, Mgahinga Gorilla National Park has one habituated Mountain Gorilla family which can be used for filming. Once in a while Gorilla families from Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo migrate to Mgahinga Gorilla National Park due to the abundance of food in this area. Mgahinga Gorilla National Park is also home to the only families of Golden Monkeys in Uganda. Great Adventure Safaris is here to help you book all the required permissions as per your shoot if contacted.

More information on filming mountain gorillas in Uganda

Kibale Forest National Park

Kibale Forest National Park is among the best places to film primates in Uganda and it is located in the western part of Uganda. Kibale Forest National Park has many habituated Chimpanzee communities that can be utilized for documentary shooting and filming purposes. Kibale Forest National Park boasts over 12 primate species that can be seen while on your filming exercise.

For any production house to film Chimpanzees in Kibale Forest National Park will have to get filming permission from the Uganda Wildlife Authority.  Contact Great Adventure Safaris for details. In summary, all Film Crews will be required to write an official letter to the Executive director at the Uganda Wildlife Authority informing him of who you are, when you want to film, why you are filming the primates, and the details of all film crew members. Once we get this letter, we will deliver it to Uganda Wildlife Authority, and your filming contract will be worked on.

Budongo Eco-Forest in Murchison Falls National Park

Budongo forest is another best place to film primates in Uganda. This forest is located in northern Uganda and is part of the large Murchison Falls Conservation Area and according to available records has the highest number of Chimpanzees in East Africa. Budongo forest filming activities are controlled by National Forest Authority and anyone intending to film about Budongo habituated Chimpanzees has to pass through National Forestry Authority.

More about filming and photographing chimpanzees in Uganda

Filming Requirements for Budongo Eco-Forest

All film crews intending to film primates in Budondo Eco-forest will be required to pay a filing fee of USD400 per person per day to the National Forest Authority to film or be allowed to shoot a documentary in Budongo Eco-forest. Contact Great Adventure Safaris Uganda for details on how this works. National Forestry Authority also requires you to write an official letter requesting permission to film the Chimpanzees in Budongo Eco-forest and this letter should indicate who you are, when, why you are filming, and also the passport details and designation of all film crew members.

Once we have all this, we will assist in forwarding them to the National Forest Authority head offices. The process of securing your Chimpanzee filming permit for Budongo may take 2-3 working days as long as all the paperwork is forwarded to us.

Those intending to film primates in Kaniyo Pabidi will have to pay for Chimpanzee tracking permits on top of the USD400 per person fee. Great Adventure Safaris will assist in checking the availability of Chimpanzee tracking permits as well as booking them for you. Kindly send us dates when you intend to film Chimpanzees in Kaniyo Pabidi and we will assist you accordingly.

Kalinzu Eco-tourism Site

Kalinzu Eco-Tourism Site is also one of the best places to film primates in Uganda and it is located in southwestern Uganda. Kalinzu Eco-tourism site is equipped with several habituated Chimpanzee communities that can be filmed, photographed, or good for shooting a documentary. Kalinzu Eco-tourism site is under the National Forest Authority, and the procedure of securing filming permits here is the same as that of Budongo Eco-forest in Murchison Fall National Park.

Any film Crew needs to pay for the Chimpanzee tracking permits on top of a USD400 filming fee. For more details about filming primates in Karinzu Eco-forest, do not hesitate to us at Great Adventure Safaris.

What you need to film primates in Uganda?

After identifying a location of your interest for filming primates in Uganda, Great Adventure Safaris will assist you in arranging Press Accreditation which is done by the Uganda Media Council, booking Gorilla, and or Chimpanzee permits where applicable, processing your filming permits with Uganda Wildlife Authority and or National Forest Authority. Once this is done, we will then arrange to temporarily clear your filming equipment, organize your transport and accommodation in Uganda plus assigning you a local fixer who will handle your primate filming project.

Other services offered by Great Adventure Safaris