Grandnexus Africa

Ngamba Island chimpanzee sanctuary also known as the Chimp Island on Lake Victoria is situated 23km south east of Entebbe. The Island is seated on a land of 100 acres, 95 acres of the land is forested and enclosed with an electric fence where the chimpanzees roam through the day.

Ngamba Island is a project of an NGO known as Chimpanzees Sanctuary and Wildlife Conservation Trust that was founded in 1997 to protect the orphaned chimpanzees. The Island is a home to 49 chimpanzees as of 2016 that have been rescued from poachers and were unable to return to the wild plus a few that have recently been born on this Island.

Ngamba Island provides an excellent secondary forest habitat for the chimpanzees and other wildlife species like the fruit bats, spiders, fish eagles, otters, and monitor lizards.

While the Island can’t compare to the experience of seeing chimps in the wild, especially due to the large electrified fence that separates chimp from human, it still makes for a worthwhile excursion to observe the animals’ remarkable human like behaviours. Guides here are informative, and there are individual profiles for each chimp, detailing both their distinct personalities and history. There are also big monitor lizards in residence and a variety of bird species.

Objectives of this chimpanzee sanctuary

To provide a safe home for orphaned and confiscated chimpanzees
To care for the environment on Ngamba Island Chimpanzee Sanctuary
To provide a high quality educational experience for visitors
To benefit local communities

How to get to the Island.
There is always availability of different types of boats catering to various groups and budgets
Arrive to the Island via speed boats that travel from the dock in Entebbe and take approximately 45-50 minutes depending on the weather conditions.

Also travel by traditional motorized canoes that take approximately 90 minutes or 1 hour depending on the weather conditions.

Activities on the Island