The Chimpanzee Rehabilitation Project is located 270 Km up-river in the Gambia River National Park, just downstream from Bird Safari Camp. It was for a long time managed by the Chimpanzee Rehabilitation Trust and is Africa's longest running and perhaps most successful project for rehabilitating chimpanzees to the wild.

The project was founded by Stella Marsden whose father, Eddie Brewer, was a forestry officer and a keen conservationist. He later became the first director of the Wildlife Department in The Gambia and was responsible for establishing the Abuko Nature Reserve and the Gambia Bee-keeping Association, to mention but two lasting achievements.

For a long time completely off-limits to visitors, Stella decided in 2006 to offer chimp-watching trips to small groups of interested visitors in an effort to safeguard the project's financial future. Sadly Stella died in January 2008 and since the chimpanzee project has been taken over by new management, it is currently not possible to stay there. However, there is a good chance of seeing chimpanzees as you sail up-river to Bird Safari Camp as part of your Discover the River itinerary. It’s a thrilling and rare opportunity to view habituated chimps in a pristine natural environment.

Aside from chimpanzees, there's a good chance you'll see The Gambia's other primates, in particular, Red Colobus, Red Patas & Green Vervet (Callithrix) monkeys and Guinea baboons. Hippos wallow in the shallows and you may be lucky to see a Nile Crocodile lazing on a sand bank. Perched high in the trees, African Fish Eagle scan the water for the slightest movement; Palm-nut Vulture can seemingly be found every few hundred yards and a multitude of kingfishers, herons and bee-eaters can be spotted in and around the fresh-water riverbanks.

For further information and prices, click here to plan your chimpanzee safari.