Inside Ngamba Island, where chimpanzees wait for boats

Before the boat even touches the jetty, Ngamba Island Chimpanzee Sanctuary announces itself with a pant-hoot, screams rising from the nearby forest. On the shore, a caretaker called Amos Okello, who has worked on the island for 22 years, shades his eyes and smiles as he welcomes local and international tourists.

“That is probably Afrika and group,” he said.

Afrika is estimated to be 19 years old and has two babies named Eazy and RR, alias Rajiv Ruparelia, the latter named after the late Rajiv Ruparelia, son of businessman Sudhir Ruparelia. Weighing about as much as a grown man and with broad shoulders, Afrika has become one of the sanctuary's established residents. Her story at Ngamba began in 2007, when she arrived as a trembling infant following her rescue in western Uganda. A team from Ngamba, including Okello, had been dispatched to rescue her from people who were keeping her in captivity.

According to Okello, the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) had secured Afrika in a facility, but efforts to access her had proved difficult for weeks. Okello eventually approached her differently. Through gentle gestures, positive communication and grooming, he began to establish a connection. By 7:00 am the following morning, he was able to carry her, something others had struggled to do. That early trust became the beginning of a relationship that has endured for years.

Afrika's story began far from this island, in Queen Elizabeth National Park in western Uganda. Her rescue is part of a wider problem facing chimpanzees, which are sometimes captured for the illegal wildlife trade, kept as pets or separated from their mothers when they are still young. The journey from the forest to captivity can be traumatic, and those who survive often arrive frightened, malnourished and unable to fend for themselves.

Ngamba Island, a forested sanctuary in Lake Victoria, exists to care for such animals. Since 1998, the Chimpanzee Sanctuary and Wildlife Conservation Trust has provided rescued chimpanzees with protection, veterinary attention and an environment in which they can recover and live in social groups.

Today, 54 chimpanzees inhabit the island's 98 acres of protected forest, seven of them babies, a reminder that sanctuary life continues across generations.

But the island's beauty conceals a difficult reality. These chimpanzees cannot simply be returned to the wild because many were taken from their natural habitats too young to develop the survival skills and social bonds they would need to thrive in a wild community. The sanctuary has also yet to identify a suitable haven for their relocation. For now, rescue means a lifetime commitment to care.

At Ngamba, care follows a demanding daily routine. Before most visitors wake up or even finish breakfast, keepers are preparing food, including fruits, vegetables, corn and other nutritional supplements, in carefully measured portions.

The chimpanzees are fed four times a day, at 7:30 am, 11:00 am, 2:30 pm and 6:30 pm. During feeding, veterinary staff monitor their health, while keepers ensure all of them get a share of food and observe their behaviour and relationships within the groups. “Most visitors think we are merely feeding animals, but we are also watching families,” Okello said.

That distinction matters because chimpanzees live in complex social structures, forming alliances, grooming one another and competing for food, mates and dominance. Different groups occupy different spaces, and tensions can arise when individuals challenge one another's position. Their communication is equally varied. Screams, pant-hoots, facial expressions and gestures help them express alarm, establish relationships and signal their intentions to one another.

Chimpanzees also display a level of intelligence that can surprise first-time visitors. For instance, they can use tools to obtain food, including fashioning sticks to extract termites from mounds. At feeding time, they may smell what has been offered before eating, assessing whether the food is appealing. Their similarities to humans extend beyond behaviour. Chimpanzees share more than 98 per cent of their DNA with humans and, like us, can require medical treatment for infections.

At Ngamba Island, veterinary care is central to keeping the animals healthy. The sanctuary's work also involves managing reproduction. Chimpanzees can have single offspring and, occasionally, twins, making reproductive management an important part of caring for a population that depends on the sanctuary's constrained resources. As such, they are given contraceptive implants to help manage their numbers. However, according to Okello, some chimpanzees can remove their implants, sometimes with assistance from others. This can result in unexpected pregnancies, presenting additional challenges for the sanctuary's reproductive management.

One such arrival was Surprise, the first chimpanzee born at Ngamba Island. Her birth was unexpected because her mother's contraceptive implant had not prevented the pregnancy. The experience illustrates the complexities of sanctuary management, where caring for chimpanzees requires close observation, an understanding of their physical needs and social relationships, and the ability to adapt when circumstances change.

For visitors, the shoreline offers some of Ngamba's most striking views. For the chimpanzees, however, it marks a boundary. According to Okello, the chimpanzees generally fear water and avoid approaching the beach. Their reluctance to enter the lake helps keep them within the island's forested sanctuary rather than venturing freely towards the shoreline.

That distinction shapes how visitors experience the island. People can watch the chimpanzees from designated areas, but physical contact is prohibited. “You are welcome here, and you will see them. But you will not touch them,” Okello told us.

This stringent rule protects both humans and chimpanzees. The animals can become aggressive when threatened or agitated, and some throw stones or sticks towards visitors. Signage around the sanctuary reiterates the need to maintain a safe distance.

The encounter is therefore not about getting as close as possible. It is about observing the animals under strict guidelines and, above all, without compromising their welfare. Visitors are reminded that the sanctuary is first and foremost a home for rescued chimpanzees, and their experience must respect the animals' space and behaviour.

The chimpanzees may be the main attraction, but Ngamba offers visitors a wider experience of Lake Victoria's natural environment. More than 150 bird species have been recorded on the island, including egrets, swallows, fish eagles and cormorants. Its forest canopy and shoreline also provide a quiet setting for birdwatching and nature walks.

The boat journey to and from Ngamba Island offers another experience along the way: crossing the Equator. However, on the vast waters of Lake Victoria, there is no physical marker to indicate where the imaginary line passes. There is no signpost rising from the lake or any other visible indication that a boat has reached the Equator. For those with GPS, the coordinates provide the clue, reading 0 degrees latitude at the crossing. Without GPS, the boat captain will usually stop and announce when the boat reaches the Equator, giving passengers a moment to appreciate the geographical significance of their position. It is a quiet landmark, defined by coordinates rather than a monument, but one that adds an unexpected dimension to the journey.

Boat trips across the lake offer another fresh perspective. Fishing canoes, ferries and neighbouring islands such as Nsazi and Koome dot the water, while the evening sun casts a golden light across the shoreline. Visitors can also try fishing for Nile perch or tilapia in the surrounding waters, subject to the sanctuary's arrangements and applicable guidelines. Those wishing to stay longer can even book accommodation at Ngamba Eco Lodge, whose cottages are named after prominent chimpanzees, including Mika, Ikuru, Mawa and Tumbo.

The island also demonstrates how conservation and sustainability can work alongside visitor experiences. Solar energy plays a significant role in supporting the island's operations, reducing reliance on conventional energy sources and contributing to the sanctuary's sustainability efforts. For visitors, the combination of wildlife, birdlife, forest and lake makes Ngamba more than a day trip to see chimpanzees. It is an opportunity to understand the work involved in protecting animals that have lost their place in the wild.

Behind the experience is an expensive, ongoing responsibility. Every chimpanzee needs food, veterinary care, enrichment and the attention of trained keepers, day after day, year after year. Chimpanzees can live for more than 60 years, making sanctuary care a commitment that may span decades. Visitor fees and donations help meet these costs, meaning a day trip, an overnight stay or a contribution towards an individual chimpanzee's care helps sustain the work taking place on the island.

“When someone visits, they are part of the care,” Okello explains. The contribution may seem small from the visitor's perspective, but it supports the daily requirements of a sanctuary that cannot simply send its residents back into the forest. Food and veterinary expenses must be met regardless of the number of visitors arriving, and the sanctuary faces fluctuations in tourism, particularly during public health emergencies such as Ebola and COVID-19 outbreaks.

On the afternoon we leave, the lake is flat and bright. Okello walks us down to the jetty, where we stand in silence for a moment before he bids us farewell in English and Kiswahili. “Goodbye, I hope to see you all again. Kwaherini.” From the night holding facility, where the chimpanzees rest and some receive medication, comes the sound of the chimps shaking the bars. It feels almost like a farewell of their own.

The boat begins its journey back across Lake Victoria, leaving the forested island behind. Somewhere along the crossing, the Equator will pass beneath us again, invisible on the water unless the coordinates reveal it or the captain announces it. For the visitors, the journey marks the end of an excursion. However, for Afrika and the other chimpanzees, the boats will continue to come and go, carrying the people whose visits help sustain their lives.