Up and over Sugar Loaf Mountain, Sri Lankan founder Bala created Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary, a leafy, waterfall-framed hideaway set up with the purpose of educating humans about one of our closest relatives. This excellent sanctuary remained operational throughout the war.
You can sleep here, bedding down in tree houses (from US$90) that overlook the sanctuary, or you can come for the day, watching rescued chimps lark around in enclosures or spotting those who have been released to a larger area in the mountains beyond. Ninety-minute tours of the sanctuary run at 10.30am and 4pm each day and you can follow walking trails around the area.
A short drive from Freetown in the Peninsula Mountains, Tacugama is off the Regent/Bathurst road. The last stretch of the route follows a rough, unpaved path through the rainforest that can only be reached by 4WD or on foot (20 minutes).
