The greatest place in Africa to go chimpanzee trekking is kibale forest national park, with around 1,500 chimpanzees and 12 other primate species living there. Kibale forest national park in Uganda is a top location for trekking and interacting with primates in the wild. Kibale forest national park was gazeted in 1993 and its purpose was to preserve the woodlands that was previously under management of forest reserve. Home to 13 primates, Kibale Forest is one of the top tourist destinations visited on Uganda tours
Kibale forest national park is located in western Uganda in the regions of Kamwenge and Kabarole district, where the park is 795 square kilometers in size and 1,500 meters above the sea level. Although kibale forest national park is available for tours,
Best Time to Visit Kibale Forest Park
The best time to visit are from June to September and from December to February, which is normally the dry season. The wet season, which runs from march to May and September to November, provide difficult viewing conditions for wildlife. Trekking can be challenging during the wet season due to the dense vegetation. However, as kibale forest national park does not frequently face harsh weather, you can plan to trek chimpanzees at any time of the year.
Getting to Kibale Forest National park
The Park is reachable from Kampala, the capital city of Uganda, by either the mubende fort portal road or Mbarara-Kamwenge road. It is simpler to take the mubende and fort portal that covers a shorter distance of 307 kilometers in 6 hours.
Attractions in kibale forest national park
Chimpanzees
Among Uganda’s national parks, kibale Forest National Park is home to 1,500 of the country’s 5,000 chimpanzees, making it the ideal location for chimpanzee tours, and they are commonly spotted in kanyachu area.
Birds
kibale forest national park has over 300 bird species where by most of them are forest birds. It is known to be the best place to spot the green breasted pitta in East Africa. Other bird species that are watched with in the park are double toothed barbet, yellow spotted nicator, great blue turaco, red faced barbet among others.
Bigodi wetland sanctuary
Bigodi wetland sanctuary is a great place that you should not skip while on your safari in kibale. It has approximately 250 different bird species, the majority of which are swamp dwellers.
Grey crowned cranes and great blue turacos are among the most frequently sighted species during bigodi swamp walk.
Activities in kibale forest national park
Chimpanzee trekking
The major activity in kibale forest national park is chimpanzee trekking. You have some good chances of seeing chimpanzees in the wild and this activity takes place in the kanyachu area. The chimpanzee trekking experience lasts between 2-4 hours, and during that time you might see some of the bird species and tree species. The permit for chimpanzee trekking costs 250 USD for nonresidents and 250,000UGX for east African residents.
Bird watching
Birding is among the top activities in kibale forest national park. The ark has over 300 bird species and most of them are forest birds. The commonly spotted bird species are great blue turaco, double toothed barbet, red chested sunbird, African finfoot, grey parrot, African thrush, black headed weaver.
Additional activities in kibale forest national park are;
Guided nature walks
Cultural encounters in the bigodi community
Bigodi wetland walk
Experience of Chimpanzee habituation
Touring to the crater lakes
Accommodation in kibale forest national park
The following are some of the lodging options in kibale forest national park
Chimpanzee forest guesthouse (mid-range)
Kibale guest cottages (mid-range)
Kibale forest campsite(budget)
Bigodi village guesthouse(budget)
Primate lodge(luxury)
Ndali lodge(luxury)
