Kibale National Park

Kibale Forest National Park (Kibale National Park) lies on the Western side of Uganda, Kabarole District near Fort Portal tourism city. Stretching up to 795sq.km, Kibale is home to the largest chimpanzee population in Uganda. Of the estimated 5050 chimpanzees living in Uganda, over 1500 of them reside within Kibale Forest alone and many communities open for chimpanzee trekking/tourism purposes.

This Park is a complete primate safari destination in Africa with more than 13 primate species. This makes it the primate capital of the world. Kibale Forest National Park is located within the Rift Valley Region and nearby the Ndali-Kasenda Craters. Adjacent to it, there are many protected areas worth exploring on Uganda safaris after chimpanzee trekking and include Rwenzori Mountains National Park, Semuliki National Park, and Queen Elizabeth National Park.

The altitude

Kibale Forest National Park is set at an altitude of 1100 to 1590 meters, established in 1932 as a Forest Reserve and upgraded to a National Park in 1993. This protected area features not only the lush rainforest, but also other vegetation types including shrubs, broad-leaved plants, ferns and more. It has 351 species of trees and it is an ideal spot for scientists, or researchers.

Primates & other wildlife

Kibale holds more than 70 species of mammals and include 13 primate species. The primates to see on Kibale Forest National Park safari include the red colobus monkeys, red-tailed monkeys, chimpanzees, black and white colobus monkeys, L’hoest monkeys, pottos, bush babies, blue monkeys, olive baboons, etc. Other mammals that live within Kibale Forest include the giant forest hogs, golden cats, forest elephants, bushbucks, buffaloes, duikers, serval, mongoose, and many more. It also supports several amphibian species, 14 snake species, 200 butterfly species and more.

Birds

Kibale Forest National Park is one of the bio-diverse forest protected areas, hosting not only primates but also more than 375 species of birds. They include 4 (four) native bird species. The park’s bird species include blue-headed kingfishers, black bee-eaters, Abyssinian ground thrush, African green-breasted pittas, yellow-spotted nicator, blue-headed sunbird,

Nahan’s francolins, red-faced woodland warblers, brown chested alethe, little greenbul, western tinker bird, purple-breasted sunbird, brown-backed scrub robin, crowned eagle, dusky crimson wing, scaly breasted illadopsis, Rwenzori apalis, masked apalis, grey parrot, black and white casqued hornbill and more.

Tourism Activities in Kibale Forest National Park

Chimpanzee trekking

Kibale Forest National Park is one of the treasured chimpanzee trekking destinations in Uganda. This is the home to more than 1500 chimpanzees the closed relatives to humans with over 98% DNA similar to that man. Trekking chimpanzees in Kibale is possible either in the morning or afternoon. It is a 2-4 hours trek through Kibale Forest starting at Kanyanchu tourism center and permits are available for booking at USD 200 per person.

Chimpanzee habituation (CHEX) –Kibale Forest

Kibale Forest National Park is also most visited for chimpanzee tracking. This is a full day or half-day adventure through Kibale Forest and it is done with assistance of trackers/researchers. During habituation, the main aim is to make chimpanzees get used to human presence and the adventure involves observing their daily behaviors and photography.

Bird watching

Birding expeditions in Kibale offer great sightings of birds. The bird check-list in Kibale include scaly-breasted illadopsis, yellow-spotted nicator, African green-breasted pitta, blue-breasted kingfishers, black-capped apalis, Cassin’s spinetail, red-faced woodland warblers, superb sunbird, Nahan’s francolins, African grey parrot, Dusky crimson wing, black bishop, brown backed scrub robin, grey winged robin chat, white-spotted fluff tails, bush shrikes, hairy-breasted barbets, Abyssinian ground thrush and more.

Nature/forest walk

Nature or forest walk is conducted with the lead of an experienced park guide. The forest walk begins at Kanyanchu tourism center and comes with incredible sightings of birds, primates, floral species and other species.

Bigodi Wetland

Located near Kibale Forest National Park, Bigodi Wetland Sanctuary is a charming forest-dominated swamp. It is a rich area with primates and often visited after chimpanzee trekking. The Bigodi Wetland supports more than 138 species of birds and 8 primate species plus other mammals. The different animals to come across on a nature walk in Bigodi Wetland Sanctuary include the red-tailed monkeys, bushbucks, olive baboons, blue monkeys, black and white colobus monkeys, l’hoest monkeys, grey cheeked mangabeys, mongoose, etc.

Other activities/places to visit near Kibale Forest National Park include bush craft making, Amabere G’Nyina Mwiru caves that formed due to stalagmites and stalactites, Crater Lake expedition (list of Crater Lakes to tour include among others Lake Kifuruka, Lake Nkuruba, Nyabikere, and Nyinambuga), and more.

When to visit Kibale Forest National Park _Uganda

Kibale Forest National Park is open to tourists at any time of the year. The park enjoys favorable weather conditions but the most preferred time is during the dry season that is from June to September and December to February. These are ideal months of the year to visit Kibale National Park for chimpanzee trekking and off months often attract guests who prefer chimpanzee habituation experience. The low season runs from March, April, May and October, November.

The various accommodation facilities to stay in and around Kibale

There are budget, midrange and luxury accommodation options to consider for visitor stay on Uganda safari in Kibale Forest National Park. The lodges to stay include Kyaninga Lodge, Ndali Lodge, Crater Safari Lodge (Luxury), Primate Forest Camp, Chimpanzee Guesthouse, Isunga Lodge, Chimps Nest, Primate Lodge, Turaco Treetop, Nyinabulitwa Country Resort, Chimpundu Lodge and others.

Getting there for a tour

By road & air:

By road, you can travel from Kampala via Mityana-Mubende to Fort Portal tourism city and connect to Kibale Forest National Park for a safari. Or connect through Mbarara-Kasese to Kibale NP. By air, fly to Semliki airstrip starting from Entebbe airport or Kajjansi airfield.