What other things to do in Kibale Forest National Park, Kibale forest is a 776 square kilometer piece of forest, located in between Kamwenge District and Kabarole District, in western Uganda, this forest is rich with flora and fauna with different activities that can be done any day throughout the year making Kibale forest the perfect safari destination in Uganda, this forest offers the best chimpanzee tracking and habituation experiences in Africa, Kibale forest is one of the best for bird watching in Uganda and Africa with unique birds like the Green-breasted Pitta and also for those who love butterflies, Kibale forest is the only place a number of different spices of butterflies. Kibale forest is a collection of a tropical rain forest, woodland, and Savanna surrounded by crater lakes, Kibale is not far from Queen Elizabeth National Park and the Rwenzori Mountains National Park.
What does the Kibale forest have to offer?
Kibale forest is very famous for its primate diversity and well known “nicknamed” as the Primate capital of Africa and the world, some of the primates in Kibale forest includes different species among them is the famous chimpanzees, Red Colobus Monkeys, L’Hoest’s Monkey, Black and White Colobus, Blue Monkeys, Grey Cheeked Mangabeys, Red-Tailed Monkey, Olive Baboon, Bush Baby, and Potto are the among many other primates living in Kibale forest.
Chimpanzee tracking and habituation experience in Kibale forest?
Kibale forest is the best destination in Africa for chimpanzee tracking and the chimpanzee habituation experience, this is a must-do activity while on the safari in Uganda, with chimpanzee tracking only 6 visitors are allowed to visit/trek each chimp group/troop every morning, and afternoon while chimping habituation experience only 4 visitors are allowed to visit wild unhabituated group/troop for a full day dairy.
Kibale is not only famous for the primates but also for the butterfly, birders, botanists, Kibale Forest National Park is Uganda’s main hub for the bird, butterfly and botanical, this forest is home to 325 bird species, bring with a pair of binoculars which is handy in guiding your eyes to the birds whose songs echo in the tropical rain forest of Kibale, and for those who love the butterfly, Kibale forest is home to over 250 species of butterflies and also the botanist lovers are not left out because of the diversity in vegetation, to enjoy this botany it is recommended to go for nature/forest walk and get the opportunity to explore different tree species, shrubs, and herbs to relish of this forest.
While on nature walks in Kibale Forest National Park you must add the exploration of Bigodi Wetlands which if missed would leave a loophole in your Kibale forest adventure, this swamp has over 138 bird species looming in the sky and trees in this swamp.
Summary of what other things to do in Kibale forest national park?
- Chimpanzee tracking is the main activity in Kibale forest, this forest is home to over 1500 individual chimps, this activity gives you the opportunity to spend one full hour with habituated chimps.
- Bigodi community swamp walk is another key activity while in this area
- The flora and fauna, the park landscape covering a range of altitudes with different diversity are incredible.
- Chimpanzee habituation experience in Kibale forest is one of the primary activities of this park, it is an exceptional experience where you get the opportunity to spend a full day with chimps which are under habituation process, we highly recommend it.
- Join the researchers as they observe and record primate activities and behavior in the forest.
- Bird watching, visiting crater lakes in the area, hiking activities, cultural interactions with the local communities of this area.
All tourism activates in Kibale forest National Park are guided by expert ranger/guides who have a good knowledge of the forest and will help you spot the specific habituated family of chimpanzees that have been assigned to you, in order to participate in any activity, one must book and pay for the necessary permits many months in advance, contact us we will help you to arrange you Uganda safari in Africa.
Chimpanzee tracking in Kibale Forest
Chimp tracking? It is tracking down the habituated chimp troops/families that live in the Kibale forest, chimpanzee tracking starts at 7:30 am with a briefing from the park rangers to prepare visitors on what to expect and another season starts at 2: 00 pm. chimp tracking last between 3 to 4 hours trekking on the moderate and easy walking trails inside deep Kibale forest.
On the briefing before starting setting off so very one has to attend a short orientation session where you will learn about the dos and don’ts and rules for your trekking. The experienced rangers/trackers leading the way will locate the chimpanzee troop/family that has been allocated to you so that you can reach them in fewer hours and once you find them you will be allowed to spend one full hour observing the chimps as they do their daily business, looking for food, hunting, grooming young ones, mating, resting in the trees and on the ground, etc
Chimpanzee Habituation Experience in Kibale forest
Chimp habituation experience is the participating in the Chimpanzee Habituation Experience where professional researchers and rangers study the chimpanzees and make them get used to the presence of humans before it is open for tourism. Habituation starts at 6:00 am and lasts for a full day and only 6 people are allowed to join the habituation experience team so it is recommended to purchase a habituation permit between a year and above in advance because habituation permits are on-demand due to the limited number of the permits issued by Uganda Wildlife Authority.
During habituation experience, with the help of researchers and well-experienced ranger’s visitors will get the opportunity to study chimps as they forage their daily activities in the Kibale forest as they look for food and care for the young babies. While viewing the chimps as they do the regular activities in the wild is an amazing experience in Africa. Both chimpanzee habituation experience and the ordinary trekking starts from the Kanyanchu visitors center both activities give tourists/visitors a closer look at the typical life of chimpanzees and other primates found in the Kibale forest.
When you spot them, you can view them mating, nursing their young, or patrolling their territory in the forest. Only a limited number of permits are issued each day for Chimp habituation experience contact us well in advance so that we can book and reserve your permit in time.
Birdwatching in Kibale forest
Birdwatching in Kibale forest national park is one of the primary activities in this area with possible sightings of different species during your forest walk or chimpanzee tracking, Kibale forest is the number one destination in Uganda for birdwatching safaris in Africa, this park is home to the incredible 375 bird species, on your forest walk you are able to spot different types of birds, this forest is also well-known as the best birding location in Uganda and also Bigodi swamp is another best birding location in this area, Bigodi wetland is bordering with Kibale forest
Book your Uganda trip with us, all our birding tours are accompanied by expert Ugandan birding guides who help you to spot the different bird species as he/she explains the detailed habitats and nesting habits of different species.
Visiting crater Lakes around Kibale forest
While in Kibale forest you get also an opportunity to visit different crater lakes of the Albertine Rift Valley, the walk to these crater lakes includes the hike to the Top of the World where you will have amazing views of the surrounding landscape with some birds species, on this visit to crater lakes you can as well enjoy fishing and canoeing.
Kibale Forest National Park is within the Albertine Rift Valley line so there are few crater lakes within Kibale forest conservation areas and surrounding areas, it is very easy for visitors who are in Kibale forest to go for a simple hike up the hills that cradle the lakes and revel in the spellbinding views from the top as you enjoy different bird spices and monkeys along with the lakeside areas. Among the crater lakes in this area includes Lake Kasenda, Lake Nyabikere, Lake Nyamirima, Lake Nyinabulitwa, Lake Nkuruba, and Lake Nyinambuga among others, the walk to these crater lakes takes you through different homestays and plantations of different crops which make it even more interesting.
Cultural & Community interactions?
While in the Kibale forest tourists and other visitors can also get the opportunity to visit local communities and interact with them as you learn about their traditional way of life and their culture. The park authorities of Kibale Forest recognize the need to support the local communities living around the park who lost their homes and livelihood to the park
Communities surrounding more especially from the Bigodi area started an initiative project called Kibale Association for Rural and Environmental Development (KAFRED) which is a local community organization that is dedicated to conserving the biodiversity of the inhabitants of the park which at the end provided Job opportunities to the locals through eco-tourism. You can add cultural and local community visiting any of your Uganda safaris, during this activity visitors get the opportunity to visit the local village to develop an understanding and appreciation of the lifestyle of the local people in the area.
Bigodi Wetlands sanctuary walk
Bigodi swamp has 8 species of primates with over 138 species bird species, this swamp takes its name from the Rutooro word “kugody”, which means to walk wearily, and this swamp is managed by the local community eco-tourism Associations, this Bigodi wetland has created job opportunities and other occupations have also emerged among the local communities, mainly centering on visitor presence in the area. Tourism has supported the higher number of education of the children in the communities, different groups mostly Women groups in Bigodi area create handicrafts using sustainable raw materials from the Bigodi wetlands which have created income for locals.
