KIBALE NATIONAL PARK

Kibale National Park is located in western Uganda in Kamwenge District and it is one of the last remaining expanses in Africa to contain both lowland and montane forests. It was gazetted in 1932 and established as a park in 1993 and measures approx. 766 square kilometers. In fact, this park forms a continuous forest with Queen Elizabeth National Park and its famous for its population of habituated chimpanzees and other twelve primate species. Apart from primates, the park also hosts other animals like the bush pigs, bushbucks, sitatungas, buffalos, warthogs, elephants (travel between this park and Queen Elizabeth National Park). In addition, the park boasts over 325 bird species that can be spotted during the nature walks or bird watching activities. Besides, there are approx. 200 tree species found within the moist tropical forests of the park and some of these include; Lovoa swynnertonnii, Entandrophragma, etc.

Activities in Kibale National Park

Chimpanzee trekking

This activity generally starts in the morning with a briefing at Kanyachu visitor’s center and later hit the forest together with your allocated experienced park ranger of the day. As a matter of fact, this park has got over 1,000 chimpanzees and so the chances of missing on any of them is very low. Locating these chimpanzees depends on their movements since they move from one place to another in search of food and fruits. Upon locating them, you are given one hour in their presence as you enjoy them doing their activities like breastfeeding, swinging on trees, etc as well as take photos and videos for memories. Additionally, during this activity you are also able to come across other primates like the black and white colobus, red tailed monkey, bush babies, etc.

Bird watching

With over 300 bird species including the forest, migratory and Albertine rift endemic birds, the park is one of the best birding destinations that cannot miss on your birding list. Birding in this park can be done early morning or in the evening following different park trails and coming across different bird species. Some of the birds here include; Yellow rumped tinkerbird, Great blue turaco, African pitta, Purple breasted sunbird, Ross’ turaco, Black and white casqued hornbill, Woodland kingfisher, etc.

Chimpanzee habituation

Habituation is the process whereby these chimpanzees are trained in order to get used to human presence and this activity involves a team of researchers, park rangers, etc. This activity also starts early in the morning with a briefing about the dos and don’ts while trekking these chimpanzees and later hit the forest. However, this activity might take a whole day while searching for them depending on their movements as they look for food. Interestingly, upon locating them you are given 4 hours in their presence unlike trekking whereby you are given only one hour. This basically gives you enough time and an opportunity to watch them on a closer view as they do their daily activities like playing, breastfeeding, building their nests, etc.

Cultural visits

The park is generally surrounded by the Batoro and Bakiga people and still preserve their tradition and culture through folklore, dance and language. You can also decide to visit the Toro kingdom which is the King’s Palace and learn about the history and culture of the Batooro people. The Bakiga are also famous for their ekitagururo dance which involves jumping in accordance to tune of the drum. Therefore, a cultural dance session can be organized to be part of your cultural encounter such that you can enjoy the theme, of the total cultural experience of the locals around.

Guided nature walks

Here, you get a chance of exploring the park on foot in company of an experienced ranger for safety and guidance through the park. While here, you have an opportunity of viewing different animals, primates, tree and bird species at a closer view. You can decide to do a morning, evening or night nature walk specifically looking out for nocturnal animals at night like the bush babies, pottos, serval cats, standard nightjars, etc. You can also do a nature walk at Bigodi wetland sanctuary which is a home to over 200 bird species that call this place a home.

Village walks

Here, you will be able to take a walk through the coffee, tea and banana gardens thereby discovering the different farming methods used. During the interaction, you will learn their different processes of farming from planting, harvesting the processing of course with a help of an experienced local guide.