Reasons to visit Kibale forest national park

Reasons to visit Kibale forest national park; Kibale forest national park also known as the primate capital is located in western part of Uganda in Kabarole district. The national park is known for harboring about 13 primate species including over 1,500 primates, black and white colobus monkeys, red tailed monkeys, olive baboons, vervet monkeys, l’hoest monkeys, blue monkeys, grey cheeked mangabey among others. Kibale forest national park also harbors about 120 mammals and over 372 bird species. There are several reasons why travelers should visit Kibale forest national park because it offers different activities that you can engage in which include,

Chimpanzee trekking

Chimpanzee trekking is the major or most popular activity in Kibale forest national park and it involves tourists moving on foot into the tropical rainforest in search of the chimpanzees  and once found spend one hour with them in their natural habitat. Chimpanzee trekking in Kibale forest national park is done in two sessions that is the morning session which starts at around 8:00am and the afternoon session which starts at around 2:00pm and each session starts with a briefing about the rules and regulations to follow during trekking at the park headquarters. After the briefing, you will be sub divided into groups of 6 people where each group will be allocated a habituated chimpanzee family to trek and a park guide who is conversant with chimpanzee trekking trails. Trekking of chimpanzees in Kibale forest national park takes about 30 minutes to 5 hours depending on where the chimpanzees are located because they like to move from one place to another in search of food. During trekking, you will be able to view other primates like grey cheeked mangabey, red tailed monkeys, black and white colobus monkeys, view different bird species, mammals among others and once the chimpanzees are found, you will be allowed to spend one hour with them in their habitat which gives you a chance to learn more about their behaviors, habits, lifestyle, watch them feed, play, fight, mate, hunt, rest, breastfeed, take photos and record videos.

Chimpanzee habituation experience

Chimpanzee habituation experience is the process where the wild chimpanzees are trained to get used to human presence for trekking. Chimpanzee habituation experience takes a period of 2 to 3 years to be complete and it involves a team of researchers, park guides, park rangers among others. Chimpanzee habituation experience starts very early in the morning at around 6:00am with a briefing about the rules, regulation and expectations. The habituation experience takes a full day and it involves moving deep into the forest in search of chimpanzees and once found spend four hours with them in their habitat which gives you an opportunity to learn and monitor their habits, lifestyle, watch them carry out their daily activities like feeding, hunting, patrolling, resting, making nests for night, take photos and record the incredible moments.

Bird watching

Kibale forest national park is a home of over 372 recorded bird species including forest birds, Albertine endemic birds and migratory birds which make Kibale national park one of the best bird watching destinations. During bird watching, you will be accompanied by an experienced bird guide who will help you to spot different bird species including the Great Blue Turaco, Green Breasted Pitta, African Pitta, Blue Shouldered Robin Chat, White Naped Pigeon, Black Billed Turaco, Yellow Spotted Barbet, White Thighed Hornbill, Speckled Tinker Bird, Little Greenbul, Superb Sunbird, Abyssinian Proud Thrush, African Emerald Cuckoo, African Jacana, Black Billed Turaco, Black Bee-eater, White Shrike Flycatcher, Collared Apalis, African Black-headed Oriole, Black-billed Weaver, Crowned Eagle, Brown Eared Woodpecker, Papyrus Gonolek, Brown Chested Alethe, Yellow Potted Nicator among others.

Nature walks

Nature walk is another interesting activity in Kibale forest national park where you will be able to explore the park on foot with the company of an experienced park guide and an armed park ranger. Nature walks in Kibale forest national park start from Kanyachu Visitors Center or Sebitoli and they take about 2 to 6 hours. During the guided nature walk, you will be able to get up-close and personal with different wildlife species like mammals, birds, primates, butterflies, listen to sweet sounds of bird species, take beautiful pictures among others.

Kibale forest national park also offers nocturnal forest walks where travelers will be able to explore the park at night with an armed ranger guide and sport light torches. During the night forest walk, you will be able to see nocturnal animals like bush baby, nightjar, potto, civet, serval cats, cricket, tree hyrax among others.

Best time to visit Kibale forest national park

Kibale forest national park can be visited all year round though the best time is during the dry season in the months of June, July, August, September, December, January and February. During the dry season Kibale forest national park receives less rainfall therefore vegetation will be short which allows you to view chimpanzees and other wildlife species clearly. During the dry season, chimpanzee trekking and nature walk trails will be dry and passable hence making trekking easy.

Kibale forest national park can also be visited in the wet/rainy season in the months of March to May and October to November because that’s the best time for bird watching where you will be able to view colorful and migratory bird species.

How to get to Kibale forest national park

Kibale forest national park is located in western part of Uganda and can be accessed by road transport means where you will drive from Kampala via Mubende fort portal road or Masaka Mbarara road to the park headquarters which takes about 6 to 7 hours’ drive.

Kibale forest national park can also be accessed by air transport means where you will book scheduled or charter domestic flights by Aerolink or Bar aviation from Entebbe international airport or Kajjansi airfield to Kasese airstrip and then connect to the park headquarters.