Kibale is one in all the most attractive national parks in Uganda with tropical rainforest, and a multiplicity of animals. Kibale Forest harbors the principal figure of chimpanzees and more than 1,450 are protected inside the park. At Kanyanchu, a community chimpanzee has been habituated for 16 years. This gives tourists a chance to see the great apes in their natural environment at this exclusive self drive Uganda safaris. Threatened red colobus monkeys and the rare I’hoesti monkey are found in the park. At the same time the forest has one of the highest diversity and density of primates in Africa
ACCESS
Kibale Forest will rarely be a singular destination, but probably a stop among other parks on a tour of Uganda. Kibale National Park is located in western Uganda, 22km / 14mi southeast of Fort Portal town and 360km/224mi from Kampala.
Kibale national park has a number of tourist attractions that fetch a lot of tourists to participate in various tourist activities like;
Chimpanzee Habituation Experience
Chimpanzee habituation experience is an ongoing activity that entails following up the chimpanzees to make them get used to human presence without necessarily altering their natural behavior. While on habituation, you expect to experience the chimps de-nesting (coming out of nests) between 5:30am and 6:30am and you can then follow them up in their daily activities up to nesting (making nests and going to sleep) time between 6:30pm and 7:30pm. Therefore, a visitor has to be ready to start on this activity by 5:30am from Kanyanchu River Camp.
Primate Walk
This starts from Kanyanchu River Camp at 8:00am or 3:00pm. It lasts for 2-4 hours and is the most popular walk, highlighting the diversity of different animals and plant species within the forest. This walk is restricted to four groups of four persons each, in the morning and the same number in the afternoon.
Forest Hike
This is a seasonal 12km hike that is restricted to the dry seasons (mid-November to February and June to September). It highlights the diverse habitats of the park including tropical rainforest, riverine forest, swamp and grassland. Visitors will have the chance to see a variety of birds and monkeys and sometimes duikers and bush pigs. The walk begins at 8:00am and ends at the elephant wallow around 2:00pm, packed lunch can be made with the canteen.
Cultural Experiences
For the adventurous visitor who wants to enjoy more in the forest, you may take a 64km guided walk, which starts from either Kanyanchu or Sebitoli and end at either site, passing through different habitats and local communities over a period of 2-6 days, camping at the community camp grounds. Community campsites at Kinoni, Nyaibanda and Nyakalongo offer local dishes, traditional dances and walks to community shambas. Visitors can hire a porter(s) to carry their bags.0am and ends at the elephant wallow around 2:00pm, packed lunch can be made with the canteen.
Children’s Activities
There are educational walks that last 1-2 hours followed by creative activities. This especially caters for children under 12 years of age that are not allowed to view the chimps. This enables visitors to enjoy their chimpanzee experience or nature walk or forest hike whilst their children are supervised, educated and entertained by experienced ranger guides. This is done by ranger guides who form the education team. The children access the forest and learn about the ecosystem and its inhabitants through interesting walks, games and creative activities such as pond-dipping, paper-making, cyanotype, photography and batik making.
Sebitoli Forest Centre
On Kampala/Fort Portal road 12km from Fort Portal, there is a new tourist site within the park called Sebitoli Forest Centre. It offers bird and primate viewing and a forest walk to the water falls. Visits to the Tea Estates can also be arranged
Conservation Value of Kibale National Park
Kibale National Park is an important site for conservation and research. The Uganda Wildlife Authority, with assistance from the Jane Good all Institute, started the Kibale Primate Habituation Project, which focuses on habituating the chimpanzees to human presence. This has increased the chances of viewing chimpanzees to over 90%, allowing visitors the fantastic opportunity to view these great apes in their natural environment. Funds generated through tourism help to further protect the park and its biodiversity, carry out research and support local community projects.
