Kibale Forest National Park

Welcome to Kibale Forest National Park, an enchanting gem in the heart of Uganda that beckons with its lush greenery, diverse ecosystems, and a captivating array of primates. Uncover the magic of this tropical rainforest as you delve into its rich biodiversity and immersive experiences.

It offers visitors the highest density and diversity of primates in all of Africa. For chimpanzee trekking, it’s not only the best place in Uganda but perhaps the world. The lovely rainforests of Kibale National Park are a deep primeval environment of rich animal encounters unlike any you’ll see elsewhere. Make sure to add this safari park to your must-see list. The park hosts 70 types of mammals, of which 13 are primates, its most famous species being the 1,450 chimpanzees found here – Uganda’s largest population. This may be the park’s biggest draw – the opportunity to go trekking and discover these fascinating creatures who share 98 percent of our DNA.

A typical trek lasts from 2 – 5 hours and you’ll get to spend about an hour observing these intelligent primates, swinging from trees, playing, feeding, and scampering about. Your success at finding a group of chimps in the wild is unusually high – 99 percent. Compare this to the 20 percent chance of only a few years ago. This is because the park rangers have carried out a program of chimpanzee habituation – an exposure in which people volunteer to spend time with the chimps, getting them accustomed to their human cousins.

Visitors can take part in this habituation process and enjoy much more time with the chimps than a trek would allow – up to 6 hours. Besides the great numbers of chimps in the park, visitors will be delighted to come across great and varied populations of monkeys such as the rare L’Hoest’s monkey, red colobus monkeys, black and white colobus monkeys, red-tailed monkeys, olive baboons, and bush baby.

As to more traditional African safari animals, the park also hosts bushbucks, buffaloes, leopards, warthogs, duikers, and African golden cats. Less commonly seen are the occasional lion. Forest elephants make their presence known here and travel between Kibale and nearby Queen Elizabeth Park along a 180 km (111 mi) natural corridor connecting the two parks.

Along your trail walks you’ll get to soak up the park’s habitats of rich tropical forest, woodland, and savannah. Looking up at the canopy overhead, you’re certain to spot some of Kibale’s 375 species of birdlife and a dazzling 250 species of butterflies. All this biodiversity lends itself to a world of natural discovery and Kibale is one of Africa’s most established research sites. Besides the study of its chimpanzees and other primates, the park’s ecosystem is also a subject of the ongoing research being done here.