Top things to do in Kibale forest national park; Kibale forest national park is one of the most visited national parks in Uganda located in western region in Kabarole district. Kibale forest national park is also known as the primate capital due to the fact that it’s a home of 13 primate species including over 1,500 chimpanzees, black and white colobus monkeys, red tailed monkeys, blue monkeys, grey cheeked mangabey, olive baboons, l’hoest monkeys, vervet monkeys among others. Kibale forest national park also harbours different bird species, mammals like forest elephants, bush bucks, antelopes among others. Kibale forest national park offers a number of

Top things to do in Kibale forest national park

Chimpanzee trekking

Chimpanzee trekking is one of the top activities in Kibale forest national park that travellers can engage in during the safari. Chimpanzee trekking in Kibale forest national park starts early in the morning at around 8:00am with a briefing about the rules and regulations to follow during trekking. After the briefing, you will start trekking in the forest with an experienced park guide in search of the habituated chimpanzees which takes about 2 to 5 hours depending on where the chimpanzees are located because they like to move from one place to another in search of food. Once the chimpanzees are found, you will be able to spend spend one hour with them in their habitat where you will be able to learn about their habits, behaviours, watch them carry out their daily activities, take photos and record videos.

Chimpanzee habituation experience

Chimpanzee habituation experience is another top activity in Kibale forest national park that attracts many tourists and just like chimpanzee trekking, the habituation experience starts very early in the morning with a briefing about the rules, regulations and expectations at the park headquarters which is Kanyachu visitors centre. After the briefing, you will start trekking in the forest in search of the chimpanzees and once found spend four hours with them in their natural environment which gives you an opportunity to learn and monitor their behaviours, watch them feed, hunt, play, rest, patrol, groom young ones, take photos and record the beautiful moments.

Bird watching

Kibale forest national park is a home of over 370 recorded bird species including Albertine rift endemics, forest birds and migratory bird species which makes it one of the top birding destinations in Uganda. during bird watching, you will be accompanied by an experienced bird guide who will help you to spot different bird species including the Green Breasted Pitta, Red-faced Woodland Warbler, Purple-breasted Sunbird, Masked Apalis, Purple-breasted Sunbird, Dusky Crimsonwing, Nahans Francolin, Cassin’s Spinetail, Black Bee-eater, Papyrus Canary, Black-headed Gonolek, Papyrus Gonolek, Little Greenbul, Great Blue Turaco, African Pitta, Pied Kingfisher, White Collared Oliveback, Woodland Kingfisher, Black-billed Turaco, Blue-throated Roller, Black Headed Gonolek, Cinnamon-chested Bee-eater, Slender-billed Weaver among others.

Nature walks

Nature walk is one of the amazing activities in Kibale forest national park where visitors will get an opportunity to explore the park on foot with the company of an experienced park guide and armed park rangers. Guided nature walk in Kibale forest national park starts early in the morning with a briefing about the rules, regulations and expectations at Kanyachu visitors centre. After the briefing, you will start hiking in the forest which takes about 2 to 5 hours and during the nature walk, you will be able to view different primate species, listen to sweet sounds of birds singing in trees, enjoy the cool breeze among others.

Cultural tours

Cultural tour is an exciting activity in Kibale forest national park where tourist will be able to interact with the local people in the neighboring villages, learn about their culture, history, lifestyle, way of living, visit their homesteads, schools, enjoy their traditional meals, enjoy their traditional entertainment, buy craft souvenirs among others.

Night forest walks

Night forest walks in Kibale forest national park start in the evening at around 7:00pm with a briefing at the park headquarters where after you will start hiking with armed ranger guides and spotlight torches for clear viewing of nocturnal animals like bush babies, pottos, serval cats, civets, tree hyrax, night jars 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 to September and December to February because during this period there is less or little rainfall in the national park therefore hiking and trekking trails will be dry and passable which makes chimpanzee trekking and guided nature walks easy compared to the rainy season when the trekking trails are muddy and slippery which makes chimpanzee trekking difficult.

Where to stay in Kibale forest national park

There are various accommodation facilities in Kibale forest national park were you can stay during the safari. The accommodations range from budget, midrange and luxury including Chimpanzee Forest Lodge, Isunga Lodge, Chimpundu Lodge, Crater Safari Lodge, Kyaninga Lodge, Kibale Safari Lodge, Ndali Lodge, Kibale Forest Camp, Papaya Lake Lodge, Primate Safari Lodge, Rwetera Safari Park, Turaco Treetops, Mountain of the Moon Hotel, Fort Motel, Chimpanzee Capital Safari Lodge, Nyaika Hotel, Rubalika Safari Lodge and Farm, Guereza Canopy Lodge among others.

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 or masaka Mbarara and then 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 with Aerolink Uganda from Entebbe international airport to Kasese or Semuliki airstrips and then connect to the park headquarters by road.

Kibale forest national park can also be accessed from Bwindi impenetrable national park which takes about 6 to 7 hours’ drive.

Activities in Kibale forest national park can be combined with gorilla trekking, gorilla habituation experience or batwa cultural tour in Bwindi impenetrable national park. For more information about the top things to do in Kibale forest national park, do not hesitate to contact us at Achieve Global Safaris.