Kibale National Park is located in western Uganda, the park sits on an area of 795 square kilometers (296 square miles) and lies on altitude range of 1100 meters to 1600 meters above the sea level. Kibale national park is situated in the south of Fort Portal District, the park was established in 1993. The park protects the last remaining lowland and montane forest in Africa, it also shelters moist ever green forest which makes it to be an important ecological system
Attractions in Kibale National Park.
Ndali-Kasenda craters.
Ndali-Kasenda craters offer the tranquil scenic view, they are situated near Kibale national park the area has a series of 60 stable and seasonal fresh water crater lakes filled with water, these lakes include Lake Ntambi, Lake Mubiro, Lake Nyanswinga, Lake Nyinabulitwa, Lake Nyaamasingiri, Lake Kifuruka, Lake Lyantonde, Lake Nyabikere, Lake Nkuruba and many more. Once visited these lakes gives you the best enjoyment to the beautiful vegetation, animal species like monkeys.
Spectacular vegetation.
The park has got the most thick ever green and semi-deciduous forest cover which consists over 250 tree species like the cordia millenii and among others, other tree species found in the park includes the eucalyptus and pine trees.
Culture.
The park is surrounded by the two main African cultural tribes that is the Batooro and Bakiga, during your visit to the park the tribes offer numerous authentic African cultural activated like their cultural dances, songs, hand crafts like buskets, mats and many more.
Wildlife.
Kibale national park has a variety of animal species like the red and blue duikers, bushbucks, sitatungas, bush pigs, giant forest hogs, African buffalo and among others, the park also has carnivores that are present in the park like leopards, African golden cats, servals, lions, Peter’s and Harvey’s duiker, African palm civet, warthogs and among others.
Bird species.
Kibale national park boasts a birding tour with over 375 species of birds including both the migratory and forested bird species that migrate from Queen Elizabeth national park to the park like the Olive long-tailed cuckoo, western tinker bird, two species of pittas (African and green-breasted), grey parrot, yellow spotted Nicator, African pitta, black-capped Apalis, purple-breasted sun bird, white napped pigeon and many more.
Primates.
Kibale national park has a variety of primates that are common in the park, the primates persist in the less disturbed areas of the forest in their natural habitats. The highest primate in the park are the chimpanzees with are over 1450 individuals, others include the blue monkeys, Ugandan Red Colobus, Uganda Red Colobus Monkey and Central African Monkey and others while the nocturnal primates like Pottos and bush babies are also found in the park.
Butterfly species.
Kibale national park is a home to beautiful and colourful butterflies that are over 250 species which are seen and attracted in the park.
Activities done in Kibale national park.
Bird watching.
Bird watching is the act of observing various bird species in their natural habitats, for example the park is a home of 375 bird species such as White-winged warbler, African pied wagtail, common fiscal, slender-billed weaver, tropical boubou, pin tailed whydah, blue heads bee-eater, crowned eagle, African grey parrot, olive long tailed cuckoo and many others. Bird watching in the park is best done in Kanyachu information center in the morning at 7:00 am which takes the whole day. The best time for bird watching in the park is from March to May and from September to November and them migratory comes in from November to April.
Chimpanzee habituation.
Chimpanzee habituation is the best activity to the tourists who visit the park, here the tourists get to learn more about the chimpanzees their habitats, feeding, mating and this activity needs a researcher, tracker, guider while seeing the chimpanzee breastfeeding their young ones, patrolling, hunting, and making their beds for a day. The activity takes place at Kanyachu at 6:00 am and therefore the visitors should have taken their breakfast before the activity and carry their lunch since it’s an all-day activity.
Chimpanzee trekking.
Chimpanzee trekking is one of the most popular and common activity in Kibale national park and during the activity the tourists can be able to see the great number of the chimpanzee, the park is well known in East Africa as a home of 1500 chimpanzees and the chimpanzee trekking takes place at Kanyachu information center found in the middle of the park, very early in the morning at 8:00 am and in the afternoon at 2:oopm which takes 2 to 3 hours and one hour with the chimpanzees while observing, during 6:00 am chimpanzee can be breastfeeding their young ones, the interested tourists can be present for that session.
Nocturnal forest walk.
Nocturnal forest walk is an activity done at night by the visitors in the park so as to be able to spot the nocturnal animals as well as the chimpanzee and other animals while they are sleeping.
Bushcraft children’s activities
This is the activity where the children engage themselves during the Uganda safari in Kibale national park, the children below the age of 12 years practice in activities like the wildlife viewing, bird watching, this is done during when their parents are doing the chimpanzee trekking since the park does not allow the children below 12 years to do chimpanzee trekking.
Cultural visits.
The tourists visit the locals surrounding Kibale National park to interact with them and learn more about their lifestyle, their traditional dishes and among others.
Bigodi Wetland Sanctuary.
Bigodi Wetland Sanctuary is located 6km south of Kanyachu the main center of Kibale National park, it was established to protect the 4 square kilometer Magombe swamp, the Bigodi wetland sanctuary is a home to 200 bird species and is a perfect site for the bird watching travelers.
Best time to visit Kibale National park.
The best time to visit Kibale National park is open for game viewing all year round but the best time to visit the park is during the dry season from June to September and December to February.
Where to stay in Kibale National park.
There are accommodation facilities in Kibale national park that provides comfortable beddings to the tourists, the accommodations in the Park Range from the Budget, Mid-range, and Luxury that includes Chimpundu lodge/Kibale forest, Primate Lodge, Kibale forest camp, Isunga lodge, Kibale Guest cottages, Jungle lodge and many others.
Entrance fees of Kibale National park.
| Category | Foreign Non Residents(USD) | Foreign residents(USD) | East African Citizen (UGX) |
| Adults | 40 | 30 | 20,000 |
| Children | 20 | 10 | 5000 |
| Ugandan Pupils and or/Students(Groups) | 3000 | ||
| Tertiary Institutions/ Universities | 5000 | ||
| Uganda Wildlife Clubs | 200 |
How to get to Kibale national park.
The park can be accessed into two different ways by road, air transport from Kampala to the park.
By Road means.
The distance from Kampala to Kibale through the northern route of Fort portal is approximately 33km by road.
By Air means.
You can fly from Entebbe International Airport using the Aero link, to Kasese and then hire a special taxi to Kanyanchu in Kibale national park.
Kibale national park is an important ecotourism and safari destination, well known for its population of habituated chimpanzees and the primates so called the primate capital of the world. The park forms acontinous forest with Queen Elizabeth National park, thus the park creates a 180 kilometers (110mi) wildlife corridor.
