Kibale National Park

Kibale Forest National Park Uganda is one of the best safari destination in Africa for chimpanzee tracking. See advice, sample Uganda safari packages, how to get a chimpanzee tracking permit and so much more information on Uganda tours.Forest Hikes

It’s a 12km hike and usually done in the dry seasons. The months are mid Novermber-Fedruary, June and September. Hiking helps discover the park’s assorted habitats such as river line forest, swamp, grassland and tropical rainforest.Birding in Kibale

Visit Bigodi a top birders spot. It’s famous for wildlife such as chimpanzees, red colobus, black and white colobus, red tailed monkey, bushbuck as well as mongoose. It has about 138 bird species seen on nature walks within.

CULTURAL TRAIL

The nature walk begins from Kanyanchu or Sebitoli and it takes about 2-6 days. The enroute will help discover the forest and late rest in the community-run campsites close to the villages of Kikoni,Nyakalongo and Nyaibanda.

Additionally the wettest area is Northern Kibale , receiving an average annual rainfall of equal to 1700mm, mainly during March-May and September-November. The climate is usually pleasant with an average annual temperature range of 14 to 27oC. Temperatures are at maximum (& rainfall lower) in the south where the terrain drops onto the blistering rift valley floor and forest provides way to open grassland.

Southern Kibale borders Queen Elizabeth National Park and collectively these preserved areas maintain a 180 kilometer long migration corridor for wildlife that stretches from the remote southern sector of Queen Elizabeth  National Park in “Ishasha”, to the north of Kibale in “Sebitoli”. The Kibale-Fort Portal region is one of Uganda’s most pleasing places to explore. The park is located close to the calm Ndali Kasenda crater area & which takes a half day’s drive to Queen Elizabeth, Rwenzori Mountains & Semuliki National Parks along with the Toro-Semliki Wildlife Reserve.

Flora and fauna in Kibale Forest

Kibale’s varied altitude holds up different varieties of habitat, ranging from moist evergreen forest (wet tropical forest) along the Fort Portal plateau,then through the dry tropical forest (moist semi deciduous), and then to the woodland & savanna along the rift valley floor.

In the central part of the park, around Kanyanchu, the high forest consist of a mixture of evergreen trees and  deciduous with the evergreen species being dominant. Vegetation rise to over 55m and establish a semi closed canopy of massive stratified tree crowns. With shade tolerant herbs, a variety of ferns, shrubs and broad leaved forest grasses, the undergrowth is sparse. 351 tree species have been registered in the park.

Chimpanzee Safari Uganda Kibale

The density and diversity of primates in Kibale National Park is the highest in the whole of Africa. The most well known of its 13 species are the chimpanzees, our closest relative. Kibale’s 1450 chimpanzee indicate Uganda’s biggest population of this threatened primate. A Uganda safari can enable you to see all these primates. Additionally Kibale is home to the uncommon I’Hoest’s monkey as well as East Africa’s biggest population of the endangered red colobus monkey. The black & white colobus, red tailed monkey, blue monkey, olive baboon, grey cheeked mangabey, bush baby and potto are among the other primates.

Other mammals are also present, though they are hardly seen. These consist of buffalo, leopard, bush pig elephant, and duiker. A neat viewer could also see amphibians and reptiles and a colorful variety of butterflies.

The park is a home to 325 variety of bird species, including 6 that are native to the Albertine Rift destination, that is to say dusky crimsonwing, black-capped apalis, blue-headed sunbird, collared apalis,red-faced woodland warbler and purple-breasted sunbird. Other Kibale specials are the green breasted pitta,African pitta, black bee-eater,Abyssinian groundthrush, yellow spotted nicator, little greenbul, black-eared ground thrush, brownchested alethe, yellow rumped tinker bird, blue-breasted kingfisher,  along with the crowned eagle.