Things to do in Kibale National Park : Kibale national park is one of the best protected areas to visit during your safari in Uganda. The park is located in western Uganda near Fort Portal town and it’s known for harboring the highest number of primates in Africa. The national park is also known as the primate capital because it’s a home of 13 primate species including chimpanzees, grey cheeked mangabey, red tailed monkeys, baboons, black and white colobus monkeys, blue monkeys, vervet monkeys, l’hoest monkeys bush babies, pottos. Kibale national park also harbors animals like warthogs, buffaloes, bush pigs, forest elephants, bushbucks, duikers, sitatungas, leopards, different bird species like blue breasted kingfisher, blue headed sunbird, crowned eagle, brown chested alethe among others.
Chimpanzee Trekking:
This is one of the main activities in Kibale National Park and is the main reason for the conservation of this area. Among all other sites in Uganda where chimpanzees are found, Kibale has a more dense population of these humble primates amounting to more than 1500 primates. For one to do Chimpanzee tracking in Kibale they are required to pay a fee of USD 150 for the chimpanzee permits
Chimpanzee habituation experience in Kibale national park:
Chimpanzee habituation experience is an adventurous activity in Kibale national park where chimpanzees are trained to get used to human presence for trekking. Chimpanzee habituation process takes a period of 2 years to be complete and just like chimpanzee trekking the habituation experience starts very early in the morning with a briefing at the park headquarters where after you will join a team of researchers, trackers, park guides and enter the forest in search of the chimpanzees under habituation process.
Once the chimpanzees are found you will be able to spend four hours with them in their natural habitat which gives you an opportunity to learn about their habits, lifestyle, behaviors, learn how to identify them by their markings, scars, personalities, watch chimpanzees leaving their nests, feeding, breastfeeding, hunting, mating, resting, playing and making their nests for the night which gives you fascinating and unforgettable experiences on your safari in the park.
Nature walks and Hiking: These are guided walks through the forest of Kibale where one can get to feel the presence of natural air and learn about different flora & fauna species. During these nature walks one gets to learn about different bird species and also different primates which are spotted. A maximum of 6 travelers is allowed to do these nature walks and they scheduled for morning, afternoon and evening. The nature walks are very interesting and some travelers can even request for the extended walks which take about 2-6 days.
Nocturnal forest walks in Kibale national park:
Nocturnal forest walk is an interesting activity in the park where you will be able to explore the park at night with the company of a well-trained ranger guide and spotlight torches for clear viewing of nocturnal primates. During the guided nocturnal forest walk which starts at around 7:00pm you will get a chance to view nocturnal animals like bush baby, pottos, galagos, tree Hyrax, cricket, nightjar among others.
Crater Lakes Tours:
The village around Kibale forest national park has a collection of many crater lakes well known as Ndali Kasenda crater lakes. These are situated close to the park and visitors can take a tour around the lakes after or before chimpanzee trekking in Kibale national park. Some of these lakes are lake Nyabikere, lake Nkuruba, lake Nyinambuga, lake Kifuraka, Lake Nyinabulitwa, lake Nyamasangari and lake Lyantonde. Visitors can engage in canoeing, sports fishing and swimming on some of these crater lakes.
Bird watching in Kibale national park:
Kibale national park is a home of more than 375 recorded bird species including forest birds, endemic birds which have not been recorded in other national parks in Uganda, near endemic birds which are also found in other destinations and migratory birds which make it an ideal destination for bird watching.
Bird watching in kibale national park is best done early in the morning or late in the evening with an experienced bird guide who will help you to spot different bird species such as the great blue turaco, black billed turaco, yellow spotted barbet, purple headed starling, black bee-eater, white bellied crested flycatcher, grey throated tit flycatcher, tiny sunbird, white collared olive back, green breasted pitta, white naped pigeon, black bishop, brown throated wattle eye, hairy breasted barbet, Nahans francolin, Cassin’s spine tail, red winged francolin, black crowned waxbill, masked apalis, Abyssinian ground thrush among others.
Visit to the Amabere Ga Nyina Mwiru:
These are rocks located in a cave a few meters away from Nyakasura school in fort portal-Kabarole District. The visit to these rocks includes one having to pass by certain amazing waterfalls which welcome you. The Amabere Ga Nyina Mwiru are natural features that are as a result of the formation of stalagmites and stalactites, though the Batoro tribe have a strong cultural attachment to these rocks. They have a belief that these are the breast of a young girl called Nyina Mwiru which were cut off by her father the King for refusing to marry a spouse he had chosen for her. Tourists flock this place to learn about these features and have contributed greatly to the tourism industry and the community around.
Bigodi Wetland Sanctuary:
This is a jungle swamp which happens to be a project of the local community to preserve nature and to improve their standards of living through putting the jungle swamp out as a tourist attraction. This swamp has a lot to offer including bird watching, mammal species and the vegetation cover. The swamp is visited by tourists who travel to visit Kibale National Park and the charges levied on them to have access to the swamp are used to improve the wellbeing of the people in the communities around. Schools have been built, water accessibility improves, health centers and the general infrastructure of these villages around Bigodi Wetland sanctuary have been improved.
Best time to visit Kibale national park.
The park can be visited anytime throughout the year though the best period is during the dry season also known as the peak season in the months of June to September and December to February. During the dry season the park receives less rainfall therefore vegetation will be thin which gives you an opportunity to clearly view chimpanzees and other wildlife species. Also during the dry season hiking and chimpanzee trekking trails will be passable compared to the wet season when the trekking trails are muddy and slippery hence making trekking difficult.
It can also be visited during the wet season in the months of March to May and November because that’s the best period for birding where bird lovers will be able to view migratory bird species.
