Kibale National Park | Location, Size, Primates, Everything to Know
Spanning over 795sq.km, Kibale National Park in Kabarole, western Uganda boasts of over 13 primate species and is Africa’s best chimpanzee.
Kibale National Park (Kibale Forest National Park) for Uganda safaris: No destination on earth beats Kibale National Park when it comes to magical primate encounters, primate adventures – such as chimpanzee tracking/trekking or chimpanzee habituation experience. Kibale National Park is without doubt Africa’s best spot to see chimpanzees in the wild – a distinct encounter from the usual that many have had while at the zoo.
Location of Kibale National Park (KNP) – Uganda
Boasting of its alluring attractions – primates that make it a true primate capital of the world, Kibale National Park is a magnificent tropical forest protected area suitably located in West Uganda. This distinct Africa safari park is perched right in Kabarole district and Fort Portal city is the nearest town/city, also serves as a key stopover point en-route to this park.
What is the size of Kibale National Park, Uganda?
Kibale National Park is truly unspoiled natural forest protected area and its size is around 795sq.kms. The extensive Kibale Forest has its borders stretch and the nearby districts include Kasese, Kamwenge, Kibaale and Kabarole.
Kibale is set at altitude of 1160m-2607m, just close to the magnificent Ndali-Kasenda Crater Area. Within few minutes/hours, it is possible to access Queen Elizabeth National Park, Toro-Semliki Wildlife Reserve, Semuliki National Park and Rwenzori Mountains National Park.
In general, KNP is strategically located. Because of this, a Uganda safari in Kibale to see chimpanzees plus other amazing primates in the wild makes it possible for tourists to also visit other Africa safari parks like Queen Elizabeth National Park.
Top Tourist Attractions in Kibale N/Park – Is Kibale worth a visit?
What makes Kibale National Park unique? Kibale Forest National Park is a special Africa safari destination offering tourists on safari in Uganda with lifetime encounters. Countless attractions are available in Kibale, a good reason it is a preferred destination. They include;
Primates & other wildlife
13 primate species in Kibale Forest National Park (KFNP), Uganda make it a true Primate Capital of the World. The park supports more than 1500 chimpanzees and many other primates- including the vervet monkeys, l’hoest monkeys, olive baboons, Uganda mangabeys, bush babies, blue monkeys, red tailed monkeys, pottos, black and white colobus monkeys etc.
The huge profusion of primates makes Kibale a remarkable primate safari destination in Africa. In addition to primates, Kibale also contains a good number of buffaloes, forest elephants, duikers, bush pigs, reptiles, butterflies and more.
Bird species
375 bird species in Kibale National Park make it truly a birder’s haven. Majority of Kibale bird species are sheltered in its lush tropical forest and other habitat. They include 23 Albertine rift endemic bird species and 4 species (blue headed bee-eaters, Nahan’s francolins, low-land masked apalis & Cassin’s spine tail) can’t be spotted in any of Uganda safari parks.
In Kibale, birding opportunities are abundant. For avid birders on Uganda birding tour/Uganda safaris, other birds to identify include Cameroon sombre greenbul, blue breasted kingfishers, black billed turacos, Chubb’s cisticola, black billed weavers, yellow rumped tinkerbird, African pied wagtail, African green breasted pitta, black crowned tchagra and Abyssinian ground thrush.
The people
Kibale National Park is found in an area largely inhabited by the Batooro and Bakiga migrant. The Bakiga migrated from Southwestern Uganda, one of the densely populated regions. The 2 local communities/tribes all have distinct cultural heritage with Batooro led by King Oyo, one of youngest Kings in Africa.
Kibale National Park vegetation cover
Kibale prides itself of distinct vegetation cover which form the largest number of habitats for its wildlife, birds, butterflies, etc. Managed by Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA), Kibale contains unique vegetation characterized by moist evergreen forest, moist semi-deciduous with mix of woodland, savanna grassland dominating the rift valley area.
The central part of KNP consists largely of evergreen trees, deciduous tree species. Amazingly, the trees in Kibale can grow up to 55m tall and a unique semi-canopy is formed. Under the tall trees, lots of herbs, shrubs, broad-leaved forest plants can be seen. A total of about 351 tree species are contained within Kibale Forest National Park making it also a valuable research site for researchers visiting Uganda and Africa at large.
Activities in Kibale National Park – Uganda
Chimpanzee tracking/trekking
Kibale N. Park contains the largest population of Eastern chimpanzees making it the best place in Africa to visit for chimpanzee trekking. A visit to Kibale for chimpanzee tracking is a lifetime opportunity to see chimpanzees in the natural rain-forest rather than at the zoo.
Chimpanzees are special apes – the highest percentage of their DNA (about 98%) is same as that of humans. This makes them our closest relatives in the wild and a chimpanzee trek is a great chance for you to make comparison between us and these apes, have in-depth learning about their behaviors.
Each day, there are 2 sessions for chimpanzee trekking in Kibale Forest Park – in the morning starting at 8:00am and at 2:00pm. All the sessions begin after briefing, about 30 minutes – 1 hour earlier at Kanyanchu. All tourists visiting chimpanzees in Kibale are led by park guides, but to be part of this lifetime experience, chimpanzee permits are required. Each of Kibale chimpanzee tracking permits costs USD200 per person.
Chimpanzee Habituation Experience (CHEX) – Kibale
Chimpanzee Habituation Experience – CHEX is another remarkable primate walk experience designed for you to explore in depth about chimpanzees. CHEX is whole day or half day primate walk aimed at making semi-habituated chimpanzee communities accustomed to human presence. Like normal chimpanzee trekking, CHEX begins at Kanyanchu with briefing.
During the normal chimpanzee treks, you have one hour for magical encounter. During habituation, you have 4 hours to observe chimpanzees, learning about their behaviors, taking pictures, etc. CHEX permits in Kibale cost USD220 per visitor on Uganda safari.
Birding/bird watching tours
Abundant bird species in Kibale Forest Park make it a special birding site. As one of the important birding areas, the birds to expect observe here include: the green breasted pitta, Rwenzori apalis, brown backed scrub robin, yellow rumped tinker bird, blue headed bee-eaters, papyrus gonoleks, etc.
Kibale Forest walks/hikes
Kibale is one of the best places in Uganda worth visiting for guided Kibale Forest walks or hiking. Different trails are available in this lushly verdant natural forest park for you to explore its hidden secretes – from primates, birdlife, butterflies, medicinal plants and more. There is also possibility to engage in night guided nature walks to observe nocturnal species like bush babies, nightjars, galagos and pottos.
Cultural encounters
Explore and experience the unique cultures, traditions of Batooro or Bakiga and also enjoy their amazing dances, music performance while at KAFRED. KAFRED (Kibale Association for Rural Environment Development is found in Bigodi, just close to Kibale National Park.
Crater Lake walk
More than 50 beautiful Crater Lakes are distributed around Kibale National Park. They can be explored on guided Crater Lake walk with local guide before or after tracking chimpanzees in Kibale National Park.
Best time to visit
KNP is known for its pleasant climatic and weather conditions – this makes it an all-year-round chimpanzee tracking destination. However, June to September and December to February – the dry months of the year are the best months to visit Kibale.
Accommodation – Where to stay in Kibale
- Mid-range accommodation: Primate Lodge, Chimpanzee Forest Guesthouse, Chimps Nest.
- Luxury accommodation in and around Kibale: Ndali Lodge, Papaya Lake Lodge, Crater Safari Lodge and Kyaninga Lodge.
How to get – Kibale National Park, Uganda
Kibale Forest National Park is found in Western Uganda, about 320kms from the heart of Kampala capital. This translates to about 6 hours’ drive and en-route, you will drive through towns like Mityana, Mubende, Kyegegwa, Kyenjojo and Fort Portal then connect to Kibale.
By air: Fly from Entebbe International Airport (EBB) or Kajjansi Airfield to any of the 2 airstrips – Nyakisharara and Kasese airstrip. From here, drive for about 2 hours to Kibale for chimpanzee tracking safari.