Kibale Forest National Park is one of the few remaining tracts of the last remaining tropical rain forest in Uganda. It is situated in the western part of Uganda covering an area space of approximately 799 square Kilometers, the forest overlooks the Fort portal plateau around which are many dotted crater lakes. Kibale forest is a habitat to 13 species of primates notable for the Chimpanzee. Other primates include the black and white colobus monkeys, red colobus monkeys, L’hoest monkeys, blue monkeys, olive baboons, pottos, bugs babies. There are other animals present in the Conservation area although they are rarely seen like forest elephants, forest hogs. Chimpanzee Tracking in Kibale Forest National Park gives you better chances of seeing chimpanzees than anywhere else in Uganda.
Chimpanzees live in forest canopies, nesting in the trees, they are characterized by their social behavior and intelligence, these live in troops of up to 100memvers led by a male alpha. Primates have been scientifically proven to share up to 98% of the human DNA, with a very close relation to mankind, chimps are herbivores feeding in plants, fruits, seeds although occasionally they have been sighted using sticks to collect ants, chimpanzee tracking is one of the most famous activities in the Conservation area, it is done in 2sessions in the morning beginning at 8:00am an afternoon at 2:00pm East African time, both sessions begin with a briefing from the Uganda wildlife park rangers. They will take you through in how to conduct your self while in the forest it takes 2-3 hours hiking through it to find the chimps, they are loud with their communicable sound with a possibility of hearing them even at a distance.
Kibale Forest National Park is managed by the Uganda Wildlife Authority, which has led to maximum conservation, to achieve this there are rules and regulations out in place to follow while in the national park, these include keeping the 7 meter distance rule, guests with communicable diseases are not allowed into the forest, children under the age of 15 years are not allowed to track. It is important to buy a chimpanzee tracking permit through your tour operator before the time of tracking to avoid missing out on the activity. Visitors are encouraged to pack warm clothes, long-sleeved trousers and shirts, hand gloves, insect repellents, waterproof covers for phones and cameras, and any other items of personal nature.
Kibale Forest National Park can be visited any time throughout the year but is best during the drier months of the year between December-February and June – September because the game tracks are much drier which makes it smith to hike through the forest. This said it does not rule out the wet seasons as each one of these has something interesting to present. The conservation area can be accessed by road from Kampala or Entebbe. It takes approximately 6 hours to drive passing through the beautiful villages of Kagadi. There is available accommodation around the national park ranging from the best budget to Luxury, an example of facilities include the Kibale Forest Camp, Nkuruba Nature Lodge, primate lodge, and Turaco tree tops to mention a few.
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