Kibale national park is mainly covered by a tropical rainforest and is famous for chimpanzee trekking safaris in Uganda and the largest number of primates in East Africa thus its nickname the “Primate capital of the world”. The protected forest region known as Kibale National Park was first formed in 1993 after being gazetted in 1932 as a logged forest reserve.

Kibale national park is located in western Uganda Kabarole district near Fort Portal city which also dubbed the “Tourism city”. The evergreen protected tropical rainforest covers an area of 766 sq Km, on an altitude of 1,100 – 1,590m above sea level of alluring landscape scenery and biodiversity. Kibale national park is joined to Queen Elizabeth national park in the south by a 180km wildlife stretch to allow animals move between the two parks.

 Kibale forest is home to a number of biodiversity which include 350 plant species, 71 mammals like leopards, forest elephants, Bush pigs, warthogs, golden cats, and forest buffalo. In comparison to animals in savannah parks, which are typically swarming with people, animals in the forest are typically timid, more aggressive, and rarely seen. If you’re lucky, you might see a few elephants, buffaloes, or bush pigs, but more often than not, all you’ll see are their tracks because these animals prefer to flee when they notice movement in the forest.

Kibale forest is also home to 13 primate species which is the highest number for any Ugandan park, they include over 1,450 chimpanzees, bush babies, L’Hoest’s monkey, red colobus monkey, red-tailed monkey, black-and-white colobus monkey, grey-cheeked mangabey, olive baboon, blue monkey, Vervet monkeys and Potto. There are around 370 species of birds hosted in this forest, including 23 Albertine Rift endemics. The Nahan’s francolin, cassin’s spine tail, blue headed bee-eater and low-land masked apalis.

The majority of visitors to Kibale National Park do so to participate in chimpanzee trekking and chimpanzee habituation experiences, which are the main attraction of the forest. It is without a doubt the greatest location in East Africa to spot chimpanzees. Since 1994, guides and tourists have been tracking habituated chimpanzee groups through the damp forest of Kibale, with generally positive results. The chimpanzees have been habituated for over 26years thus accept human presence.

Since 1993, the Kanyanchu community has been the recipient of daily tourist tracking. Every day at 8:00hrs in the morning and 14:00hrs in afternoon, chimpanzee trekking trips depart from the Kanyanchu tourist center. These explorations take, on average, three hours. It is advised to arrive early to provide time for registration and briefing. Participants must be 16 years of age or older; contact time with chimpanzees is limited to one hour; group size is restricted to six tourists. Because it can rain at any moment in a tropical jungle, you should be prepared to walk for long distances and have a rain coat. Binoculars, a camera, bug repellent, suitable waterproof boots, and long-sleeved clothing are additional necessities.https://ugandawildlife.org/national-parks/kibale-national-park/

In Kibale, a chimpanzee trek permit costs $1500 in the high season and $100 in the low. The Kibale National Park also practices chimpanzee habituation, and visitors may spend longer time there—up to a whole day or six hours—with the chimpanzees. Booking ahead is required.