Things to See in Kibale Forest National Park
The adjoining grassland and woodland corridors are home to big mammals like elephants, giant forest hogs, leopards, buffaloes and antelope which can be seen during game drives. Nocturnal species like leopard, bush babies can be spotted with night game drives.
Other mammals are present, though rarely seen. These include forest elephant, buffalo, leopard, bush pig and duiker. A keen observer may also spot reptiles and amphibians as well as a colourful variety of butterflies.
The park boasts 325 species of birds, including 6 that are endemic to the Albertine Rift region, namely black-capped apalis, blue-headed sunbird, collared apalis, dusky crimsonwing, purple-breasted sunbird and red-faced woodland warbler.
Other Kibale specials include the African pitta, green breasted pitta, black bee-eater, yellow spotted nicator, yellow rumped tinker bird, little greenbul, black-eared ground thrush, brownchested alethe, blue-breasted kingfisher, Abyssinian groundthrush, and the crowned eagle.
Major Tourism Activities:
- Chimpanzee tracking; this is the major tourism activity carried out within the park.
- Chimpanzee habituation. This involves staying with chimps all day and taking notes on their behavior which takes up to six consecutive days.
- Guided nature walk. Expect to see a variety of birds, primates like chimps, mangabey, Uganda Red Colobus monkeys and L-hoests monkey,. Mammals include Leopards, Bush pigs, 3 species of duiker and 2 species of Otter.
- Visits to the Crater Lake i.e. s Kasenda Cluster. According to local legend, the lakes were created by Bachwezi king Ndahura who retired in the area
- Bird watching. The park has more than 335 bird species recorded. Some include; hornbills, 2 species of pitas (African and Green breasted), African Grey Parrots among others.
Getting There:
The park can be accessed through Mityana road to Fort Portal about five hours drive from Kampala to the Parks