Kibale National Park

An incredible place for scientists, and probably everyone else!

I stayed at the Makerere University Biological Field Centre (a research centre) in Kibale Forest NP as a zoology student, rather than travelling there as a tourist, so my opinions might not all be applicable to people looking to go on holiday there. But for what it's worth, Kibale is incredibly beautiful, 'untouched' by touristy culture, and still relatively close to a hospital at Fort Portal. All of the Ugandan people we met were overwhelmingly friendly and accommodating, and our forest guides were extremely knowledgeable of the forest and the movement of its animal inhabitants, of which there were many!

I personally saw 6 different species of primate, including chimpanzees, and others in my group saw even more, such as the elusive l'Hoest's monkey. A troupe of olive baboons lived near the research centre and roamed around exploring and causing trouble; they were generally not aggressive and could be chased away if needed - but keep your doors locked! As for the birding, it isn't my speciality but we spent two mornings mist netting on the forest floor and caught ~30 different species of small bird (and a few very large beetles), there was a pair of turacos nesting near the research centre which we saw daily, and a few hornbills that came to eat the insects from our insect traps in the morning; as well as the many birds living in the forest canopy.

The weather at the time we were there switched unpredictably between blazing sunshine and incredible downpours with lightning over the hills, which was fine for us who don't mind getting soaked while wandering through the forest, but may not be ideal for people on holiday - and of course, the weather will vary depending on the time of year. The only downside I could possibly think of to staying there was the isolation from the outside world - barely any phone signal, no internet, no particularly easy roads out of the forest (at least where we stayed). However, as in my case, I'm sure many will find the isolation quite enjoyable!

Amazing experience with the chimps, with an easier trek than Bwindi!

This area of Uganda was one of our favorites as it was much greener than other parks. The tea plantations were stunning. We stayed at the Kibale Forest Camp just outside the park and it was our favorite accommodation of the entire trip. The staff was super helpful and attentive, and we loved staying in the forest and hearing the sounds of the jungle in the morning. The trek to find the chimps was a very easy one on flat terrain and the actual experience with the chimps was fantastic. My one complaint was the large number of people who go see the chimps at the same time. They split you into several groups of about 7-8 and each group takes a separate path into the forest. We all ended up trekking the same large group however, and I was surrounded by more tourists than chimps. Other than that, I can't recommend this highly enough.

Chimps watching, beautifull rainforrest partch. Butterflies every where.

beautiful scenery of wildlife

I hole day with chimps is better then visiting the Gorillas

We were in Kibale with the view of tracking the chimpanzees, but our best experience was at Bigodi wetlands. We saw many primates there and they were given their own space. It felt a little like we were persuing the chimpanzees which felt a little exploitative.

we saw chimps in its own habitat, not enough time for birding or to lock for other monkeys

Meeting with chimpanzees

I was so excited seeing chimpanzees living without borders and boundaries - in freedom. As Kibale is a forest there was not too much light for filming of taking photographs but i managed to take some great photos.
Guide knew everything about wildlife and told us as much as he was able diuring our stay.
And the weather was so good during our stay there.
I would really recommend Kibale Forest as a great place to see wildlife in Uganda.

Chimps!

Beautiful