Kibale National Park covers 795 square kilometers and is one of Uganda’s most beautiful and tropical forests. It is home to many forest animals, including 13 types of primates, with chimpanzees being the most famous.
The central and northern parts of the park, located on the high Fort Portal plateau, are mostly covered in forest. The northernmost part of Kibale sits at 1,590 meters above sea level.
This region is also the wettest, receiving an average annual rainfall of up to 1,700mm, mainly between March and May and from September to November. The average yearly temperature ranges from 14 to 27 degrees Celsius, making the climate generally pleasant.
In the southern part of the park, where the land slopes down into the hot rift valley, forests give way to open grasslands. This region has the highest temperatures and receives the least rainfall.
Kibale Forest National Park, which covers 766 square kilometers, was gazetted in October 1993. It forms a continuous block with Queen Elizabeth National Park as it extends south from Fort Portal.
The park’s elevation ranges from 1,100 to 1,590 meters, with vegetation that transitions between typical eastern Afro-montane forests and western lowland forests. While rain-forest is the dominant vegetation, there are also grasslands and swamps.
A 180-kilometer wildlife corridor connects Kibale to Queen Elizabeth National Park, stretching from Ishasha, the remote southern sector of Queen Elizabeth, to the Sebitoli forest in northern Kibale.
The Kibale-Fort Portal region is one of the most enjoyable places to visit in Uganda. The park is located within a half-day’s drive of Queen Elizabeth National Park, the Rwenzori Mountains, Semuliki National Park, and the Toro-Semliki Wildlife Reserve.
Lots of Things to See in Kibale National Park
Kibale Forest National Park and the nearby Ndali-Kasenda Crater Lakes offer a great mix of affordable lodging, easy access, beautiful scenery, and many activities. This makes the area ideal for independent travelers.
The chance to see different forest birds and track chimpanzees, as well as other primates, makes the park attractive to nature lovers.
However, due to the rising cost of chimpanzee tracking and the transformation of Kanyanchu River Camp into a luxury tented camp, the park is no longer as popular among budget backpackers as it once was.
Unique Flora and Fauna
Kibale’s varying elevation supports different habitat types, including Savannah and woodlands in the Rift Valley, dry tropical forests (moist semi-deciduous), and wet tropical forests (moist evergreen) on the Fort Portal plateau.
The high forest near Kanyanchu, in the park’s center, consists of both deciduous and evergreen trees, with evergreen species being more common. Some trees grow over 55 meters high, forming a semi-closed canopy.
The undergrowth consists mostly of broad-leaved forest grasses, shrubs, ferns, and shade-tolerant herbs. A total of 351 tree species have been recorded in the park.
Kibale has the highest primate diversity and density in Africa. With 13 species, it has more primates than any other national park in Uganda. The most famous is the chimpanzee, our closest relative.
Kibale has the largest population of this endangered primate in Uganda, with about 1,450 individuals. The park is also home to the rare L’Hoest’s monkey and the largest population of the endangered red colobus monkey in East Africa.
Other primates in the park include the olive baboon, bush baby, red-tailed monkey, blue monkey, grey-cheeked mangabey, black-and-white colobus monkey, and potto.
Nine diurnal primates can be seen in Kibale: vervet monkeys, red-tailed monkeys, L’Hoest’s monkeys, blue monkeys, grey-cheeked mangabeys, red colobus monkeys, black-and-white colobus monkeys, olive baboons, and chimpanzees.
While a few red colobus monkeys remain in Semuliki National Park, Kibale is their last stronghold in Uganda. Visitors on swamp and forest tours often see five or six primate species.
Other Wildlife in Kibale Forest
Kibale Forest is home to at least 60 species of mammals. While it has a long list of species, including lions, leopards, elephants, buffaloes, hippos, warthogs, giant forest hogs, bushpigs, bushbucks, sitatungas, and red and blue duikers, large mammals are difficult to spot. However, the park is excellent for primate viewing.
The forest elephants in Kibale are smaller and hairier than their savannah relatives. These elephants regularly migrate into the Kanyanchu area during the rainy season, but they are rarely seen by visitors.
Birds of Kibale
Kibale National Park is home to approximately 335 bird species, including Nahan’s francolin, Cassin’s spinetail, blue-headed bee-eater, and masked apalis. Its bird checklist is similar to that of Semuliki National Park, except that Kibale has fewer Semuliki “specials” but more wetland and grassland species.
While some birdwatchers may hope to spot Prigogine’s ground thrush, a species last collected in the 1960s and possibly extinct, the recent discovery of the green-breasted pitta in Kibale has excited Uganda’s bird-watching community.
