Kibale National Park – The Primate Capital of the World

Kibale National Park is located in western Uganda, 36 kilometers south of Fort Portal town. It is mainly a tropical rainforest although the southern part that joins Queen Elizabeth national park is woodland and savannah. The landscape is mainly hilly. The highest point of Kibale is found in the northern part at 1590m above sea level while the lowest part is in the south within the Rift valley at 1100m.

Biodiversity: The forest, woodland and grasslands of Kibale are a habitat to various animal, bird and plant species. There are 350 tree species in the park, some rising to over 50m and centuries old. 13 primate species are found in the park including the endangered chimpanzees, red colobus, the rare I’Hoest’s monkey, the black-and-white colobus, red-tailed and blue monkeys, grey-cheeked mangabey, olive baboon, bush baby and potto.

There are large animals like elephants, buffalos, leopards, warthogs, bush pigs, golden cats and duikers. Reptiles and amphibians exist plus a variety of 250 species of butterflies. 375 species of birds have been recorded in the park that include the Red headed malimbe, Green backed Twinspot, African Pitta, Narina Trogon, Scally Illadopsis and White chinned Prinia.

Size: 795 sq. km

Location: Western Uganda north of Queen Elizabeth national park and south of the Rwenzori Mountains

Accessibility: Entebbe-Kampala-Fort Portal 355 km

Tourism activities: Chimpanzee tracking, chimpanzee habituation, bird watching, nature walks, community walks, crater lakes, boat trips and cultural performances.