Wild Route Trips

Uganda

Kibale Forest

Thirteen primate species, and chimpanzees you will actually see.

See the journeys

Why Kibale

Four hours with the researchers
beats one hour with the tourists.

Kibale holds thirteen primate species, the highest density in East Africa, and its chimpanzee communities have been habituated for decades. Sightings on the standard trek run above 90 per cent, which is a different proposition from most chimpanzee tracking.

There are two ways to see chimpanzees here. The standard trek is an hour with a habituated community once the trackers have found them, and it works: the success rate is high and the walking is flat compared with anything in Bwindi.

The habituation experience is the other one, and it is the better day. You go out with the researchers at dawn, before the chimps come down from their night nests, and you stay with them most of the day while they feed, move, groom and argue. You see chimpanzee behaviour rather than chimpanzees.

Either way, keep an afternoon for the Bigodi swamp next door. It is a community-run boardwalk through papyrus that holds eight more primate species and a very long bird list, and the fees go straight into the villages around the forest.

Need to know
Known forChimpanzee, red colobus, L'Hoest's monkey, 375 birds
Best monthsYear round. Drier in June to September and December to February
Quietest monthsApril, May, November
Time neededOne or two nights
Getting there5 hours from Kampala, 2 from Queen Elizabeth
Permit or feeChimpanzee tracking and habituation priced separately
Altitude1,100 to 1,600 metres
Plan a trip here
Where to go

The places worth the drive

The standard trek

Chimpanzee tracking

Morning or afternoon, an hour with the community once the trackers have them.

Flat walking by Ugandan standards and a success rate above 90 per cent.

A full day

Chimpanzee habituation

Out at dawn with the researchers, staying with the group as they come down and move through the day.

Limited places, booked well ahead, and the single best primate day in Uganda.

Community-run

Bigodi wetland

A boardwalk through papyrus swamp outside the park, with eight primate species and around 200 birds.

Two or three hours, and the money stays in the villages.

When to go

The year in Kibale Forest

June to September

The long dry season

Firm trails, short grass and predictable roads. The busiest stretch of the year and the easiest walking.

Gorilla permits for these months sell out first, so they are booked before flights rather than after.

October and November

The short rains

Rain arrives in the afternoon and rarely lasts the day. Green country, few vehicles.

November carries the USD 600 gorilla permit. If your dates move, this is the best value in the calendar.

December to February

The second dry season

Hot and clear. Busy over Christmas and the new year, then quiet through January and February.

February is the driest month in the south and the strongest window for the Rwenzori.

March to May

The long rains

The wettest stretch. Harder underfoot, some northern tracks go difficult, a few lodges close.

April and May carry the USD 600 permit, birding peaks, and you will have the forest very nearly to yourself.

Before you go

What we tell everyone about Kibale

01
The minimum age is 15, the same as gorilla trekking, and it is enforced the same way.
02
Habituation places are genuinely limited and go months ahead. If you want the full day rather than the hour, it has to be decided early.
03
It is two hours from Queen Elizabeth, which is why almost every sensible Uganda itinerary runs Kibale and Queen Elizabeth together before dropping south to Bwindi.
04
Chimpanzees are loud and fast and high up. Bring binoculars. People who bring them see a different forest from people who do not.
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Every departure is private and built around your dates, so there is no schedule to fit into. Give us an approximate day and we check lodges and permits against it.
You get back a quote with nothing hidden in it, an honest view on whether the length suits you, and an itinerary you can change. No deposit until you are sure.
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