Kibale Forest National Park

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Kibale is the primate capital of the world: a tract of tall tropical forest in western Uganda sheltering thirteen primate species, including some 1,500 chimpanzees — our closest living relatives, and the most exhilarating tracking experience after the gorillas themselves.

Highlights

Chimpanzee tracking here delivers sighting rates above ninety percent, the forest erupting in screams and drumming as the troop moves overhead. The full-day Chimpanzee Habituation Experience follows researchers from the apes’ dawn nest to dusk. Outside the forest, the community-run Bigodi Wetland boardwalk turns up red colobus, great blue turaco and grey-cheeked mangabey.

Best Time to Visit

Tracking runs year-round; the dry windows of June to September and December to February keep the forest trails firmest underfoot.

Where to Stay

We use the intimate crater-lake lodges on the forest’s edge, pairing morning treks with afternoons above the water. Kibale opens our Chimpanzee Tracking Adventure and slots naturally before Queen Elizabeth on a classic western circuit.

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