Kibale National Park

Kibale at a Glance

Chimpanzee Tracking in Kibale

Tracking starts with a ranger briefing at the Kanyanchu visitor centre, with morning and afternoon departures. Small groups then follow a ranger into the forest towards the area where the chimpanzee community was last heard. Chimps move quickly, often high in the canopy, so the walk can be short or take a few hours, on mostly gentle forest trails. Once you find them you spend one hour watching them feed, groom, call and move — a lively, noisy encounter, quite different from the calm hour with gorillas.

The permit is issued by the Uganda Wildlife Authority and currently costs around US$200–250 per person for foreign non-residents. Sightings are very reliable because the communities are followed every day. See our chimpanzee tracking guide and chimpanzee permit costs.

Standard Tracking or the Habituation Experience?

On the habituation experience you join the researchers and trackers who follow a community from when the chimps leave their night nests, watching their whole morning routine. It costs more than standard tracking and is available on fewer dates. See the chimpanzee habituation experience.

Other Wildlife in Kibale

Kibale’s thirteen primate species include red colobus, black-and-white colobus, L’Hoest’s, red-tailed and blue monkeys, grey-cheeked mangabeys and olive baboons, with nocturnal pottos and bushbabies. Forest elephants, buffalo and duikers live here too, though they are shy. The park has recorded about 375 bird species; the green-breasted pitta is the prize for birders, and the forest is also rich in butterflies. See Uganda’s primates beyond gorillas and chimps and birding in Kibale.

Other Things to Do Around Kibale

• Bigodi Wetland Sanctuary: a guided walk of two to three hours on boardwalks and trails through a papyrus swamp, run by the local community, with excellent birding and several monkey species. See the Bigodi Wetland walk.
• Nature walks and night walks: guided forest walks for birds, butterflies and plants, and night walks with a torch to look for pottos and bushbabies. See night primate walks.
• The crater lakes: dozens of volcanic crater lakes between Kibale and Fort Portal, with walking trails, viewpoints and peaceful lodges. See the Fort Portal crater lakes.
• Fort Portal and the Toro Kingdom: tea estates, the Amabere caves and the Toro royal palace make good half-day visits.

Best Time to Visit Kibale

Chimp tracking runs every day of the year. June to September and December to February are drier, with easier trails and the most visitors. The wetter months make trails muddier, but many trees fruit after the rains, which can keep chimps feeding in one area, and the forest is at its greenest. Morning tracking usually finds the chimps most active. See Kibale weather and when to visit.

How to Get to Kibale

• From Kampala: about five to six hours by paved road to Fort Portal, then 45 minutes south to Kanyanchu.
• From Queen Elizabeth National Park: about two to three hours north through the crater-lake country.
• From Murchison Falls: about six to seven hours along the Albertine escarpment.
• By air: scheduled flights from Entebbe to Kasese, about two hours’ drive from Kibale.

See getting to Kibale.

Where to Stay Near Kibale

Lodges are spread along the park edge near Kanyanchu and around the crater lakes, from simple guesthouses and campsites to comfortable lodges overlooking the forest or a lake. Staying near Kanyanchu makes an early start easy; the crater lakes make a more scenic base for two or three nights. See where to stay in Kibale.

Combining Kibale With Other Parks

Kibale pairs naturally with Queen Elizabeth National Park for game drives and the Kazinga Channel cruise, and with Bwindi for gorilla trekking, which together make the classic gorillas, chimps and big game route. With extra time, add Semuliki National Park for its hot springs and Central African birds, or the Rwenzori Mountains. See the 10-day gorilla and chimpanzee safari.