Kibale Forest National Park

Kibale National Park is the largest Forest Park with attractive biodiversity species characterized by large tracts of tropical forest vegetation and varied plant species situated in the western part of Uganda along the great East African Rift valley at an altitude between 1590 to 1100 above the sea level. Kibale national park covers 795 square kilometers and is known as a primate haven due to its largest number of chimpanzees and monkeys.

Kibale forest national park started as a forest reserve in the 1940s and it was later elevated to a national park because of the increased biodiversity species and a move to effectively manage wildlife within the forest. As of to date the park shelters about 70 mammal species and over 370 species of birds as well as 350 tree plant species.

Kibale Forest National Park is an ultimate destination for chimpanzee tracking in Africa and tourists intending to see and involve in both chimpanzee tracking and habituation experience can effectively do a tour to Kibale National Park. The park is also recognized as a research center for primates

including chimpanzees and other ecological diversities. Chimpanzee research is best done during the chimpanzee habituation process.

The Upper part of the park is located in the Fort portal plateau and is mostly forested. The park also is characterized by savannah and woodland species. And the southern part is dominated by thorny bushy vegetation on the rift valley escarpment before dropping down to the grasslands of the rift valley floor.  The major tourist sites in Kibale National Park include Kanyanchu tourism hub just 35 km away from the newly tarmacked road heading to Kamacwenge in South East of Fortportal and another tourism spot in Kibale National park is known to be  Sebitoli situated, 16km east of Fort Portal on the Kampala road.

Kibale National park has over 1400 individual chimpanzees which have been habituated for over 26years and are available for visitors above 13 years to track. The park also links to Queen Elizabeth National Park in the south forming a tourism corridor between the Iashaha sector of Queen Elizabeth National Park and the Kibale tourism hub at Sebitoli.