Kibale National Park

Trekking through the forest and getting up close a group of chimps is second only to finding the gorillas for the first time.

Very good place to visit and to see the chimpanzee's was a great bonus.

We went there to see the chimps which we heard calling long before we saw them up in t he trees

Excellent, because of the chimpansee's!

An incredible experience

A great experience spending one hour amongst the chimp, standing very close to them and being able to observe them in their natural environment. The vegetation is not too dense which allows for good photography The guides were great and very knowledgeable. One of the top destination in Uganda

Chimps were fascinating and the natural surrounds were really lovely. A nice stopover between Kampala and the seeing the gorillas.

The main attraction is the Chimp trekking, which is a very nice and interesting thing to do, but also a bit touristy and comparably expensive.

A surprise around every corner

We only had one full day in Kibale which was a shame as there was so much to see and enjoy there. It seemed that everywhere you turned there was a new species that you hadn't yet seen, it was full of diversity from Primates to butterflies, birds to flowers it just seemed packed to the rim with wildlife.
We did the chimp walk in the morning and within a few minutes came across three walking straight towards us, they go so fast but we managed to keep up with them and fortunately they chose to stop and groom each other on a fallen log, further along we encountered a few more of the group including Males, Females and babies.
We stayed at the Primate lodge in one of the tented camps which was set right in the middle of their gardens and had vervet and red tailed monkeys playing in the trees just in front.
We sat and watched butterflies dance amongst the flowers and then some tiny striped squirrels chasing each other around a tree.
The rooms were spotless and very comfortable, the food was great, all freshly cooked and very filling.
We also had a great walk around the Bigodi wetlands were we encountered several more primate species at close range, many forest butterflies that were only to be found in Kibale, the beautiful blue Turacos and the tiny dwarf kingfisher amongst plenty of other things. The guides were extremely knowledgable and very proud of their countries wildlife and beautiful park.
Would highly recommend and would definitely have liked to have more time in this fantastic park.

Uganda is amazing!

Visiting Kibale was part of our trip in Uganda.
We really loved Kibale. We were surrounded by chimps! They were everywhere, playing, fighting, screaming, grooming and mating.
One female stayed in her nest in the tree.
She had a young baby and we think she just didn't want to come out to join the rest of the group.
They were noisy!
It was very impressive, a completely different exerience than the gorilla's.
Our guide was really good. He had lived in the forest for years during the Amin-regime and told us really everything about plants, trees etc.
We stayed in the primate lodge which is only 5 minutes away from the startingpoint for the chimp-tracking. So very convenient.
We liked the lodge. Stayed in one of the cottages.

An incredible place for scientists, and probably everyone else!

I stayed at the Makerere University Biological Field Centre (a research centre) in Kibale Forest NP as a zoology student, rather than travelling there as a tourist, so my opinions might not all be applicable to people looking to go on holiday there. But for what it's worth, Kibale is incredibly beautiful, 'untouched' by touristy culture, and still relatively close to a hospital at Fort Portal. All of the Ugandan people we met were overwhelmingly friendly and accommodating, and our forest guides were extremely knowledgeable of the forest and the movement of its animal inhabitants, of which there were many!

I personally saw 6 different species of primate, including chimpanzees, and others in my group saw even more, such as the elusive l'Hoest's monkey. A troupe of olive baboons lived near the research centre and roamed around exploring and causing trouble; they were generally not aggressive and could be chased away if needed - but keep your doors locked! As for the birding, it isn't my speciality but we spent two mornings mist netting on the forest floor and caught ~30 different species of small bird (and a few very large beetles), there was a pair of turacos nesting near the research centre which we saw daily, and a few hornbills that came to eat the insects from our insect traps in the morning; as well as the many birds living in the forest canopy.

The weather at the time we were there switched unpredictably between blazing sunshine and incredible downpours with lightning over the hills, which was fine for us who don't mind getting soaked while wandering through the forest, but may not be ideal for people on holiday - and of course, the weather will vary depending on the time of year. The only downside I could possibly think of to staying there was the isolation from the outside world - barely any phone signal, no internet, no particularly easy roads out of the forest (at least where we stayed). However, as in my case, I'm sure many will find the isolation quite enjoyable!