Location of Kibale Forest National Park.
Kibale Forest national park is a perfect safari destination that is famously for chimpanzee tracking on a Uganda safari, Kibale forest national park that covers an area of about 766 square kilometers (296 square miles) of land in the western Uganda, the park is elevated at 1100 meters of 1600 meters high above the sea level.
Kibale forest national park is strategically located in the Southwestern part of Uganda, specifically in the districts of Kabarole, Kyenjojo and then Kamwenge that is approximately 360 kilometers west of Kampala, the capital city of Uganda, that is about 26 kilometers southeast of Fort Portal, a major town in the region and the district headquarters of the Kabarole, making it easily accessible by the road means of transport, with the park situated near the foothills of the Rwenzori mountains that is also known as the ‘’Mountains of the moon’’ and then the bordering Queen Elizabeth national park to the south, that creates a vast and diverse ecosystem that supports a wide range of the wildlife and then vegetation, while the park’s location in the Albertine Rift, a region of high biodiversity and endemism, that adds to the its importance of conservation, with the nearby presence of Lake George and then Lake Edward system and then the western arm of the East African Rift, that further enhance the park’s ecological importance.
The fascinating location of Kibale forest national park is in the south of Fort Portal District, then from Fort Portal town to Kanyanchu the headquarters for Kibale forest national park, that is approximately 26.2km and it takes the tourists about only 30 minutes to reach the park, Then Kasese town is found in the south of Kibale Forest national park and it takes you about 98km through using the road transport.
The distance from Kasese town to Kibale Forest national park takes you only about 2 hours, and then the park’s location also indicates that Kamwenge town is situated in the eastern part of the park and then it’s about 38.6 kilometers and which takes you about 40 minutes’ drive. On a Uganda safari with African Vacation Safaris to Kibale forest national park the tourists can as well decide to travel from safari destinations like Queen Elizabeth national park and then Semuliki wildlife reserve, that means that during the safari, the tourist can access Kibale forest national park through those parks that makes your safari experience very impressive; that means that when the tourists are coming from Queen Elizabeth national park to Kibale forest national park takes you about 2 hours’ drive that is about 142 kilometers, and then from Semuliki Wildlife Reserve to Kibale Forest national park it takes you in about 67 kilometers and then that’s only about 1 hours and 30 minutes to reach the park.
Topography in Kibale forest national park.
Kibale forest national park is a diverse safari destination, in the northern part of the park there are high concentration of the tropical forest with the perched with the woodland sections and a small area is occupied by the grasslands. The northern part of the park there is greenery forest that has enough evidence for the colonialist exploitation centuries ago, before it was reserved as a park. In the northern part of the park there are small farmlands for the villages surrounding Kibale forest national park where the stunning chimpanzee trekking safari experience takes place.
In the central part of Kibale forest national park there is a forest that is dominated with the tall tree species that are natural though there are other tree species that includes eucalyptus tree species that were planted by the Europeans during the colonial era in Uganda some years back. In the central part of the park that is where the visitor center is found at Kanyanchu that is near the river banks of the river Kanyanchu. Kanyanchu is the starting point for chimpanzee trekking in Kibale forest national park. Then it is only 20km south of Kanyanchu where Bigodi Swamp sanctuary the famous attraction in the park is located as well as Magombe swamp that offers tourists with the stunning safari activities that includes bird watching, guided natural walks and among many others.
Then the western part of Kibale forest national park is famously known by the degraded forest cover because of the farming land and then human settlement lands, although other areas in the southern part of the park is covered by the papyrus to which people use to make various products from them and mostly the land is known for agriculture. And as well there are no accommodation facilities in the western part of the park. The park’s northern and then central part of the park have diverse numbers of the accommodation facilities, then most of the accommodations are located near the Kanyanchu Visitor Centre which is the starting point for chimpanzee trekking in Kibale forest national park.
How to get to Kibale forest national park.
How to get to Kibale forest national park is very important for every tourist to know before planning a safari to the park. Kibale forest national park also known as the primate capital and what describes it as the primate capital its because the park is a home to over 13 primate species including 1500 chimpanzees, and other primate species like black and white monkeys, red tailed monkeys, blue monkeys, Vervet monkeys, baboons, L’Hoest’s monkeys and among many others. The park is a home for other animal species like buffaloes, bush pigs, warthogs, giant forest hogs, forest elephants and over 370 bird species including Abyssinian ground thrush, African grey parrot, Brown illadopsis, Cassin’s hawk-eagles, Green-breasted pitta, Crowned eagle, Masked apalis, Papyrus gonolek, Red-chested owlet, Western nicator and among many others.
On a Uganda safari, with African Vacation Safaris, the tourists can access the park through two ways that is the road transport and then air transport.
Road transport.
Using the road transport, the tourists has two options to reach the park; that is where is tourists drive from Kampala through Mubende then Fort portal and later the tourists can reach Kibale forest national park that takes tourists about 6 to 7 hour’s drive in African Vacation Safaris vehicle with our experienced safari guide.
And then alternatively, there is another driving route that is where you leave Kampala through Masaka, Mbarara, and then Fort Portal and then to Kibale forest national park that takes about 7 to 8 hour’s drive in a safari vehicle.
With the combined Uganda safaris, the tourists can reach Kibale forest national park when coming from Bwindi impenetrable national park that takes about 7 to 8 hour’s drive. And if your safari is combined with Queen Elizabeth national park takes you about 2 to 3 hours’ drive to Kibale forest national park.
Air transport.
Tourists can use air transport which is the easiest and quick way to reach Kibale forest national park. This is where African Vacation Safaris will book for you the domestic flight that will take you to the Park’s airstrip this is where the airstrips can be reached through using chartered aircraft from Entebbe International Airport or Kajjansi Airfield near Kampala the capital city of Uganda, and then the travelers can charter with Aerolink that takes you less than 1 hour. Then once you arrive the airstrip your safari guide from African Vacation Safaris will pick you and then transfer you to Kibale forest national park.