Chimpanzee Trekking in Kibale and Wildlife Safari
Kibale chimpanzee trekking and wildlife safari takes you to some of the most liked national parks within the country. The safari takes you to Kibale Forest National Park for chimpanzee trekking and Queen Elizabeth National Park for wildlife viewing. These two national parks are located close to each other in the western part of the country.
Kibale Forest National Park is the best place to do chimpanzee trekking safaris. while Queen Elizabeth National Park is best for game drives and boat cruise activities. This safari requires a good number of days if you really want to explore everything in these two national parks.
Major activities include chimpanzee trekking in Kibale and wildlife safaris.
Chimpanzee trekking
This is one of the major activities on this safari, and it happens in Kibale Forest National Park. Chimpanzee trekking is carried out to enable tourists to be around habituated chimpanzees for a period of 1 hour. While in Kibale Forest, to participate in chimpanzee trekking, you need a permit from the Uganda Wildlife Authority.
On the day of trekking, you start with a briefing where you get to learn about the rules and regulations of the activity. Armed ranger guides lead trekkers that don’t exceed 8 people into the jungle, where they start searching for the chimpanzees. After 2 to 6 hours of searching and finding chimpanzees, trekkers are given 1 hour to be around the apes, watch the members do daily activities, learn about their behaviors, and take photos.
Game drives-Chimpanzee Trekking in Kibale and Wildlife Safari
Game drives are the best way of seeing different wildlife that lives within Queen Elizabeth National Park. The game drives are conducted in the morning, evening, or night for only those who want to see nocturnal animals. Game drive activities in Queen Elizabeth National Park are conducted in the Kasenyi, Mweya, or Ishasha sector, a home to tree-climbing lions.
The game drives are a 2- to 3-hour activity that takes you through different game tracks searching for different wild animals. During the game drives in Queen Elizabeth National Park, you will see buffaloes, hippos, defassa waterbucks, duikers, sitatungas, lions, spotted hyenas, elephants, leopards, Uganda kobs, and birds, among others.
Bird watching
Kibale Forest National Park is home to over 372 bird species, and Queen Elizabeth National Park has over 600 bird species. Bird watching on this safari can be done in any of the parks because birders will see plenty of these bird species. Bird watching in Kibale Forest is carried out in Bigodi Wetland Sanctuary and Sebitoli Wetland, where very many bird species stay.
Bird watching in Queen Elizabeth National Park takes place in so many areas, among which include Lake Katwe, Katunguru Bridge, Ishasha, Kasenyi, Mweya, and areas around the Kazinga Channel. On this safari among so many bird species, you will see the African pitta, red-faced woodland warbler, black-capped apalis, white-naped pigeon, little greenbul, black-headed gonolek, pin-tailed whydah, and papyrus gonolek, among others.
Community walks- Chimpanzee Trekking in Kibale and Wildlife Safari
Community walks on this safari can be carried out in the Bigodi Wetland Sanctuary of Kibale Forest National Park and in Queen Elizabeth National Park. Community walks can be carried out in Kikongoro, Katwe, Leopard Village, and others.
The community tours are carried out to enable tourists to interact with the local people and get to know how they live their day-to-day life. With community tours, tourists visit different homesteads and meet people like medicine men, coffee makers, wine makers, and traditional dancers, among others.
Nature walks
Nature walks on Kibale Chimpanzee trekking and wildlife safaris are a great way to explore the wilderness on foot. The nature walks can be around the lodges or within the park itself. During the nature walk in the park, you get to visit different areas based on what you want to see.
The nature walks give tourists an opportunity to see different wildlife, among which are birds, mammals, primates, and plants. The nature walks can be done at explosion craters, and you get to see different dotted lakes of Katwe in Queen Elizabeth and Ndali Kasenda in Kibale Forest.
When to have Kibale chimpanzee trekking and a wildlife safari
Travelers can have Kibale chimpanzee trekking and wildlife safaris at any time of the year; however, certain months are better than the rest. The dry season, which occurs from June to September and December to February, is the best time to have this safari because both Kibale and Queen Elizabeth National Park receive little or no rainfall, the vegetation is short with good views of wildlife, and the roads leading to these two parks are passable.
Travelers can still visit Kibale for chimpanzee trekking and Queen Elizabeth National Park for wildlife viewing during the rainy season, but this favors budget travelers. The rainy season occurs from March to May and October to November, and it’s characterized by plenty of rainfall. The trekking trails and roads leading to the park tend to be muddy and slippery, and the vegetation is tall and thick, with unclear views of wildlife.
Accommodation on this safari
Both Kibale Forest National Park and Queen Elizabeth National Park have enough accommodation facilities where guests can stay during their safari. The accommodation facilities are budget, mid-range, and luxury options, where you can stay depending on your budget. Kibale Forest lodges include Chimpanzee Forest Lodge, Primate Lodge, Turaco Treetops, and Ndali Lodge, among others.
The lodges in Queen Elizabeth National Park include Buffalo Safari Lodge, Elephants Plain Lodge, Ishasha Wilderness Camp, Elephant Hab Lodge, Kazinga Channel View Resort, Park View Lodge, Mweya Safari Lodge, Kyambura Gorge Lodge, Queen Elizabeth Bush Lodge, Jacana Safari Lodge, and Katara Lodge, among others.
