Convenient Time to Visit Kibale National Park
Travellers who are planning for their primate safaris to Kibale National Park, always ask about the convenient time to visit Kibale National Park for trekking chimpanzees in the primate capital of the world. Kibale Forest National Park is an evergreen, dense tropical forest, meaning it receives too much rainfall throughout the year.
This woodland park has a rich biodiversity that consists of lush vegetation, woodland, water bodies and plantations of exotic tree species. The park was established to conserve and restore the its tree species and its inhabitants. Kibale National Park is popular for its chimpanzee population that is estimated to over 1500 individuals, all residing in this ecotourism and wildlife forest reserve.
The convenient time to visit Kibale National Park depends on the period, season and months of the year when travellers can best go to Kibale for wildlife adventure safaris. Travellers who prefer travelling at any time of the year are highly welcome since the park is always open for visitors throughout the year like any other protected area in the country.
This means that visitors can book wildlife safaris to Kibale Forest Park such as the popular chimpanzee trekking, chimpanzee habituation, birdwatching, nature forest walks, and others. The best time in most cases is determined by the choice and selection of the park activities, travellers are interested in.
Chimpanzee trekking is the park’s highlight that attracts visitors especially primate lovers and primatologists mainly for chimp trekking, habituation and research purposes, among others. The park can be visited throughout the year, however, there some months which are more convenient and ideal than others. The dry season which runs from May to July and from December to February, is considered to be the convenient time for visitors who are planning to trek chimpanzee trekking in Kibale Forest National Park.
The convenient time to Visit Kibale Forest National Park is during the dry season. Uganda’s dry season is the time when there is an influx of tourists in most of the country’s national parks and other protected areas. This is the time when tourism is at its peak. Uganda has two dry seasons, however visitors should aways expect some chances due to climate change, as weather conditions keep on changing.
The dry spell begins in December and stretches up to mid February and then resumes from mid-may to July. This offers the convenient and best time for visiting Kibale National Park. This is because during the dry season, routes connecting to the park are generally dry, making them passable together with the park trails, hence making activities like chimpanzee trekking and habituation encounters much easier for travellers.
Most visitors travel in Kibale Forest National Park in months of June to September like most tourist destinations in Uganda. This is the period that is referred to as the peak/high season for tourism where the country receives an influx of tourists for wildlife and primate tracking. However, most visitors come for adventure safaris mainly for gorilla trekking in the two gorilla parks of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and Mgahinga National Park. Due to the fact that gorilla trekking and chimpanzee trekking are mainly explored concurrently in Uganda, and Kibale Forest National Park is the best chimpanzee destination on the African continent for chimpanzee tracking. Arguably, it also receives the highest numbers of visitors especially during the high season which occurs in June and September.
On the other hand, the wet season normally occurs in March, April, May and June and also from October to November. These are the two rainy seasons that are received in Kibale Forest. During the rain season, the park receives heavy rains, however, they may not necessarily stop visitors from travelling.
Additionally, some visitors may find it uncomfortable to thrive in such a wet season to enjoy the experience, hence opt for the dry season. These heavy rains that are received in the park makes the forest trekking trails hard to penetrate, since they tend to be slippery and also this affects the trekking time table and the duration, hence making it difficult for travellers to visit the park. This at times may also affect the ecolodges in one way or the other due to heavy rains.
Ultimately, travellers are urged to visit Kibale Forest National Park during the dry peak season, since it comes with possibilities of exploring the park and participate in chimpanzee trekking and chimpanzee habituation experience that offers travellers more time to get close and interact with chimpanzees. All this insight gives you a clear understanding about the convenient time to visit Kibale National Park.
There fore, it’s upon the traveller’s choice to decide and book his or her safari basing on the taste of time, preferences, duration and budget status, since the park can be visited at any time of the year.
Where to stay in Kibale National Park
Travellers planning their safaris to Kibale Forest National Park would love to spend a night or two to refresh after conducting their adventure activities such as chimpanzee trekking, birding, nature walks and community visits, among others.
The park has a wide range of accommodations facilities ranging from opulent lodges, mid-range and budget options, each offering distinctive services, and these include Chimpundu Safari Lodge, Guereza Canopy Lodge, Primate Lodge, Kibale Lodge, Tinker Bird safari Lodge, Kibale Forest Lodge, Bweza Safari Lodge, Kibale Forest Camp, Kibale Tourist Lodge, Isunga Lodge, Turaco Tree Tops, among others.
