Nature Walking Safaris in Kibale Forest
Nature Walking Safaris in Kibale ForestNature Walking Safaris in Kibale Forest: Kibale Forest National Park is a unique destination famous for its primate safaris, particularly the endangered chimpanzees. Besides chimpanzee trekking, there is much for Kibale Forest since it is also a popular destination for nature walking safaris and other adventure activities.
Kibale Forest National Park is situated in the western part of the country, covering the districts of Kamwenge, Kyenjojo, Kabarole, and Kasese. The park covers a distance of 776 sq. km and is endowed with various attractions and wildlife. These wildlife species in Kibale Forest National Park can only be seen best by participating in nature walks and hiking activities.
The park authority and several accommodation facilities always organize walking safaris for visitors, especially nature lovers who would love to explore the natural beauty of the area on foot during their free time or even after a thrilling activity like chimpanzee trekking. The park has various different trails within and areas around the park for tourists to use while carrying out nature walks.
These various nature walk activities in Kibale Forest National Park are conducted in different areas, some of which take place inside Kibale Forest and others are carried out outside the forest. All these locations offer various wildlife species and attractions depending on the trail you take. If possible, it’s better you inform the guide of your center of interest before you proceed with a given trail. Nature walks in Kibale Forest National Park are carried out in the following.
Forest walks
These forest walks are done in specific areas of Kibale Forest, and they are led by armed ranger guides that lead visitors all throughout the entire walk. These nature walks take place during the day and night hours. This is awe-inspiring for visitors that love nocturnal wildlife species, especially animals and birds. These forest walks take about 1 to 5 hours depending on the trail used, and the visitors are able to see different mammals, birds, and plants.
The forest trek in Kibale Forest National Park begins at Kanyanchu visitor’s center, covering over 12 km of walking through the forest and swamp. This forest hike takes between 3 and 5 hours to get completed, and visitors do get an opportunity to traverse through an area with unique wildlife species, including mammals such as forest elephants, primates, and several bird species.
Sebitoli forest.
Sebitoli Forest is one of the top areas in Kibale Forest National Park that supports birdlife. It is an evergreen forest that is part of Kibale Forest National Park, located on your way from Fort Portal. It is home to several bird species, mainly forest birds, whereby nature walks at Sebitoli are mainly conducted by avid birders and nature lovers.
The nature walking trail in Sebitoli covers a distance of 12 km, and it takes about 3-5 hours to get to its end. This unique trail will offer you a chance to explore the natural beauty of the forest with its unique species, especially forest bird species and primates such as red-tailed monkeys, black and white colobus monkeys, blue monkeys, red colobus monkeys, and vervet monkeys, among others.
For bird lovers, Sebitoli is a perfect catch for forest birds such as the unique Green-breasted Pitta, Nahan’s Francolin, Little Greenbul, Red-faced Warbler, African Pitta, African Greenbul, Black Bee Eater, Crowned Eagle, Blue-breasted Kingfisher, and Yellow-footed Flycatcher, among others.
Crater walks
Nature Walking Safaris in Kibale Forest: The park is a unique destination for several attractions, including several crater lakes that are found within the region. Some of these scenic crater lakes include Lake Nyinambuga, Lake Nyabikere, Lake Nyinaburitwa, and many others. During your nature walk safaris, you can visit some of them because some of these crater lakes are found near several lodges, offering stunning views filled with serenity and tranquillity. Other lakes are close to each other, and the choice remains in your hands based on distance and your location within the park.
While at these crater lakes, you will get to know how these lakes were formed, as they are a result of volcanic eruptions that occurred thousands of years ago. These crater walks will grant you a chance to see unique bird species, especially for those visitors who are passionate about birds. Some of these birds to see include the Brown Illadopsis, Little Greenbul, Cassin’s Spinetail, Rwenzori Apalis, Western Nictator, African Pied Wagtail, Grey Parrot, Yellow-rumped Tinkerbird, and Blue-headed Bee-eater, among others.
During these crater walks, expect to bump into various creatures, including small mammals, primates, reptiles, and tree and plant species. The guide will give you information about most of these species, and he will be ready to answer various questions. These crater walks will offer you a chance to explore the scenic craters on foot as a way of getting closer to nature compared to an experience explored while on a safari in a vehicle.
Crater lakes to see in Kibale Forest
Crater lakes in Kibale Forest include Lake Nyamirima, Lake Nyinambuga, Lake Nyabikere, Lake Kyaninga, Lake Nkuruba, Lake Kifuruka, and Lake Rugembe, among others. All these lakes have various trekking routes that can lead you atop these lakes, while on top of some of these lakes you may have a chance to see the Rwenzori mountains.
Bigodi wetland
Nature Walking Safaris in Kibale Forest: Bigodi Wetland is situated a few kilometers from Kibale National Park, and it offers quite a number of activities, including guided nature walks, birdwatching, and community visits, among others. This swamp is inhabited by over 138 bird species, which can best be spotted during nature walks. Besides nature walks, Bigodi is also home to several animal species, most especially small mammals and primates such as red-tailed monkeys, blue monkeys, black and white monkeys, olive baboons, vervet monkeys, and many others.
Bigodi Wetland is one of the top birding areas in Kibale National Park that keeps birdwatchers alive, since this wetland sanctuary harbors both forest and wetland birds. These bird species include the Purple-breasted Sunbird, Brown-chested Alethe, Western Nectar, Brown-throated Wattle-eye, African Pitta, Bocage’s Bush Shrike, White-spotted Flufftail, Brown-crowned Tchagra, Abyssinian Ground Thrush, Great Blue Turaco, Black-capped Apalis, and Black Gonolek, among others.
Accommodation in Kibale National Park
Accommodation is one of the key factors on any given safari for travelers who are intending to spend a night or more in the area before or after a thrilling adventure activity. Kibale Forest National Park offers quite a number of lodging facilities where visitors can stay for comfort, and these range from luxury to midrange to budget options. Some of these lodges include Primate Lodge, Kibale Lodge, Papaya Lake Lodge, Turaco Treetops, Crater Safari Lodge, Ndali Lodge, Chimpundu Lodge, Chimpanzee Forest Lodge, Kanyanchu River Camp, Crater Safari Lodge, and Kyaninga Lodge, among others.
Best time for walking safaris in Kibale
Although nature walking safaris in Kibale Forest National Park can be conducted throughout the year, the dry season is the best time to have the best walking safaris in the park. This season runs from June to September and December to February, commonly known as the peak season when the park is receiving little or no rainfall. During this dry season, the park’s walking trails are dry and easily traversable. This enables visitors to access most of the park areas both inside and outside.
During the rainy season, which normally takes place from March to May and October to November, visitors can still visit Kibale Forest National Park for nature walks, but it’s not the best time. This period favors the budget travelers because the lodges and tour operators offer huge discounts to travelers. Imagine doing walking safaris in Kibale Forest National Park and it’s raining. I don’t think that the experience will be good.
What always limits travelers during the rainy season is that these walking safaris are always muddy, slick, and slippery because of the torrential rains. The vegetation cover is very tall and thick, which obscures views of wildlife and some attractions. During this wet season, connecting to the park takes long because sometimes safari vehicles can also get stuck in muddy and slippery roads, and this may give you the worst experience.
