Kibale Forest National Park

Some 35 km south of Fort Portal lies an extensive piece of equatorial rainforest: the Kibale Forest National Park. This recently established reserve is the habitat of the highest concentration of primates in the world.

Eleven different species have been counted, including the black-white and red Colobus, L'Hoest's monkeys and Galagos. The main attraction, however, are the 500 chimpanzees, who since 1992 have been accustomed to human visits. 

You can go search for some of the most closely related species during a 4-hour forest walk. Most likely, you will find the chimpanzees in one of the huge fig trees where they spend the day with the relish of sweet ripe fruits.  So, now and then a young male will try to scare off visitors, but these false attacks are more funny than frightening. 

Compared to other mountain forests, the trees here grow much higher and reach an incredible circumference. An extensive root system supports the giants, small streams find their way through the dense underground vegetation and occasionally turns the forest into a reclaimed swampland, where buffaloes and antelopes graze. The forest is also home to the second largest elephant population in Uganda. With a diverse flora that offers plenty of habitat to many species of butterflies and birds, including Hornbills and Turacos, it is a paradise for botanists and ornithologists.