Uganda · National park
Kibale National Park
Chimpanzee tracking in the rainforest
Size
About 795 km²
Location
Western Uganda, near Fort Portal
Best time
Jun–Sep and Dec–Feb
Known for
Chimpanzees · 13 primates
About the park
The primate capital of East Africa
Kibale is a lush, mid-altitude rainforest near the town of Fort Portal, surrounded by tea estates and crater lakes. It has one of the highest densities of primates anywhere, with 13 species living in the forest.
Its chimpanzees are the main draw. Several communities are habituated to people, and a guided morning or afternoon tracking walk gives an excellent chance of seeing them feeding, calling and moving through the trees. A longer habituation experience lets you spend most of the day with them.
Highlights
Why visit Kibale
Chimpanzee tracking
Follow rangers into the forest to find a chimpanzee community.
13 primate species
Red colobus, black-and-white colobus, l'Hoest's and grey-cheeked mangabey.
Bigodi Wetland
A community-run swamp walk for monkeys and the great blue turaco.
Crater lakes
Stay among dozens of volcanic crater lakes near Fort Portal.
When to visit
Chimp tracking runs all year. The drier months, June to September and December to February, have easier trails; the forest is beautiful in the rains too, but bring a waterproof.
Wildlife you may see
Chimpanzee, red colobus, black-and-white colobus, red-tailed monkey, grey-cheeked mangabey, l'Hoest's monkey, forest elephant (rarely), and around 375 bird species.
Getting there
About 5 hours by road from Kampala to Fort Portal, or a scheduled flight from Entebbe to Kasese, about 1.5 hours' drive away. It pairs naturally with Queen Elizabeth to the south.
Visit with Asili
Safaris to Kibale
6 days
Uganda Gorillas & Chimps
4 days
Uganda Gorilla & Chimp Express
Tailor-made
Design your own Uganda trip
Plan your chimpanzee trek
Tracking permits are limited each day. Tell us your dates and we'll reserve your chimp permits with your gorilla trek.
Enquire now