Is it safe to visit Kibale forest national park?

Is it safe to visit Kibale forest national park?: There are a lot of tourists from different parts of the world that are interested in visiting Kibale forest national park but one of the things they are worried about is safety. Every person is always about the safety of their lives while on a safari but worry not because Kibale forest national park is safe to visit.

Kibale forest national park is safe because Uganda is a peaceful and safe country. Tourists don’t have to get worried about their safety when they will be in Kibale forest national park. Kibale forest covers a total are of 776 sq. km and armed ranger guides are almost everywhere.

Uganda wildlife authority did a very great job by training thousands of armed ranger guides. These armed ranger guides are distributed in different national parks including Kibale forest national park. On your way to Kibale forest national park, you will notice that these armed ranger guides are almost everywhere in the park.

The reason as to why these armed ranger guides are everywhere in the park is to make sure that tourists and wild animals are safe. The armed ranger guides are given firearms for safety in case the wild animals behave in a way that is not safe for the tourists.

These firearms are not for killing people or animals but they are used to shoot in the air so that the sound scares away the animal. All is good in Kibale forest national park, tourists don’t have to get worried about their safety because there is maximum protection in the jungle and the locals are very friendly.

Kibale forest national park is surrounded by different communities and locals just love tourism. Way back before the national park was gazetted, the locals never knew how important tourism was and they used to carry out poaching on innocent animals. When UWA started controlling and managing park activities, the locals were taught how important tourism was to the community.

The local people don’t practice poaching anymore and they enter the forest for firewood or charcoal. They stay in their communities and wait for their share at the end of the year which is always 10% of the total money collected a year. Some locals have managed to start up community projects where they make items and sell to tourists in return for money.

Uganda has not had anything like wars in the past years and this makes all parts of the country including Kibale forest national park very safe for a visit. Kibale forest doesn’t have any rebels inside there because the whole country is peaceful. While in the jungle, tourists are asked to keep in groups not because there are rebels but because the animals are wild.

During most of the park activities especially chimpanzee trekking, tourists are forest briefed about the rules and regulations of the activity for the safety of both trekkers and animals. The armed ranger guides lead trekkers into the jungle and ask them to keep in groups for purposes of not getting lost in the jungle and also fear to be harmed by dangerous animals.

There are tourists that are concerned about picking up illnesses from chimpanzees but there is no need to worry because this is not possible. There is a rule that says tourists must keep 7 meters away from the chimpanzee community and this was put in place to reduce in the spread of diseases from the chimps to people and from people to chimps.

There are park rules and regulations put for visitors on posters on the roads going through the park. The rules are put in place for tourists to follow while inside the forest and also keep a normal speed while driving because some animals like olive baboons are always in the middle of the roads.

best to visit Kibale forest national park

The dry season is the best period to visit Kibale forest national park as its characterized by little and sometimes no rainfall. The dry season happens from June to September and December to February every year and this is when the park receives the highest number of visitors. The dry season is the best time to visit Kibale because the sunshine dries up vegetation making clear views of wildlife, roads leading to the park are passable and trails inside Kibale are dry and passable.

Tourists especially budget travelers can visit Kibale during the rainy season from March to May and October to November to get discounts on lodges and tour packages. The rainy season attracts a few tourists to Kibale forest national park because there is plenty of rainfall, the trekking trails and roads leading to the park are dry and easily passable while the vegetation is short and thin with clear views of wildlife.