When to go chimpanzee trekking in Kibale forest national park

When to go chimpanzee trekking in Kibale forest national park: Kibale national park is a forest area in the western part of Uganda famous for harboring endangered chimpanzees. The national park was gazetted as a national park in 1993 and now covers a total area of 779 sq. km of tropical rainforest vegetation cover. Kibale harbors 13 primate species with the famous being chimpanzees which are over 1500 individuals.

Kibale forest national park is open for chimpanzee trekking n Uganda all throughout the year. This doesn’t mean that all the months of the year give the best of the safari activity. Some months are better than the rest when it comes to chimpanzee trekking in Kibale forest park. Tourists that are intending to come to Kibale park for chimpanzee trekking must first read about the best time to visit to enable them to have a memorable safari.

Generally, hiking looking for chimpanzees in Kibale forest park is best during the dry season when the trails are dry and easier to navigate, and the vegetation is short with good views of chimpanzees. Tourists can still go chimpanzee trekking in Kibale forest park in the rainy season but they should expect a lot of rainfall and trekking trails are muddy and slippery.

Best time to go chimpanzee trekking in Kibale forest national park

The dry season

Without a doubt, the dry season is the best time to go chimpanzee trekking in Kibale forest national park. In Kibale forest national park, the dry season happens in June, July, August, September, December, January, and February. They are called dry season months because they receive little rainfall and sometimes nothing at all. The weather is so good within these months and the fact that some countries are receiving winter tourists get an opportunity to find good weather in Uganda.

During the dry season, the vegetation that was thick tends to dry up and get thin due to a lot of sunshine and little rainfall. This means that the tourists will have clear views and photography of chimpanzees in their natural habitats. Tourists will also have good views of the different wildlife that lives within Kibale forest national park

Another thing that makes chimpanzee trekking the best during the dry season is that the trekking trails stay dry and passable. When the trials are dry, moving to different areas of the park where the chimpanzees could be ends up easy. The speed of the trekkers is not affected and with good waterproof hiking shoes the chimpanzee trekking activity ends up fast.

The roads leading to Kibale forest national park during the dry season are in very good condition due to little or no rainfall. Tourists will be able to access the national park in time when the roads are easily passable. It’s for these reasons that a lot of travelers visit Kibale forest national park because they want to have memorable safaris.

The rainy season

Kibale forest national park is open for chimpanzee trekking all throughout the year. During the rainy season, the park is open but a few travelers visit for chimpanzee trekking and other park activities. In the rainy season we are talking about March, April, May, October, and November when the park is receiving heavy rainfall.

The weather in the rainy season is the one that attracts a few tourists to the park. The chimpanzee trekking activity can never be very interesting in the rainy season when the rain drops are falling on you or your equipment like cameras. During the rainy season, on the day it’s raining heavily chimpanzees can fail to be from one place to another as they are waiting for the rain to stop therefore you might fail to watch them do daily activities.

The trekking trails in the rainy season are very slippery and muddy which affects the speed of trekkers Tourists do use waterproof hiking shoes but when it’s very muddy and slippery the speed is affected. The chimpanzee families tend not to move so far in the jungle but trekking takes long because of the slow movement of trekkers brought about by the slippery trails.

During the rainy seasons, the vegetation grows very tall and thick which gives unclear views of the chimpanzees in their natural habitats. The thick vegetation cover does not only give clear views but also unclear photography. Lastly, during the rainy season the roads leading to the park and here we mean the marram roads are slippery and this means that the driver will slow down the speed and getting to the park will be longer.

With all the above being said, tourists that are planning to trek chimpanzees of Kibale forest national park should look at visiting the park in the dry season. The dry season in Kibale forest national park happens from June to September and December to February when the park is receiving little or no rainfall. The dry season is good because the trekking trails are dry, vegetation is short with good views of wildlife and the roads leading to the park are in very good condition.

How much is chimpanzee trekking in Kibale forest national park?

We thought it would be good if we made you know the price of the chimpanzee trekking permit in Kibale forest national park. Tourists that are planning to have a chimpanzee trekking safari in Kibale national park must know that to trek with chimpanzees, you need to have a trekking and this is a legal card issued by Uganda Wildlife Authority.

A single chimpanzee trekking permit in Kibale forest national park valid for 1 day costs $200 for foreign non-residents, $150 for foreign residents, and UGX150,000 for East African citizens. The chimpanzee trekking permits are sold to only those people that have 12 years and above. Tourists can get the chimpanzee trekking permit directly from the Uganda Wildlife Authority or use a local tour operator.

The chimpanzee trekking experience

Chimpanzee tracking in Kibale forest national park is carried out in the morning and evening hours. Both sessions start with checking the trekking permits and then a briefing about the rules and regulations of the trekking activity. Trekking in the morning can be done by a maximum of 56 people and in the evening, it’s done by a maximum of 36 people.

Each trekking group consists of 8 trekkers and these are accompanied by armed ranger guides who know every well the trails to use and find chimpanzees. The search for chimpanzees usually takes 1-4 hours and trekkers are able to meet different bird species, mammals, primates, and plants. When the trekkers meet the chimpanzees, the 1 hour according to Uganda Wildlife Authority starts to count.

Tourists are allowed around chimpanzees for 1 hour and during this time they are able to learn about their habits, take photos, record videos and watch them do daily activities like climbing trees, resting, playing, hunting, nesting, coupling, and feeding among others. Being around chimpanzees is every person’s dream come true therefore maximize each and every you be around these endangered primates.