Why Kibale is a popular destination in the world

Why Kibale is a popular destination in the world: Kibale forest national park in Uganda hosts some of the endangered primate species named chimpanzees. It’s a tropical rainforested area in western Uganda sharing the districts of Kasese and Fort Portal. The national park was gazetted in 1993 to protect the rainforest and the different wildlife species that lived there. As of today, Kibale hosts 13 primates, 372 bird species, and 60 mammals.

Kibale forest national park is one of the popular tourist destinations in Uganda because of the different wildlife species that are found in the park. The wildlife of Kibale forest park can be seen during nature walks, bird watching, and chimpanzee trekking/habituation activities. There are no game drives in Kibale but tourists can use different trials within the jungle to encounter wildlife.

There are so many tourists out there that are intending to have a safari in Uganda and they really want to know why Kibale has become a popular destination so that they take a visit while on their safari to Kibale. We are going to look at the reasons that have made Kibale a popular destination in the world in this article.

Reasons why Kibale is a popular destination in the world.

Chimpanzees

Kibale forest national park is a popular destination in the world because it harbors chimpanzees. Chimpanzees are endangered species of primates that can’t be seen anywhere in the world. They like staying in tropical rain forests of equatorial Africa like in Kibale where they spend most of the day on treetops. Chimpanzees are loved by tourists because scientists said they are close relatives to human beings.

The high population of chimpanzees

One of the key reasons as to why Kibale is popular is because of the high population of chimpanzees. The national park has the highest population of chimpanzees in Uganda compared to any other protected area that has chimpanzees. Uganda has about 5000 chimpanzees but more than 1500 individuals are found in the forest of Kibale.

The high number of chimpanzee permits

With the high population of chimpanzees in Kibale forest, this guarantees high production of  chimp trekking permits.  Another factor that makes Kibale a popular destination in the world is the number of chimp trekking permits. Kibale forest national park has the highest number of chimp trekking permits meaning it’s visited by the highest number of tourists on a daily basis. Kibale forest national park has a total of 84 chimpanzee permits with 72 for chimpanzee trekking and 12 for chimpanzee habituation.

Easy access

Tourists that are interested in chimpanzee trekking and even tour operators prefer Kibale forest national park because it’s accessed easily. Kibale forest national park can be accessed in 6-7 hours using road transport and less than 3 hours using road transport. By air transport, tourists go through Kampala, Masaka, Mbarara, Bushenyi, and Kasese to the park.

Travelers can also go through Kampala, Mityana, Mubende, Kyenjojo, and Fort Portal to the park. Luxury travelers can alternatively fly to Kasese airstrip near the park in 1 hour and 15 minutes, Flights are operated by Aerolink Uganda and bar aviation Uganda from Kajjansi airstrip and Entebbe international airport.

High chances of seeing chimpanzees

Due to high population of chimpanzees in Kibale, Chimpanzee sightings are guaranteed and this has made the national park popular to the world. Tourists who visit Kibale forest always write about how they met the chimpanzees and they also tell friends. Searching for chimpanzees of Kibale takes 2-6 hours and tourists are always assured of meeting the chimpanzees any time before they trek out of the jungle. The morning shift of trekking is always the best because the chimps are just leaving the nests.

primates in Kibale forest

It’s the primate capital of the world

Kibale forest national park is the primate capital of the world simply because it has the highest species of primates lin Kibale forest. The national park is home to 13 primates some of which can be seen day time and others during the night, The primates in Kibale forest are chimpanzees, blue monkeys, red-tailed monkeys, l’hoest’s monkeys, black and white colobus monkeys, olive baboons, vervet monkeys, Uganda red colobus, grey checked mangabeys, pottos, demidoff galago, Uganda mangabey and patas monkeys to mention but a few.

Affordable chimpanzee permits

Kibale forest national park has become a popular destination in the world because its permits are very affordable to all kinds of travelers. Chimpanzee trekking permits in Kibale forest national park costs $200 for foreign non-residents, $150 for foreign residents, and UGX150,000 East African citizens. The habituation permits cost $250 for foreign non-residents, $200 for foreign residents, and UGX200,000 East African citizens.

You can spend more time with chimpanzees in Kibale

Kibale is the only place in the world where tourists spend more time with chimpanzees. Travelers that want to spend the whole day with chimpanzees doing habituation can visit Kibale where one family is open for such activities. Tourists do search for this family and be with the members for the whole making them get used to the human presence around them with the help of researchers and armed ranger guides.