National Parks of Africa - Kibale Forest

Kanyanchu is the centre of the major tourism activities. The friendly and experienced tour guides will share their knowledge with you on primates, birds, elephants, butterflies, reptiles, amphibians, trees, medical plants and of course the chimpanzees.

Chimpanzee tracking

Tracking the chimpanzees is a very interesting experience. The way they feed, climb trees and caring for their young ones, is just phenomenal. Be part of the drama of life in a rain forest that can be observed in the Kibale National Park.

Chimpanzee Habituation Experience

Chimpanzee habituation experience is an ongoing activity that entails following up the chimpanzees to get them used to human presence without altering their natural behavior. With this activity you can see them the whole day long.

Primate walk

This walk starts from Kanyanchu River Camp at 8:00 am or 3:00 pm. It lasts for 2-4 hours and is the most popular walk, highlighting the diversity of different animals and plant species within the forest. This walk is restricted of four persons each, in the morning and the same number in the afternoon.

Forest hike

This is a seasonal 12 kms hike that is restricted to the dry seasons (Mid-November to February and June to September). It highlights the diverse habitats of the park including tropical rainforest, reverine forest, swamp and grassland. Visitors will have the chance to see a variety of birds and monkeys and sometimes duikers and bush pigs. The walk begins at 8:00 am and ends at the elephant wallow around 2:00 pm, packed lunch or snacks are essential. Arrangements for packed lunch can be made at your lodge.

Night walks

Guided night walks with spotlights. These walks offer a good chance of sighting nocturnal primates such as bushbabys, galagos and Pottos. Nightwalks are organized from 19.30 to 22.00.

Long Distance Walk

For the adventurous visitor who wants to enjoy more in the forest, may take a 64km guided walk, which starts from either Kanyanchu or Sebitoli and ends at either site, passing through different habitants and local communities over a period of 2-6 days, camping at the community campsites at Kinoni, Nyaibanda and Nyakalongo offer local dishes, traditional dances and walks to community shambas. Visitors can hire a porter (s) to carry their bags.

Children's Activities

On offer are educational walks that last 1-2 hours followed by creative activities. This especially caters for children under 12 years of age that are not allowed to view the chimps. This enables visitors to enjoy their chimpanzee experience or nature walk or forest hike whilst their children are supervised, educated ad entertained by experienced ranger guides. Four ranger guides form the education team. They were trained to handle local, national and international children by the Jane Good all Institute. The children access the forest and learn about the ecosystem and its inhabitants through interesting walks, games and creative activities such as pond- dipping, paper-making, cyanotype, photography and batik making.

Sebitoli Forest Centre

On Kampala / Fort Portal road, 12 kms from Fort Portal, there is a new tourist site within the park called Sebitoli Forest Centre. It offers bird and primate viewing and a forest walks to the water falls. Visits to the Tea Estates can also be arranged.

Chimpanzee tracking

Humans and chimpanzees (and bonobos) share more than 98% of their genetic code. The three species are even far more closely related to each other than they are to any other living creature, even gorillas. The similarities between humans and chimpanzees are striking!

What to bring:

Chimpanzee tracking can be a long and heavy walk, so go prepared.

* Wear shoes with good traction, suitable for steep muddy slopes

* Some people feel more comfortable when wearing long sleeved clothes when moving through the jungle

* Carry rain gear, as the weather can be unpredictable

* Carry enough water and food

* Carry binoculars

* When taking photos, remember your subjects are black animals in dim light, and flash is not allowed. Use a fast film (400-800 ASA) or use these settings on your digital camera.

You'll hear them before you see them. From somewhere deep in the forest, an excited hooting, just one voice at first, then several, rising in volume. And then suddenly you can see them swing through the trees or move quickly across the ground in front of us. This is truly an amazing experience.

Photographing chimpanzees is an even bigger challenge then photographing gorillas. Both subjects are black animals in dim light, and flash is not allowed, but the chimpanzees tend to move more and faster. So it is important to have a good lens, capable of working in dim light situations. Most photos are made in the range of 50mm to 400mm. A tripod or monopod can be helpful.

You can also track the chimpanzees in Queen Elizabeth and Murchison Falls National Parks.

Chimpanzee Habituation Experience

Chimpanzee habituation experience is an ongoing activity that entails following up the chimpanzees to get them used to human presence without necessarily altering their natural behavior.

While on habituation, you expect to experience the chimps, de- nesting (coming out of nests) between 5:30am and 6:30 an and you can then follow them in their daily activities up to nesting (making nests and going to sleep) times between 6:30 pm and 7:30pm. Therefore, a visitor has to be ready to start on this activity by 5:30 a.m. from Kanyanchu River Camp.