The most beautiful natural sites to discover Kibale Forest National Park

The queen of Kibale. The total chimpanzee population is estimated at over 1,500 individuals. Departures take place twice a day, at 8 am and 2 pm (in high season, an additional departure, at 11 am, is sometimes scheduled). Groups, accompanied by their guide, are limited to six people. It is therefore important, especially in the high tourist season (from early December to late February and from early June to late August-early September), to book your permit in advance with a tour operator or with UWA in Kampala, even if the deadlines are not as tight as for gorillas (the Uganda Wildlife Authority limits the number of permits issued for each day of tracking in Kibale to 90). The cost of the permit is US$ 200 per person (including entry into the park). The chances of seeing facetious primates are estimated at 90%, which means that even if the probabilities are high, the result is not guaranteed. The morning excursion is rather advisable, and it would seem that chimpanzees get lust after heavy rains where they tend to remain perched high in the trees whereas it is sometimes possible to meet them on the ground. Their emblematic cry can be heard long before you see them, with approach walks lasting up to 2 or 3 hours depending on their position. These are not normally too difficult. The observation time is limited to 1 hour, but the guides are more flexible than for the gorillas. However, you will have to follow a few instructions when meeting chimpanzees from one of the two habituated groups (Kanyantale and Buraiga): keep at least 8 meters away from the primates, do not use a photographic flash, etc. These rules will be listed during the briefing. Please note, in the same vein, that children under 12 years old are not allowed to take part in the tracking. If, by misfortune, our mischievous cousins were not at the rendezvous, you will be able to console yourself by crossing colobes, grey-cheeked mangabeys, red-tip monkeys or Hoest cercopithecus. The birds are difficult to see through the thick foliage, but their songs are an enchantment. Finally, the guides will be able to inform the botanists about a large number of plants. For the biggest primate fans, there is the Chimpanzee Habituation Experience, which consists of spending four hours in the company of monkeys. It will cost you US$250, including park entrance.

Bird watching being, due to the density of vegetation, quite difficult in the forest itself, ornithologists will head a few kilometres further south to the Bigodi marshes, an ecotourism sanctuary managed by KAFRED. All profits from the visit are used to finance community projects in the village of Bigodi. The proposed walks last about 3 hours along a 4.5 km route from which some 40 species of birds can be easily identified out of the almost 200 species nesting in the marshes. This trail is a must in East Africa as far as birdlife is concerned. One of the emblematic birds of the area is the superb great blue touraco. You can also observe the crowned crane, hornbill, jaco parrot, yellow spotted barbican and papyrus gonolek. The marshes are also home to thousands of butterflies, numerous monkeys, otters, shy sitatungas and snakes (cobra, mamba, viper, emerald snake). To discover the aquatic world, excellent guides are waiting for you at the KAFRED office in Bigodi. You can also rent boots which are very useful for walking in the mud. Don't forget to bring a pair of binoculars. Specialists looking for particular species can mention this in advance, as some guides are more expert at finding a particular species than others. It is also to their advantage to go on their walks early in the morning.

Those who are not necessarily interested in chimpanzees will be able to go on inexpensive forest walks to discover the different types of habitats. Night walks are worth mentioning: they are ideal for discovering a phantasmagorical world by torchlight (bats, galagos, pottos, tree damsons, snakes, etc.), sensations guaranteed! Departure at 7:30 pm from the UWA offices (if it doesn't rain); count 80 US$ per person (entrance to the park included) for about two hours of walking.

Just as it is about to finish its course in Lake George, the Mpanga is set in a gorge whose 50-metre-high waterfall is the high point. The riparian vegetation is also worthy of interest since giant cycas(Encephalartos whitelockii) dot the slopes of the canyon. Although morphologically similar to ferns and palms, the giant Ugandan cycas are relics of an order of coniferous plants that appeared more than 300 million years ago and underwent a phase of significant geographical expansion from -250 million years ago. The giant Ugandan cycas, whose female cones resemble pineapples, are thus a 'living fossil', endemic and, like its congeners, critically endangered. Paradoxically, it took the construction of a hydroelectric power station, which at the end of the decade 2000 led to the felling of many cycas, for protection and preservation measures (as well as the construction of a nursery) to be put in place. If the activism of environmentalists has paid off in the case of the cycas, it is for the moment less conclusive concerning the hydraulic installations and the multiple pollutions that affect the flow and quality of the waters of the Mpanga. The construction of a dam, necessary for the operation of the Mpanga Hydroelectric Power Station, has had - and continues to have - an impact on the volume of water falling at Mpanga Falls. Despite this distortion, the site remains picturesque. A handful of diversion bays upstream of the main waterfall is thus conducive to invigorating swimming (however, before going down into the Mpanga bed, find out about the river's hydrological and health conditions). In addition, a trail (The Cycad Trail) has recently been created to help visitors discover the cycads and their environment. Reserved, for the time being, for the most adventurous, it could be the prelude to the tourist development of the area, envisaged by the Ugandan authorities. In the meantime, although access is better today than it was in 1891, when Frederick Lugard - the representative of the Imperial British East Africa Company - crossed the gorge with men, salt and ivory, you will have to take the Fort Portal-Mbarara national road to the outskirts of the village of Rwenjaza (3 km south of Kamwenge) before branching off onto a track (and then others....) for about 20 km to reach, via the locality of Rwengo or Mpanga, the parade.

Julia Loyd, a leading chimpanzee specialist, moved to this region many years ago to devote her life to observing primates. She also founded the first village dedicated to the observation of birds and butterflies. We are here just a few meters from the border of the park. The best local guides are trained here for an exceptional immersive experience. The village offers two rustic cottages nestled 10 m high facing the forest. For the adventurous of course, but thrills are guaranteed for a night on the canopy close to nature.