Best Time to See Chimpanzee in Kibale National Park
The best time to see chimpanzees in Kibale National Park is during drier seasons of June, July and August, then early September and December to February. Kibale National Park is a rain tropical forest that lies in the western part of Uganda. The park has one of the highest diversity and concentration of primates in Africa and is home to 13 species of primates.
Kibale has a total of over 70 other species of mammals, and over 250 tree species. The ‘primate capital’s chief attraction is the chimpanzee, a cheeky and intelligent tailless ape with 98.7% of human DNA, and human-like limbs and behavior. Kibale National Park is known as a whole round travel destination in East Africa for any tourist planning for a chimpanzee trekking safari, Because of an equatorial pleasant warm and tropical climate, with insignificant seasonal variations, the best time to see chimpanzees in Kibale National Park is all year round.
Dry Season is the Best Time To See Chimpanzee.
The drier seasons of June, July, August, early September and then December up to February are the most preferred. This is so, because the chimpanzees are nesting on tree canopies using branches that they harvest from specific tree species. The trails are also dry, which makes it easier for chimpanzee trekking in Kibale National Park.
There are high chances to spot these majestic creatures in their wild since they move to a higher altitude during this time and therefore expect lifetime experience. However, being tropical rain forest no guarantee that it won’t rain because climate is influenced by micro conditions of the area. As a result, this makes the best time to see chimpanzees in Kibale National Park, also known as the peak season for chimpanzee trekking.
Wet Season
Besides the dry season being the best time to see chimpanzees in Kibale National Park, tracking chimpanzees during the rainy season makes a Uganda chimpanzee tour amazing. Though it is challenging, because the grounds are slippery and muddy, it also makes an interesting experience for less-experienced walkers.
There are heavy rains during the wet seasons of October to November and mid-March to the end of May. As a result, the trails are so slippery, which makes it harder to hike. This similarly affects the Uganda gorilla safari trekking mountain gorillas in other national parks like Bwindi Impenetrable and Mgahinga Gorilla National Park.
These months are usually misty and wet. To bird lovers, these are the best months for bird watching because there are migratory birds in the park during this time. Chimpanzee trekking is a prime activity within the park with a limited number of permits in the morning and afternoon per day. Chimpanzee tracking permits must be booked before since they are on very high demand all year round.
Other popular activities in Kibale besides bird watching, include forest walks, community walk, Bigodi wetland, visiting Abameere ganyina’mwiru Caves, visiting beautiful crater lakes lying between Fort Portal and Kibale Forest, chimpanzee habituation experience and so on.
