“Motorcycle adventures are the perfect antidote to middle age” Alex Morritt. At Offroad Bikes Uganda you can couple up your perfect antidote with chimpanzee tracking forest adventures in western Uganda.
Bike To Kibale Forest-Uganda Self Guided Motorcycle Tours
One of Uganda’s greatest gems is chimpanzee tracking in Kibale forest national park. Though there are other activities such as forest and nature walks, bird watching among other activities, chimpanzee tracking is still the most popular tourism activity in Kibale forest national park.
With the chimpanzee tracking popularity, comes more than double the cost of chimpanzee tracking in other locations such as Kalinzu in Queen Elizabeth National park, Budongo forest in Murchison falls national, and Semuliki national park. In Kibale forest national park; chimpanzee tracking goes for US$200 per permit for non-foreign residents and US$250 per permit for chimpanzee habituation experience for non-foreign residents.
What is Chimpanzee Tracking Like?
The above question is a good start for anyone that is hearing about chimpanzee tracking in Kibale forest national park for the first time. But here are a few preps; chimpanzee tracking has some age limits however there is no biker who is below the age of 18 years more so in motorcycle adventures in Uganda.
By virtue that you are riding a bike to Kibale forest national park, it simply implies that you qualify to do chimpanzee tracking as well.
To answer the above question; chimpanzee tracking is more of a hike, forest, and nature walk whose main aim is to spot chimpanzees in their natural environment. In this process of looking for the chimpanzees in the forest, you are likely to have several encounters with several other forest species ranging from birds, monkeys, and other forest inhabitants.
Why do we Recommend Kibale above other Locations?
In Kibale forest national park; you have over 90% guaranteed chances of spotting the chimpanzees in their natural habitat. Remember, this is a journey into the jungle, sometimes you can spot the animals, and on other occasions, you might miss out on spotting any.
However, this has not been the case in the Kibale forest national park. For the last 5 years, there has not been any reported case of failing to spot chimpanzees during the tracking. You are assured that when you pay your money for chimpanzee tracking, you will obviously spot the chimpanzees in the jungle of Kibale forest national park.
How Far is Kibale Forest National Park From Kampala and other parks?
Anyone that considers a motorcycle adventure in Uganda will not only visit a single location. For that matter, you would wish to know how far Kibale forest national park is from other parks in western Uganda.
Kibale forest national park is located in Fort portal area; other parks in less than 200km radius include; Queen Elizabeth national park, Rwenzori mountains national park, and Semuliki national park. This gives you an opportunity to visit four parks with a circuit of not more than 1000km.
What about Kampala?, Kibale forest national park is located between 300km and 400km from Kampala depending on the route you prefer to use. This might take you between 5 to 61/2 hours.
It is true this might be quite a long distance, but you can first make a stop in Lake Mburo national park before proceeding to Kibale forest national park. This will slice the 61/2 in two giving you a fair riding journey.
What should I know about Responsible Tourism in Kibale?
Uganda wildlife authority has a commitment fee that goes back to the community that lives around Kibale forest national park on every permit bought for any activity in Kibale forest national park. On top of this, there are also cultural tours organized by the Kibale Association for Rural environment development.
The main goal of the Kibale Association for Rural environment development is to promote biodiversity and local livelihoods through conservation and ecotourism. In this cultural encounter, you will have a wetland walkthrough, as well as visiting Batooro communities to learn about how they go through their daily lives.
Income from this cultural encounter is used in support of health centers in the community, sanitation, raising awareness for biodiversity through dance, music, and drama in schools within the Kibale community.
Key Facts About Kibale Forest National Park
The is seated on a land expanse of 795km2 with the highest point in the park raised at 1590m above sea level. The park is found in the Albertine rift valley region and one of the most famous tropical forests in Uganda.
When you think of tree species, the park has 351 tree species with some growing up to 55 meters tall and these trees have stood the test of time for the last 200 years. With this kind of forest cover, it makes it a good habitat for the chimpanzees.
Speaking chimpanzees, Kibale forest national park is the leading wild chimpanzee research center in East Africa. A lot of research has been done about the way of life of chimpanzees basing in Kibale forest national park.
The park has over 375 bird species; 60 mammal species where 13 of these are primates. These include but not limited to chimpanzees, black and white colobus among several other monkey species.