Kalinzu forest

Kalinzu central forest reserve, kalinzu chimp trekking

Kalinzu forest is one of the natural forest reserves that is situated in south western region of Uganda in Bushenyi district and it is close to Queen Elizabeth national park as well as maramagambo forest which are great destinations for Uganda safaris. Kalinzu forest is home to about 414 tree species, 378 bird species, it is a habitat to about 6 primate mammals and it is one if the best place to spot butterflies, wild flowers, reptiles among wildlife animals.

Kalinzu forest reserve is located on average altitude of approximately 1400 meters above sea level and since kalinzu forest is enclose to queen Elizabeth national park a lot of wildlife animals that come from queen Elizabeth national park hide in this forest such as the beautiful elephant that can easily camouflage in different vegetation, the giant forest hogs, water-bucks, leopards, warthogs among others.

Activities to do in kalinzu forest

kalinzu forest chimpanzee trek

Chimpanzee trekking experience; kalinzu forest is famous for the popular chimpanzee trekking adventure activity in the jungle and it is known as the second best chimpanzee trekking destination that follows kibale forest national park. It is a habitat to over 300 chimpanzee population and approximately 70 chimpanzee communities have been habituated for tourism experience to travelers on Uganda safaris.

Chimpanzee trekking experience in kalinzu forest is done into two phases, the morning phase that starts at 8 am and the afternoon phase starts at 3 pm.  The trekking experience starts with briefing at UWA headquarters in the park where you are taught the dos and don’ts safety measures as well as the expectations when you go trekking in kalinzu forest. In kalinzu forest chimpanzee trekking is limited to children below 13 years of age and travelers are grouped according to physical fitness level and to every group a park ranger guide is allocated who will take the group through the forest as you go for the chimpanzee trekking experience.

Chimpanzee trekking in kalinzu forest will take about 3-4 hours and more before you meet the chimpanzee community depending on which trail you take and due to the fact that chimpanzee keep moving from one place to another searching for food in different locations. And once you locate a certain chimpanzee community/family, you will be allowed to spend only hour with it as you enjoy taking photos, video with them, as well as observing their feeding behaviors and lifestyle pattern in the forest. The habituated chimpanzees in kalinzu forest are so friendly and have gotten used to presence of human being thus trekking in the forest will  earn you incredible adventure experiences of a lifetime in the forest jungle.

Chimpanzee trekking permits in kalinzu forest is much affordable compared to that of kibale forest national park. The trekking permit costs 50 dollars per person while as in kibale forest national park chimpanzee trekking permit costs 150 dollars per person.

To acquire a chimpanzee trekking permit, travelers can book directly with the Uganda wildlife reception at the headquarters the park or they can use a genuine Uganda safari expert such as Adventure in the wild safaris to assist them with the booking before they travel to kalinzu forest for the chimpanzee trekking experience. The Uganda safari experts will assist with the entire planning and arrangement of your chimpanzee trekking safari in kalinzu forest giving you a stress free adventure experience of the chimpanzees. However for travelers will to enjoy chimpanzee trekking, we advance that you make advance permit booking for the great and wonderful trekking experience so as to avoid issues of last minute booking that may turn your safari into a hell experience.

Bird watching experience, as earlier mentioned kalinzu forest is home to over 378 bird species and the forest is one of the best spot destinations for the birding safaris in Uganda to all travelers that are bird lovers.  Bird watching is also done both in the morning hours as well as the evening hours where you will have an insight to experience the different calling of different bird species, such as the white and black casket, the sunbirds, the great blue turaco, cuckoo birds among others. Travelers on a bird watching experience in kalinzu forest will get an opportunity view other wildlife animals such as the elephants, the warthogs, baboons, the giant forest hogs among others that will make your birding safari an incredible one in the forest.

Forest nature walks, the walk in kalinzu forest is an extremely interesting activity that will offer a traveler to an opportunity to explore the forest beauty and wonders. The forest has four walking trails, the valley trail, the waterfall trail, the river trail and the palm trail. Each of these will give you different experience in the jungle. Following these trails with a ranger guide on a nature walk adventure, expect to see a variety of different plant species since the forest is home to over 414 plant species, a lot of different bird species, different primate animals including the famous chimpanzees, the amazing waterfall, vegetation and plantations as well as other wildlife that come from queen Elizabeth national park such as the elephants, leopards, the bushbuck, the wild pigs among others.

Forest Wildlife viewing, there is a lot of wildlife animals that travelers will enjoy viewing due to the fact that kalinzu forest is near to queen Elizabeth national park therefore a lot of wildlife animals come from the park and go to the forest to search for food as well as looking for shelter since the forest has a lot of tree canopies and others like the primates permanently live in this forest. The wildlife animals that is expected be seen in this forest include; the leopards, buffaloes, the giant elephants, the bushbucks, warthogs, the giant forest hogs, the African caped buffaloes, waterbuck and primate animals  such as the chimpanzees, the olive baboons, the blue monkeys, white and black colobus monkeys, red tailed monkeys among others.

Besides kibale forest national park, kalinzu forest is also another great destination to spot a variety of beautiful butterfly species and butterfly identification in the forest is one of the fascinating activities that travelers should not miss out while on their Uganda safari.

When to visit Kalinzu forest?

The best time to visit kalinzu forest is during the dry season or the peak season when there is little rain expected in the forest thus making the chimpanzee trekking experience and nature walk an awesome adventure since the walking and trekking trails are dry and not slippery thus they are passable. The dry season in kalinzu forest is during the months of December to February, June to October.

Unlike in the rainy season when the forest is receiving a lot of heavy rains and the trekking trails are wet, muddy and slippery. However for the best birding watching experience, we advise travelers to travel during to the rainy season, since it’s this season that there is a lot of food and fruits in forest for the birds, thus making it the best time for bird lovers.

How to get to kalinzu forest?

Kalinzu forest can easily be accessed by road transport using a 4×4 wheel safari vehicle and from Kampala via Masaka-Mbarara, Bushenyi then to kalinzu forest, it takes about 6-7 hours’ drive including stop over points.

Travelers on a Uganda safari from Queen Elizabeth national park can easily get access to kalinzu forest in a 45 minutes’ drive connecting from Mweya peninsular since the forest is near the park.

Where to sleep in kalinzu forest?

On a sincere note, there are no accommodations with in the forest, but there is a wide range of accommodation that is close to the forest the travelers can use and then transfer to kalinzu forest. These range from budget, mid-range and luxury facilities and most used accommodations are in Queen Elizabeth national park such as the Mweya safari lodge, park view safari lodge, Enganzi game lodge, and Engiri game lodge, kingfisher lodge among others that have good and excellent services they offer to all travelers on Uganda safaris.

In conclusion, kalinzu forest is one of the great destinations famous for chimpanzee trekking experience as well as bird watching adventure that can be customized to together with other Uganda wildlife safaris in Queen Elizabeth national park such as lion trekking safari, wildlife safari, and boat cruise among others. Book with Adventure in the wild safaris for the perfect experience of kalinzu forest and other Uganda safari lifetime memories

kalinzu forest chimpanzee trek