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Attractions In Kibale National Park – Things To See

There are a variety of attractions in Kibale National Park/things to see while on your Uganda wildlife safari tour.

A List of the  Top/Best Kibale National Park Attractions

  • Over 70 mammal species
  • 375 bird species
  • 351 species of trees, &
  • 250 kind butterflies

Below is a detailed description of what to see in Kibale National Park during your Uganda safari.

1. Animals In Kibale National Park

Kibale National Park is home to over 70 species of mammals. The park is especially rich in primates with at least 13 species recorded, the highest of any National Park or wildlife reserve in Uganda.

Primates In Kibale National Park

Kibale National Park is an important stronghold of Uganda red colobus. Eight other diurnal primate species also inhabit the park including;

  • Chimpanzees
  • Black and white colobus monkeys (Mantled Guereza)
  • Blue monkeys
  • Red-tailed monkeys
  • L’Hoest’s monkeys
  • Uganda Mangabeys
  • Olive baboons
  • Vervet monkeys

Kibale National Park is also home to four species of nocturnal primates including bush baby and potto.

Of all Kibale National Park primates, the most prominent is a population of about 1500 chimpanzees, divided into about 13 different communities, four of which are habituated to humans.

The Kanyantale Chimpanzee Community has been the subject of daily tourist tracking excursions since 1993. The other three are all reserved for research and include Ngogo which is the biggest chimpanzee community in the world with over 200 individuals.

Another community called Buraiga, whose territory is near Kanyanchu, is currently being habituated for tracking.

Other Mammals In Kibale National Park

Besides primates, Kibale National Park hosts a variety of other mammals, though they are not easy to see; these include;

  • Elephants
  • Buffalos
  • Warthogs
  • Bush pigs
  • Bushbuck,
  • Giant forest hog
  • Hippos
  • Sitatunga
  • Blue duiker
  • Red duiker
  • Peter’s duiker
  • Golden cats
  • Leopards
  • Lions

The elephants in Kibale National Park belong to the forest race which is smaller and hairier than the more common savannah elephants. Elephants frequently move through the Kanyanchu area during the wet season but they are rarely spotted by visitors.

Chimpanzees In Kibale Forest National Park

Seeing chimpanzees or chimps while on your Uganda wildlife safaris and tours in Kibale National Park is one of the world’s greatest wildlife experiences. Just after the mountain gorillas, the chimpanzees have been a center of attraction in Uganda for the last few years.

Uganda has more than 5,000 chimpanzees living in different forest reserves in the country and Kibale forest is home to about 1500 chimpanzees living in 13 communities. Kibale is the best place in the world to see wild chimpanzees.

Various groups in Kibale have been successfully habituated; some for scientific study and others, such as the Kanyantale group which comprised around 90 individuals, are used for tracking.

When you choose to go for chimpanzee tracking in Uganda, it is recommended to find out some facts about these intelligent beings. Below are some facts about chimpanzees.

Uganda Red Colobus Monkeys In Kibale National Park

Uganda colobus is scientifically known as Piliocolobus tephrosceles. It is an endangered species of a red colobus monkey, recognized as a distinct species since 2001. Uganda has the largest population of Uganda red colobus (around 17,000 individuals) and most of them are found in Kibale National Park.

The Physical Characteristic Of Uganda Red Colobus
  • Uganda red colobus has a rust-red cap with a dark grey to black face. Infants are born with completely black faces.
  • The back color ranges from black to dark grey through to a reddish-brown.
  • The sides of the body and the arms and legs are light greys.
  • They have very long dark to light brown tails. This helps them to achieve balance when climbing and leaping through the canopy.
  • The Ugandan red colobus has dark grey to black hands and feet and their feet are very long which helps them leap large distances
  • Like all colobus monkeys, their thumbs are so reduced in size they are almost absent.
  • Males at a weight of around 11 kg are larger than females which weigh around 7 kg.
Diet Of Uganda Red Colobus
  • The Ugandan red colobus mainly eats leaves.
  • They have also been observed eating bark, seeds, and fruits

Black And White Colobus In Kibale National Park

There are five species of Black and white colobus and the species that you will see while on your safari in Uganda’s Kibale National Park is the Mantled guereza (Colobus guereza). The Mantled guereza is actually one of the most exquisite monkeys you will see during your primate watching tour in Uganda.

Description Of Mantled Guereza

  • Mantled guereza are beautifully marked and distinctive monkeys.
  • They have distinctive fur that is mostly black, with long white fringes of silky hair known as a mantle or ornamentation along the sides of their bodies and tails.
  • The tail is long and ends in a white tuft which varies in how much it covers the tail.
  • Its face is framed by white hair and it has bushy cheek hairs.
  • The thigh has a white stripe.
  • Infants are born with pink skin and white hair.
  • Males usually weigh 14 kilograms and the female weighs up to 10 kilograms.
  • Like most colobi, the mantled guereza has a small thumb that is vestigial.

Social Behaviors Of Mantled Guereza

  • The mantled guereza lives in social groups usually of 3 to 15 individuals.
  • Groups typically contain one male, several females and juveniles.
  • In some populations, groups containing several males are common.
  • In multi-male groups, males tend to be aggressive with one another with one being dominant. Some males may be expelled from these groups.
  • While not strictly territorial, mantled guereza groups can be aggressive towards each other.
  • Aggressive encounters between groups usually involve chases, displays and vocalizations rather than physical contact.

Diet Of Mantled Guereza

While it mainly eats leaves and fruit, its diet is quite variable. It may eat bark, wood, seeds, flowers, petioles, lianas, aquatic-plants, arthropods, soil, and even concrete from buildings.

Blue Monkeys In Kibale National Park

The Blue monkey (Cercopithecus mitis) is another unique monkey species you can look for while on your Uganda wildlife safari in Kibale National Park. They largely live in the forest canopy and rarely come to the ground.  Blue monkeys also prefer to live in tall trees, which provide both food and shelter.

Physical Description Of Blue Monkeys
  • Despite their name, the blue monkeys are not noticeably blue.
  • They have little hair on their face, and this does sometimes give a blue appearance, but they never have the vivid blue appearance of a mandrill, for example.
  • They are mostly olive or grey apart from the face which is dark with a pale or yellowish patch on the forehead – the “diadem” from which the species derives its common name.
  • Blue monkeys have a blackish cap.
  • Their feet, front legs, and the mantle are brown, olive, or grey depending on the subspecies.
  • Females weigh about 4 kilograms and males weigh up to 8 kg.
Diet Of Blue Monkeys
  • About 50% of blue monkey’s diet consists of fruit.
  • They also eat figs, insects, leaves, twigs, seeds, flowers, and fungi.

Red-Tailed Monkeys In Kibale National Park

The red-tailed monkey (Cercopithecus ascanius) is one of the most common monkey species to see while on Uganda wildlife tour in Kibale National Park.

Description Of Red-Tailed Monkey
  • The red-tailed monkey is named as it sounds, for its coppery red tail, which can reach up to 35 inches long, almost twice the body length of some red-tailed monkeys. The tail helps the monkeys achieve balance.
  • It has a white nose and cheeks in the midst of black or dark grey body fur.
  • Red-tailed monkeys also have very large, elastic cheeks which are used in gathering food and storing it in their mouths for safety.
  • Adult males also weigh up to 5 kilograms and females weigh up to 4 kilograms.
Social Behaviors Of Red-Tailed Monkey
  • These social primates live in groups of 7 to 30 individuals.
  • The groups consist of one dominant male and female and their offspring, male or female juveniles.
  • Groups generally stay together through all periods of the day and through life, except for males who reach maturity.
  • These males will leave their natal groups and go on to form all-male groups with other red-tailed monkey males or survive alone until they can replace the dominant male of a different social group.
  • The females practice allomaternal care in which the various females in a group will help take care of their own young as well as the young of other females in the group.
  • Often, the different social groups will congregate for support from each other when food is unlimited and in abundance
Diet Of Red-Tailed Monkey
  • Red-tailed monkeys feed mainly on fruits. They will eat leaves, flowers, or insects in times where fruit is scarce.
  • As they forage, these monkeys gather their food in their large elastic cheeks, where they can forage in one area and then carry their food away to another location where it is safe to consume without the threat of another stealing from them.

L’Hoest’s Monkeys In Kibale Forest National Park

Kibale National Park is one of the best places to see the very rare and beautiful L’Hoest’s monkey (Allochrocebus lhoesti) during your African safari.

Description of L’Hoest’s Monkey
  • L’Hoest’s monkeys have a short, dark brown coat, with a chestnut color across the back and a dark belly.
  • The cheeks are light gray with a pale mustache.
  • Males weigh about 6 kilograms while the smaller female weighs about 4 kilograms.
  • Its tail is long and hook-shaped at the end.
Behaviors Of L’Hoest’s Monkey
  • L’Hoest’s monkey lives in fairly small groups dominated by females and has only a single male.
  • The females are usually related, while the male stays only a couple of weeks or at most a couple of years.
  • The adult male will make very loud and distinct calls.
  • They are active during the day, mostly during the early morning and late afternoon.
  • They sleep in trees in a sitting position, usually either holding branches or each other.
  • When they are alarmed or see they are being observed they will flee and take shelter in trees, and after becoming very still. They are mostly terrestrial.
Diet of L’Hoest’s Monkey
  • L’Hoest’s monkeys are primarily herbivores.
  • They mainly eat fruit, mushrooms, herbs roots, and leaves.
  • However, they will also occasionally eat eggs, lizards, and small birds.

Uganda Mangabeys In Kibale National Park

Uganda mangabeys (Lophocebus ugandae) were previously thought to just be a population of the Grey-cheeked mangabey (L. albigena). This crested mangabey was upgraded to a species, L. ugandae on 16 February 2007 by a British-Austrian Biologist and Anthropologist Colin Groves.

The Uganda mangabey is an arboreal species, spending most of its time in the upper canopy, where it forages for fruits and seeds.

Physical Description Of The Uganda Mangabey
  • The Uganda mangabey is smaller than the Grey-cheeked mangabey.
  • Monkeys from eastern Uganda have yellowish-brown color while those from the west are a slightly darker greyish-brown.
  • The mane and breast are pale chocolate-brown.

Olive Baboons In Kibale National Park

Olive baboons (Papio anubis) also called the Anubis baboon, are among the most common primates you will see while on your Uganda safari tour in Kibale National Park.

Physical Description Of Olive Baboons
  • Olive baboons are named for their coats, which, at a distance, are a shade of green-grey.
  • The alternate name Anubis baboon derives from the Egyptian god Anubis, who was often depicted by the head of a dog resembling the baboon’s elongated dog-like muzzle.
  • At closer range, its coat is multicolored, due to rings of yellow-brown and black on the hairs.
  • The hair on the baboon’s face is coarser and ranges from dark grey to black.
  • Males have a mane of longer hair that tapers down to ordinary length along the back.
  • The tail of a baboon (38–58 cm or 15–23 in) almost looks as if it is broken, as it is erect for the first quarter, after which it drops down sharply.
  • Olive baboons are among the largest species of monkeys.
  • Males have a standing height of 70cm and females stand up to 60cm.
  • The typical weight range for both sexes is reportedly 10–37 kilograms, with males averaging 24 kilograms and females averaging 14.7 kilograms.
  • Some males may weigh as much as 50 kilograms.
Social Behaviors Of Olive Baboons
  • Olive baboons are highly social animals living in groups of 15 to 150 individuals. Groups are made up of a few males, many females, and their young ones.
  • Every olive baboon possesses a social rank somewhere in the group, depending on its dominance.
  • The dominance of female baboons is hereditary, with daughters having nearly the same rank as their mothers, and adult females forming the core of the social system.
  • Males establish their dominance forcefully. Higher dominance means better access to mating and earlier access to food, so naturally, a great deal of fighting over rank occurs, with younger males constantly trying to rise in position.
  • Frequently, when older baboons drop in the social hierarchy, they move to another group. The younger males who pushed them down often bully and harass them.
  • Despite being hierarchical, baboons appear to be “democratic” when it comes to deciding the direction of collective movement.
  • Individuals are more likely to follow when multiple decision-makers agree on what direction to go rather than simply following dominant individuals.
Communication In Baboons
  • Olive baboons communicate with various vocalizations and facial expressions.
  • Throughout the day, baboons of all ages emit the “basic grunt”.
  • The “roargrunt” is made by adult males displaying to each other.
  • The “cough-bark” and the “cough geck” are made when low-flying birds or humans they do not know are sighted.
  • A “wa-hoo” call is made in response to predators or neighboring groups at night and during stressful situations.
Diet Of Olive Baboons
  • Olive baboon is omnivorous and will eat practically anything.
  • The diet typically includes a large variety of plants, invertebrates, small mammals, as well as birds.
  • The olive baboon eats leaves, grass, roots, bark, flowers, fruit, lichens, tubers, seeds, mushrooms, corms, and rhizomes.
  • The olive baboon also actively hunts prey, such as small rodents, birds, and other primates. Hunting is usually a group activity, with both males and females participating.

Vervet Monkeys In Kibale National Park

The vervet monkey (Chlorocebus pygerythrus) is also another monkey species to see during your primate tour of Uganda’s Kibale National Park.

Description Of A Vervet Monkey
  • Vervet monkeys have black faces with a white fringe of hair, while the overall hair color is mostly grizzled-grey.
  • Males are larger in weight and body length and may be recognized by a turquoise-blue scrotum. Adult males weigh up to 8 kg and adult females weigh up to 4 kg.
Diet Of Vervet Monkey
  • Vervet monkeys are primarily herbivorous, eating mainly wild fruits, flowers, leaves, seeds, and seed pods.
  • In agricultural areas, vervets become problem animals, as they will raid bean crops, peas, young tobacco plants, vegetables, fruit, and various grain crops. Carnivorous aspects of their diet include grasshoppers and termites.

Bushbabies In Kibale Forest National Park

  • The bushbaby is one of the very unique nocturnal primates you will see during your wildlife tour in Uganda’s Kibale National Park. They can be encountered while on a night walk through the darkened forest by using powerful torches to seek these nocturnal creatures.
  • Bushbabies are known as galagos. They are small saucer-eyed primates and spend most of their time in trees.
  • Along with their big eyes, which help them see in low light, bush babies are adapted to nocturnal living with their large, collapsible ears that rotate independently like radar dishes to zero in on prey in the dark.
  • The animals are ace jumpers, using powerful legs and extremely long tails to spring great distances. This allows the primates to move quickly through the forest canopy or snatch flying insects out of the air.
  • Bushbabies are omnivores that eat fruit, insects, and the gum that oozes out of certain tree species. Some of the larger galago species will even hunt small animals, such as frogs and birds.
  • In fact, if you want to see a bushbaby during your Uganda wildlife tour in Kibale, trace its piercing cry to a tree, then shine a torch into it and you should easily pick out its large round eyes.

Pottos In Kibale National Park

The nocturnal wide-eyed, woolly little potto (Perodicticus potto) is a medium-sized sloth-like creature that inhabits the forest where it spends the night foraging upside down from tree branches. It can also be located at night by shining a spotlight into the canopy.

  1. Birds In Kibale National Park

Kibale Forest is a prime birding spot with about 375 bird species, including six Albertine Rift endemics. Four bird species in Kibale have not been recorded in any other Uganda safari park including Cassin’s spinetail, Blue-headed bee-eater, Nahan’s francolin, and masked Apalis.

The number one sought-after bird in the Kibale Forest is the Green-breasted pitta. This “mega” has recently become available, though finding it still takes a good measure of luck.

The most productive birding spots are generally Bigodi Wetland Sanctuary and the stretch of the main road running either side of the Kanyanchu Visitor’s Centre. Key bird species to look for in Kibale National Park include;

  • African Pitta
  • Afep Pigeon
  • White-naped Pigeon
  • Crowned Eagle
  • Great blue turaco
  • Red-chested Owlet
  • Black Bee-eater
  • Western Nicator
  • Yellow-rumped Tinkerbird
  • Brown-chested Alethe
  • Blue-breasted Kingfisher
  • African Grey Parrot
  • Brown Illadopsis
  • Scaly-breasted Illadopsis
  • Blue-headed Sunbird
  • Collared Apalis
  • Black-capped Apalis
  • Ruwenzori apalis
  • Dusky Crimsonwing
  • Purple-breasted Sunbird
  • Red-faced Woodland Warbler,
  • Yellow Spotted Nicator
  • Little Green Bul
  • Black-eared Ground Thrush
  • Abyssinian Ground-thrush

Sebitoli Sector In Kibale National Park

Sebitoli is an extension of Kibale National Park, which opened in 2002 to help ease pressure on Kanyanchu. Despite being conveniently located a few hundred meters away from the main Fort Portal-Kampala road, Sebitoli receives few visitors.

This is partly because no chimpanzee tracking is done here. Outside the national park on the other hand, guided nature walks in the Kihingami Wetland, just 1 km from Sebitoli, is of very good value and make for a well-deserved budget excursion from Fort Portal. However, the Sebitoli sector is a good place to see a variety of monkeys including

  • Uganda red colobus
  • Black-and-white colobus
  • Uganda mangabey
  • Red-tailed monkeys, and
  • Blue monkeys
  • Vervet monkeys

Chimpanzees are also frequently heard in Sebitoli, but are rarely seen and elephants are often found along the Mpanga River. Visitors will also spot a number of aquatic, forest, and savannah birds and enjoy views of the Mpanga River.

Attractions Near Kibale National Park

1. Bigodi Wetland Sanctuary 

Rich in biodiversity and scenic beauty, the Bigodi Wetland Sanctuary is a must-visit. It is located only 5 kilometers from Kibale National Park Kanyanchu Visitor Centre. Bigodi is known to be more of a swamp but it is a community-based tourism project within the 4 square kilometer Magombe Swamp.

Offering some of the finest birding and monkey viewings in Uganda, Bigodi Wetland Sanctuary is an admirable example of conservation and tourism having a direct mutual benefit at the grassroots level.

Bigodi is wetland sanctuary is run by the Kibale Association for Rural and Environmental Development (KAFRED), an award-winning program, and all profits from the tourism activities are used to support education-related and other such projects in the Bigodi trading center.

2. Birds In Bigodi Wetland Sanctuary 

Bigodi shelters over 200 species of birds. A spectacular bird strongly associated with the swamp is the Great Blue Turaco which is often seen by most visitors on Uganda birding safaris to Bigodi Wetland Sanctuary. A more elusive specialty is the Papyrus gonolek which is occasionally season on the wooden walkway along the trails.

  • Black-and-white casqued hornbill
  • African grey parrots
  • Bronze sunbirds
  • Black-crowned Waxbill
  • White-spotted Flufftail
  • White-breasted Negrofinch
  • Black Bishop
  • Hairy-breasted barbet
  • Yellow-spotted barbet
  • Grey-throated barbet
  • Yellow-billed barbet
  • Double-toothed barbet
  • Yellow-rumped tinkerbird
  • Yellow-throated tinkerbird
  • Bocage’s bushshrike
  • Speckled tinkerbird
  • Speckle-breasted woodpecker
  • Brown-eared Woodpecker
  • Blue-throated roller
  • Snowy-crowned robin-chat
  • Bocage’s bushshrike, and
  • Western Nicator
  • Blue malkoha

3. Primates In Bigodi Wetland Sanctuary

Bigodi Wetland Sanctuary is also home to 8 species of primates.

  • Black and White Colobus
  • Uganda red colobus
  • Red-tailed monkey
  • Uganda mangabey
  • Olive Baboon
  • L’Hoest’s Monkey
  • Vervet Monkey and
  • Blue Monkey

Black and White Colobus and Uganda mangabeys are often sighted. If you are extremely fortunate you might chimpanzees which sometimes visit the wetland to forage for fruits. The swamp is also a haven for other mammals such as sitatungas, bushbucks, and otters.

Kihingami Wetland

Protected as part of a community project, the 13 square kilometer Kihingami Wetland borders Kibale National Park on the northern side of Fort Portal-Kampala road about 15 kilometers out of Fort Portal City and 1 kilometer from Kibale National Park’s Sebitoli sector.

The swamp hosts over 230 species of birds. It is best known as a refuge for the localized White-spotted Flufftail, a shy and elusive nocturnal swamp dweller that is unlikely to be seen by those not expressly looking for it. Other alluring bird species associated with the forest fringes and the swamp include;

  • Great blue turaco
  • Papyrus gonolek
  • Masked Apalis
  • White-winged warbler
  • Black-faced rufous warbler
  • Jameson’s wattle eye
  • Holub’s golden weaver
  • Grey-winged robin chat
  • Blue-shouldered robin chat

Guided birding excursions in Kihingami Wetland leave at 07.30 and 15.00 daily and last for 3 to 4 hours (at around US$ 7 per person), with morning generally being the most productive.

Guided forest walks leave at 8:00 and 15:00 daily (at US$7 per person) and offer the opportunity to see primates such as black-and-white colobus, red colobus, and red-tailed monkeys.  Other activities include visits to the local tea estates at around US$7 per person.

4. People And Culture Around Kibale National Park 

The people living around the park are mainly indigenous Batoro and Bakiga migrants. The Batooro has a rich cultural heritage of their Kingdom, a scion of the ancient kingdoms of Africa’s Great Lakes region.

The Omukama (the Toro king) and the kingdom embodies the traditional and cultural values of Batoro while the Bakiga immigrants still preserve their tradition and culture through folklore, dance, and language.

You can explore the unique culture of these people by visiting the Bigodi village, Bigodi Cultural Centre, Amabere Caves, and the royal Toro Kingdom Place.

Bigodi Village

Bigodi Village is located about 9 kilometers from Kibale National Park Kanyanchu Visitor Center.

The Kibale Association for Rural and Environmental Development (KAFRED) offers village walks in Bigodi in which you can explore the daily life of Batooro.

In the village of Bigodi, there are traditional healers who will happily share their knowledge about spirits, herbs, plants, and local medicines with visitors.

You visit the homes of elderly men and women who tell interesting stories about birth, marriage, ceremonies, clans, and their traditional life. You will also learn more about the history and issues that they face as a developing community in rural Uganda.

Along the way, you will also be given the chance to experience the Ugandan school system, visit a local church and Bigodi’s trading center, a hub of rural life and activity.

Bigodi Women’s Group

Visitors on Uganda cultural safaris around Kibale National Park can visit the Bigodi Women’s Group. This group consists of 150 weavers, chaired by Betty Tinka who have worked cooperatively for more than 15 years to perfect their crafts and expand their markets worldwide.

The group sells baskets, mats, bags, jewelry, and other crafts at the KAFRED office in the Bigodi trading center, at the Kanyanchu Visitor Centre in Kibale Forest National Park, and worldwide through export.

The women use local materials such as millet straw, banana fibers, raffia and Phoenix palm leaves, and natural dyes, all from plants that the women grow themselves at their homes.

Ten percent of all sales from crafts go into community development. Over the years, this income has funded the Bigodi Pre-Primary (Nursery) School, and it has helped support orphans, widows, the disabled, and other disadvantaged people in the community.

The group promotes conservation, takes school children on field trips, and produces songs and plays with conservation messages, as ways of creating awareness among the wider community.

Buying handicrafts is onsite and prices vary depending on the size, materials, shape, dyes, etc.

Bigodi Cultural Centre 

This is situated right opposite the Bigodi Swamp walk office. It is a small museum displaying traditional clothes, grinding stones, musical instruments, and other such artifacts. It is a private venture, a brainchild of an experienced and articulate national park guide.

Amabere Caves

The Amabere caves are situated about 32 kilometers from Kibale National Park, west of Fort Portal city. It is the reputable birthplace of the founding King of the legendary Bachwezi people, called Ndahura.

The Amabere Caves are named after the live stalactite formation Amabere ga Nyinamwiru (literally, Breasts of Nyinamwiru), which supposedly resemble the twin breasts of a woman.

The woman in question is Nyinamwiru, a legendary princess who would most likely live in the 14th century and is said to have been beautiful that no man could leave her alone.

When Nyinamwiru father King Bukuku became weary of receiving marital requests from unsuitable suitors, he took the extreme measure of cutting off his daughter’s breasts in order to make her less attractive.

But even this proved to be insufficient to deter Nyinamwiru many admirers, so the king hid her away in the cave now known as Amabere.

Here, she was discovered by the Batembuzi King Isaza, who impregnated her with a son. Since Nyinamwiru lacked breasts herself, she stayed in the cave with her baby, feeding him on the cloudy limestone ‘milk’ that drips from its stalactites.

The child nurtured by the stalactite formation would grow up to become king Ndahura, founder of the Bachwezi dynasty that rules over the Bunyoro Kitara Empire centuries ago.

However, after he abdicated in favor of his son Wamala, Ndahura retired back to his birthplace, where his footprints can still reputedly be seen in the vicinity of Amabeere Cave.

Amabere is today a popular goal for a day hike. The main cave is very small and it is supported by several pillar-like formations of connected stalactites and stalagmites.

Alongside it, you can stand on the moss-covered rocks behind a powerful small waterfall and watch ice-cold water plunge down right in front of you.

The riparian forest around the waterfall is rattling with birds, and it supports black and white colobus monkeys.

From Amabere, a 10-12 minute walk northeast leads to Kigere Crater lake. Kigere means footprint and this lake are said to have formed in the footprint of Nyinamwiru. The lake is encircled by dense stands of plantains and palms and is safe for swimming.

About 2 kilometers from there is located Nyakasura School founded by an eccentric Scotsman in 1926 and whose male students still wear kilts (a garment resembling a knee-length skirt).

Toro King’s Palace

Toro King’s Place is located about 27 kilometers from Kibale National Park. Looking down at Fort Portal City from its highest hill, the palace is worth a visit purely for its 360-degree panoramic views.

It’s the official residence of King Oyo of the Toro Kingdom who ascended the throne in 1995 at the age of three. This kingdom is the youngest of Uganda’s traditional Kingdoms. It is in fact ruled aptly by the world’s most youthful monarch.

The palace is a circular structure, built in 1963, but fell into ruin after the abolition of the royal kingdoms Milton Obote. It was restored in 2001 after Colonel Gadaffi met the king and donated the money for repairs.

While on your Uganda cultural tours here, you will learn about the fascinating history of the kingdom and the ceremonies that take place here, but you can’t go inside.

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