The most accessible of Uganda's major rainforests, Kibale is home to a remarkable 13 primate species, including the very localised red colobus and L'Hoest's monkey. Kibale's major attraction however is the opportunity to track habituated chimps - these delightful apes, more closely related to humans than any other living creature, are tremendous fun to watch as they squabble and play in fruiting trees. Kibale Forest offers the best primate viewing in East Africa, but it is not otherwise an easy place to see large mammals- this despite an impressive checklist which includes leopard, elephant, buffalo, hippo, warthog, giant forest hog, bushbuck and Peter's red and blue duikers. The elusive forest elephant, smaller and hairier than its savannah counterpart, moves seasonally into the developed part of the park.

At present there are 3 habituated chimp groups in Kibale and due to the fact that they are tracked on a daily basis by both researchers and park guides, the movements of the groups are very well known, ensuring a high success rate for visitors to see the Chimps in their natural habitat. However they are constantly moving, so you cannot predict what length of walk is required to reach one particular group. It can vary from 15 minutes to 2 hours; the longer walks do require a certain degree of fitness as it is humid within the forest and there are some gentle gradients to climb within the park.

First gazetted in October 1993, the 766km national park extends southwards from Fort Portal to form a contiguous block with the Queen Elizabeth National Park. The forested section (77%) of the park is covered by medium altitude moist evergreen forest in the north and medium altitude moist semi-deciduous forest at lower altitudes in the south. The remaining 23% consists of grassland, swamps and some plantations with exotic conifers.

A network of shady forest trails provides much to delight primate lovers, botanists and butterfly enthusiasts, while birders are in for a treat with 335 species recorded including the endemic Prirogrine's ground thrush.

Many of the facilities are community based, thus providing the local community with the necessary revenue to keep their interest focused on the long-term protection of the area. The area is mainly occupied by two tribes; the Batooro and Bakiga, traditionally both tribes utilised the forest for food, fuel, building materials and medicines.