Budongo Forest

Budongo Forest is a great Uganda forest reserve rich in wildlife, sheltering around 800 wild chimpanzees and more than 360 species of Uganda birds.

Budongo Forest Reserve is also the largest natural forest area in all of East Africa region covering an area of approximately 825 square kilometers (82,500 hectares), the forest offers some of the best chimpanzee trekking adventures, habituation experience, nature walks (forest hikes) and forest bird watching safaris in Uganda. 

Budongo Forest supports around 465 tree species and it is known for its giant mahogany trees that stand up to 60 m tall and whose buttressed bases are often used as drums by roaming chimpanzees.

Part of the forest is situated in Murchison Falls National Park – the biggest and prime park for Uganda wildlife safaris.

Budongo Forest is a great destination to add-on to your Uganda Safari to Murchison Falls National Park.

Location Of Budongo Forest

Budongo Forest is located approximately 246 kilometers (153 miles) by road which is approximately 4 to 5 hours of drive northwest of Kampala – the capital city of Uganda. This rainforest lies at the top of the Albertine Rift at an altitude of 1,110 – 1590 meters.

Budongo Forest is basically made up of two sites developed for tourism activities that is Kaniyo Pabidiand the Royal Mile at Busingiro.

Kaniyo Pabidi is located along the southern edge of Murchison Falls National Park and it is where forest activities such as chimpanzee trekking is done.

The Royal Mile is one of the top sites for Uganda birding tours and is situated to the western edge of the rainforest, outside of Murchison Falls.

Chimpanzees In Budongo Forest

Budongo Forest is home to around 800 chimpanzees which is the second – largest population of chimpanzees in Uganda following Kibale Forest which is home to over 1500 chimpanzees.

The apes share almost 99% of our (humans) DNA and trekking through the jungle of Budongo Forest to look for them is one of the many magical Uganda primate safari experiences.

Unlike their relatives – the mountain gorillas which are vegetarians, chimpanzees are social, intelligent omnivores. They have their own social complexities, dramas and antics. Their body language and facial expressions seem to convey a wide range of emotions we so typically associate with humanity, melancholy, envy, shame, savagery. Chimpanzees use tools and wage coordinated wars, as a result many aspects of their wild lives can be viewed through the lens of our evolutionary history.

Chimpanzees of Budongo Forest are Eastern Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii) which is the most common subspecies of chimpanzees found throughout the Central African Republican, Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi and Rwanda.

Chimpanzee Trekking In Budongo Forest

Budongo Forest has a community of around 100 chimpanzees that have been researched and carefully habituated for the past 30 years, these chimpanzees are the one open for chimpanzee trekking experience in Budongo Forest. Field assistants from the Budongo Conservation Field Station can recognize individual chimpanzees on sight which only adds to what is already a profound and humbling experience.

 

Budongo Forest offers two trekking sessions each day that is morning and afternoon and no more than 8 person can trek per group. Chimpanzee trekking starts with a safety briefing at the Visitor Information Center at Budongo Co Lodge, most treks last around 2 to 5 hours depending on the movement of the chimpanzees and were they last spent the night.

Like any other safari experience, there is always an element of luck involved but once contact is made, the chimpanzee viewing in Budongo Forest can be an extraordinary experience.

Budongo Forest Chimpanzee Habituation Experience

In Budongo Forest, visitors are allowed to participate in chimpanzee Habituation Experience – a rare opportunity in the world of large primate tourism.

While a typical chimpanzee trek only allows for an hour spent with these creatures, the habituation experience entails an entire day spent in company of chimpanzees.

For lucky tourists, this means accompanying our closest cousins from the time they rise until they make their nests for the evening. The experience is even more memorable by the giant mahoganies, figs and ironwoods of the magical forest canopy.

Birding In Budongo Forest Reserve

Budongo Forest is a great birding destination with 366 bird species, the forest is a prime Uganda Birding Destination and is the second most important in the country after Semuliki National Park for species of Guinea Congo Forest Biome.

The avian wealth of Budongo Forest there is a track nicknamed the Royal Mile because it was once a favorite hunting spot of Omukama (King) Kabalega of Bunyoro Kingdom is widely regarded to be the single most rewarding hotspot for birding in Uganda.

Another excellent birding area in Budongo Forest is Kaniyo Pabidi, supporting a variety of localized forest species including the Puvel illadopsis which is known not to occur anywhere else in East Africa.

During your birding tour in Budongo Forest, you also get to learn more about the ecosystem, pass the old Mahogany trees, shrubs and wildlife such as monkeys and butterflies and also have a chance of seeing chimpanzees.

Key bird species in Budongo Forest include the Puvel’s Illadopsis, Nahan’s Francolin, and the Chocolate–Backed Kingfisher, White-headed Saw-wing, White Wagtail, Black-eared Ground-Thrush, Little Crake, Yellow-billed Barbet, Chestnut-capped Flycatcher, African Paradise Flycatcher, Chin-spot Batis, Grey-backed Camaroptera, Lemon-bellied Crombec, African Moustached Warbler, Green-backed Eremomela, Yellow-throated Greenbul, African Citril, African Golden-breasted Bunting, Black-crowned Waxbill, Bronze Mannikin, Black-billed Bluebill, Black-winged Red Bishop, Yellow-mantled Widowbird, Fan-tailed Widowbird, Spectacled Weaver, Black-necked Weaver, Yellow-backed Weaver, Compact Weaver, Northern Brown-throated Weaver, Holub’s Golden Weaver, Red-headed Weaver, Yellow-billed Oxpecker, Greater Blue-eared Starling, Purple Starling, Purple-headed Starling, Splendid Starling, Northern Puffback, Black-headed Gonolek, Tropical Boubou, Isabelline Shrike, Red-backed Shrike, Lesser Grey Shrike, Western Violet-backed Sunbird and many more.

Budongo Forest Trees

Budongo Forest is home to more than 465 bird species of plants and the most notable are the impressively gigantic Mahogany trees which grow up to 60 meters tall, these fascinating trees have become one of the forest’s iconic features, it takes up to 8 people holds hands around the entire 21-meter diameter of the Mahogany.

Other trees species found in Budongo Forest include the spiky Fagara trees, parasitic strangler figs and ironwood trees. The latter are regularly used by chimpanzees for communication by drumming on their trunks.

More Wildlife In Budongo Forest

In addition to chimpanzees and birds in Budongo Forest, Budongo Forest is home to 8 species of monkeys including Black-and-White Colobus Monkey, Olive Baboon, Red-tailed Monkey, Blue Monkey, Grey-cheeked Mangabey, Bushbaby or galago, and Potto.

Other animals in Budongo Forest include Tree pangolin, Tree Hyrax, Elephant-shrew, Gigantic hammerhead bats, Red-legged sun squirrel and Boehm’s bush squirrel.

Budongo Forest Reserve is also home to about 289 butterflies species belong to four families of Papilionidae, Pieridae, Nymphalidae, and Lycaenidae. The most notable of these is the African Giant Swallowtail which is the largest butterfly species in African with a wingspan of 20-23 cm.

What is the Best Time to Visit Budongo Forest?

Budongo Forest can be visited at any time of year, however the best time to enjoy safari activities in the forest is in the dry season/dry months. During this time, the murram trails are dry and are easy to access since they are not slippery.

Chimpanzee trekking and birdwatching are at their best as there are not heavy rains to inconvenience you.

The best months are from December to March and June to August. Also, if you intend to see migratory birds then November to April are the best time to visit Budongo Forest.

How to Get to Budongo Forest

Budongo Forest is found on the southern edge Murchison Falls National Park, it is a journey of approximately 4-5 hours from Kampala.

From Kampala City, proceed through Masindi town before continuing on to the forest reserve.