Kalinzu Forest

Kalinzu forest is located near Queen Elizabeth national park in south western Uganda, the forest is the second best destination for chimpanzee tracking in the county. Kalinzu forest is the second best place for chimpanzee trekking in Uganda after Kibale forest national park.

Chimpanzee trekking
Chimpanzee trekking is the most commonly done activity at Kalinzu forest, chimpanzee trekking involves going out in to the jungle to track for the chimpanzees and this can take about 2-3 hours depending on the chimps and location but once the group finds the chimpanzees a period of an hour is given for observation and taking pictures but be mindful when taking pictures because they don’t like flash cameras.

Kalinzu forest is also a birders paradise endowed with 379 species of birds, home to 414 species of trees, 220 chimpanzees call this place home, 97 moths and 262 butterfly species. Tourists can combine their visit to Kalinzu forest with wildlife viewing at Queen Elizabeth national park. The cost of tracking chimpanzees at Kalinzu forest is $110 per person per trek. The minimum age for trekking chimpanzees is 12 years old so children under the age of 12 years and people with infections such as flu will not be allowed to trek chimpanzees.

Nature guided walks
There are several trails established at Kalinzu forest for nature guided walks and hiking the common ones being; the water fall trail that leads you to the panoramic Kilyantama waterfalls, the river trail takes tourists through the former elephant river where there were so many elephants some time back, the valley trail takes visitors through the magnificent valley ridge as you come across various bird species and primates then the palm trail exposes tourists to different tree species in the forest and the guide will also tell you various trees are used by people for several ailments. Nature guided walks at Kalinzu forest can take from one hour, half day or even full day. The choice will depend on the visitor’s interest.

Bird watching
Kalinzu forest is an ideal place for bird watching boasting with about 379 species of birds recorded, some of the species found in the forest include; black and white casket, great blue turaco, casqued hornbill, black billed turaco and many others.

Kalinzu forest national park can be reached within 45 minutes drive from Mweya sector of Queen Elizabeth national park. Kalinzu forest can be reached by road from Kampala within 6-7 hours drive.

There are no accommodation options at Kalinzu forest national park except the campsite, tourists visiting the park can sleep at the campsite but never forget to carry a camping gear. Those going for half day activities can carry their packed lunch and eat from the picnic sites. When visiting Kalinzu forest, tourists should endeavour to come with good hiking shoes, garden gloves, rain coats, long sleeved clothes, insect repellents, a hat, packed lunch and plenty of drinking water.