Budongo Forest located about 4hrs north-west of the capital Kampala is Uganda’s largest forest block protecting a blend of biodiversity and natural beauty. With an area size of over 825km 2 Budongo Forest comprises of moist medium-altitude semi deciduous sections in the south and woodland patches blending into savanna mosaics along its northern edges.
Budongo Forest is an important biodiversity reserve protecting the largest chimpanzee population in Uganda and offers almost exclusive and personal trek expereince up-close these intelligent and charismatic apes in their natural habitat. This excellent chimpanzee trek expereince at Budongo forest is due a limited numbers of daily visitors/tourists.
This vast forest lies within the greater Murchison Falls Conservation Area, Uganda’s largest protected reserve making it easy to explore its beauty and natural diversity.
Budongo Forest Biodiversity
Set along the eastern edges of the great Albertine Rift Area, Budongo Forest is biodiversity hotspot supporting a wide range of flora and fauna. This diversity comprises 9 species of primates including the largest population of chimpanzee, 464 species of trees, 365 birds species, 300 species of butterflies and more. Other mega fauna include elephants, buffalos, variety of duikers while leopard and lion patrol the woodland edges.
Activities and Attractions to do at Budongo Forest
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Chimpanzee Trekking Expereince
Chimpanzee trekking at Budongo Forest is an almost exclusive and intimate experience of coming up close these intelligent apes due to the limited numbers of visitors here. Budongo Forest protects the largest population of the Eastern chimpanzee in Uganda and the region, of which a total of over 600 individuals, split in 6 main communities. Of this population, 3 groups are habituated where two are available for daily trekking experience and one limited to research expereince.
Chimpanzee trekking at Budongo Forest is offered on a two-options plan differing on duration spent with chimps and permit cost. These are;
- Ordinary Chimp trekking where visitors trek to a fully habituated chimpanzee community and gets to spend one-hour with the group.
- On habituation trek experience, visitors join the company of researchers and rangers to follow a chimp family under “familiarization” stage. This experience is physical demanding, suitable for visitors that seek to gain more insights into the chimpanzee social life and its relationship with its environment.
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Birding
Budongo Forest is Uganda’s top birding hotspot offering the most rewarding birding experience notably for the Guinea-Congo lowland forest species. The most popular best birding trail is the Royal Mile set on the western section of the forest known for its special list of species and known from a few other handful sites in the region.
The Royal Mile bird highlights include; Yellow-footed Flycatcher, Chestnut-capped Flycatcher, Rufous-crowned Eromemola, Chocolate-backed Kingfisher, Uganda Woodland Warbler, Forest Flycatcher, White-bellied Kingfisher, Nahan’s Partridge, Ituri Batis, Blue-breasted Kingfisher, Grey Longbill, Afep Pigeon.
Budongo’s other excellent birding trails include Kaniyo-Pabidi where Puvel’s Illadopsis is known and Busingiro Eco-center for lowland forest specials..
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Guided Forest Walk
Beyond chimpanzee treks, Budongo Forest offer excellent guided walks from Kaniyo Pabidi and Busingiro sector offices often tailored to visitors’ interests and available time. Excellent trails traverse various forest structures where towering ironwood species and East African Mahogany reach over 80m high. The walks are led by enthusiastic guides who will point out various primates like blue monkey, black and white colobus monkey, red-tailed monkey, grey-cheeked mangabey, olive baboon, even chimpanzee, variety of birds and butterflies.
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Forest Camping Expereince
Budongo Forest offer excellent forest camping that connects you to the tranquility of nature. The campsites are basic with pit latrines and firewood but campers must carry their food and other personal necessities. Camping is available at Busingiro Eco-center located on the western edge of Budongo forest and at Rabongo Forest near Kaniyo Pabidi office.
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Visit the Polish Catholic Church at Nyabyeya
Explore the Our Lady Queen of Poland Catholic Church near the Royal Mile built between 1943-1945 by Polish refugees fleeing from Second World War to learn of this important history. The church is a unique architectural masterpiece adjacent to Nyabyeya Forestry College and was entirely built by women and their children because youthful men were left behind to fight in the war.
The church entrance is adorned by the coat of arms of Poland while the interior have inscriptions in Polish and beautiful carvings of Mahogany. The grave yard in the church compound host up to 44 remains of the Poles. The church has been elevated by the government of Uganda as a heritage site to preserve this piece of history.
Attractions Near and Around Budongo Forest
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Visit the Murchison Falls NP
Budongo Forest lie on the southern the edges of Murchison Falls NP, Uganda’s largest park famed by its epic wildlife safari viewing experience, boat safaris on river Nile and the mighty Murchison Falls. Excellent road network connects Budongo Forest to any of the three southern gates of Murchison Falls NP making it easy to explore.
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Explore the community on a guided tour Experience
While at Budongo Forest, take time to discover the rich culture, lifestyle, diverse food and warm hospitality on a guided community tour on the edges of the forest. the community-led tours will take you to projects including bee-keeping farms, schools, and other projects bending in sightseeing walks along the escarpment for distant views of Lake Albert in the rift valley. Our recommended community organization is the Boma Women Group where activities include sowing, basket weaving and more.
Where to Stay and How to get to Budongo Forest
Budongo Forest is served by a variety of accommodations in Masindi Town lying at least 20km or just 30mins drive from the southern sectors of Busingiro, Royal Mile and Kaniyo-Pabidi. An upmarket facility is set to open near Kicumba-Nyobo the main entrance gate of Murchison Falls NP.
Visitors aiming to explore the Royal Mile and Busingiro sectors ought to stay in Masindi town. For those aiming for exploring Kaniyo-Pabidi can as well stay at any accommodation facilities along the Nile banks within Murchison Falls which is about 1.5hr drive away.
Final Note:
Budongo Forest though lies within the greater Murchison Falls Conservation Area and is managed by National Forest Authority (NFA) who are responsible to collect the entrance and activity fees. That said, chimpanzee trekking expereince at Kaniyo Pabidi attracts a park entrance fee paid at Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA ) gate plus a trek permit.