Between Masindi and Murchison Falls, the road runs beside a wall of tall, dark forest. This is Budongo, the largest mahogany forest in East Africa and home to one of Uganda’s biggest chimpanzee populations. Giant trees tower overhead, birds call from the canopy, and in the early morning you can hear chimpanzees before you see them. Budongo is a natural stop on the way to Murchison Falls, and for many travellers it is the easiest and most rewarding forest walk on the route.
The forest at a glance
- Size: about 825 square kilometres (sources quote different figures), making it the largest natural forest reserve in Uganda.
- Status: a forest reserve managed by the National Forestry Authority, forming part of the Murchison Falls Conservation Area, on the escarpment north-east of Lake Albert.
- Trees: enormous mahogany and ironwood trees, some with trunks so wide that several people holding hands cannot circle them.
- Wildlife: around 700 chimpanzees, plus olive baboons, blue monkeys, black-and-white colobus and red-tailed monkeys, and occasionally elephants, buffalo and forest antelope.
- Birds: more than 360 species, including forest specialists.
Chimpanzee tracking at Kaniyo Pabidi
The main tourism site for chimpanzee tracking is Kaniyo Pabidi, on the southern edge of Murchison Falls National Park, about half an hour’s drive from the Kichumbanyobo gate. The visit begins with a briefing at the visitor centre. Tracking runs in morning and afternoon sessions, guided by rangers who follow the habituated groups. Once the chimpanzees are found you spend an hour with them.
- Success: chimpanzees are often close to the trailhead, and finding them can take anything from thirty minutes to most of the day, depending on where the fruit is. Sightings are not guaranteed.
- Age limit: the minimum age is usually 12. We confirm current rules.
- Habituation experience: a longer, full-day option lets you follow chimpanzees that are still being accustomed to visitors.
Busingiro and the Royal Mile
Busingiro, on the western edge of the forest, is a second ecotourism site with walking trails and birding. The Royal Mile, a straight forest avenue of about 1.6 kilometres, is one of the best birding trails in Uganda. It leads to the Budongo Conservation Field Station, where researchers have watched the Sonso chimpanzee community since 1990, one of the longest-running studies of wild chimpanzees. The forest has about 115 kilometres of tracks in total.
Birdwatchers come for forest specialists that are hard to see elsewhere. Puvel’s illadopsis is found nowhere else in East Africa, and the forest also holds rare species such as the yellow-footed flycatcher, the black-eared ground thrush and the shining blue kingfisher.
Practical information
- Getting there: about three to four hours by road north-west of Kampala via Masindi, on the way to Murchison Falls National Park.
- Time needed: half a day for a chimpanzee trek; longer for birding or habituation.
- Best time: the forest can be visited year-round. Chimpanzee sightings are often best in the drier months, when fruit is more concentrated, but food supplies vary.
- What to bring: hiking boots, long sleeves and trousers, gloves, insect repellent, a rain jacket and binoculars.
- Health: the same rules protect chimpanzees as elsewhere: a minimum viewing distance, no visits when ill and no eating in front of the animals. See our Health & Safety page.
- Fees: permits and fees change, so we confirm them at booking.
Budongo with Offmap Safaris
We schedule Budongo on the way to or from Murchison Falls, usually as a morning chimpanzee trek followed by a drive to the Nile. See our pages on Murchison Falls and Bunyoro-Kitara Kingdom. Plan your safari, message us on WhatsApp +256 701 243 304 or email [email protected]. Please read our Responsible Travel page too.