Kalinzu Forest

Kalinzu forest reserve is an interesting destination in a very unique way. The scenic guided walks along the ridges will make you relax. Nature walks through the valleys will expose your mind to a whole new world of the forest life. During the walk in the forest you can see mountain Rwenzori, Lake George and Kazinga channel’s beauty.

Kalinzu forest reserve has a number of amazing wildlife species; it has over 414 tree species with uses that will add on your knowledge about African culture. The forest also has 378 bird species that will elevate your birding experience to a whole new level, 6 different primates, 97 moths, reptiles, the flowers in the field will treat your modes right, 262 butterfly species will bring smiles on your face when you look at them, flying under the thick tree canopies in different colors.

Kalinzu forest reserve is famous for the chimpanzee trekking activity that most visitors enjoy so much. Kalinzu forest reserve a total of about 300 chimpanzees and about 40 are habituated by a Japanese researchers group two years back. This makes you stand a high chance of seeing the chimpanzees when you visit Kalinzu Forest Reserve. Plus, Kalinzu chimpanzee trekking permits are cheaper than anywhere else in Uganda; therefore, Kalinzu Forest Reserve is the perfect budget option for chimpanzee trekking as compared to other areas in Uganda like Budongo, Kibale, and Ngamba among others.

Apart from the chimpanzees, Kalinzu Forest Reserve has other primates that will bring fun to your nature walks throught the forest. Kalinzu forest reserve has a number of baboons, mokeys; blue monkeys, the black and white monkey, l’hoest, the red tailed colobus monkeys, and the black billed turacos among others.

When in Kalinzu Forest reserve, you will also get a chance to visit the fortune teller of Kalinzu hills. This old man will give you a lot of information about the ancient uses of Kalinzu Forest reserve to the community around it. The Kalinzu Forest reserve night experience will elevate your experience and take it to another new level. You will enjoy tracking the night primates within the forest/ nocturnal primates. You will track the night primates like the Galagos, bush babies, and the Pottos among others.

That is not all about the night; the sound of the jungle will make your life back in the mode you want it to be; the sound of the crickets mixed with the sound made by the leaves when the wind blows, the jungle in Kalinzu will make a rhythm at night, what can’t Mother Nature do?

Kalinzu forest camping site is set in the deep of the forest to make you enjoy the whole nature package. The reason for setting the camp in the forest is to take you away from the human communities in order to give you a unique natural experience in the wild/ natural setting. The camp is located in the heart of the forest reserve in the shady glades this is all to give you a purely natural experience.

Other accommodation facilities near kalinzu forest are not so many; homeland hotel is closer; 10km from Ishaka. However you can sleep in any lodge with in Queen Elizabeth and later move to Kalinzu for your forest activities;

Mweya safari lodge
Mweya hostels
Jacana lodge
Katara lodge
Katunguru has accommodation facilities like; engiri game lodge and campsite
Park View Safari Lodge.
Queen Elizabeth Pvt lodge

Before embarking to the activities in kalinzu forest, these are the rules you need to know;

Only a maximum of 6 people are allowed to move into the forest for a round hike
Don’t forget to keep your voices low,
Remember always to stay on the tourist trail
You should not stay at a particular place, unless you might get company
And finally, do not leave the garbage behind and do not feed the animal, this is all for nature sustainability.

How to get there;

Kalinzu forest is located along the main highway from Kasese to Mbarara. It is located in about 10km in Busenyi district west of Ishasha with in Queen Elizabeth national park. The visitors’ reception Centre is situated in a convenient place for visitors from Queen Elizabeth national park and those going to Queen Elizabeth national park.

You can reach kalinzu forest by bus from Kampala bus terminal, it is a 5hrs drive. And the fares range from 10000ush to 12000ush depending on the time of the year. Visitors get off the bus at Butare and it’s a short distance to Kalinzu forest reserve. It is also very interest to walk to the visitors reception as you listen to the sound of the trees in the forest and the relaxing tweets from the forest birds.

A memorable wild experience should include the nature walks in the wild west of Uganda, that is, queen Elizabeth national park especially kalinzu forest. The tourist activities in kalinzu forest will make you stretch your legs form the long day of sitting in the tour vehicles during the game drive. The small things matter a lot to those that pay attention to details; you would not want to miss out on this spectacular exposure to the new wild world of nature with in kalinzu forest reserve.

NATURE ACTIVITIES

Kalinzu forest has got four different trails for nature walks this are:

The valley trail

This trail takes about 4 hours and overs spectacular views of the magnificent steep slopes of the right valley with the green forest canopy and during this trail u can encounter various wildlife on the way.

The waterfall trail

The water fall trail is so enormous with breath taking views of the Kalinzu forest this takes about 4-6 hours and leads to the exceptional waterfall called “kilyantama” this trail goes through wet terrain and hilly areas with stunning views of the chimpanzee Kalinzu forest.

The river trail

The river trail cover about 2 and half kilometers and takes about an hour. Chimpanzees and other primates are commonly seen in this trail and the tourist will also come along River Kajojo also known as Elephant River because elephants we’re known to bath from here.

The palm trail

This trail takes about one and half to up to two hours tourists can come along the fascinating tree species on this trail and passes through flat terrains among the trees species can be seen the rare flame tree with it’s unique red large tulip flame like leaves which the locals believe arouses sexual desires in women and variety of palm trees among the rest

Different bird species and various wildlife including butterflies can be seen along all the above trails apart from enjoying the canopy of the Kalinzu forest travelers can also-ran park along with them picnic lunch box and enjoy their lunch in the picnic areas of Kalinzu forest