Many times nature lovers get some time and visit places which are more or less destination to check out than drawn into them. As you visit and travel in and through them from one state, country and continent to continents, some places touch your heart with their coldness as it turns into warmth and catch your eyes and soul with their beauty they take you out of your usual working or home environment like office confines, take your mind off politics, money, bills, computer, internet and any other non relaxing thoughts in your mind capturing your heart and soul creating lasting images and memories with a lifetime impressions. Kibale forest in western Uganda is one of the few such places that will stir up the wild side in you and reconnect you with the environment and nature at its best. The forest is one of the few remaining moist ever green low land tropical rain forests that a tour to Uganda can take you.
In this soaring cathedral of trees, where the only sound I would hear were the creaking of their massive to think trunks, bird songs, insect ululations to animal barks,as I go over large trees over trails and entangle myself in crippling vines and large stems more than thrice as I am in size, am caught up in the glorious spectacle of nature and beauty of the wilderness. This is the primates’ capital of the world with about 13 different primates’ species, along with 325 bird species, and 229species of trees.
Inside this immense degree of raw nature – grandeur and wild ruggedness—it’s not too hard for one to ignore and leave the rest of the world behind. In this ancient landscape where some trees have lived for a thousand years, you will definitely experience and feel the power and energy of the wilderness. A certain kind or rush that flows through the entire body and soul reconnecting with nature and for a moment I felt I could communicate with nature I could feel it, touch it and I was sooo immersed into it: it is an awesome feeling that you do not want to disconnect from. It’s like going in to a different world that is free from all fears and worries and is all about peace, calmness and love.
On this awesome life-changing adventurous Uganda safari we had to drive 395kms west of Kampala the capital city of Uganda through the rolling hills, verdant countryside to the place where nature reigns undisturbed. With the current global warming and urbanization it is not very common that one will encounter nature so untouched, pure, so divine and diverse packed in a space of 766km square km. As we tramped endless trails through the sky scrapping trees I couldn’t help but mumble at the beauty and freshness of the spectacular forest. As we walked steadily along the trails I couldn’t help but feel like we were alone as the deafening silence covered the air with accessional songs of birds like Robin Chat, Illadopsis, Tragon and kingfishers- especially the blue-breasted, the screams of some primates that inhabit the forest we good combinations of melodies one after the other. We continued steadily in constant hope and faith that we would finally get to meet the long anticipated cousins to us – the chimpanzees.
In our quest we were lucky enough to encounter the rare l’hoest’s monkey, and the most arboreal black and white colobus monkey, the squeaking Red Tailed monkey were the occasional primate of the walkbefore we heard very shocking loud and trumpeting black and dark in the jungle brown faced looking human like creatures that kept swinging from one fruiting tree branch to another. After our hour encounter with the popular habitats of this forest we returned to our Hotel, feeling fully satisfied. While in Uganda home is never far even in the midst of this ever green moist forest 5and 4 star comforts is never far. There lots of comfortable and luxurious facilities available and blend in perfectly with nature all surrounding the forest from Fort portal way to the interior and as you exit the forest. In my view once you chose to do Uganda and you are a primate fanatical, chimp habituation that tracking in commendable and time allowing combine it with a gorilla safari to the impenetrable forest Bwindi, further southwest of this small country with wonders of any nature paramour.
