The Royale Mile Budongo Forest is a dream yard for any birders and nature enthusiasts, Budongo forest is one of the natural forests with majestic mahogany and ironwood trees that have been in existence for centuries in Uganda. The forest owns exceptionally large Mahogany tree which is more than 80 meters tall and 20 meters’ circumference and is a home of endangered chimpanzee species. Budongo forest is one of the best chimpanzee tracking and birding areas in Uganda at affordable prices and taking nature guided walks around Kaniyo Pabidi which is the center of all activities in Budongo. The forest claims a big population of 600-700 chimpanzees.

The forest is composed of moist, semi-deciduous tropical rain forest with patches of savanna and woodland in the Albertine Rift and it part of Murchison falls National park conservation area. Budongo is located in the western region of Uganda, and northwest 300km of the capital city Kampala which is a four-hour drive on the way to Murchison falls National Park via Masindi town sharing the escarpment northeast of Lake Albert.

Budongo forest is drained with four clear water streams, Waisoke, Sonso, Kamirambwa and Siba all flowing into Lake Albert, this allows it to annually receive  rainfall in March-May and September – November, with dry months of December and February.

Unmatched Biodiversity                                                                                                                   

Budongo forest is endowed with unique wildlife with more than 290 butterflies, 130 moths and 465 tree species with over 24 mammals of which 9 are primates.

In Budongo forest, Chimpanzee tracking is the main visitor activity and the tour to this forest is usually combined with Murchison falls national park safaris.  Chimpanzee tracking trails are mainly cut-cross the forest which eases access to these endangered species. Other primate species like the red-tailed monkeys, the black and white colobus monkeys, blue monkeys, olive baboons and the night species like the Pottos and galago species.

Famous for the historic Royale mile where the king of Bunyoro, king Kabalega used to leisurely visit this spot. Budongo harbors a number of bird species, and the bird life is good year around. These include, Ituri Batis, crowned eagle, plain greenbul, chocolate backed king fisher, black headed paradise fly catcher, lemon billed Gromek, forest robin, white-spotted fluff tail, yellow and grey long bill, little green sun bird among others.

This unique forest is also a home for mammals like, lions, leopards, buffaloes, elephants among others that occasionally come from Murchison falls national park.

Activities in Budongo forest reserve

A trip to Budongo forest has to be combined with a visit to Murchison falls national park, River Nile, Lake Albert without forgetting Ziwa Rhino sanctuary and activities are just beyond a visitor’s expectations.

Chimpanzee trekking in Budongo forest

This has become a regular activity in Budongo forest because the area offers an excellent spot to track high populations of chimpanzees. When tracking, the chances and the success of finding chimpanzees are high in Budongo. Tracking chimpanzees is done early morning and afternoon and each day Budongo receives around 24 people to track chimpanzees.

Bird watching in Budongo forest.

The forest being a home of over 360 birds, birding is one of the visitor’s activities in Budongo. The forest claims both migratory and none migratory birds of east Africa making Budongo a birding paradise.

Other activities like guided community walks, hiking, camping among others make Budongo a top destination for tourists.