KYAMBURA GORGE

Kyambura wildlife Reserve which includes the Kyambura Gorge adjoins the Queen Elizabeth National Park in Uganda. It is home to a variety of wildlife. The area is an important water source for many animals and is surrounded by savanna, but is generally noted for its high concentration of primate life located in the gorge.

Kyambura is located on north-eastern side of QENP, approximately 30 km from QENP Headquarters. Kyambura Gorge spans a distance of 11 km and links to the Kazinga Channel, which forms the northern boundary of the reserve. Village and plantations lie to the south.

Kyambura and QENP, together with Maramagambo Forest and Kigezi Game Reserve, all adjoin, and are referred to as the Queen Elizabeth Protected Area (QEPA), this borders Parc National des Virunga (Virunga National Park) in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and together these areas completely encircle Lake Edward. Other nearby protected areas are Kibale National Park to the northeast and Rwenzori Mountains National Park to the northwest.

The landscape is gentle rolling savanna grassland, but is deeply cut by the 16km Kyambura Gorge, which supports a thick riverine forest and the Kyambura River.

Kyambura is the only place in Queen Elizabeth protected area where habituated chimpanzees are seen. Other types of primates include red-tailed monkey, black-and-white colobus, baboons and vervet monkeys. The park is also known for its variety of avian species including various falcons, the blue-headed bee-eater and the African finfoot. While tracking chimps, visitors are treated to views of the the forest growing in the gorge, birds and smaller primates.

Kyambura gorge should be on the bucket list when it comes to Visiting Queen Elizabeth National park, the area is beautiful and you will enjoy watching the close relatives of humans.