Kaniyo Pabidi forest is found in Murchison falls national park which is also known as Kabalega National park located at the end of the Albert Nile rift valley in districts of Masindi, Nyowa, bulisa and kiryandongo. Murchison falls National Park is the longest and oldest national park in Uganda with an area of 3893 sq. kilometers, the park is a home of 76 mammals and 451 bird species managed by Uganda wildlife authority.

Kaniyo Pabidi forest is the largest mahogany forest in east Africa located in Budongo forest with huge mahogany trees and ironwood trees. The forest is well known for chimpanzees trekking in Murchison falls national park and there are over 600 chimpanzees in the forest which can be tracked from Kaniyo Pabidi tourism site managed by Jane Goodall Institute though there are other primates in the park i.e. blue monkeys, red tailed monkeys, olive baboons and nocturnal primates e.g. pottos among others.

The survival of primates in the forest is supported by savannah vegetation in the area. The forest is filled with cynometra mid attitude semi- deciduous cymetra-celtis forest, swan- forest mixed with tress and the other part of the forest is filled with savannah which is extensive in the drier region of the forest. Blue monkey’s and red tailed monkeys enjoy swinging on the mahogany tree branches and primates get fruits from trees during the ripping season. With the forest having savannah grassland and savannah woodland vegetation, savannah area is a habitant of herbivores i.e. antelopes, buffaloes, bush backs, water bucks, and hippos

Kaniyo Pabidi forest is one of the good birding spots in Murchison falls national park. This is because of abundance of birds in the forest. Kaniyo Pabidi has over 360 species of birds some of which are endemic i.e. yellow-footed fly catcher and puvelie illadopsis. Other birds in the forest include ituri batiste, white thighed hornbills, western black headed pride, white spotted fluff tail, grew long bill, little green sunbird among others

The best time to visit Kaniyo Pabidi forest

Although Murchison falls national park is always open throughout the year, the best time to visit Kaniyo Pabidi forest is the dry season that’s in the months of December, January and February. This season is favorable because the forest is not slippery, tracks are dry and passable. However the wet season is also good for bird watching, chimpanzee trekking and nature walks because of plenty of foods for animals and in this season you might be required to carry a raincoat and rubber boats to be safe

How to get to Kaniyo Pabidi forest

The main access gate to the forest is Kichumbanyobo gate and its 29km north of Masindi however you can also reach through other gates i.e. Bugungu gate, Tangi gate, and Wankwar gate. The forest is also 220 km from Kampala if you pass via masindi making the distance all together 294km from Kampala straight to Kaniyo Pabidi forest through Masindi. The forest is positioned along the murram road which connects masindi to paraa 5km from kichumayobo gate. But from the northern side of Murchison falls National Park you can access Kaniyo Pabidi forest by ferry crossing the River Nile.