Mabira Forest
Mabira Forest is one of the famous natural forest remaining in Uganda. Mabira forest is a rain forest area which covers about 300 square kilometers in size. Mabira is found in the southeastern region of Uganda, in Buikwe district. Mabira is actually, located in between lugazi and Jinja along the Kampala Jinja highway. Mabira forest is much importance o Uganda and it is one of the oldest natural forests in Uganda; it has been protected by the government of Uganda and the citizens of Uganda from 1932. Despite the several attempts to sell off Mabira forest to the Indian investors, the citizens of Uganda has fought for this forest to the extent that it is still standing; however, it has been encroached by investors still.
Besides being one of the few remaining national properties of Uganda, Mabira forest is a home for a wide range of wildlife species some of which are even endangered. The forest is home to the rare primates; it has over 200 natural wood tree species, open patches of savannah grassland, papyrus swamps which harbor a lot of birds, waterfalls and gently flowing streams. Mabira forest pauses as the perfect place for different wild activities like camping, hiking, and nature walks, to mention but a few. The forest is easily seen along the Kampala Jinja highway, however, the deeper part of the Mabira forest is where the entire magical natural world happens.
Mabira forest is home to over 300 species of birds, which you can spot right on spot form the visitor center and through the different forest hiking trails. The fact the forest is located nearer to Kampala City, makes it the best place for a day’s excursion, picnic, and other activities for a day’s trip. The nature will be awesome if done with a trained guide, who will help you learn a lot about the creatures and features of the forest that you may encounter along the trail.
Uniqueness of Mabira forest
The forest experience is a life changer as it offers you something new from the normal game drives in the open savanna national parks of Uganda. The visit to Mabira forest makes you enjoy the beauty of Mother Nature outside the tour vehicle. Mabira forest is a quiet natural environment which can relax you immediately you start walking to the visitor center. The forest noise with the swash of the tree branches, when moved by wind, mixes up with the tweets from the different birds, makes up a jungle rhythm as you walk to the visitor center in Mabira forest.
For a short safari in Uganda, Mabira is the best place to bee; it is a home for over 300 species of birds, thus making it a good birder destination nearest to Kampala capital. A nature walk with an experienced guide is a chance for you to see a lot of wildlife such as bush pigs, red tailed monkeys, blue duikers, the grey checked mangabeys, occasionally you can also spot leopards in the open forest. You have a golden chance to watch the beautiful birds such as the African dwarf kingfisher, forest woodhoopoe, white-bellied kingfisher, African pied hornbill, the blue-throated roller, fire crested alethe, yellow-crested, brown eared, honeyguide, little greenbul, fracolins, pigeons, sabine’s spinetail among others.
What to do in Mabira forest
There is a long list of activities that, perhaps, attract a lot of travellers to take an adventure in Mabira. There is a lot you can do during your visit to Mabira which will get your experience bar raised high. The attractions with in Mabira plus the sights and sounds of the surrounding is so exciting and adrenaline rising.
One of the most common activities in Mabira forest is forest hikes, also known as the forest guided nature walks. Mabira forest is well supplied with access roads and hiking trails which you will enjoy. The different hiking trails led to very interesting features of Mabira like the picnic grounds, the radio hill, and the waterfalls among others. Along the route, it is so common to meet the local doctors and local people collecting medicinal herbs among others.
Birding is another lucrative activity of Mabira in Uganda; Mabira forest is a wide place for different bird species that dwell with in a 306 sq km land. Mabira home to over 315 bird species which include the endangered species, rare, and unique bird species of East Africa such as; blue crested mornac, cassin hawk-eagle, blake bellied seed cracker among others. The tweets from the birds as you walk into Mabira. The forest birding activity will take you through the flat forest patches, the hills, swampy areas and shrubs within Mabira.
Zip-line in Mabira is a big reason for most of the visits here. You do not want to miss out on the zip lining activity in Mabira forest. The zip line extends for about 25o meters, and the most famous zip line is conducted at griffin falls camp. A time of zip lining will give you a chance to view the forest and some of the creatures that dwell there such as the mangabeys, monkeys, and baboons, among others. However, zip lining is a fragile activity and you need a professional sky guide to fully enjoy this part. Ziplining in the forest takes about 4 hours’ time duration which starts at 8 am to about 1pm, and that is the morning shift. However, you can also enjoy the evening shift which starts at around 2pm to 6pm, when the sun is setting down. Despite, you should take caution that zip lining might not be a good idea for the people with a height forbia, otherwise, you don’t want to miss this fun.
You can also enjoy the primate walks in the forest. For example, mangabey tracking is on other popular primate activities in Mabira forest. The grey mangabey is one of the rare primates of Uganda and also unique in Mabira forest plus other destinations in Uganda. The grey-cheeked mangabeys are botanically known as the lophocebus Uganda. The tracking of this endangered and rare species of primates is only done in Mabira forest. Therefore your visit to this area is a real deal for you to join in on a group that tracks the grey-cheeked mangabeys in this natural forest of Mabira.
Mountain biking is another activity that you can enjoy during your visit to Mabira. The forest has well-maintained mountain biking trails that go through the forest into the nearby communities. Griffin falls camp is the best operator of mountain biking in the forest. You can also borrow the bikes from the nearby Nile river explores in Jinja. Mountain biking in Mabira is an opportunity for you to see a lot of forest creatures like the monkeys, birds, trees, falls, and sparkling streams among others.
