Maramagambo Forest

Maramagambo Forest

Maramagambo Forest

Maramagambo forest covers a part of queen Elizabeth National Park from the escarpment of Kichwamba and all through to Lake Edward. The land scape for the area is good for activities like hiking, nature walks through the trails. The hiking and nature walks are a half day activities and take duration of 11/2 hours. You will enjoy the scenic view of the verdant tree canopies.

The name maramagambo forest is extracted from the folk lore of the region. It is believed that years back two young boys went inside the forest and lost their way back home, that they stayed in the forest for a couple of day. And the incident that shocked all the villagers to name the forest by its current name was; when the boys returned back home they could not say a word, they had gone dumb, thus the name; Maramagambo, attributed to the situation that the young boys came out of the forest with.

Maramagambo forest is found in Bushenyi District part of Queen Elizabeth national park. It is found with in the southern part of Queen Elizabeth national park. It is famous because of the bat caves. Maramagambo forest is bordered by two crater lakes; Lake Kyasanduka and Lake Nyamasingiri. It has a number of primate species like chimpanzees, the red tail monkeys, and the bêtes pygmy antelopes.

During the hike through the forest you will get a chance to see primates like Chimpanzees, Black And White Colobus Monkeys, L’hoest Monkeys, Baboons, Red Tailed Monkeys, the Blue Monkeys, as well Vervet Monkeys and most interesting are the two nocturnal primates; the Pottos, and the bush babies.

maramagambo forest

At maramagambo forest you will also have a chance to watch a variety of forest birds. Maramagambo forest has a number of uncommon bird species like; the Rwenzori Turoco, the white napped pigeons and the fly catchers et cetera; this has made Maramagambo forest a very good destination for birders. And this unique and huge group of the matching ants will thrill you. These large groups of matching ants are 100metres long and 6metres wide from side to another side.

You will also enjoy the view of the bat cave from the view point constructed for tourists after the 2008 incident of Marburg that some tourists got from inside the bat cave. The caves were sealed from human encounter but after sometime the ministry of tourism chose to re-open them but this time a view point was constructed to avoid any tragedy. At the view point of the bat caves you can see big serpents inside the cave or out trying to get some heat from the sun light during the day.

The presence of chimpanzees in maramagambo forest will catch your mind to tracking these endangered animals and learn about their behavior. And also hiking along Lake Kyasanduke crater will give you a lot of knowledge about the region, tree species among others.

The following are the classified activities that you can enjoy with in Maramagambo forest;

  • Forest trail hike will make you encounter a lot of exciting things. However this activity may not be suitable for the people that are not fit enough to clamber through the hills.
  • River trail involves walking along River Kajojo. The hike takes about 1 hour along a distance of 2 1/2kms. It is called River Kajojo because elephants used to shower from this water stream thus that name Kajojo meaning a little elephant. You will go past some climax tree species like Parinari excels and also see signs of primates.
  • The palm trail; is a 5km walk which takes about 1 1/2 – 2 hours over a relatively flat terrain. It is suitable for all visitors. You will see a lot of breath taking features like amazing tree species and you will learn their uses as well. For example the frame tree said to be responsible for arousing sexual desire in women, Raphia Palms are sources of raw materials that women use for making mats and the spectacular dragon tree among others.
  • Valley trail is a 3 and a half kilometers long that takes about two hours walk over the valley. This also so interesting, you will walk along the ridge and past many interesting forest features like Viagra tree among other interesting forest trees.
  • The waterfall trail is an 11km walk over the valley about 4-5hours through the forest to the hilly parts of Maramagambo forest and through the wet terrain.  The trail will lead to the magnificent water falls of Kilyantama or sheep eater falls as translated from the local language.  You can see trees like the backcloth figs which are used by the local men to make tradition occasional attires, curtains, bags, mats table covers among others.

Other interesting activities in Maramagambo forest include;

  • Forest research
  • Conservation education from the visitor information center and the locals among other interesting things u you will find out when you make that right choice of adding Maramagambo forest package to your itinerary.
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