Bigodi Wetland Sanctuary

Bigodi Wetland Sanctuary is a papyrus swamp in Kamwenge District, right beside Kibale National Park and about 6 km from the Kanyanchu chimp tracking centre. It is run by KAFRED, the Kibale Association for Rural and Environmental Development, a village group formed in 1992.

Why go

Bigodi shows what happens when a village decides to protect its own swamp. For more than thirty years local guides have led visitors along its boardwalks, and the income has helped build Bigodi Secondary School and support village projects. On a slow morning walk you can see red colobus, grey-cheeked mangabeys and L’Hoest’s monkeys, hear the great blue turaco and spot many of the area’s 200 or more bird species.

What you can do

• A guided swamp walk of about 2 to 3 hours on boardwalks and trails.
• A village walk with local guides.
• A home-cooked lunch.
• A coffee demonstration with local women, and a visit to the women’s craft group.

The people side

The whole visit is the people side. On the village walk you meet a traditional healer, see how banana beer is made and may visit the school that tourism helped to build. The women’s craft group sells baskets and other work made in the village. Your guides are from Bigodi: the people who protect the swamp are the people who show it to you.

Best time to visit

Bigodi is open all year. Mornings are best for birds and monkeys.

Getting there

Bigodi is about 35 km south of Fort Portal. Allow 5.5 to 6 hours by road from Kampala, and about 1 hour more from Entebbe. Many guests track chimps in Kibale in the morning and walk at Bigodi in the afternoon.

Good to know

The walk is Level 2, Easy, but the boardwalks can be muddy and are incomplete in places, so wear closed shoes. Please ask before photographing people, and never photograph children at the school without the teachers’ permission. The swamp and village walks are run by KAFRED and included in your trip, so what you pay goes to the community.