Central Mabira Forest Reserve – Uganda

The Mabira Forest is a rainforest area covering about 300 square kilometres (120 sq mi) (30,000 hectares (74,000 acres)) in Uganda, located in Buikwe District, between Lugazi and Jinja. It has been protected as Mabira Forest Reserve since 1932. It is home for many endangered species like the primate Lophocebus ugandae.

The Mabira forest was leased in 1900 by the East Africa and Uganda Exploration Company, who then set up the Mabira Forest (Uganda) Rubber Company to handle the concession. Their hopes of obtaining 500,000 lbs per annum from the forest proved unrealistic: the cost of clearing the dense forest around individual trees was too expensive, particularly on account of the poor yields which they got for each tree. As a result, the company moved from exploiting wild rubber to planting cultivated rubber, and also coffee.

Mabira Area coverage:Mabira Central Forest Reserve is one of Uganda’s largest surviving Natural Forests covering an area of 306 sq km.

Attractions:Mabira has Natural Habitat of 312 species of trees, home of 315 species of Birds, 218 Butterfly Species, 97 Moth Species, 23 Small Mammal Species,

Activities: they include Forest Walks with over 68 km of well-developed trail length, Mountain Biking, Bird Watching, Environmental Education and Research, Camping and Picnics, Primate Watching, Butterfly Identification and general Forest Exploration.

Accessibility
Mabira Central Forest Reserve is located on the main Kampala – Jinja Highway in Mukono District. It is 54 km from the City Centre of Kampala and 26 km from Jinja Town. The Eco – Tourism Site is about half a kilometer from the road head along a short dirt road off the Najjembe trading center. The Forest is therefore accessible by all vehicles throughout the year.