Zika Forest is situated near Entebbe International Airport in Uganda and just not far from Kampala, the country’s capital. Zika Forest is very rich in biodiversity with swamps of Waiya Bay, forest types, and grasslands. The forest is small but with a thick canopy that used to be called the upper story. This tropical forest is one of the best birding destinations in the country.
Zika forest derives its name from a local Luganda language, from the word “Zika,” which means “overgrown.” the Zika forest covers an area of about 30 acres Zika forest also boasts crocodiles and many small primates like monkeys, with over 60 types of moth-type trees, 140 types of woody plants, snakes, and 35 saturniids. It’s said that the former US president once visited the forest for bird watching.
Zika Forest has got its own virus research field station partnering with the Uganda Virus Research Institute. The Zika virus is believed to have started in the Forest; it appears to have a link with microcephaly, a birth defect disorder.
The Zika virus was discovered in 1947 in a rhesus monkey and came from a Scottish virologist, Alexander Hamilton. It’s carried to Uganda by the Aedes African mosquito. The researchers have been coming to the institute to study the viruses and mosquitoes that carry the Zika virus and other viruses.
The institute first began as a Rockefeller Foundation-funded yellow fever project in 1936, later became a laboratory for studying tropical diseases, and later became the Uganda Virus Research Institute in 1977. A massive story tower was put up to conduct yellow fever experiments. It’s said different mosquitoes were found at different elevations. The tower was transported from Mpanga Forest in 1962 with the help of the World Health Organization.
Every year researchers discover new viruses from Uganda. When the virus was first discovered, it was not a threat to the country, as it would infect only monkeys, but later, even when it infected isolated human beings, the signs were mild. The Zika virus symptoms are similar to the arboviruses.
Zika forest is also a birder’s destination; apart from studying viruses, tourists can go and engage in bird watching. The forest boasts various bird species, some of which are endemic to this area, while others are residential.
A visit to Zika forest can be combined with a tour to the famous Ngamba island chimpanzee sanctuary or to the Uganda Wildlife Education Center for a closer wildlife encounter and birding activity. The former president of the united States Jimmy Carter, once visited Zika forest for a Uganda birding safari.
The forest can be accessed just from Entebbe International Airport, and it’s about 30 kilometers from Kampala.
There are various accommodation places where tourists can sleep while visiting Zika Forest, ranging from budget to midrange or luxurious hotels that can be found in Entebbe town or Kampala.
