The forest covers about 400 square kilometres in the Albertine Rift mountains. The trees here can be enormous — some are hundreds of years old and their trunks are wider than a classroom. The air inside is cool, green, and full of the sound of birds, insects, and running water.
Kibira is home to chimpanzees, colobus monkeys, and many rare birds. Chimpanzees live in family groups and are very clever — they use sticks as tools to dig for food, and they hug and groom each other just like people do. Hearing a group of chimps calling through the forest is one of the most exciting sounds in Burundi.
The forest acts like a sponge for the whole country. When rain falls on the mountains, the roots and soil hold the water and release it slowly into streams. Many of the rivers that people downstream depend on for farming and drinking begin here in Kibira. Without the forest, those rivers would dry up much faster.