Also referred to as the Pearl of Africa, Uganda is one of the most beautiful country on the African country. If you love primates, Uganda is the best destination to visit for primates watching and ecotourism in Africa. Uganda is home to nearly half of the remaining population of the mountain gorillas that are found with Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and Mgahinga National Park.
The country is the best place for gorilla safaris that are combined with many other adventures such as game viewing, mountain climbing, white water rafting, chimpanzee tracking and more. The top places to visit in the country are Queen Elizabeth National Park, Kibale National Park, Kidepo National Park, Mount Rwenzori and more.
There are several places to visit in Uganda. These include national parks, game reserves, lakes, rivers etc. The best places for safari are the Uganda national parks where visitors enjoy wildlife viewing and natural scenery. The capital Kampala is a great introduction to Uganda’s culture and hospitality. The city itself is located in the Buganda kingdom, a traditional dating back from 13th century. Because of its cultural significance, there are several cultural and historical attractions. Mengo royal palace and Bulange building on Mengo are the official places for the Kabaka of Buganda kingdom. The Buganda tourism board has done a great job creating beautiful monuments along the royal mile walk where visitors can learn history and culture of Buganda.
The Uganda national museum and other places of worship such as the Uganda martyrs shrine Namugongo.
The popular national parks
There are 10 national parks most of which are located in western Uganda. These are destinations for wildlife viewing safaris. The most popular are primate tours which include gorilla tracking, chimpanzee tracking and golden monkey tracking activities. Game viewing safaris include game drives, boat cruises, game walks.
Bwindi impenetrable forest national park
One of Uganda’s best parks is Bwindi impenetrable forest national park where tourists are guaranteed to see mountain gorillas in the wild. The park is home to 430 gorillas about half of the world’s mountain gorillas including 17 gorilla families that are habituated for tourism. Gorilla tracking is the main activity and visitors are allowed to spend 1 hour up close with gorillas in their natural habitat. Those planning their gorilla safari must first book a gorilla permit through a tour operator or Uganda wildlife authority. The Park also has over 350 birds including 23 species endemic to Albertine rift valley.
Murchison Falls National Park
Visitors looking for famous big 5 safari experience should consider a 4 days trip to Uganda’s largest conservation area-Murchison Falls National Park. Murchison falls is home to 79 mammals and 451 species of birds including Nile crocodiles and large pods of hippos. The park is bisected by the River Nile which forms the Murchison falls, the world’s strongest waterfalls. Visitors can enjoy game drive safaris and boat cruises on river Nile to view wildlife including elephants, zebra, buffalo, lion, leopard, Uganda kob, Jackson’s hartebeest, topi, errand, spotted hyena. A trip to Murchison falls is about 4-5 hours drive from Kampala. Along the way, there’s Ziwa rhino sanctuary home to 23 southern rhinos. Before going to Murchison Falls, make a stopover at Ziwa for rhino tracking on foot with a ranger.
Queen Elizabeth national park
Located in the great east African rift valley in the shadow of the mountains of the moon, Queen Elizabeth National Park is the most visited park in Uganda because of wildlife and beautiful scenery. Big 4 mammals including the rare tree climbing lions are found in the park’s southern Ishasha wilderness along with several antelopes such as Uganda kob and topi.
Kidepo Valley National Park
Uganda’s remotest national park, as it was rated by CNN. Kidepo Valley is located in northeastern Uganda, sharing borders with South Sudan and Kenya. It’s the most difficult park to access by road, as the drive takes a full day. Kidepo Valley National Park is located in a region that has persisted in its traditions and defied the trends of civilization. The park is known to be the remotest and best savannah park to offer the widest landscape view. The park is accessed via Ziwa and Murchison Falls National Parks en route, qualifying it for the possibilities of the Big Five Games.
Adventure activities done at Kidepo Valley National Park
Wildlife game drives
Karamoja cultural experiences
Nature walks
Mountain climbing
Kibale National Park
The world’s capital for primate species, Kibale National Park, is located in western Uganda, approximately 26 kilometers from Fort Portal city. The park’s credibility is established by hosting the highest number of chimpanzees in the East African region. Chimpanzees here are fully habituated, and trackers have the opportunity for a close-up encounter with the chimpanzees. As well, it’s only at Kibale that trackers have a chance to do chimpanzee habituation and spend almost a full day with the primates.
Adventure activities done at Kibale National Park
Chimpanzee tracking
Primate tracking
Bird watching
Forest nature walks
Bogodi community visit
Mount Rwenzori National Park
Uganda’s highest mountain is raised at an elevation of 5109m above sea level. Mountain Rwenzori National Park is located in western Uganda, stretching to the borders of Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The snowcapped mountain has stood out as having the most challenging hiking experience in Uganda. Though it is the 3rd highest mountain in Africa after Kilimanjaro and Mt. Kenya, it possesses the most challenging climbing experience. Hiking to Margarita Peak, the highest point, takes a maximum of 14 days.
Lake Victoria islands
Lake Victoria is the largest tropical lake in Africa. It’s shared by Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania. Ugandan section of the lake has scenic tropical islands which include Sesse islands, Bulago islands and Ngamba island chimpanzee sanctuary. Sesse and Bulago have white sand beaches where visitors can relax and chill after a safari. While Ngamba is exclusively a chimp rehabilitation sanctuary where visitors can participate in chimpanzee feeding and care giving. These islands are located off Entebbe airport shoreline and accessible by boat ride or ferry.