Uganda

The Main Activities While On A Safari In Uganda Are:

• Gorilla tracking tours in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest Park and Mgahinga Gorilla Park.
• Chimpanzee tracking in Budongo forest, Kibale, and Mgahinga.
• Kampala City Tour involving Cultural and religious tours to the Ndere centre, Uganda museum, Kasubi tombs, and the Uganda Martyrs shrine, Namugongo.
• Nature walks and landscape viewing.
• Spotting the big five – Elephants, rhinoceros, Leopard, Lion, and buffalo.
• Fishing in the Great Lake Victoria, Lake Albert, Lake Edward, Lake Mburo, Lake Kyoga, Lake Kwania, Lake Bunyoyi, Lake Bisina, and the River Nile in Jinja. The main species of fish caught are Nile perch, Tilapia, mud, and lungfish.
• Bird watching  (over 1035 species).
• Swimming and rafting in the various crater lakes, rivers, and beaches.
• Climbing Mountain Elgon and Hiking the Rwenzori Mountains.
• Quad Biking.
• Bungee jumping over the Nile.
• Cultural and heritage tours

Uganda tour – Major attractions

Murchison Falls National Park:

Murchison Falls National Park is located in northwestern Uganda in Masindi District, spanning 3800km2. It is named after its top attraction, Murchison Falls, which is formed at the point where the Nile River passes through a narrow gorge before going down about 42m in a mighty roar. Due to past insecurity in the country and unrestricted poaching, it destroyed the park was destroyed. However, due to the conservation efforts made by the government, the park has recovered. Today, the park is teeming with wildlife of the now endangered Rothschild Giraffes in East Africa, numbering over 1000. This wildlife tour offers cruising up and down the Nile River while watching elephants, lions, buffalo, antelopes, and birds feeding along the river banks. The park is also famous for white-water rafting at Karuma Falls, a thrilling collection of rapids just before Murchison Falls. Additionally, within the park lies Budongo Forest, where chimpanzee tracking is featured on the fourth day of the scheduled Murchison Falls safari package.

Queen Elizabeth National Park:

Queen Elizabeth National Park lies between the borders of Uganda and the DRC, covering 2056 km2. It is the most visited park, and is famous for the tree-climbing lions in Ishasha and the Uganda Kob. The appealing beauty of the green scenery and collection of plants, animals, and bird species of over 500, including Kingfisher, flamingos, eagles, storks, and the endangered shoebill attracts a countless number of tourists across the globe. Plus, the craters, savanna grasslands, swamps, lakes, and other volcanic features add to the park’s breathtaking diversity, offering visitors an unforgettable and varied landscape to explore. The 3 day of tour to Queen Elizabeth National Park offers the chance to encounter the big five in the park, like buffalo, hippos, baboons, elephants, and other different species of antelopes. Due to diversified features in the park, including Lake Edward and Lake George, people are likely to spot Nile crocodiles and view birding and game viewing at Kazinga channel, and track chimpanzees at Maramagambo Forest. To cherish the beauty and enjoy your tour at Queen Elizabeth National Park, dry season is the best time to visit around at the maximum. 

Kidepo Valley National Park:

The spectacular Kidepo Valley National Park is located in the remote north-eastern corner of Uganda, and covers about 1,440 km2. Even though this park receives few visitors due to its remote location, it is a park with a high variety and abundance of flora and fauna compared to other parks. It is commonly known for mirroring the past Africa before greater human interference, as it was described by CNN Travel. In addition, Kidepo Valley is an ecologically rich home for various animals and plants. It has a collection of beautiful mountains, baby bushes, and undisturbed savannah, plus animal species such as wild dogs, lions, cheetahs, leopards, giraffes, oryx, hippopotamus, elephants, ostriches, baboons, and about 220 bird species that contribute to the value of tourism. Moreover, the animals share space with nomadic pastoralists, like the Karamajong and the Ik people living high up the Morungole Mountain, which positively impacts cultural exchange. While visiting Kidepo National Park, visitors should expect an exceptional treat. 

Bwindi Impenetrable National Park:

Bwindi Impenetrable Forest Park is found in the southwestern corner of Uganda and neighbors the Dr Congo’s Virunga National Park. Because of its landscape and biological diversity, Bwindi is considered a World Heritage Site by UNESCO and has often been referred to as the Switzerland of Africa. It is known that the magnificent green and beautiful forest of Bwindi contains half remaining mountain gorillas, and the rest are found in Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo; so, visiting the gorillas in Bwindi can be a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Apart from the Gorilla tour offered at Bwindi, it is also a habitat for other animals like monkeys and birds such as bee-eaters, chap-ins flycatchers, black billed turaco, and African green broadbills. Coming to visit Bwindi in the wet season is the best period to view the greenery of the landscape, fruit-picking of birds and insects. 

Mgahinga Gorilla National Park:

Mgahinga, known for gorilla trekking, is located in the southwestern part of Uganda. While on tour, travellers visit one habituated gorilla family. Within this park, visitors can have a chance to visit golden monkeys that span over to Rwanda. Not only gorilla and golden monkeys, Jackals, woodland elephants, buffalo, leopard, and a few antelope species roam the park. On safari to Mgahinga, visitors can hike one of the volcanoes, Mount Sabyinyo, Mount Muhavura, and Mt Gahinga, or go for the Batwa trail and cave exploration. Particularly for gorilla visiting, a 3-day visit is a better option to enjoy the tour. 

Kibale Forest National Park:

Situated near the Rwenzori Mountains and bordering Queen Elizabeth National Park, Kibale Forest National Park is a renowned destination for chimpanzee tracking in East Africa. Even though chimpanzees can be found in parts of Uganda and Africa, Kibale demonstrates the good number of 1500 of population of chimpanzees that can provide an impressive experience for visitors. Chimpanzee trekking in Kibale can also be paired with scenic nature walks and an exploration of the Bigodi Swamp. Beyond chimpanzees, the park is home to 13 different primate species, including the red colobus, L’Hoest’s monkey, and grey-cheeked mangabey. Visitors can also spot Giant forest hogs, antelopes, and over 100 butterfly species. With swamps and grassland found in this park, they provide a good setting for bird watching of 290 recorded birds. 

Lake Mburo National Park:

Lake Mburo is Uganda’s smallest but the easiest park to reach from Kampala. Among the 13 lakes within the park, Lake Mburo stands out as the primary water body. It is the only place in Uganda where zebras can be seen. For bird enthusiasts, it is a true paradise with over 300 bird species gathering around the lake and the shores of the swamps. Due to the absence of elephants, it has led to the flourishing of vegetation, and the savannah plains that support wildlife like antelopes, buffalo, leopards, jackals, and hyenas. During the dry season, visitors have the best chance of spotting these animals as they come to drink from Lake Mburo’s waters. 

Mount Elgon National Park:

Mount Elgon National Park sits in eastern Uganda’s Mbale District, right on the border with Kenya. Its main attraction is Mount Elgon, an extinct volcano with a huge caldera covering 42 square kilometers. Visitors hike to Wagagai summit to enjoy the hot spring and other features. The slopes of Mount Elgon are covered with natural forest, bushes, waterfalls, caves, gorges, and canyons that can harbor a variety of bird species, and primates like Colobus Monkeys, blue monkeys, and vervet monkeys.  

Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary:

This rhino sanctuary, conveniently located en route to Murchison Falls National Park, was established to protect Uganda’s rhinos and eventually help reintroduce them to the country’s larger national parks. In the past, rhinos were wiped out in many Ugandan parks due to heavy poaching for their valuable horns. The sanctuary now offers a secure environment where rhinos are safeguarded from poachers and human disturbances, allowing them to breed and thrive. With a dedicated team of over 60 rangers and guards, visitors can get a close look at the rhinos and learn behavior of rhinos. Also, rangers can help visitors spot monkeys, antelopes, crocodiles, and hippos. Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary is a place for relaxation, nature walks, and canoeing while spotting over 240 species of birds. 

Uganda tour – Other Tourism destinations

Lake Bunyoyi

With its 29 islands, Lake Bunyonyi is widely regarded as the most beautiful lake in Uganda. The lake is located near the border with Rwanda and close to the towns of Kabale and Kisoro. Although the lake is one of the deepest in Africa, it is the sheer scenic beauty that sets it apart from others and makes it attractive to both visitors on a Uganda tour and locals. It offers great romantic spots to relax and watch the day pass by as you plan your next activity while visiting Uganda on a safari. One can also go watch the traditional dances of the Batwa Pygmies or hop from one island to another spotting the different island villages, schools and settlements by boat. The lake is close to Bwindi Impenetrable forest and visitors enjoy stopping by on their way to track mountain gorillas.