Uganda’s National Parks reflect the extraordinary diversity of the country: a region of lakes, swamps, dense grassland, woodland, rolling plains, forests and mountainous areas. Here are the best destinations to visit in Uganda;
Murchison Falls National Park
Murchison Falls National Park is currently the most visited tourist destination in Uganda, the park is majorly famous for having the world’s most powerful waterfalls. Located in northern Uganda, also is the largest protected area in the country and an adventure here is an opening to watch the Big Five mammals. The Murchison Falls Park is crossed by the Victoria Nile which bisects the park into the northern and southern sections.
The golden savannah is dotted with acacia thickets and a relatively open landscape, particularly on the northern court of the part that stretches along the Victoria Nile joining the Albert Lake to form an amazing Nile delta a hub for a larger concentration of wildlife. A drive to the park introduces you to watch some of the big five mammals and the park avails a wider chance of spotting all the big five alongside Ziwa Rhino tracking.
Wildlife game drives, boat cruises to the bottom of the falls, driving to the top of the falls, wild camping, nature walks and chimpanzee tracking at Bundongo forest reserves, and spots fishing are the major adventure undertakings on Uganda safaris leading to Murchison Falls National Park.
Bwindi Impenetrable National Park
At the rim of the Western Great Rift Valley in southwestern Uganda is this fabulous volcanic tropical forest. The famous Bwindi Park is a UNESCO world heritage site that was declared due to the ancient and very biological ecosystem rain forest that dates to more than 25,000 years.
This is a biodiverse packed forest that boasts of about 450 mountain gorillas as per the 2019 gorilla census approximately half of the world population, about 400 plants species are recorded and about 360 bird species are recorded, other mammals include various primate species, forest elephants, buffalos, forest hogs, bushbucks to some 120 mammals are recorded here.
All gorilla trekking tours started at Bwindi Impenetrable National Park in late 1999. This ancient rain-tropical forest bargains the highest opportunities for seeing the mountain gorillas with about 17 fully habituated gorilla families. There are 4 trekking sectors of the Buhoma sector in the northern that also hosts the headquarters of the parks, the first sector where gorillas first trekked before other sectors were open. And the other sectors include Ruhija, Rushaga, and the amazing hills of the Nkuringo sector.
To trek gorillas at Bwindi Impenetrable must have a permit which costs $800 per permit to trek per day. As well, Bwindi Impenetrable also avails habituation adventures which are uniquely done here only for $1,500 per permit and have a 4-hour experience, the offer is a great experience compared to the Rwanda one-hour experience that equals the rates.
Kidepo Valley National Park
African authenticity and wider wild background outlooks are the boasts of Kidepo Valley National Park. The park is located in northeastern Uganda sharing a border with South Sudan. The park is the most isolated considering its accessibility by land, CNN termed the park as Africa’s remotest park. The virgin part of the world is here, almost everything about the park is authentic right from nature to people who have negligently rejected the global trends of civilization.
The park is spread about 580km by road from Kampala using the Kampala –Gulu – Kitgum – Kabong road which can take about 10 hours’ drive. Advisably, when driving to Kidepo Valley National Park not consider a one-day trip but can consider an en-route night. But also can take a scheduled flight from Entebbe Airport or Kajjansi airstrip to Apoka airstrip which can take about an hour.
The special treatment of the park lies along the Narus Valley and Kidepo valleys which houses higher concentrations of wildlife, the Nga’Moru wilderness campsite, communities, and the extinct volcanos of Morongoru are special consideration on a safari to Kidepo Valley National Park.
The park is a spot-on nugget of wildlife profusion with some of the endemic species which are not listed in other parks, and hosts about 75 mammals species among these include some of the Big Five, zebras, giraffes, hyena, fox, warthogs, many antelope species among other mammals. About 450 birds are recorded with Ostrich being the premier particularly seen in the Kidepo valley, and the secretary bird at Narus Valley.
The wide range of wildlife and vast landscape avails space to take various adventures at Kidepo including; Wildlife game drives, nature walks, cultural community visits, mountain biking, and wild camping.
Jinja Source of the Nile River
The source of the Nile is a unique spot of greater adventures in Uganda. Located in Jinja eastern of Kampala, the city can be reached via the Kampala-Jinja highway about 80km. Jinja is theoretically named the East African capital of adrenaline adventures. River Nile is a unique world drainage system that accelerates right from Lake Victoria in Uganda and pours to the Mediterranean Sea via Egypt. African countries that benefit from the Nile River drainage system include Uganda, South Sudan, Sudan, Ethiopia, and Egypt.
The source of the Nile stretch with various features particularly waterfalls and cliffs that have influenced several adventures. The rapids here are better places for adventures; the world-class white water rafting to the advancement grade 4 and 5, kayaking, tubing, and incredible bungee jumping are rewards of the source of the Nile River.
Along the Nile rewards, cultural performances like at Bujagali, horse riding and quad biking, and boat ride to the source point where you water springs. As the water continues through the rush chlorophyll backdrop it leaves a series of spectacular features of rapids and beautiful scenes that have attracted a huge number of travelers making Jinja a capital of adventures.
Queen Elizabeth National Park
The paramount domicile to spot lions, Queen Elizabeth Park for decades has lingered in the most popular park in Uganda. The biodiversity of Queen Elizabeth National Park with gust terrific savannah grasslands, forests, gorges, water bodies, series of craters, and wetlands are home to a vast number of mammals, birds, aquatic life, and insects among others.
The park got its name to commemorate the visit of Queen Elizabeth of UK visit to Uganda in 1954 turning from Kazinga national park. The park is located in Western neighboring Mt. Rwenzori National Park and Kibale National Park. Queen Elizabeth is adjoined with Kyambura reserve in the eastern, Ishasha in the south, and Kigezi wildlife reserves to form the larger queen Elizabeth conservation area.
The vast land is home to a variety of natural wonders that accommodate over 95 mammal species, the highest concentration of bird species in the country with about 600 species recorded, and about 10 primate species are counted at the park with several aquatic life.
Queen Elizabeth National Park is a park with a long list of adventures done just in one park. Expectations at the park are high, one can do, wild game drives, boat cruise adventures, cultural community visits, chimpanzee tracking, tree climbing lion tracking, visiting the salt mining Lake Katwe, lion tracking experiential, mongoose tracking, hippo census, birding all are adventures which can be done on a safari visit to Queen Elizabeth National park.
Another destination to go on Uganda Safaris
When opting for the safari in Uganda, the list of destination natural and cultural destinations includes Lake Mburo National Park, Mgahinga Gorilla National Park, Ngamba chimpanzee sanctuary, the source of the Nile, Mt. Rwenzori National Park, Kibale National Park, Kasubi tombs, Uganda Wildlife Education Center and many other destinations.
