Uganda has 10 major National Parks ready for you to explore and discover the Pearl of Africa.
Murchison falls national park.
This park is the only park in Uganda with the big 4 animals, the shy and rare leopards, gigantic elephants, the memorable elephants together with the king of the jungle can all be seen in the park, while rhinos the 5th animal are found in the nearby Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary. You can combine visiting Murchisons Falls and Kidepo National Parks for an exquisite wildlife safari.
Top attractions in the park
- Murchison falls
The power of this fall showers tourists with pleasure due to the pressure that the water flows through the gorge that is 7m wide and drops from over 40 meters high to a 50-meter wide water pool. The tourists are entirely exhilarated by the loud roar made by the pressure of the fall and the water sprays that they receive as they get closer to it.
- Paraa
Almost close to the banks of the Nile, there exists an area called Paraa. This is the home of hippos where tourists are mesmerized by the sight of these water creatures, one shouldn’t miss a chance to spot these huge animals as they enjoy life in the water. Tourists also get to enjoy numerous activities like game drives, hot air balloons among others.
- Karuma falls
The northeastern part of the park is blessed with thundering Karuma falls that glues tourists into amazing scenes of the white foam created by the forces at which the water flows over the rocks, wildlife like lions, buffaloes, antelopes, birds, Ugandan kobs always linger around the falls hence tourists can easily spot them.
It is one of the oldest national parks in the country. This is because it was established in 1952.
This is the park with the largest number of hippopotamuses in East Africa. Over 5000 hippos are found in the park. You can also enjoy both chimpanzee trekking and wildlife safaris in this park
Activities in the park
- Lion tracking
The Kasenyi plains are the only spot in the park where these magnificent wild cats can be spotted. Tourists are accompanied by a researcher either in the morning or evening to move around the park with radiation trackers that trace lions, the radio collars are placed around lions’ necks. Tourists get between 1-3 hours of learning, monitoring and watching over the lions during this activity.
- Game drives
The beautiful plains of Queen Elizabeth are spacious and tourists can view a variety of amazing wildlife creatures like herds of buffaloes, Ugandan Kobs, elephants, warthogs and others. This activity tantalizes tourists with an awe-inspiring scene that cannot be viewed only once as lions slouch and pose in trees.
- Kazinga boat cruise
Traveling on water doesn’t only offer tourists with fresh and cool environment but also enormous views that the tourists get to spot while on the deck. Tourists can book the morning cruise that starts at 11am, the afternoon shift at 1pm and the evening shift at 3pm, while on the cruise they can enjoy the beauty of the wild filled with different bird species, buffaloes, hippos, crocodiles among others.
The park has five lakes that are found within the premises of the park. The famous being Lake Mburo, other water catchment areas in the park include Lake Kigambira among others.
Top attractions in the park
- Lake Mburo
While majority of the water sources run out of water during the dry season, this lake stays loyal to all the animals and birds in the park and quenches their thirst during periods of drought. Tourists are always pleased to visit this lake because it is a collection of a wide variety of animals found in the park like buffaloes, hippos, elands and others.
- Rwonyo rest camp
This is the starting point for most of the tourism activities in the park. For nature walks, hiking, game drives, quad biking are all started at this point and there is a craft shop where tourists can collect some fancy souvenirs.
- Game drives
When listing down the parks that offer night game drives in the country, Lake Mburo cannot be missed on the list. The early morning hours and late afternoons do not only offer a chilly atmosphere and wondrous views of the sun, but also give tourists opportunities to view a wide variety of animals like zebras, impalas, elands, Topis among others. The night game drive gives a special and unforgettable feel to tourists as the night cries from animals and lighting eyes are both scary and amazing to look at.
It is the only park that offers gorilla habituation. All the countries that are graced with mountain gorillas offer mountain gorilla trekking and it’s an exquisite experience but gorilla trekking is just checking on the gorillas because gorilla habituation offers a more charming and magnificent interaction among the tourists and the gorillas during the four hours offered. You can get to Bwindi from K
Top activities in the park
This is the first activity introduced in the park that is known to the world making it a blast to the country since the majority of the tourists draft itineraries to cast their eyes on the magnificent mountain gorillas found in the park. With the possession of a gorilla permit that costs $700, tourists trek through the forest to the fullest and feel satisfaction once they sight the rarest apes on earth found in the forests of this park. The park has four beautiful sectors in which the tourists can have an hour of admiring and witnessing the lives of the gorillas.
This is keenly done under the supervision of trained researchers only in Bwindi and the Rushaga sector in particular. This gets tourists trekking through the forest with researchers while learning and collecting data about gorillas. A permit worth $1500 offers four hours to spend, observe and understand the behavior of mountain gorillas.
- Mountain biking
Buhoma sector offers the best landscape and scenery for mountain biking as biker enthusiasts go through the community and spot the various establishments of the environment like local schools, hospitals, wine makers, and traditional healers among others.
- Lake Mutanda visit
The air breathed in from water areas like Lake Mutanda is so refreshing and gives an impressive feel to tourists on a canoe ride to explore the various islands spread on the lake. Tourists get to spot a variety of water species and watch the sun set while on the calm waters of the lake is an experience that makes tourists confess about the beauty of the park.
It is the only park with nocturnal primates. This park has a number of primates to the extent that it possesses also rare kinds like the pottos, bushbabies that can only be spotted while on the forest night walks.
Incredible activities in the park.
- Chimpanzee habituation
Kibale is entirely known to be the primate’s home and harbors the highest number of chimpanzees in the country. This activity has no time limits as tourists can spend the entire day draining out the shyness towards humans from the chimps.
- Chimpanzee trekking
This also involves tourists hitting the forest in the park in search of the chimps. It takes around 30 minutes to 7 hours for the wondrous primates to be sighted and tourists are overjoyed in the one hour that they are offered to study and observe the chimpanzees.
- Nocturnal forest walk
While other unique national parks offer night game drives, this park has an interesting activity where tourists get to walk through the dark forest at night. It is a scary activity yet rewarding as they get to enjoy the sights of night lovers like bush babies, and pottos among others.
- Bushcraft children.
Parents shouldn’t be worried about leaving their kids behind while on a safari because this park has a kid’s package where children below 15 years are accompanied by guides to spot wildlife, birds, and monkeys while their parents are engaged with the chimps.
- Visit the Amabere caves and Nakayima witch tree
While driving to the park, tourists shouldn’t miss a stopover at these two historical areas and learn about their cultural backgrounds. Some individuals believe that the Nakayima tree has power to heal diseases, infertility and other diseases.
Top activities in the park.
- Game drives
The flat areas are spacious enough to offer tourists the luck of spotting the wilderness with their binoculars from the comfort of their vehicles. Tourists can drive through Narus and Kidepo valleys and be filled with joy of gazing at animals like cheetahs, elands, reedbuck, oribi among others.
- Nature walks and hiking
This is one of the most specular parks in the country as it combines both a flat landscape, mountains and dry plains all in the park. Tourists get to drain their feet in the sand found in valleys like Narus, Kidepo and embark on hiking journeys on Lomej hills and mountains like mountain Morungule.
- Cultural encounters
The Karamoja and IK groups have amazing cultural norms and values that offer excitement to tourists. A hike to the top of mountain Morungule isn’t a waste of time because tourists not only effortlessly scan through the surrounding areas but also interact with the lives of the IK individuals.
MGAHINGA GORILLA NATIONAL PARK.
Mgahinga is the only park in the country that is part of the Virunga massif. This park possesses up to three mountains that are part of the eight Virunga volcanoes.
Top activities in the park
- Gorilla tracking
This activity is popularly done in all the areas that have gorillas and even though this park has just one gorilla family, tourists are always eager to go into the park and spot its amazing family members. Nyakagezi has just nine members with two silverbacks but that doesn’t stop tourists from flocking the park area.
- Volcano hiking
An appreciation of the beautiful scenery of the environment is 100% met by tourists who choose to climb depending on the choice made by the tourists because the park has three mountains that is Gahinga, Sabyinyo and Muhabura and each has different views to offer and different times taken to ascend and descend it.
- Golden monkey tracking
This is exceptionally done in this park while in Uganda. This race of monkeys is distinct as it is mainly found in the Albertine rift. This means that this group also enjoys the company of mountain gorilla and tourists are able to look for the pretty belle monkeys while in this park effortlessly as they can be seen swinging in the sky and grabbing trees branches.
- Batwa trails and Garame cave exploration
The Batwa are the original owners of the park and they once lived with the gorillas before they were evacuated. Embarking on walks with them aids travelers to learn more about their culture and how their good old days were wondrous and fruitful. The Garame cave is also involved in the history of the Batwa as it was used as a council chamber in their long-forgotten days.
It is one of the country’s oldest physical features. The mountain has long been forgotten that it once even erupted as this happened over 20 million years ago.
Top activities in the park
- Mountain hiking and mountain biking
These are almost similar activities as they require energy to navigate the tasking slopes of the mountains just that the tourists either take on the challenge using their legs or are supported by the aid of a bike. The bike trail starts off from Sipi falls trading center to Chema hills and it takes about one and half hours. Tourists are blessed with views from the Karamoja plains, Sipi falls among other sceneries.
- Volcano climbing at Mountain Elgon
Climbing to the summits of this mountain is an excitingly strenuous activity but tourists don’t need any special equipment to get the activity done. The Sasa trail is the shortest but hardest as you head to the peaks but it offers views from the surroundings like Bamasaba settlement area.
- Cultural tours
These tours involve learning more about the people in the community and how they lead on their lives. Tourists have a chance to meet the Sipi widows’ group that leads them in an exhilarating encounter by passing through plantations of coffee, picking, washing, and grinding it among other activities that the tourists can engage in. It is entirely known that the flourishing seeds of the famous arabica coffee are widely grown by the Bagisu on the slopes of this mountain.
RWENZORI MOUNTAINS NATIONAL PARK
Activities in Rwenzori national park
The park has two amazing trails that offers tantalizing trails to the summit of the mountain. The Central Circuit Trail is a 7 day climb that meanders through descent valleys and fresh fields of beautiful scenery and a glimpse of the exceptional snow peaks. The second route is the Kilembe trial whose standard routes lead to Mount Baker, offering a surprise to tourists.
- Cultural encounters
Tourists shouldn’t miss trekking to Bakozo villagers to meet their homesteads and admire the beauty that the people in the Pearl of Africa live in. The unique dances, drumming, and blacksmith skills among others are part of the wowing encounters in this region.
- Wildlife viewing
Tourists that flock this park should be ready and eager to see a variety of beautiful wild creatures that make up the wild like blue monkeys, red duikers, Rwenzori otter, and forest hogs among others.
SEMULIKI NATIONAL PARK.
Attractions in the park
- Sempaya hot springs
There are cultural histories that the springs hold otherwise tourists eager to see food and eggs boiled and salted up from just a water pool should visit this park. The male spring is called Biteente and the female Nyasimbi endorses its cooking role and that’s why the hot springs are believed to be gushed out by female ancestors.
- Wildlife
The animals found in this park love the savannah grassland hence tourists should expect to see a variety of them like buffaloes, warthogs, waterbucks, and pygmy hippos among other animals.
You can have combined tours that let you visit more than one destination. Like visiting Kibale and Bwindi for primates and later heading over to the national parks for wildlife safaris.
Here’s our itinerary that lets you engage in both primate trekking and wildlife safaris.
Enjoy our special itinerary curated for those looking for a longer stay while exploring the pearl of Africa.
