Explore Mgahinga Gorilla National Park on a self-drive safari in south western Uganda. The southwestern part of Uganda becomes more mountainous and tropical, with the very southwestern part being the location of Mgahinga National Park. Mgahinga shares a border with Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda and Virunga National Park in DRC. It is in Mgahinga Gorilla National Park where travelers can view mountain gorillas.
Uganda is one of three countries where these creatures can be seen and is the only country with two national parks for mountain gorillas. For those wishing to see mountain gorillas on their safari, Uganda offers the most established tourism infrastructure. Uganda is a popular safari destination, particularly for other African countries, and roughly 50% of Uganda’s tourists come from neighboring Kenya.
Uganda’s range of terrain also makes it a great choice for those seeking a more standard safari coupled with a mountain gorilla or chimpanzee viewing. Due to the slippery and foliage-dense terrain of the mountain gorilla, for those wishing to do a gorilla safari it is advisable that they be in good physical condition. These areas are also malaria-ridden and anti-malarial medication is needed. For those who are physically and mentally prepared for a mountain gorilla safari, Uganda is an excellent choice.
Queen Elizabeth National Park
Discover Queen Elizabeth National Park on a self-drive with 4×4 rooftop tent in Uganda. Despite the diversity of its wildlife – ranging from hundreds, sometimes thousands, of Ugandan kob in the northern Kasenyi Plains, to chimps at Kyambura Gorge in the east, tree-climbing lions at Ishasha in the south and over 600 species of birds in between – Queen Elizabeth National Park is quiet and quite serene. True, the wildlife may not be as copious as some Kenyan or Tanzanian parks, but the Big Five are all here aside from rhinos. Although the best place to see lions is around Kasenyi Plains with their well-stocked larder of kob, the tree-climbing lions in Ishasha are a special sight.
Nearly every visitor takes a boat trip on the Kazinga Channel where the hippos and crocodiles are the stars, but buffaloes, elephants, lions, leopards and just about all other animals might be seen. Wildlife drives are best in this northern region, but the famous tree-climbing lions are only found in the distant Ishasha region.
Lake Mburo National Park
Lake Mburo’s billing as the last Ugandan stronghold for the impala – an abundant antelope elsewhere in southern Africa smacks slightly of desperation. But while, this low-key national park doesn’t really bear comparison to the likes of Queen Elizabeth and Murchison Falls further west it is the ideal place to break up the otherwise long drive from the capital Kampala to the key reserves of the western safari circuit.
A game drive will give you good sightings of the usual plains animals like zebras, giraffes and interestingly enough, impalas, which are absent from other parks in Uganda. I always enjoy the boat trips on the eponymous lake, which is teeming with hippos and water-associated birds, notably the localized African fin foot. Back on terra firma, the wildlife densities are surprisingly high, perhaps due to the absence of lions, and it is the only place in south-central Uganda where you’re likely to see zebra, the immense eland antelope,and giraffes, which were recently trans-located from Murchison Falls.
Also present are a host of colorful acacia woodland birds more normally associated with Tanzania and birding in the open savanna makes a welcome change from craning necks toward the forest canopy. In recent years, it has also developed a good reputation to see leopards, especially on night drives, while recently added activities include horseback and walking safaris. I always look forward to, and enjoy, my stop there en route to Bwindi Impenetrable or Queen Elizabeth National Park.
Kibale National Park
This park has the highest density of primates in Africa. It’s not a typical safari stop, but if you love primates you’re going to love Kibale Forest. This lush jungle near the gorgeous Crater Lakes has 13 species including black-and-white Colobus, red-tailed monkey, L’Hoest’s monkey, and chimpanzees. The latter is what bring most people here because some have been habituated to humans and the chances of finding them are quite good, plus the tracking is not very difficult.
There’s the usual option to spend an hour with the chimps, but Kibale offers a day-long experience too. You might also see elephants, buffaloes, or leopards, but don’t count on it – the dense forest makes finding them very difficult. On the other hand, night walks are excellent here with bush baby and civet sightings fairly common. Bird watching is also very good though most birders focus their efforts outside the park in small preserves like the Bigodi Wetland Sanctuary which offer grassland and wetland birds alongside Kibale’s forest species.
Bwindi Impenetrable National Park
Trekking to see the fabled mountain gorillas is something everyone should get to experience at least once in their lifetime. Uganda is one of only three countries in the world (the others being Rwanda and the DRC) where the rare mountain gorilla can be reliably tracked on foot, an experience I’d have no hesitation as commending as the most thrilling wildlife encounter Uganda has to offer. And of the 13 habituated gorilla groups in Uganda, all but one is resident in Bwindi, spread between four trailheads: Buhoma, Ruhija, Nkuringo and Rushaga.
Yet, while the opportunity to stare into the liquid brown eyes of a giant silver back is what brings most tourists to Bwindi, it would be massively reductive to treat this magnificent forest, which sprawls over steep hills nudging the Congolese border, as merely a ‘gorilla reserve’. Bwindi is an excellent place to see localized forest mammals – indeed it is the only place where I’ve seem the bizarre yellow-backed duiker and the one place in Uganda where you regularly encounter the handsome L’Hoests’s monkey.
Mt Rwenzori National Park
Explore the Rwenzori Mountains on a safari trip in Uganda. The highest point: 5,109m above sea level on Mt Stanley’s Margherita Peak. The border with DR Congo bisects Mt. Stanley. The Rwenzori is not volcanic like East Africa’s other major mountains but is a block of rock up-faulted through the floor of the Western Rift Valley.
The Ruwenzori’s were christened the “Mountains of the Moon” by the Alexandrine geographer Ptolemy in AD 150. The explorer Henry Stanley placed the Rwenzori on the map on 24th May 1888. He labeled it ‘Ruwenzori’, a local name which he recorded as meaning “Rain-Maker” or “Cloud-King.” The oldest recorded person to reach Margherita Peak was Ms. Beryl Park aged 78 in 2010.
The Ruwenzori’s – the fabled Mountains of the Moon lie in western Uganda along the Uganda-Congo border. The equatorial snow peaks include the third highest point in Africa, while the lower slopes are blanketed in moorland, bamboo, and rich, moist montane forest. Huge tree heathers and colorful mosses are draped across the mountainside with giant lobelias and “everlasting flowers”, creating an enchanting, fairy-tale scene.
The national park hosts 70 mammals and 217 bird species including 19 Albertine Rift endemics, as well as some of the world’s rarest vegetation. The Rwenzoris are a world-class hiking and mountaineering destination. A nine- to twelve-day trek will get skilled climbers to the summit of Margherita – the highest peak – though shorter, non-technical treks are possible to scale the surrounding peaks.
And for those who prefer something a little less strenuous, neighboring Bakonzo villages offer nature walks, homestead visits home cultural performances and accommodation, including home-cooked local cuisine.
