Uganda is characterized with Savannah, tropics and shrubs which are both widely spread across. Among these are shared within the 10 National Parks which stature with different adventure packages. Below we discus you the best five safari parks in Uganda, we are going to consider their tourist potentials and you should not miss while on your Uganda tours in Africa.
Murchison Falls National Park
Uganda’s most interesting and most visited park by tourist, Murchison Falls National Park is the country’s largest among other parks with an area of 3,778kmq. Geographically, the park is located in the northwestern Uganda.
The famous part of Murchison Falls National Park is the crossing of the Victoria Nile. The Victoria Nile forms the roars and thunder sounds of the mighty Murchison Falls. The falls are arguably the world’s most powerful waterfalls considering the force which the hug rapids use through the narrow gorge of 7m wide. At the flow, the Victoria Nile as well bisect the park into Northern and Southern sections.
There is no Murchison Falls National Park without the Murchison Falls. And the river continues with an amazing flow towards Lake Albert forming the Delta which is the park’s hub for wildlife games. The northern section features the Savannah woodlands of acacia and palms.
And adventure to Murchison Falls National Park is the highest chance for watching the Big Five on a safari to Uganda. Among the adventures expectations include some of the big five lions, leopards, elephants, and buffaloes. Herds of antelope species, towers of giraffes, schools of hippos, over 400 bird and many more species. En-route to Murchison is Ziwa rhino sanctuary the only home to rhinos in Uganda.
Among the activities to do at Murchison Falls National Park include game drive, boat cruise, visiting the top of the falls, climbing to the top of the falls, nature walks, community visits, wild camping, sports fishing among others.
Bwindi Impenetrable National Park
The home to about 50% of the world’s remaining mountain gorillas. Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is the second only forests that are endemic to the mountain gorillas. The other forest being the Virunga Conservation Areas shared among Rwanda, Uganda, and Democratic Republic of Congo.
Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is located in southwestern Uganda, seated in lines of Albertine Rift valley, seated on an area of 331sq/km. The park is characterized by tropical rain forest covering volcanic landscapes favoring the existence of the mountain gorillas. Bwindi Impenetrable National Park uniqueness dwells in the ultimate gorilla experience within hillside.
The park has at least 17 habituated gorilla families. As it’s the only forest where trackers have an opportunity to do gorilla habituation. Bwindi Impenetrable has 4 tracking sectors of Nkuringo, Buhoma, Rushaga and Ruhija. Gorilla trekking at Bwindi is the best experience and relatively possible for all classes of travelers.
Besides being an endemic destination for mountain gorillas, the park home to various species of flora and fauna. These include about 300 species of birds, elephants, buffaloes, other primate species including red tailed monkeys, L’Hoest’s monkeys, chimps, bush bucks, about 400 species of plants and many others.
Adventure activities done at Bwindi Impenetrable National Park include, gorilla tracking, nature walks, bird watching, mountain biking, Batwa cultural experience, etc.
Kidepo Valley National Park
The remotest park by road access, highly termed as “the True African Wildness.” Located in the rugged northeastern region bordering Sudan and Kenya. The amazing feature of Kidepo Valley National Park is about the widest opening of the Savannah landscape. It’s about 10hours of scenic drive reaching Kidepo Valley National Park by road and only about an hour by aircraft.
The park has two popular sections of Kidepo Valley and the Narus valley which two persist with water even in driest season. These two sections have the highest concentration of wild animals. The eco – biodiversity of Kidepo consists of over 74 mammal species includes some of the big five mammals, antelope species, zebras, cheetahs, wild dog.
There are about 470 bird species including ostriches, secretary birds among others. In 2019, CNN named Kidepo Valley National Park among the best attractive destinations in Africa. And in 2021, the park featured in the World Tourism Awards list of best safari parks in African and safari booking in 2019 listed the park 11 among the best 50 national park in Africa.
Adventure activities to in Kidepo Valley National Park are game drive, nature walks, birding, mountain climbing, Karamoja cultural visits experiences.
Queen Elizabeth National Park
Queen Elizabeth National Park is Uganda’s second largest park covering an area of 20,56-kilometer square. Again, the Park is Uganda’s most popular tourist destination attracting a great number of tourists globally. Before, the park was called Kazinga Channel National Park but was renamed to commemorate Queen Elizabeth II visit to Uganda in 1954.
The park is found within the western arm of the Great Albertine Rift Valley. Queen Elizabeth National Park has the longest list of adventure experience done than any other park in Uganda. It highly features the Savannah, woodlands, and the tropics. The only park to find the rare tree climbing lions, highest concentration of birds with over 600 species of birds.
Special features of Queen Elizabeth National Park include; the Kasenyi Savannah open for game viewing, and Kazinga Channel that connects Lake Gorge to Lake Edward it’s for game viewing on a boat cruise. Ishasha sector popular for tracking tree climbing lions, Kyambura Gorge tropical unique for accommodating chimpanzees.
Adventure experiences done on a safari to Queen Elizabeth National Park include Wild game viewing on both game drive and boat cruise, bird watching, tree climbing lion tracking, chimpanzee tracking, community visits, visiting Lake Katwe a salt mining lake. Also, hippo census, mongoose tracking, lion experiential among others.
Mgahinga Gorilla National Park
The only endemic destination for the unique and rare golden monkeys in Uganda. Mgahinga Gorilla National Park is Uganda’s smallest park and the as well the 2nd farthest park. Mgahinga is part of the great Virunga Conservation Area which also shared with Volcanoes National Park of Rwanda and Virunga National Park of DR Congo.
Mgahinga is home to some of the world remaining mountain gorillas. It’s the second park endemic to gorillas with Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. Only at Mgahinga where the Silver meets Gold, finding the golden monkey living along with the silver back. Mgahinga National Park has only one habituated gorilla family, this means only 8 people trek gorillas here.
However, the park is believed to host about 100 gorillas, and most these gorillas are wild not habituated for trekking. When opting to trek gorillas here, then have to book at least three months before the trekking date to secure a permit.
Mgahinga Gorilla National Park is characterized by dormant volcanoes including Mt. Gahinga, Mt. Sabyinyo ranging from 2,227m to 4,127m and Mt. Muhavura. These are vital for climbing experiences besides tracking. Among the activities done at Mgahinga National Park include gorilla trekking, golden monkey tracking, volcanic hiking, Batwa cultural trail etc.
