UGANDA

Source of The Nile

A prime destination for tourists in the 60s. Uganda's Lakes, dense forests, hills and rivers were busy with fauna. Civil unrest was a major distruction from the countries development. The 70s and 80s were a tough time for Uganda and Ugandans.

Now Uganda is well on the road to recovery. Both Socially and Economically. The government is now stable and has attracted investment and much confidence from the world over.

Uganda provides something different from the other two East African Nations of Kenya and Tanzania. In the latter you get Savannah, Desert country, Ocean front beaches, and moderately forested areas. Uganda has dense impenetrable forests, numerous lakes and rivers, abundant bird life, hills and valleys almost everywhere you look.

This kind of environment is most conducive for animals such as Chimpanzee and Gorilla that flourish here. Gorilla trekking is a major attraction in Uganda with the main Park for this being Bwindi, an almost impenetrable forest area.

Uganda's many rivers attract white water rafters, and one may include this in one's itinerary for a visit to Uganda. Uganda's People are warm and welcoming. Hospitality is great in Uganda.

We arrange special itineraries To All The Locations Below

Bwindi National Park

Gorilla in Bwindi national Park

331sq kms of dense natural forest. Bwindi on the western edge of the Rift Valley is home to half the worlds population of mountain Gorillas. Gorilla trekking is the main attraction to this national park and is very popular among tourists. Bookings must be made way in advance because there is a limit to the number of visitors that can enter this park in a yr. This is due to the Gorilla being endangered and hence interference with their natural way of life is kept minimal.

The Gorilla population is said to stand at around 300 at present. These 300 are divided into families some of which are used to having people around them and some which are not quite inviting to visitors in the park. The Mugare family and the Katendegyere family are among these. The most habituated being the Mugare family but visitors who are allowed to visit them are still limited to 6 per day.

Visitors guided by an experienced guide who starts looking at the point where the gorillas are said to have spent the night. He then follows signs such as broken twigs, dung and footprints trying to locate the gorillas. The search may last anywhere between 3 to 7 hrs because the gorillas cover long distances each day.

Other attractions at Bwindi include: Butterflies 202 species, Birds 346 species, mammals 120 species and trees 163 species. Other than that there are numerous beautiful water falls all over the park.

Ruwenzori National Park

"Mountains of the Moon", these are the words the Greek Geographer/Philosopher Ptolemeus used to describe the Ruwenzori Mountains in the 2nd Century. Mt Stanley, named after a famous explorer who led an expedition to the Ruwenzoris in 1887 is Africa's third highest mountain at 5109mtrs.

Ruwenzori Mountains
"Mountains of the Moon"

Designated as a National park in 1993, the Ruwenzoris were formed as the land mass here got pushed up due to the formation of the Rift valley. unlike other mountains in east Africa, these are not Volcanic.

The word "Ruwenzori" stands for Rain-maker. A fitting name taking into consideration the fact that the region enjoys an average rainfall of 5mtrs.

The snow and ice covered peaks are only visible for a few days in the year. The driest months here are July and August and December through to February. Hiking here outside of these months is very difficult due to the wet weather.

Gigantic Lobelias and groundsel make up a large potion of the vegetation in the Ruwenzoris. Bird life is plentiful in the area including some unique ones such as Handsome francolin, Olive Pigeon, Ruwenzori turaco and others.

Mammals in the park include: Elephant, Leopard, Giant forest hog, Bushbuck and others.

Queen Elizabeth National Park

Tree Climbing Lion

This is a 2000sq km park south of the Ruwenzori Mountains. Animals to be seen here include: Waterbuck, Hippo, Crocodile, Buffalo and the occasional Elephant and Lion.

The Ugandan Kob, an antelope quite similar to the Impala lives mostly to the north of the park and they have their mating grounds here. Topi is the other antelope found in the park.

The declined number of mammals in the park is well compensated for by the abundance in bird life. Cormorants, Pelicans, Saddle Billed Storks, fish Eagles are plentiful here.

To the south of the park are the unusual tree-climbing Lions of the park. They are normally seen lying along tree branches on their stomachs, not a normal habit for a lion.

The primate attractions in the park include the Chimpanzee, the Black and White Colobus and the Red Tailed Monkey.

Kibale Forest Primate Reserve

The Dense Kibale Forest

An impressive piece of equatorial forest, home to the highest primate concentration in the world. Kibale is said to be home to some 11 species of primates. The Galagos, Black&White and the Red Colobus and the Lh'oests Monkey are common in this area. The other attraction in the park are the 500 or so Chimpanzees who are used to having people around and are quite entertaining. The trees here are simply huge, they grow high and have very large trunks. These giants of trees are held in place by roots that dig deep into the ground. Above ground, streams are common and flow into swampy clearings in the park where one is likely to find Antelopes grazing. Butterflies and birds are plentiful here and the park also is home to a large elephant population.

Murchison National Park

Murchison Falls

At 3840sq km, Murchison National park is comparable is size to Kenya's Maasai Mara game Reserve and is Uganda's Largest National Park.

The river Nile runs through it dividing it into 2, one half being dense forest and the other plains and Savannah. The forest is occupied by yet again, primates. Such include the Chimpanzee and other monkeys as well.

One can take boat trips up and down the river to catch site of the many Hippos that laze along the river banks. The boat trip was a highlight of this park when tourism in Uganda was at its peak in the 60s and 70s.

Buffalo, Elephant and Giraffe among others can be spotted here. The main attraction is the birds in the park. From the tiny little malachite Kingfisher to the Fish Eagle, Muchison is rich in bird life. The Saddle Billed Stork and the Whale Headed stork which is found virtually nowhere else in East Africa can be sighted here.

Visitors to the park are slowly trickling back in and once word gets around, the boats will again be busy with curious tourists just like in the 60s.