Uganda
Uganda, Churchill’s ‘Pearl of Africa’, land of unexpected beauty, volcanoes, plains, friendly, welcoming people, and of course, home to half the world’s population of endangered mountain gorillas. Transport links in Uganda are improving all the time, but travel by charter plane is expensive, so some longer drives albeit through beautiful scenery are necessary to avoid the expense of charters.
Uganda’s parks don’t have the sheer concentration of game of its neighbour Tanzania, nor the huge elephant population of Botswana, but what they do have is the beauty of their scenery in abundance, and a real draw-card in being able to view wild, habituated chimpanzees and gorillas up close.
This is one of the great wildlife experiences on earth and an hour sitting in the company of a mountain gorilla family, is something never to forget. Coupled with the chimps of Kibale Forest and the lions of Queen Elizabeth’s Ishasha region, as well as good concentrations of many plain's game, and some of the finest bird-watching anywhere in the world, make Uganda a destination of choice for the discerning safari traveller.
Click below to see a sample Ugandan safari itinery:
Itinerary
Kampala 1 night. Arrive in Entebbe airport and transfer to Boma Guest House, one night.
Murchison Falls, 2 nights. Drive to the Murchison Falls National Park. Boats trips on the Nile and under the Falls, and game drives in the Park. Nile Camp.
Kibale Forest, 2 nights. Day’s scenic drive to Kibale Forest. Morning’s chimpanzee tracking for the many habituated chimpanzees that populate the forest. After lunch back at the camp, a guided walk at the Bogodi Swamp. Ndali Lodge.
Queen Elizabeth National Park, 2 nights. Drive to Q. E. National Park, Game drives and boat trips in the Park and along the Kazinga Channel. Elephants, buffalo, lion and hippo and a wealth of exotic bird species. Mweya Safari Lodge.
Isahasha, 1 night. Game drive through the Queen Elizabeth National Park, to the Ishasha region in the south of the park, famous for its tree-climbing lion. Ishasha Wilderness Camp.
Bwindi Forest, 3 nights. Morning game drive in the beautiful Ishasha region, then onto Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, and to your lodge overlooking the forest itself. Two days of tracking the endangered mountain gorillas. Buhoma Homestead.
Lake Mburo, 1 night. Drive to Lake Mburo National Park, afternoon and morning game drives. Mihingo Luxury Lodge.
Drive back to Entebbe Airport for your international flights.
Land Cost: From U.S. $5,450 per person, plus gorilla permits $500 x 2, per person Based on four people traveling together in twin/double accommodation.
Bwindi Impenetrable National Park
Bwindi is famous for its habituated gorilla families, set in beautiful scenery in the south-west part of Uganda. Bwindi is a true forest, subject to regular rainfall and accessible only on foot; gorilla treks can take anything from one to five hours and an hour is spent actually with the gorilla family. Other wildlife may be seen and the Bwindi area is also famous for its spectacular birding, with many endemic species and a huge variety as the East African species meet the endemic Albertine Rift Valley and central African species.
Kibale National Park
Kibale is a small park, heavily forested with an amazing 13 species of primate to be seen. The most famous and sought-after are the families of habituated chimpanzees who move surprisingly quickly through the trees, or if you are fortunate, walk past you on the forest paths. You can also look for red colobus, mangabeys and L’Hoest’s monkeys, and a host of fascinating bird-life, as well as visiting the birding ‘hotspot’ of the Bigodi wetlands nearby.
Queen Elizabeth National Park
Queen Elizabeth Park has a great variety of habitats; in the north the scenery is volcanic with a boat trip along the Kazinga Channel a particular draw: elephant, buffalo, and many other animals can be seen coming to the water to drink, and the phenomenal variety of numbers of bird species along the water’s edge is extraordinary. Further south is the beautiful Ishasha region where there are fewer people and the lion have a reputation for climbing into the branches of the fig trees.
Lake Mburo National Park
A small park, often visited on the journey between Kampala and Bwindi, Lake Mburo is a small park but with a great variety of bird and animal life including zebra, eland and buffalo.
Murchison Falls National Park
Uganda’s largest park, Murchison offers good game viewing by vehicle and boat trips on the Nile up to the Murchison Falls. Murchison is terrific for bird-life particularly along the river, with over 650 recorded species in the park, and sport fishing is a possibility with some huge Nile perch the prime catch.
