Although Uganda’s mega bucket-list adventure is a trek experience along the mountain gorilla and chimpanzee in their natural rainforest homes, the country offers a classic African wildlife safari experience!
Uganda’s 10 national parks are some of the best wilderness places on the continent; uncrowded, untamed and diverse offering a variety of activities from game drives, boat cruises and walking safaris. The country’s low-volume of tourists allows an exclusive and personalised game viewing experience across a diversity of game-rich habitats. Wildlife enthusiasts to Uganda, will be impressed by the country’s unique fauna of over 340 mammals including the iconic African Big 5 and over 1080 birds species across a plethora of habitats ranking this small East African nation; the most ecological diverse destination .
Highlights on a Uganda Wildlife Safari
Epic Wildlife Game Drives
Uganda offers excellent and intimate game drive experiences across its vast savanna and wooded grassland national parks, an almost exclusive expereince to viewing up-close African iconic game. And with low-traffic of tourists, it means one will have an intimate time to watch various game as it interacts, relate and move about their natural habitats. Game viewing safari experiences are done in 4WD open-roofed vehicles that offer you best viewing experience including capturing photographic moments.
As you explore far and across diverse habitats, wildlife include; herds of savanna elephants, rhino, cape buffalo, Nubian giraffe, and various antelopes. This array of herbivores is tamed by healthy prides of Lions, including the unique tree climbing lion prides of Ishasha, the elusive Leopard, Cheater, Spotted Hyena with its iconic laugh, Jackals and other small invertebrates. Primates include the charismatic Patas and Vervet Monkeys and Olive Baboon.
On game drives across the savanna plains, take it slow, identify tracks, watch the interaction and coexistence of diversity, watch an army of carrion cleaners tearing away leftovers and observe the circle of life as evolves before your very eyes.
Boat Cruise Wildlife Safaris
Uganda’s savanna national parks are diverse in nature protecting large stretches of lakes and rivers where wildlife abound and flourishes away from human population. Boat cruise safaris offers an exclusive access to these secluded and hard to reach habitats bringing you up-close to a cast of wildlife and birdlife along.
On a boat cruise experience, one comes into close quarters of Africa’s several big giants giving one a perspective into a typical natural world of several wildlife and their interaction and relationship with each other and their surrounding environment. Watch the crocodile mother bask in tropical hot sun, watch the hippo males defend their territories, and watch various fishing techniques applied by master fishing birds that call these water stretches home.
Boat cruise safaris occur in the following national parks in Uganda;
- Murchison Falls NP, popular for that cruise to the bottom of the falls and shoebill watch downstream at the delta.
- Queen Elizabeth National Park most popular for the Kazinga Channel with it’s a million strong herds of hippo and prolific birdlife.
- Lake Mburo National Park for its quite waters whose edges hosts large pods of hippos and crocodiles, with a prolific birdlife.
Guided Nature Walk along the Rhinos at Ziwa Sanctuary
A waking safari experience along the rhinos at Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary ranks on top of adventure bucket-list whilst on a Uganda safari. Here, you get to walk along the only population of rhinos in the wild across Uganda today. This guided nature walk with rhinos is between lasts about 1.5hrs bringing you up-close and personal to these endangered species in their natural habitat. On a walk, the ranger guides will point out markings and tracks left by rhinos and shares great insights about the social behavior of this second biggest land mammal including its ecological importance, while stressing the need to protect and support the survival of these species. On locating the rhinos, the rangers and visitor can only get as close as it is safe, for these are wild animals, however the feeling of up close with these giants remains for a lifetime.
The species under the breeding program here is a southern white rhino race (Ceratotherium.s.simum), a close relative of the northern white rhino race that once roamed Ugandan grasslands before going extinct in early 1980’s. The rich wooded grasslands and wetlands at Ziwa Sanctuary support other local wildlife including Uganda kob, Common warthog, the beautiful and tame Bushbuck, the newly introduced Nubian Giraffe and Plain Zebra along a rich bird species checklist.
Guided Walking Safaris in the Uganda’s Savanna Wilderness Parks
While on a Uganda wildlife safari, spice up your adventure by exploring the natural world on foot to get close and personal to several local fauna and flora an experience beyond the comfort of the 4WD vehicle throughout several wilderness parks. These wilderness havens protects incredible landforms created by the same geographical forces that shaped the great lakes region several millennia ago, these features include explosion lakes, gorges, mountain ranges including the highest on the continent, lava dammed lakes and rift valley walls.
While on foot in these wilderness, you get a totally different perspective of the natural world, your senses are fully awake as your ranger guide points out fresh tracks, local geology, scratches, markings and calls in the wild. You get noticed by the local wildlife probably as a competitor! As you walk past herds of elephants, zebra, impala, kob, waterbuck and giraffes you notice the alertness, hoots, warning and alert calls by several scouts, a rare feeling that can only be encountered on foot.
It is while on the walking safaris that one discovers about the smaller wildlife often bypassed while on game drives. These often overlooked species are the nature’s Your understanding of the ecosystem is enlightened as you observe the continuity of life, interdependence, inter-relationship and coexistence and come to appreciate the natural world and our place in the entire ecosystem. It could be a million army of safari ants on move, a warthog mud-bathing, a slender chameleon hurrying to cross an open trail, a rock python sunbathing, a dung beetle rolling away his ball, dashing bushbuck, a fierce mating fight by male Kob or….! It’s another world out there.
Other nature walks offered throughout Uganda’s tropical rainforests include trek expereince along the mountain gorilla chimpanzee and bird watching walks.
Wilderness Camping Experience
Pitch your own tent in the midst of Uganda’s golden savannas roamed by wildlife, watch millions of stars as they light the dark sky as you enjoy campfire, far away from the modern busy world. Enjoy story-telling, catch up on your childhood dreams, reflect on life and be motivated at the future as you get warmed up by fire flames consuming away dry wood. As you retire to your tents, hear the roars and other spine-chilling and heart piercing calls by local wildlife and enjoy the loneliness of typical African wildness.
From our own and other adventure’s experience, Uganda’s remote and best wildness park of Kidepo Valley National Park offers the best wilderness camping. Hemmed in by mountain ranges, this wilderness host incredible diversity of flora and fauna unique to this region and rarely found in other parks.
The sunsets and sunrises sightings over Kidepo savanna plains and mountain ranges ranks as one of the most stunning sights anywhere in Uganda’s wilderness parks. Uganda’s smallest savanna park of Lake Mburo National Park in the central south Uganda is another incredible area for its varied wilderness camping, offering great scenery and wildlife.
Note: These gazetted camping grounds in protected national parks are provided with the very basic of amenities and an armed escort for your security. Planning ahead is crucial.