Best Four Uganda Tours
Wildlife Destinations
Uganda tours are growing rapidly
in popularity because of the fantastic opportunities to experience gorillas and
chimpanzees in their natural habitat.
There are a few other national
parks which don't boast the primates but which are still well worth a visit. These
are the top four national parks in Uganda...
1. Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park
It's here that you will
experience one of the most emotive wildlife encounters possible on earth. A
close encounter with a gorilla.
There are three habituated
mountain gorilla groups in the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and a limited number of permits are issued every day at eight per group.
The permits can be booked in
advance by you or by a Uganda travel agent or you can book when you get there but
then you run the risk of them all being sold out and you might have to wait.
Your chances of seeing the
gorillas are excellent here because they are tracked each day by experienced
trackers so their locations are known down to the last 24 hours.
This national park is a
rainforest so you can expect precipitation most of the year with the heaviest
rains occurring in March - April and September - November while other months are
reasonably dry. Annual precipitation is between 1130mm and 2390mm (44-94 inches).
View Bwindi gorilla trekking reviews »
2. Kibale Forest National Park Uganda
Tours
If you want to visit chimpanzees
on any Uganda tours then this national park is the place to be. They are tracked in much the same
fashion as gorillas but they tend to spend a lot more time in the treetops.
This rainforest is the most
accessible of all Uganda's major forests and is not only home to chimpanzees but
13 other primate species like the
red colobus and L'Hoest's monkey.
Birders will be able to wallow in
the luxury of being able to spot 335 species of bird such as the
Prirogrine's ground thrush, turacos
and hornbills.
The forest is not devoid of
mammals either but they are hard to find so if you spot elephant, buffalo, giant
forest hog and several species of antelope count yourself very lucky.
View Kibale safari reviews »
3. Murchison Falls National Park
This is the largest national park in
Uganda and it is bisected by the Nile river which cascades dramatically through
a cleft in the rift valley escarpment into a pool below to form the Murchison
Falls from which the park takes its name.
Previously denuded of wildlife by
poachers in the 1980's the animals are starting to make a recovery and you can
enjoy viewing crocodile, elephant, buffalo, hippo and a variety of antelope by taking a
houseboat trip down the river.
The very rare and very large
shoebill stork is also found here including a large number of other waterbirds.
View Murchison Falls safari reviews »
4. Queen Elizabeth National Park
If biodiversity were the measure of
a national park, this one would be the best in Africa.
There are over 100 mammal species
to be found here and an astonishing 606 bird species largely due to the
abundance of water and the fertility of the volcanic craters, grassy plains and
tropical forests.
This park was also beset by
poaching but now that peace has largely descended on Uganda the wildlife is
making a strong comeback with
elephant, a profusion of hippos, the elusive giant forest hog and handsome
Uganda kob all regularly sighted.
View Queen Elizabeth safari reviews »
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