Ecologically, Uganda is where the East African savannah meets the West African jungle. In this prowling lions, chimpazees, hippos, crocodiles, gorillas, antelopes etc plus over 1000 types of birds can be tracked.
In addition to the wildlife , There is the mighty Nile, punctuated by the spectacular Murchison Falls, and the setting for some of the world’s most thrilling commercial white-water rafting. There are the snow-capped peaks of the Rwenzori, which provide a tantalising challenge to dedicated mountaineers, as well as the Virunga Volcanoes and Mount Elgon, both of which offer highly rewarding hiking opportunities through scintillating highland scenery. More sedately, the myriad islands of Lake Victoria and Bunyonyi are idyllic venues, as are the myriad forest-fringed crater lakes that stud the rift valley floor and escarpment around Fort Portal. Whether you’re a first time safari-goer or a seasoned African traveller, Uganda – with its unique blend of savannah and forest creatures, its rare wealth of montane and lake habitats – is simply dazzling
A magnificent verdant swathe across the streep ridges of the Albertine Rift Valley, this ancient rainforest – one of the few in Africa to have flourished throughout the last Ice Age – is home to roughly half of the world’s mountain gorilla’s.
Elgon is a 4,321m high extinct volcano which in prehistoric times stood taller than Kilimanjaro does today. Although the mountain straddles the Kenya border, its loftiest peak Wagagai, lies within Uganda and is best ascended from the Uganda side. Elgon is an important watershed, and its slopes support a rich variety of altitudinal vegetation zones ranging from montane forest to high open moorland studded with the other-wordly giant lobelia and groundsel plants.
The most accessible of Uganda ’s major rainforests, Kibale is home to a remarkable 13 primate species, including the very localized red colobus and L’Hoest’s monkey. Kibale’s major attraction, however, is the opportunity to track habituated chimps – these delightful apes, more closely related to humans than to any other living creature, are tremendous fun to watch as they squabble and play in fruiting trees.
Isolated from the Ugandan mainstream by the harsh plains north of Mount Elgon , Kedepo is one of Africa ’s last great wilderness areas, a tract of rugged savannah dominated by the 2,750m Mount Morungole and transected by the Kidepo and Narus Rivers . Perennial water makes Kidepo an oasis in the semi-desert, reflected in its 86 mammal species (28 occurring nowhere else in Uganda ) and almost 500 birds.
This small national park protects the Ugandan portion of the Virungas, a chain of six extinct and three sporadically active volcanoes which follows the borders with Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Mgahinga was proclaimed with the primary aim of providing sanctuary to the rare mountain gorilla, some 300 of which live in the Virungas, and gorilla tracking remains the most popular activity here, though it is dependent on the seasonal movements of the habituated groups.
Uganda ’s largest national park protects a chunk of untamed African savannah bisected by the mighty river Nile . It is named for the dramatic Murchison Falls , where the world’s longest river explodes violently through a narrow cleft in the Rift Valley escarpment to plunge into a frothing pool 43m below.
The 120km Rwenzori chain is regarded to be the legendary snow-capped Mountains of the Moon, described by Ptolemy in AD150. Reaching an elevation of 5,109m it is also Africa ’s tallest mountain range, exceeded in altitude only by the free-standing Mount Kenya and Kilimanjaro. The distinctive glacial peaks are visible for miles around, but the slopes above 1,600 m are the preserve of hikers, who rate the Rwenzoris to be the most challenging of all African mountains.
Situated within the remote Semliki Valley , site of the Sempaya Hot Springs and named for the river which forms the Congolese borders, Semliki National Park protects an extension of the Congo ’s vast Ituri Rainforest, and is of particular interest to birders with 40 essentially Congolese species found nowhere else in Uganda .
Lying in the one part of Uganda covered in extensive acacia woodland, Mburo has markedly different fauna to other parks and reserves. Lake Mburo is the best place in the country to see the gigantic eland antelope, as well as zebra, topi, impala, and several acacia-associated birds.
Only recently developed for tourism, the reserve protects a network of forest-fringed wetlands along the Katonga River . Best explored on foot and by canoe, Katonga supports some 40 mammal and at least 150 bird species, many specific to wetland habitats. Most visible are elephant, waterbuck, reedbuck, colobus monkeys and river otter. This is one of the best places in Africa to look for the elusive sitatunga, a semi-aquatic antelope with webbed hooves that forages almost exclusively in swamps.
