- BWINDI IMPENETRABLE FOREST NATIONAL PARK
Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is one of the biggest Mountain Gorilla national parks it is found in southwestern Uganda on the edge of the western arm of the Great East African Rift Valley, a distance of about 480km from Kampala city Centre.
Size
Bwindi has sectors positioned for the gorilla tracking activities. The Nkuringo sector which lies closely to the Buhoma sector is about 10km from Buhoma although this distance is covered by walking through the Impenetrable Forest which takes 3 hours. Connecting by the car from the two points takes about 5 to 6 hours. Villages at Nkuringo also operate a community walk that visits a traditional healer, rural homestead, blacksmith and brewers. Nkuringo, Bushaho and Christmas are the families in this sector. The Gorilla Habituation Experience is always done to the newly identified family.
The Ruhija sector which is famous for its abundant birdlife on top of the gorillas is considered the most remote sector of all the four. There is a three hour hike to visit the Mubwindi swamp and this rewards bird lovers with countless bird species. Gorilla families in this sector include; Ruhija, Bitukura, Oruzogo and Kyaguriro.
The Rushaga sector boasts with the highest number of gorilla family to include; Mishaya, Nshongi, Kahungye, Busingye, Bitukura and Bweza. It lies between Kabale and Nkuringo coming from either Ruhija or Kampala. Buhoma is the main centre which has the first ever habituated Gorilla families that include Mubare, Rushegura and Habinyanja. Newly added sector is Nyakagezi in Mgahinga national park.
Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is best known for its Mountain Gorilla populations and gorilla tracking although, it also offers some of the finest Montane forest birding in Africa and is a key destination for any birder doing a Safari to Uganda. Amongst the numerous possibilities are no fewer than 23 of Uganda’s 24 Albertine Rift endemics, including spectacular, globally threatened species such as Shelley’s Crimson wing and the African Green Broadbill. Bwindi is one of the few in Africa to have flourished throughout the last Ice Age and it is home to approximately half of the world’s Mountain gorillas.
Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is best known for its outstanding gorilla tracking, but it also provides refuge to elephant, chimpanzee, monkeys and various small antelope and bird species. If you book a Uganda safari without Gorilla trekking then you will have missed an opportunity to see these rare and threatened gorillas. The variant biodiversity is supported by the fact that Bwindi is extremely old and also its slopes extend over a broad altitudinal range of 1447m above sea level, enabling habitats ranging from lowland forest to Afromontane vegetation.
- KIBALE FOREST NATIONAL PARK
Kibale forest national park is found in Western Uganda protecting moist evergreen rain forest. It is about 766 square kilometres in size located between 1,100 metres to 1,600 metres in elevation with a diverse array of landscapes. The forest boosts the greatest variety and highest concetration of primates in East Africa providing sights of wild chimpanzees, red tailed monkeys and black and white colobus monkeys. Chimpanzee trekking and habituation experience is done here. Other Activities are birding, hiking, visiting crater lakes, and bigodi swamp walk among others. All experiences are fun and memorable.
- MURCHISON FALLS NATIONAL PARK
This is the largest wildlife national park in Uganda. The highlight of this park includes the roaring rapids of Murchison, the rolling plains of Uganda’s National park where you will have a chance of seeing lions, giraffes, hartebeest, buffalo, elephants, kobs, leopards, and different birds. A tour to the Northern section of Murchison with a high concentration of savannah wildlife enjoying game viewing and photography with magnificent falls that form a 45m wall through an 8m wide gorge hence giving it a very scenic look and a thunderous roar of the waters before it continues with its course on the Victoria Nile.
- QUEEN ELIZABETH NATIONAL PARK
This park is the most popular tourist destination in Uganda and lies on the bottom of the Albetine rift valley. It is surprisingly endowed with a number of natural habitats and wildlife and other tourism products. The park’s diverse ecosystems, which include sprawling savanna, shady, humid forests, sparkling lakes and fertile wetlands, make it the ideal habitat for classic big game, ten primate species including chimpanzees and over 600 birds. It has dozens of enormous craters, paranomic views of Kazinga channel with schools of spectacular wildlife, the ishasha plains with fig trees where tree climbing lions hide targetting their prey.
- KIDEPO VALLEY NATIONAL PARK
Kidepo valley is a rugged savannah, dominated by the 2,750 metres (9,020 ft) Mount Morungole and transected by the Kidepo and Narus rivers in the Karamonja region. It is an isolated park with magnificient wildlife hosting over 77 mammals species and 475 bird species.
- LAKE MBURO NATIONAL PARK
This is the smallest of Uganda’s national park a home to around 350 bird species, zebras, impalas, eland, buffaloes, oribi, Defassa waterbuck, leopard, hippos and hyenas among others. It contains much of woodlands. The savannah is interscepted with rocky ridges and forested gorges.
- RWENZORI MOUNTAINS NATIONAL PARK
Rwenzori national park known as the fabled Mountains of the Moon – lies in western Uganda along the Uganda-Congo border. It is Africa’s third highest mountain peak with many waterfalls, lakes, and glaciers. The park is known for its beautiful plant life and hosts over 70 mammals, primates and a home to different bird species including the Albertine rift endemic. Its highest point lies at 5109m above sea level on mt Stanley’s Margherita peak. Mountain hiking, bird watching, nature and hiking walks, cultural encounters and community trails are some of the major activities done in this park.
- MGAHINGA NATIONAL PARK
Mgahinga national park is found in southwestern Uganda and covers an area of 33.9km squared. The park also covers the northern slopes of the three northern Virunga Volcanoes. Gorilla trrekking and golden monkey are thrilling tourist activities in this park. It also has a big cultural signficancy of the Batwa pygmies. The volcanoes’ slopes contain various ecosystems and are biologically diverse, and their peaks provide a strking backdrop to the gorgeous scenery.
- MOUNTAIN ELGON NATIONAL PARK
Mountain Elgon National Park is situated in Eastern Uganda and covers an area of 1,270 square kilometres bisected by the border of Kenya and Uganda with the largest volcanic base in the world. It is a birding spot and consisting over 300 bird species including the endangered Lammergeyer. It is one of the oldest and largest volcanic mountains in East Africa and a home to 300 bird species and unclustered wilderness.
- SEMLIKI NATIONAL PARK
Semliki national park is found in western Uganda. It is the only park with the low land tropical forest in East Africa, a home to 441 bird species and 55 mammals. It is dorminated by the easternmost extension of the great ituri forest of the Congo basin. It is a home to numerous wildlife and different bird species. The local community consists of the Batwa pygmies from the Ituri. The park also has a unique feature the most famous hot spring in Uganda. There are two hot springs in the park: sempaya which local call Nyasimbi – the female spring. Culturally, the Bamaga people hold the spring sacred. They believe the gods are female and annually hold celebrations to appease them.