Uganda is one of the most exciting and beautiful holiday destinations in the whole world. Due to Uganda’s beautiful nature, it has ranked among the 10th listed touristic country in the New York magazine last year and it’s still ranking among the best safari destinations to visit in Africa. Touristic attractions in Uganda are conserved by Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) which is a government body that aims in serving the best to visitors traveling to have their best experience in Uganda. Uganda is the perfect destination for touring and that’s why Winston Churchill named it the pearl of Africa. Summary of the activities you can’t afford missing out while visiting Uganda;
- Go mountain gorilla trekking
- Visit Murchison falls
- Game drive
- Chimpanzee tracking,
- Bird watching.
- Hiking
- Nature walks.
- Visit lake Bunyonyi
- Boat cruise
- Golden monkey tracking.
Go gorilla trekking
Going on a Uganda gorilla safari is one of the best activities carried out in Uganda’s thick rain forest of Bwindi Impenetrable national park and Mgahinga national park. These two parks are located in the south western part of Uganda boarding Rwanda’s Volcanoes national park and Congo’s Virunga National Park. These two parks are historically known as keeping half of the gorillas compared to Rwanda and Congo thus attracting more visitors. These gorilla families are 17 and 16 families can be accessed in four sectors of Bwindi and these include Buhoma sector, Ruhija sector, Nkuringo sector and Rushanga sector and one gorilla family is in Mgahinga Park that is Nyakagezi gorilla family.
Before the trekking, visitors are briefed about the dos and don’ts of the trekking and these include
- Cameras are accepted without flashes.
- Visitors aren’t allowed to trek
- Visitors below 15 years of age aren’t allowed to trek
- While visitors are with gorillas, they are supposed to keep a 10m distance from them to avoid influencing them with cough, flue and virus since they are 98% humans
- Each gorilla family is visited by 8 people to avoid congestion
- Visitors aren’t allowed to throw rubbish in the forest to safe guard the lives of gorillas that may come along them.
- It is a must for a Visitor to wear their masks as well as sanitizing before gorilla trekking.
What to pack during trekking?
- Cameras
- Rain coat
- Comfortable hiking boots
- Long trousers, Long t- shirt and long stockings
- Water and snacks
- Hiking sticks.
Visit Murchison Falls
A large volume of River Nile water is forced through a narrow gorge of 7 meters width before plunging about 45 meters downstream, creating one of the most spectacular waterfalls in the world and that is called Murchison falls. These falls can be accessed in Murchison falls national park which is the largest park in Uganda followed by Queen Elizabeth national park. The Murchison falls are located in the northern region of the Albertine Rift valley in masindi district of western Uganda situated by 300km by road from Kampala. The park is not only for falls but also boat cruise, birding, hiking and game drive. During the tour safari, the visitors always experience the best ever and for bird lovers are able to view birds like shoebill, Goliath Heron, Swamp Flycatcher, Abyssinian Ground Horn Bill, Red-throated Bee Eater, Northern Red Bishop, African Quail Finch and Giant Kingfishers among many others.
Enjoy a Game Viewing Safari
While touring Uganda, visitors can’t afford missing out the game drive and due to 10 national parks, less amount are charged by UWA to make visitors have the best. This activity includes viewing wildlife in a comfort of 4 by 4 open land cruiser which accommodates 4 to 6 individuals to give the classical safari feeling. The visitors are advised to use tour guides who are professional and are good at spotting the big large number of mammals and who will make your trip memorable one. These spotted mammals include, giraffes, hippos, chimps, lions, elephants, Uganda kobs, zebras and buffalos and so on.
Chimpanzee tracking
Chimps are researched on and said to be a close relatives of humans and that they are 98% DNA. Due to their ways and characters in life like breast feeding, giving birth, caring for infants, the way they eat has made them close relatives to humans. These chimps can be spotted in kibale national park, kalinzu forest, kyambura gorge in Queen Elizabeth national park and budongo forest in Murchison falls national park.
Are you interested in chimp tracking? Chimp permits awaits for you from UWA the government body which conserves the chimp parks and other national parks. The chimp permit costs $200 per person however before it was $100 per person. Those visiting habituated chimps, the cost increased from $200 to $250 per person. The trip advisors always advise the visitors to book in 6 months before the travel since the permits are always on high demand.
Bird watching
It has been recorded that Uganda is the best birding paradise due to conducive climate, abundant water sources and diverse vegetation. Annually, different species of birds fly to Uganda searching for good pastures and it is been recorded that Uganda has over 1080 birds and amongst them aren’t found elsewhere but Uganda. Bird lovers can access these birds in forests; national parks as well as boat cruise where they are spotted at the river banks on water bodies include Shoebill at mabamba bay wetland, African Open-billed Stork, Black Kite, African Marsh Harrier, Malachite Kingfisher, Swamp Flycatcher, Pied Kingfisher, Papyrus Gonolex and Black-headed Heron.
Go Hiking in Uganda
Uganda not only challenges in trekking but also challenges in hiking mountains. Most hikes are explored by foot and it requires enough fitness for hikers to enjoy the hike. During the hiking on mount Rwenzori, hikers are spotted with black and white monkeys, birds and other primate creatures. Some of the hiking places are mt Rwenzori, mt Elgon, mt muhavura, sipi falls, Murchison falls and many others.
Nature walks
It involves walking by foot with in the forest or moving around the local communities. This activity is always an additional to other activities like gorilla trekking and boat cruise. There are some places in Uganda that needs to be explored using foot and so places like local communities where vehicles don’t reach are advisable to move on foot. This activity is more fan to visitors because they see local community where they interact with local people, involve in their traditional dances and buy their traditional crafts as well as involving in traditional herbs thus making the trip the best.
Visit Lake Bunyonyi
Lake Bunyonyi is located in western part of Uganda in kabale district. It is known as one of the deepest lakes in Africa and it is not only a beautiful place to visit but also a place of fishing, zip lining, bird watching and boat cruise. This is always a relaxation spot for visitors who are from gorilla trekking in mgahinga and bwindi impenetrable national park. The lake is also a palace for honeymoon couples and holiday makers. It has both luxury and budgeted accommodation like Bunyonyi Overland Resort, paradise Eco-Hub, Lake Bunyonyi Rock Resort and Amasiko Homestay Lake Bunyonyi.
Golden money trekking
Uganda is known for having extraordinary unique and rare primates that visitors can’t afford missing out on their tour safari. Golden monkey got their names from golden-orange and black silver color on their fur. If at all a visitor wants to try out tracking these rare primates, they can be accessed in Mgahinga national park thus the adventurous activity. The park is located in south western part of Uganda neighboring Bwindi Impenetrable national park which is the best destination for gorilla trekking. These unique primates can also be found in volcano national park in Rwanda.