BIG GAME SAFARI
Wildlife Safaris in Uganda’s most popular National Parks is one of many passions. Visitors flock Uganda to see wild game. The theme of a safari toAfrica is to see the legendary “Big Five” including the elephant, the lion, the Giraffe, the Rhinoceros and the Buffalo among other wild species.
Uganda offers a number of national parks for purposes of catching a glimpse of Big Game.
Murchison Falls National Game Park, Queen Elizabeth National Game Park, Kidepo Valley National Game Park, Lake Mburo National Game Park, Semliki National Game Park
BIRD WATCHING
Among the reasons why Uganda is rated among the best birding destinations in the entire world is primarily because of its richness in the different habitats. There is a variety of bird species corresponding to these habitats.
Bird watching itineraries will take you any part of the country. Queen Elizabeth National Park alone boasts of over 500 species of birds. Other areas where bird watching can take place are; Kidepo national park, Kibale National Park, Murchison Falls National Park, Bwindi Impenetrable National park, Lake Mburo , Mgahinga, Elgon, Mt. Rwenzori National Parks and Ssesse Islands.
CHIMPANZEE TRACKING
This activity takes place in Kibale Forest National Park, which has the greatest population of Chimpanzees in their natural habitat. Many of the chimps have been habituated to allow human access to them. Other areas for Chimpanzee Tracking include; the Kyambura gorge near Queen Elizabeth National PARK, and Budongo Forest in the Southern part of Murchison Falls National Park.
These chimpanzees are tracked in the wild, in their natural environment. The tracking starts at 0800 accompanied by a trained guide walking you through the forest and giving you a lot of information on the flora and fauna of the forest.
CULTURE AND ART
Cultural Walk: This will give u a chance to have a taste of the Ugandan lifestyle. You will meet with locals of many different generations and see the way of life in this developing country. The highlights of this cultural include visit to traditional healers or medicine man. A visit to homes for a demonstration of a variety of food making skills such as how bananas are used for a children’s drink, to make beer and also the local spirit. Get the chance to interact with the local community, they will show you how they incorporate every day activities into dance.
FOREST WALKS
Uganda is endowed with natural forest. Some are found on the slopes of dormant volcanoes like the Mt Elgon area, or the Albertine region Rwenzori mountain range, the Semliki valley, Kyambura gorge as well as the Kibale national park.
Guided forest walks are most varied in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park, which is a true African jungle with large trees, thick undergrowth, creepers, and climbers that make the forest “impenetrable” with over 200 species of trees. The trails differ in walking time, ranging from 30 minutes to up to 8 hours. They give a chance for one to enjoy the tranquility of the forest and see several primate species, birds endemic to the Albertine rift, plants and trees.
GOLFING
Your Uganda golfing experience is going to be above your expectations and won’t even compare to your wildest dreams. The climate in Uganda is perfect for golf any day of the year. Temperatures range from 21-25 degrees Celsius daily.
The Uganda Golf Course in Kampala is a good track, worth playing at. While a trip to Entebbe Golf course will give you great experience and you’ll be out in the wide open spaces near Lake Victoria.
GORILLA TRACKING UGANDA
Gorilla tracking is the most popular tourist activity in Uganda representing over 80% of Uganda’s Tourist arrivals. Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, home of the gorillas has ten habituated Gorilla families and only 8 tourists booked per group per day.
On the day of tracking, you are advised to wake up early for breakfast and be ready for gorillatracking. Report at the park station for registration by 0730 hrs. During the briefing, please listen to the instructions of the local rangers at all times. It is forbidden to approach the gorillas closer than 5 meters, to feed them or to use flash photography.
GORILLA TRACKING RWANDA
Gorilla Tracking in Rwanda was hence forth described “In the heart of Central Africa, so high up that you shiver more than you sweat,” wrote the eminent primatologist Dian Fossey, “are great, old volcanoes towering up almost 15,000 feet, and nearly covered with rich, green rainforest – the Virungas”. Situated in the far northwest of Rwanda, the Parc des Volcans protects the steep slopes of this magnificent mountain range – home of the rare mountain gorilla – and the rich mosaic of montane ecosystems, which embrace evergreen and bamboo forest, open grassland, swamp and heath. An exhilarating trek through the cultivated foothills of the Virungas offers stirring views in all directions.
HORSE RIDING
A horseback safari provides the ideal way to explore the Nile up close, see a traditional Ugandan village and view the fantastic panorama from the hills overlooking the Nile River valley. The landscape is spectacular; you will be in awe of the beauty of the area around the source of the River Nile. We offer both short (2hr, 3hr) safaris and longer overnight and multi-day horse safaris.
For shorter horse safaris no riding experience is necessary. Two or more guides accompany our safaris.
MOUNTAINEERING
Hiking safaris in Uganda take place mainly in two national parks:
The Rwenzori Mountains, or the Mountains of the Moon, are easily Africa’s best kept secret. Rarely visited and isolated, they contain much of Africa’s permanent ice and the most varied mountain scenery as we climb from tropical rainforest, through alpine valleys to the glaciers.
On the block Rwenzori mountain range where you can hike for 3-8 days or even more.. Rwenzori Mountain has 6 peaks, Mt Stanley (5,109m), Mt Speke (4,890m) Mt Baker (4,843m), Mt Emin (4,798m), Mt Gessi (4,715m) and Mt Luigi di Savoia (4,627m). The highest peak is Margherita peak (5,109) making Rwenzori Mountains the 3rd highest in Africa and the highest block mountain in Africa.
NATURE WALKS
This is a unique activity in Uganda. Here you get an opportunity to experience wilderness and wildlife by exploring forests and Savannah grasslands conducted by trained guides. The walks take place in the national parks or wild game reserves or communities neighboring the parks.
Trails have been created and routes are made where there is danger of encountering predators. The trained guides are sometimes armed but some will not be armed. The guides have a lot of knowledge on different aspects of wildlife, plants and birds. They are very familiar with the behavior of animals like the chimpanzees and gorilla trekking as well as bush walks like those at Lake Mburo Park.
SAND, SUN AND STROLLS LAKE VICTORIA
While Uganda as a land locked country does not enjoy the long sandy beaches of the likes of Mombasa / Kenya or Zanzibar Tanzania, it has small jewels of beach on Islands on Lake Victoria that add value and diversity to Uganda’s tourism aspects.
The new Pineapple Bay Resort is located on Bulago Island on Lake Victoria offers a small paradise with six luxurious chalets and guests can enjoy long strolls on the beach or sailing on the lake, fishing trips, sundowner cruises and horse riding. The island offers a wide variety of landscapes ranging from a small rainforest at the north-eastern tip of the island and savannah-like grassland in the interior of the island. Other places with white sand beaches include; Ssese islands and Buggala Island.
WHITE WATER RAFTING
This activity began in the mid 1990’s it has however, gained tremendous popularity especially among the young travelers. The longest river in the world, the Nile starts its 6600 km journey to the Mediterranean at Jinja on the shores of Lake Victoria. There are a variety of rafting packages one can chose from:
The full day rafting trip with 5kms of white-water from Bujagali Falls with all the big grade 5 rapids is the most popular one!
The two day trip offers the best way to experience the Nile. The total rafting distance is 46kms and it is a wonderful “river journey”.
SPORT FISHING
This activity was popular in the 1960’s and early 1970’s at Chobe in the Northern part of Murchison Falls N.P. Unfortunately due to insecurity in Northern Uganda, this activity is no longer feasible in Murchison Falls. However the lower part of The River near Paraa has revived fishing and the biggest catches have been realized by tourists.
Fishing trips can be organized to take place on the lake river river banks, while other fishing trips take place on the water bodies on motor boats or canoes. Fishing trips can take place half a day 0900 to 13hrs or full day 0900 to 1630 hours.