A rekindled Uganda has plenty in store for the curious traveller
From rafting the Nile to tracking White Rhino, a rekindled Uganda has many diverse experiences.
Uganda is Africa’s most diverse safari destination. Situated where the eastern savanna meets the western rainforest, it is the only place in the world where you might watch lions on a kill one day, and track mountain gorillas or chimpanzees through the jungle the next. As some measure of this biodiversity, Uganda is one of only four African countries where 1,000+ bird species have been recorded, and it is by far the smallest of this quartet.
Scenically, Uganda is breathtaking. Three of Africa’s eight highest mountain ranges – the snow-capped Rwenzori, the petulantly volcanic Virungas, and the more placid Mount Elgon – lie partially within it. Bisected by the equator, Uganda can also lay claim to being the source of the mighty Nile, which rises from Lake Victoria, the world’s second largest freshwater body, to flow briefly through the almost-as-vast Lake Albert on the floor of the western Rift Valley before it exits into South Sudan.
Not too long ago, outsiders tended to associate Uganda with the tumultuous presidency of Idi Amin. All that has changed, however: the country now possesses a sophisticated safari industry and an excellent selection of midrange to luxury accommodations befitting its ecological wealth. Uganda, in short, is an intreguing safari destination, and here are some of the best places and expereinces you will want to consider for your Uganda journey.
1 - Raft on the Nile River
The stretch of the Nile immediately downriver of its source at Jinja is now entrenched as the East African equivalent to Victoria Falls (the adrenalin tourism capital of Southern Africa). The most popular activity here is whitewater rafting, which used to be centered on the Bujagali Falls, but following their submersion by a hydroelectric dam in 2011, now follows a breathtaking series of 10 rapids, including the Grade V Overtime and Bad Place, downstream from Kalagala Falls.
3 - Undertake a challenging ascent of three volcanic peaks
Protecting Uganda’s portion of the volcanic Virunga range, Mgahinga National Park borders Rwanda and the Congo and is an underrated alternative to gorilla tracking in Bwindi. True, only one habituated gorilla group is present, but it does happen to include a magnificent trio of fraternal silverbacks, and it tends to frequent more open habitats than is counterparts in Bwindi. Other attractions include visiting a habituated troop of the endangered golden monkey, and the challenging day ascents of the park’s three volcanic peaks: Muhabura (13,540 ft), Sabyinyo (12,050 ft) and Gahinga (11,400ft).
4 - Explore the unique birdlife in Semliki National Park
5- Track Rhino
Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary is a wonderful overnight stop en route to Murchison Falls or Kidepo Valley, Ziwa is home to Uganda’s only rhinos, which were reintroduced from Kenya in 2001 following the extinction of the local population 20 years earlier. Here, you can track white rhinos – Africa’s second largest non-marine creatures – on foot, a truly thrilling and adrenaline-raising experience.
6 - Meet your closest relative, the Chimpanzees
7 - Visit the Karamojong cattle herders
Finally opening up to tourism after years of instability, the dry badlands that dominate the far northeast of Uganda are home to the Karamojong, seminomadic cattle-herders with cultural affinities to the better-known Maasai of Kenya and Tanzania. The small town of Moroto is the base for organized day or overnight visits to a traditional Karamojong manyatta. Further north, abutting the mountainous border with South Sudan, remote Kidepo Valley National Park is an unexpectedly rewarding safari destination that hosts significant numbers of lion and elephant as well as a few thousand-strong herds of buffalo.
8 - Take a boat ride at the base of Murchison Falls
Bisected by the mesmerizing jungle-lined Nile as it flows west towards Lake Albert, Uganda’s largest conservation area offers some fine all-round wildlife viewing. Its scenic centerpiece is the 140ft-high Murchison Falls, a deafening rush of white water created as the Nile erupts through a narrow cleft in the Rift escarpment. Lion, elephant, buffalo, Rothschild’s giraffe and the localised patas monkey are common along the main game-viewing tracks around the Nile Delta, while chimpanzee tracking is offered at Kaniyo Pabidi in the Budongo Forest sector. Popular boat trips to the base of Murchison Falls reliably lead to close encounters with hippos, crocs and other wildlife, and a more specialized boat excursion into the Nile Delta is a must-do for birders wanting to see the extraordinary shoebill.
9 - Track Mountain Gorillas and even more in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park
To most visitors, Bwindi is practically synonymous with gorilla tracking. Protecting a magnificently scenic landscape of jungle-swathed hills abutting the Congolese border, the park is home to 45% of the global mountain gorilla population, including 18 habituated groups that can each be visited by up to eight tourists daily. But while gorilla tracking understandably dominates perceptions of Bwindi, guided day hikes offer the opportunity to see plenty of other wildlife, including elephants, chimpanzees and various forest antelopes and monkeys. With 350 bird species recorded, many of them forest specialists with a limited distribution, Bwindi is also a superlative ornithological destination.
10 - Explore Entebbe
Whether on arrival or on departure you are likely to pass through Entebbe. The site of Uganda’s only international airport, Entebbe has an attractively lush location on the Lake Victoria shore a short drive south of the capital Kampala. Unlike many African gateway towns, it happens to be an exciting wildlife destination in its own right. Stroll around Entebbe Botanical Garden and you should be rewarded with sightings of the gorgeous black-and-white colobus monkey and some stunning birds including great blue turaco, black-and-white casqued hornbill and palmnut vulture. Offshore Ngamba Island, affiliated to the Jane Goodall Institute, is a sanctuary for orphaned chimpanzees, while dugout excursions with a community project at Mabamba Swamp offer as good a chance as anywhere of spotting one of Africa’s most eagerly sought birds, the bizarre shoebill.
