Queen Elisabeth National Park
Is Uganda's most popular National Park and certainly one of its most scenic. It stretches from the crater-dotted foothills of the Rwenzori ranges in the north, along the shores of Lake Edward to the remote Ishasha River in the South, incorporating a wide of variety of habitats that range from savanna and wetlands to gallery and lowland forest.
The lush savannah of Queen Elizabeth National Park offers prime grazing to buffaloes, elephants, various antelopes and a checklist of over 600 bird species
Bwindi Impenetrable National Park
offers some of the finest motane forest birding in Africa and is a key destination for any birder visiting Uganda. Amongst the numerous possibilities are no fewer than 23 of Uganda's 24 Albertine Rift endemics, including spectacular, globally threatened species such as African Green Broadbill and Shelley's Crimson wing. Bwindi is one of the few in Africa to have flourished throughout the last Ice Age and it is home to roughly half of the world's mountain gorillas. Of Uganda's forested reserves, Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is best known for its superb gorilla tracking, but it also provides refuge to elephant, chimpanzee, monkeys and various small antelope and bird species.
Location - Southwest, near Kabale
Size - 321 sq km
Getting there - From Queen Elizabeth (2-3hrs), from Kabale to the South (1-2hrs) and from Kampala via Mbarara (6-8hrs)
What to do Gorilla tracking limited to a maximum of 18 people per day – Permits must be booked before in Kampala. Guided forest walks, birding, and monkey viewing.
When to visit - Any time, but not advisable during rainy seasons especially April - May and September - November.
Rwendozi Mountains "Mountains of the Moon"
lie in Western Uganda along the Congolese boarder with the Snow - covered equatorial peaks rise to a height of 5,109m and lower slopes are blanketed in moorland and rich montane forest. Most of the park is accessible only to hikers although the magnificent scenery and 19 Albertine Rift endemics would be ample reward for birders. Rwenzori Mountains National Park protects the eastern slopes and glacial peaks of the 120km-long Rwenzori Mountains or 'Mountains of the Moon', a world-class hiking and mountaineering destination.
Location - In the West near on the border of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Size -996 sq km
Getting there - The Nyakalengija trailhead are 22km from Kasese off Fort Portal road.
What to do - hiking, bird watching of over 195 species and Nature guided tours through all the vegetation zones at the glacial peaks.
When to visit - January-Febraury and July-August are the driest months, but rain is possible due to unavoidance season changes.
Kibale National Park
is an extensive biodiversity National Park, protecting large block of rainforest birding. It harbors the greatest variety and concentration of primates found anywhere in East Africa. Superb birds and primates combined with easy access, a good infrastructure and a variety of interesting activities make this forest a worthwhile destination. Many of the facilities are community-based, thus providing the local community with the necessary revenue to keep their interest focused on the long-term protection of the areas.
As the most accessible of Uganda's major rainforests, Kibale is a home for over 13 remarkable primate species, including L'Hoest's and red colobus monkey. The elusive forest elephant, smaller and hairier move seasonally into the developed part of the park.
Location - In the west near Fort Portal
Size - 795 sq km
Getting there - 320km from Kampala to Fort Portal and/or an hour's drive from Kasese, accessible by public transport.
What to do - Chimp tracking, Birding, Forest walk and game viewing of a field of beautiful crater lakes lies between Fort Portal and Kibale Forest.
When to visit - Any time, during the year.
Mount Elgon
is complete with wild animals and popular destinations for nature lovers and has remained an exclusive domain of serious backpacker because good birding trails. The high extinct volcanic mountain 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 worldly giant lobelia and groundsel plants. The recent construction of the Forest Exploration Centre at Kapchorwa is allowing birders access to excellent montane forest extension that includes the localities for Fox’s weaver and the arid savanna around Moroto.
Location - On the Eastern border with Kenya near Mbale
Size - 1,121 sq km
Getting there - 3-4 hours from Kampala to Mbale (along Kampala - Jinja Road). The trailhead at Budadiri is only 20km from Mbale is accessible by public transport.
What to do - Day walks within the Mount Elgon Forest Exploration Centre,mountain climbing and hiking, birding, Sipi Falls
When to visit - Throughout the year especially during the drier seasons (January, March and June - August).
Source of The Nile
Flanked today by the city of Jinja, the waterfall described by Speke now lies submerged beneath the Owen Falls Dam, Uganda’s main source of hydro-electric power. Still, a visit to the source of the Nile remains a moving and wondrous experience, no less so to those who have seen the same river as it flows past the ancient Egyptian temples of Luxor some 6,000 km downstream. The source of the Nile, alluded to hazily in the ancient writings of Ptolemy, stood as one of the great geographical mysteries of the Victorian Age.Closer to home, the Nile downriver from Jinja offers some superb white water rafting and game fishing. Its crowning glory, however, is Murchison Falls, where the world’s longest river funnels through a narrow fissure in the Rift Escarpment to erupt out of the other side in a crashing 43 metres plume of white water. The river below the falls is no less spectacular in its own way, with its profuse birdlife, thousands of hippos, and outsized, gape-mouthed crocodiles
The Murchison Falls National Park
lies at the northern end of the Albertine Rift Valley, where the bulky Bunyoro escarpment merges into the vast plains of Acholi land. One of Uganda's oldest conservation areas, it was initially gazetted as a game reserve in 1926 to protect a savanna that Winston Churchill described in 1907 as 'Kew Gardens and the zoo combined on an unlimited scale'. The park is bisected by the Victoria Nile which first races down 80km of white-water rapids before plunging 40m over the remnant rift valley wall at Murchison Falls, the centre piece of the park. The Falls drains the last of the river's energy, transforming it into a broad, placid stream that flows quietly across the rift valley floor for 55km to Lake Albert. This stretch of river provides one of Uganda's most memorable wildlife spectacles. Regular visitors include elephant, giraffe and buffalo while hippopotamus and Nile crocodile are permanent residents.
Size - The park covers 3,893 sq km and is Uganda's largest protected area. Today it is part of the even larger Murchison Falls Protected Area (5,072 sq km) which includes the adjoining Karuma and Bugungu wildlife reserves.
Getting there - By road, the Nile river crossing at Paraa, in the centre of the park, is approximately 5hrs drive from Kampala (305km). Paraa is 85km from Masindi town by the direct route. A longer (135km) alternative route passes through Budongo forest and enjoys spectacular views across Lake Albert from the riftvalley escarpment above Butiaba. Paraa can also be approached from the north, via Chobe Gate near Karuma Falls and Tangi Gate near Pakwach (25km to Paraa), and Wankwar Gate near Purongo.
What to do -Five regular launch trips to the base of the falls offer fine game viewing and bird watching. Boat trips to the Lake Albert delta provide the best chance in Africa of sighting Shoebills. Chimp tracking at Rabongo Forest, and en route from Masindi in the Budongo Forest.
When to visit - Any time throughout the year.
Thanks to Uganda Tourism Board for info