A List Of Top Uganda Safari Activity Options

Uganda offers a dazzling variety of natural safari destinations and cultural wonders in a no crowded setting. It would be best to tailor an itinerary that soots your Uganda safari needs according to the number of days on your safari. Gorilla trekking tops the list of Uganda safari activities. Most of the Uganda safari activities are wilderness-based, awed to different habitats that favor the existence of many fauna and flora.

Most Popular Safaris

3 day Uganda gorilla tracking

3 day chimp habituation in Kibale

3 day fly in gorilla habituation

5 days chimp and gorilla habituation

3 days Rwanda gorilla tracking

4 days gorillas and golden monkeys

5 day Uganda gorillas and wildlife

5 day gorilla habituation and chimps

5 days gorillas and game safari

5 days gorilla trekking Rwanda

Uganda may be landlocked with no seaport but with its fresh or salty water bodies, you can do a number of water activities. To explore Uganda while on safari, you need a reasonable number of days, including a travel period, as Uganda's attractions are dispersed in different parts of the country.

What Are The Top Uganda Safari Activities

Gorilla Trekking In Uganda

Gorilla trekking is one of the remarkable wildlife encounters in Uganda. Gorilla trekking is an exclusive activity limited to only eight trekkers per gorilla family daily. Currently, Uganda has 19 gorilla families living in primeval Bwindi Impenetrable national park and Mgahinga National Park. Now, 152 gorilla trekking permits are open to public booking per day to minimize forest disturbance.

Everybody must purchase a gorilla permit from Uganda Wildlife Authority to allow entry into the gorilla trekking destinations of Uganda.

To do gorilla trekking in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, you need to know the area where your gorilla permit is booked. Bwindi Impenetrable National Park has four areas where your gorilla permit is secured: the Buhoma area in the north, the Ruhija area in the east, Rushaga and Nkuringo areas in the south.

What Is The Cost Of Uganda Gorilla PERMIT?

Uganda gorilla permits cost $ 800 per person for foreign nonresidents, $700 for foreign residents, and 300000shs per person per trek for East African residents.

Every cost of a gorilla trekking permit includes:

• A ranger guide fee.
• Security during gorilla trekking.
• Local community support.
• Mountain gorilla conservation support.
• One hour in the company of the mountain gorillas.
• Park entrance fees.

Some exclusions of gorilla permit cost are transport to gorilla trekking destinations, tips, porter hire, and any other items of personal nature.

Gorilla Habituation Experience

Although gorilla habituation is one of the recent activities included on to do activities in Uganda after being opened in 2014, the demand for it is escalating every season. The gorilla habituation experience is an adventure where you follow a semi-habituated gorilla family with a team of researchers and habituators in the wilderness and stay with them for four hours. Gorilla habituation is a process that helps a wild mountain gorilla family get used to human presence without altering their nature.

In Uganda, gorilla habituation occurs in the southern part of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. Two gorilla families are reserved for the gorilla habituation experience.

When you locate the mountain gorillas, you are allowed four hours in their company during gorilla habituation.

Game Drives During Uganda Safari

Uganda is endowed with 4 national game parks and some game reserves. Some of the Uganda game parks include

Murchison Falls National Park

This game park lies in the northern part of Uganda astride River Nile. The most interesting game drives are on the Northern banks, with the Buligi track area being the prime game viewing area of Murchison Falls National Park.  

During the early morning or late afternoon game drives in Murchison Falls National Park, you may spot animals like giraffes, lions, leopards, waterbucks, reedbucks, herds of elephants, a herd of buffaloes, hartebeests, Uganda kobs, and others.

The launch trip to Murchison Falls National Park brings out the ultimate beauty of this park. You enjoy riverine animals that grace the River Nile's banks to bathe or quench your thirst. During this voyage, look out for serried Nile crocodiles that love basking at the crocodile restaurant and pass an impressive school of hippopotamus and otters. You may spot animals like lions, giraffes, herds of elephants, and hartebeest.

Enjoy the eye-captivating view of the River Nile as it marvels through a 6 meters wide gorge to burst out vigorously, forming a cloudy appearance.

When you supplement the launch trip to Murchison Falls National Park with a trek to the top of the falls, you get a 360 view of the exact drama point where the River Nile staggers over a bed of underlying rocks vigorously before pushing its way through the gorge.

Queen Elizabeth National Park

Queen Elizabeth National Park lies on the rift valley floor, with Rwenzori ranges forming its backdrop. While doing a game drive, especially in the northern Kazinga and Kasenyi area, you can drive via a network of tracks where you may spot animals like elephants, buffaloes, waterbucks, bushbucks, warthogs, and others enjoying their time in the mosaic of grassland thickets.

The Ishasha sector of Queen Elizabeth national park is a hotspot for tree-climbing lions. In Kasenyi plains, you may witness lion drama as they love feasting on ganda kobs that love this area as a day hangout. 

During the launch trip on the Kazinga channel at the rift valley floor, you can look over the marshy banks where local and foreign birds thrive. A variety of animals love hanging out along the channel banks to quench their thirst and take a bath.

You may spot animals like waterbucks, bushbucks, elephants, cape buffaloes, and warthogs who love to enjoy the freebies of this channel. 

On a hot sunny day, you may spot the golden sun casting its rays over the channel as it descends behind the horizon.

Lake Mburo National Park

Lake Mburo National Park is the central point for all safaris heading to western Uganda. From Entebbe or Kampala, Lake Mburo National Park is at a distance of 228 kilometers.

During the game drives using different tracks in this park, you may spot animals like impalas when you take the impala track and zebras that love spending time on the grass valley floor when you take the zebra track. When you take the Ruroko track, you can spot Klipspringer in the rock kopjes.

You may spot more animals during game drives in Lake Mburo National Park, including giraffes, waterbucks, reedbucks, warthogs, cape buffaloes, elephants, bush duikers, etc.

By taking a boat trip to Lake Mburo National Park, you enjoy the cool breeze of this park. Look out for a number of swamp birds that love spending the day in the swampy areas on the shores of Lake Mburo. Look out for a number of hippos and crocodiles that love spending their time in this lake.

Kidepo Valley National Park

Located in the North Eastern corner of Uganda is wildlife endowed Kidepo Valley National Park with its fairly flat plains. Kidepo Valley National Park has magical wildlife numbers uncommon to most Uganda national game parks.

During the game drives in Kidepo Valley National Park, you may get to spot animals like bat-eared foxes, klipspringers, black-backed and striped jackals, reedbucks, striped hyenas, cheetahs, aardwolf, lions, Rothschild giraffes, cape buffaloes, ostriches, and others.

Birding In Uganda

Uganda hosts over 1000 bird species living in a number of habitats across the country. For keen birders on Uganda Safari, we can tailor an itinerary that covers the prime areas in Uganda according to the time available for your safari.

Uganda hosts some Albertine rift endemics common to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and Mgahinga National Park.

Some of the Uganda birding destinations include Bwindi National Park, Kibale National Park, Queen Elizabeth National Park, Lake Mburo National Park, Mabamba Swamp, Lake Bunyonyi Area, Botanical Gardens, Musambwa Island, Mpanga Forest, Lutembe Beach, and others.

Some of the birds that Uganda hosts include Shoebill Stork, Grey-Headed Warbler, Red-Chested Sunbird, Greater And Lesser Flamingos, Ostriches, Verreaux's Eagle Owl, Handsome Francolin, Shelley's Crimson Wing, Alpine Chat, Kivu Ground Thrush, Malachite Sunbird, Papyrus Gonolek, Red Faced And Black Collared Barbets And Others.

Chimpanzee Trekking In Uganda

Chimpanzees are some of the closest human relatives, with about 98% human DNA. Uganda is one of the lucky hosts of chimpanzee trekking safaris in Africa. Some of the hosts of chimpanzees in Uganda include Kibale National Park, Kaniyo Pabidi in Murchison Falls National Park, Kyambura Gorge In Queen Elizabeth National Park, Kalinzu Forest Reserve, Ngamba chimpanzee sanctuary, Semuliki National Park, and others. 

Some chimpanzee destinations require you to prepurchase a chimpanzee permit from Uganda Wildlife Authority. White viewing chimpanzees in Ngamba chimpanzee sanctuary requires booking a seat on the boat to Koome Island.

White Water Rafting On River Nile

As River Nile departs from its source on Lake Victoria, it encounters a bed of rocks that cause dramatic tides of Itanda Falls. To do white water rafting, you do not need any experience because instructors are on the ground to take you through the necessary procedures. During white water rafting, you sail on the falls with a tube boat and keep peddling through the rough tides. The falls have different levels, and it's these that bring a thrilling experience.

Each trip is escorted by a trained captain and a leading kayak to make the way to establish the prevailing water currency. 

If you are uncomfortable with white water rafting, you can do tubing on the Nile or kayak.

Mountaineering In Uganda

You can hike the whole year-round glacier-topped Rwenzori ranges, with its highest peak being Margherita at 5109 meters above sea level. Hiking Mountain Rwenzori takes a return trip of about 7 days, but you need to make arrangements in advance.

A hike to the caldera of Mountain Elgon is epic as you go through beautiful vegetation zones covered with rare flora. Mountain Elgon rises 3070 meters above the surrounding plains, creating a stunning view. You can take different trails on this mountain, like Sasa Trail, Sipi Trail, Piswa Trail, or Suam Trail.

Excursion mountaineering activities are available on highlands like Mountain Gahinga, Mountain Sabyinyo, And Mountain Muhavura In Mgahinga National Park.

Cultural Experiences On Uganda Safari

Uganda is a multicultural nation with different kingdoms and chiefdoms. An ethnologist can acquire different information about Uganda's diverse culture with prior arrangements. In Central Uganda, you come across Buganda Kingdom with Kabaka as their leader; Eastern Uganda has Busoga Kingdom with Kyabazinga as the title of their king; and Western Uganda has Omukama Of Tooro And Omukama Of Bunyoro.

Religious Tourism In Uganda

The Uganda martyrs who were massacred by one of the kings called Kabaka Mwanga of Buganda are a big celebration in Africa that brings Christians from all walks of life. These religious faithful were catholic, protestant, and Muslim. They were burnt at Namugongo, where a conical Basilica is erected in their name.

Nature Walks In Uganda

Uganda is endowed with a number of forests and swamps where you can do nature walks. These forests host numerous birds, primates, butterflies, indigenous natural trees, and others.

Some of the monkeys you may get to see include golden monkeys on only the Mgahinga forest in Uganda, potto, bush babies, black and white colobus, vervet monkeys, grey-cheeked mangabey, red-tailed monkeys, olive baboons, and others.

Visit The Source Of River Nile

Uganda is the host of the source of the river Nile in Jinja. It would be best to sail on a boat to where Lake Victoria water departs from the River Nile. The drama underneath this water is a mystery as river Nile water commences at high speed compared to calm Lake Victoria water. Water on both sides emerges from the same point.

River Nile is the longest river in the world, crossing Uganda, South Sudan, Sudan, Ethiopia, and Egypt. They pour Its Water Into the Mediterranean Sea.

Bungee Jumping

Stimulate some adrenaline with bungee jumping down a high cliff-overlooking river Nile in Jinja. A heavy rope securely holds you, and a boat awaits you at the bottom. This thrilling adventure is worth a try because it is hard to find a point like this again in the Nile course.

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