National Parks in Uganda

Queen Elizabeth National Park is the most popular savanna park in Uganda and the best place to see lions including the Tree Climbing lions making it the perfect destination for an Uganda Wildlife Safari. It prides itself on a great diversity of habitats that include: lakes, savannah grasslands, forests and wetlands that serve as home to the biggest variety of large mammals in the country. The park is home to 618 bird species which is the 6th highest diversity in the world and the highest in Africa making it a perfect destination for Uganda Birding Safaris, in addition to 10 primate species like chimpanzees and 95 mammals including big game. read more read less

Uganda may be most famous for gorilla trekking adventures in mountainous rainforests. Still, Murchison Falls National Park (sometimes referred to as Kabarega National Park) is the kind of place that is making safari travellers sit up and take notice. Located close to Lake Albert in north-west Uganda, Murchison Falls provides the setting for a classic savannah safari featuring a familiar cast of elephants, hippos, buffalo and giraffes with lion, leopard, spotted hyena and the occasional cheetah making up the predator list. But the Victoria Nile - dividing the park into northern and southern halves - gives rise to the park's greatest draw card, the Murchison Falls. At Murchison Falls, the Nile squeezes through an 8m wide gorge and plunges with a thunderous roar, the world's most powerful waterfall, into the “Devil’s Cauldron”, creating a trademark rainbow. Murchison Falls is notably blessed with over 144 mammals,556 bird species,51 reptiles, and 51 Amphibians. With a great number of  African elephants, Murchison Falls is impressive all year round. The aerial survey noted over 900 individuals and 1,330 and is at an increase. Historically Giraffes exclusively inhabit the northern sector of the park. Buffalo populations have spiked to over 10,000 while Uganda kobs have leapt to more than 35,000.  read more read less

The Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site that forms part of the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, one of the richest ecosystems in Africa. This park is perhaps one of Uganda’s most remarkable destinations for visitors. Although small—just 321 square kilometers—Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is of crucial importance as home to the world's largest population of critically endangered mountain gorillas. The park contains about one-third of the 1,000 or so alive today, with the remainder in the Virunga conservation area shared by Rwanda and Congo. Preserved on the edge of the Rift Valley in southwest Uganda, Bwindi was established in 1991 as part of the conservation effort to save the mountain gorillas. Three years later, this island of remnant forest—one of Africa's richest and oldest (dating back about 25,000 years)—was recognized by UNESCO as a natural World Heritage Site. Beyond the gorillas, Bwindi is full of other life. In fact, it is one of the richest ecosystems in Africa, with 120 species of mammals, 350 species of birds (earning it the title of the Best Birding Destination in Africa by Travel Africa magazine), 200 tree species, 310 butterfly species, 88 moth species, 51 reptile species and 27 frogs, geckos and chameleons. read more read less

Kidepo Valley is in the remote northeast corner of Uganda. The park has an authentic wilderness feel and is a great destination for the adventurous traveller. It has excellent wildlife viewing during the Dry season, featuring several species not encountered anywhere else in the country. Kidepo Valley National Park lies in the rugged, semi-arid valleys between Uganda’s borders with South Sudan in the northwest and only 5km from the eastern border of Kenya, some 700km from Kampala. Kidepo is Uganda’s most isolated national park. Still, the few who make the long journey north through the wild frontier region of Karamoja would agree that it is also the most magnificent, for Kidepo ranks among Africa’s finest wildernesses. From Apoka, in the heart of the park, a savannah landscape extends far beyond the gazetted area, towards horizons outlined by distant mountain ranges. The park has a very impressive mammal list. Twenty species of predator are resident, and several don't exist in any other Ugandan park (including cheetah and black-backed jackal). Lion is common and leopard also occurs. Elephants, Burchell's zebra, buffalo and Rothschild's giraffe are all regularly seen, but the black rhino has recently become extinct. Twelve antelope species are present – some of which don't occur anywhere else in the country. The local communities around the park include pastoral Karamojong people, similar to the Maasai of Kenya, and the IK, a hunter-gatherer tribe whose survival is threatened. read more read less

Mgahinga Gorilla National Park is situated in the corner of southwestern Uganda in Kisoro District. As its name suggests, it was created to protect the rare mountain gorillas that inhabit its dense forests, and it is also an important habitat for the endangered golden monkey. As well as being important for wildlife, the park also has a huge cultural significance, in particular for the indigenous Batwa pygmies. This tribe of hunter-gatherers was the forest’s “first people”, and their ancient knowledge of its secrets remains unrivalled. Mgahinga’s most striking features are its three conical, extinct volcanoes, part of the spectacular Virunga Range that lies along the border region of Uganda, Congo, and Rwanda. Mgahinga forms part of the much larger Virunga Conservation Area which includes adjacent parks in these countries. The volcanoes’ slopes contain various ecosystems and are biologically diverse, and their peaks provide a striking backdrop to this gorgeous scenery. Mgahinga boasts over 76 mammals which include elephants, giant forest hogs, bush pigs, and bush back. Buffalos, leopards, A bird checklist of over 180 species including the 14 endemic Albertine rift notably the Kivu ground thrush and turaco. MGNP is an important water catchment area. Due to its protective cover of vegetation, MGNP's role in water catchment is superior to the surrounding terrain. Apart from the numerous streams flowing northwards from the mountains, there is a crater lake on Mt Muhabura and a swamp crater on Mt Gahinga summit. There are also swamps in the saddles between the three volcanoes that retain water all year round, while the plains at the foot of the volcanoes are characterised by deep volcanic ash, and run-off from the mountains rapidly disappears underground. The main source of the north-flowing surface water is the Kabiranyuma swamp in the Muhabura - Gahinga saddle. River Kabiranyuma drains the swamp and is an important source of water for the populations around it. It is the only river that does not dry up completely in the driest months of June to August. River Ntebeko drains the Rugezi Swamp in the Gahinga - Sabyinyo saddle northwards to the DRC, while the Nyabirerema stream drains Mt. Sabyinyo northwards to DRC. read more read less

Open savannah merges into woodland, tropical forest, and evergreen rainforest; creating one of the last expanses of land in Uganda to boast both lowland and montane forest. The 80,000ha Kibale Forest National Park’s biodiverse terrain is home to the highest diversity and concentration of primates found on the entire continent; ranging from L’Hoest’s monkey to the red colobus monkey, and other endangered chimpanzees.  Comprised of what are widely considered to be Uganda’s most pristine tropical rainforests, Kibale Forest National Park covers an area of 795 kilometres over varied altitudes. read more read less

Lake Mburo National Park is a compact gem, located conveniently close to the highway that connects Kampala to the parks of western Uganda. It is the smallest of Uganda’s savannah national parks and is underlain by ancient Precambrian metamorphic rocks which date back more than 500 million years. It’s home to 350 bird species as well including zebras, impalas, elands, buffalos, oribi, Defassa waterbuck, leopard, hippo, hyena, topi and reedbuck. Together with 13 other lakes in the area, Lake Mburo forms part of a 50 km-long wetland system linked by a swamp. Five of these lakes lie within the park’s borders. Once covered by open savanna, this supports the healthy population of Buffalos, Wathhog, bushpigs and hippopotami. Lake Mburo National Park now contains much woodland as there are no elephants to tame the vegetation. In the western part of the park, the savanna is interspersed with rocky ridges and forested gorges while patches of papyrus swamp and narrow bands of lush riparian woodland line many lakes. Lake Mburo is notably blessed with over 315 bird species and probably the best place to view acacia-associated birds, Rwonyo is a good zone to see the mosque swallow, black-bellied bustard,bare-faced-go away bird and Ruppell’s starling. A handful of birds have been recorded essentially the southern ground hornbill and black-throated barbet. read more read less

Queen Elizabeth National Park is the most popular savanna park in Uganda and the best place to see lions including the Tree Climbing lions making it the perfect destination for an Uganda Wildlife Safari. It prides itself on a great diversity of habitats that include: lakes, savannah grasslands, forests and wetlands that serve as home to the biggest variety of large mammals in the country. The park is home to 618 bird species which is the 6th highest diversity in the world and the highest in Africa making it a perfect destination for Uganda Birding Safaris, in addition to 10 primate species like chimpanzees and 95 mammals including big game. read more read less

Mt Elgon was once Africa’s highest mountain, far exceeding Kilimanjaro’s current 5,895m. Millennia of erosion have reduced its height to 4,321m, relegating it to the 4th highest peak in East Africa and 8th on the continent. At 4,000km²  Mt. Elgon has the largest volcanic base in the world. Located on the Uganda-Kenya border it is also the oldest and largest solitary, volcanic mountain in East Africa. Its vast form, 80km in diameter, rises more than 3,000m above the surrounding plains. The mountain’s cool heights offer respite from the hot plains below, with the higher altitudes providing a refuge for flora and fauna. Mount Elgon National Park is home to over 300 species of birds, including the endangered Lammergeyer.  The higher slopes are protected by national parks in Uganda and Kenya, creating an extensive transboundary conservation area which has been declared a UNESCO Man & Biosphere Reserve. read more read less