East African Safaris

What to see while on Uganda safaris?

Beautiful Terrain; this is also filled with beautiful country side as well as green undulating terrains filled with coffee and banana plantations. There are also traditional homesteads and cattle grazing. You will also enjoy many beautiful scenic drives, good to the eyes of any tourist on safaris to Uganda.

Wildlife; These can be viewed in all the national parks of Uganda and tourists have a chance to enjoy the big five and the herbivores including the giraffes, zebras, antelopes, hippos, and Nile Crocodiles. Get to visit the 320 mountain gorillas found in Bwindi Impenetrable National park as well as chimpanzees and other monkey types you find in Kibale National Park and Queen Elizabeth National Park. Besides wildlife species, you will also have chance to view the many bird species including the rare shoebill stock while on a safari

Mountain Rwenzori (Mountains of the Moon); this is a snow caped mountain and is the highest in East Africa. This mountain was also known as Ruwenzori Ranges and they are mountain ranges of the eastern equatorial Africa. These ranges are located on border between Democratic Republic of Cong and Uganda. The mountain is 5,109km above sea level and is about 120km long and 65km wide. It's filled with variety of flora including tropical rain forests, the giant groundsel and the giant lobelia. The fauna around this mountain include; primate species like the monkeys, forest elephants and endemic birds.

Murchison falls; these falls are in north western Uganda and its among the most magnificent water falls in found in Uganda and its located on source of Nile. Other safari trips include a boat cruise on the Nile were you will enjoy an up close experience with many water species including; the hippos, giant crocodiles as well birds.

Source of the Nile; this is located in Jinja town and it was discovered by John Speke, you can enjoy many different water activities on source of Nile, these include; white water rafting, swimming, bungee jumping, boat cruises, kayaking and many more.

Are Uganda people Hospitable?
Uganda, the pearl of Africa is known for being the friendliest country for tourists. The people welcome all the visitors from any part of the world to come to this lovely country and explore the beauty of Uganda. As any country can have its negativity, Uganda has remained friendly to all those who have got a chance to visit this beautiful country, the country is also gifted with nature and friendly kind individuals with unique and rich cultural & heritage . Many visitors have always tipped different Uganda due to their simplicity, kindness and open handedness. The recent discussed gay bill seemed to brand Uganda as unsafe to many people, however this is not true and the country welcomes all the visitors from all the world.

Where Guests stay while on a safari to Uganda (Accommodation Facilities)
Many tourists wonder what type of Accommodation they will sleep in. Not knowing that Uganda safaris offers variety of accommodation facilities including; Hotels, guest houses, inns, Resorts, safari camps and hostels. These are rated based on Luxury, Mid-range and Budget. It depends on the choice of the guest because these differ in Prices. Many of national parks offer lodges and tented camps inside and outside the parks. The cost is between $ 150 to $ 900 for a double room per night. For gorilla trekking in Bwindi Impenetrable National park, each of the sectors of this park has got variety of different lodges as well as camps which facilities those interested in tracking mountain gorillas. There are 41 lodges to choose from in Bwindi alone. These facilities can be booked through a tour operator or Uganda travel company or reserved directly at the facility since most of these have got websites.

When to go for a safari in Uganda?

This is one of many questions asked regarding any safari in Uganda, the common answer to this question is; you may visit Uganda at any time of the year! However the difference may vary in Price since there two different seasons; i.e. the peak season of June to September and December to February. With this season the price of both gorilla permits and lodges is high since it's a high season. The low season is from March to May and September to November, the prices of gorilla permits and lodges is low.
However, the guests are encouraged to travel at any time of the year and the rains shouldn’t prevent you from coming for safari. You will as well need the right tour wear for gorilla trekking like the rain jackets, boots, long sleeved trousers and long sleeved shirts. During the low season of April, May and November, Uganda Wildlife Authority usually reduces the cost of gorilla permits so as to attract more tourists to undertake gorilla tours in the low season.
It's also recommended that tourists should visit the country during the dry season which are from January to February and then June to September, this is because game viewing is best done during the dry season when many animals gather around the water holes. Bird watching can also be done throughout the year, but most preferably from November to April when there are many migrant species in the country.

What's the weather like while on a Ugandan safari?
Weather is among the reasons why many people have continued to come to Uganda. A perfect weather has made Uganda among the leading tourist destination in Africa. Uganda in general experiences a temperate type of climate which makes it easy for the tourists to enjoy the many different tourist activities throughout the year. These include; gorilla trekking, bird watching, wildlife viewing, chimpanzee trekking and many more.
Uganda having this perfect weather also depends on many factors and among is the strategic location of the country on Equator and the geographical altitude that provides it with an ever green attribute characteristic. This country is known to be endowed by Mother Nature and having friendly happy people with a rich culture hence being named the pearl of Africa. Because of its conducive weather all around the year, many enthusiastic adventurers have visited the country in order to explore its beautiful weather and its unique attractions.

How much is an African safari?
Uganda Safari costing mainly depends on type of accommodation you chose. A gorilla permit costs $600 per person. The accommodation also costs between $150 to $900 and this depends in which facility you decide to sleep in. Cheapest gorilla tracking safari is approximately $ 1200 per person. And for the wildlife safaris to Murchison and Queen Elizabeth National Park, it can roughly cost $1000 for the budget travellers. Those willing to travel in groups, the safari price becomes low and you end up saving some money if you are travelling two people. A journey from Kampala to Bwindi is 527kilometres. This attracts fuel, a gorilla permit costs $ 600!

Bwindi Forest National Park Uganda

-Famed for estimated 320 mountain gorillas, ( Gorilla Berengei, Berengei)
-120 mammals,
-Primate Species, baboons, chimpanzee,
-350 bird species, 23 belonging to Albertine Rift endemics.
-Discover the Batwa Pygmy cultures.

Murchison Falls National Park

-80 km stretch of rapids and falls. Nile squeezes through an 8m wide gorge.
- 76 mammals, Four of Uganda safaris "big five animals" found here. Lion, Buffalo, elephants and leopards.
Other animals include Uganda kob, waterbucks, warthogs, hippos, giraffe and Jackson's hartebeest.
-Primates include Olive baboons, 800 chimpanze in Budongo and Kaniyo Pabidi forests.

Queen Elizabeth NP

-95 mammal species
-Best for game drives in Kasenyi tracks, North Kazinga and Ishasha ector.
-Lions, Buffalo, antelope, elephants, warthogs, baboons and more.
-600 bird species.

Kibale Forest Uganda

-Famous for chimpanzee trekking.
Covers 795sq kms, 1590m above sea level.
-70 mammal species., elephants, red and blue duikers, giant forest hogs, buffalo, sitatunga and bushbucks
-13 primate species; chimps, baboons, white and black colobus...
-325 species of birds., Green tinker bird, Africa and green breasted pitas, African grey parrot, Ground Thrush (Turdus Kibalensis) endemic to Kibale Forest National Park.
-Over 250 tree species.
-Areas of interest include Bigodi Wetlands, Kanyanchu and Sebitoli.

Mount Elgon Uganda

Mgahinga Gorilla

Kidepo Valley

Rwenzori Mountains Uganda

Lake Mburo Uganda

Uganda Chimpanzee Trekking

Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary

Tree Climbing Lions Uganda

Tanzania safari :We arrange safari tour packages to Ngorongoro crater,Serengeti National Park for wildebeest migration, Mount Kilimanjaro climbing, Zanzibar beach holidays, Arusha National Park tours, visiting the Masai, Ruaha National Park, Pemba, Indian Ocean, Lake Tanganyika, Laikipia escarpment, Olduvai Gorge, Selous game reserve, Tarangire, and more. Our wildlife safari trips are tailor made and you have a chance of seeing the big five, Hippo,Lion, Elephant, Leopard, Buffalo and other animals on our bush safari adventures.

Other East African tours, including visiting the Virunga massif which has quite a good population of flora and fauna, Kenya Safari, visit the popular and unforgettable masai mara that you can combine with other itineraries to Amboseli for perfect safari holiday,Mount Meru, Amboseli, Other African Tour Destinations include, Botswana famous for Chobe National Park, Zambezi,Victoria Falls, South African Kruger National Park, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Namibia, Malawi and more.

Wildlife safaris in Uganda
Uganda is a very attractive and exceptional safari destination filled with lots of wildlife species. The country is located on the equator along the shores of Lake Victoria's Northern Shore. This country has prolific wildlife which attracts many tourists that come to experience this wonderful gift of nature of the country. You can watch many animals in their habitats, a rewarding experience that can be enjoyed throughout the year. Wildlife species can be seen in National parks and game reserves, and these are perfect places for adventure seekers, eco- tourists and holiday makers. The many Uganda safari wildlife species include; the elephants, kobs, zebras, hippos, buffalos, huge forest hogs, sitatungas and birds. These wildlife species have increased in the past 20 years which provides an opportunity to tourists to view almost all the animal species in Uganda.

Uganda Wildlife Visit Uganda

Bird watching in Uganda
Uganda is famously known as a birding paradise since it has over half of bird species in Africa, this made it the best birdwatching safari destination in Africa and the world at large. With its unique vegetation of tropical rain forest and savannah in the east. Uganda is among the countries in the world with unique bird watching sites like Queen Elizabeth national Park which has over 600 species of birds, there are also over 100 African forest bird species and among these are the gem like green broadbill, Black and white casqued Hornbill, great blue turaco and the 23 endemic bird species to rift valley of East Africa. It's only in Uganda where you can view the most adored African species like shoe bill stock,a large ancient looking bird which lives in the swamps and its prominent for its clog shaped Bill.
Below are the main birding spots in Uganda;

Bwindi impenetrable National Park which has the many albertine Rift endemics and has a total of 320 bird species

Queen Elizabeth National park with 600 bird species

Kibale National Park has 35 bird species and Bigodi wetland swamp has 138 species of birds

Mahamba swamp in Entebbe to view the shoebill

Semuliki National Park with 400 bird species for the common Congo Basin Endemics.

Murchison Falls national park is the most stunning savannah specialists like the Denham's Bustard, Red throated bee eater, and Abyssinian and many more. This park has a total of 451 bird species.

Echuya Forest Reserve with 150 bird species

Mgahinga National park with 115 bird species

Nile River in Jinja with 60 bird species.

Lake Bisina also found in eastern part were birders can view Fox's weaver, payrus dwellers for example the shoebill, and Papyrus Gonolex.

In order to enjoy an adventure tour, combine your birdwatching trip with gorilla trekking, especially on your visits to Bwindi.

Chimpanzee tracking tours in Uganda
Chimpanzee trekking is an exciting activity which provides a unique experience to guests. It's also a very magical and exciting! See over 4950 chimpanzees remaining in the wild and some of these are being conserved in the zoo, others in the forests and others in the sanctuaries. It's always an exceptional experience meeting these chimps eye to eye, you can spend time with them and observe them as they feed, care for their young ones and also climb from tree to tree. These can be trekked in Kibale National Park, Queen Elizabeth National Park in Kyambura Gorge in Maramagambo Forest and in Budongo Forest inMurchison falls national Park. Chimpanzee habituation can also be done from Ngamba Island Sanctuary located on Lake Victoria.

Kibale forest national park harbors the most number of Chimpanzees and it has over 13 different primate species including; chimpanzees, monkeys including; La Hoest's monkeys, vervet monkeys, and red tailed Colobus monkeys. Chimpanzee habituation can also be done and sets out every morning to specifically observe and study the general behavior of chimps with the main aim of making them used to human presence. Guests on Uganda tours can also opt to track these chimpanzees from Queen Elizabeth National Park within Kyambura Gorge and also in Budongo and Rwambongo Forest Reserve within Murchison Falls National Park.

Mountain Climbing safaris in Uganda
Mountain climbing in Uganda is one of the adventurous activities in Uganda, it's mostly done on Rwenzori Mountains which is located in western Uganda on border of Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda. This mountain extends an expanse of 988km and was named after Mountain Ruwenzori commonly referred to as mountains of the moon. This mountain also stands on 5109m high and is the highest mountain range within Africa second to Mountain Kilimanjaro and mountain Kenya. This mountain has also got 6 peaks including; Mt baker at 4,843m, Mt Stanley which is 5,109m, Mt Speke at 4,890m, Mt Emin at 4,715, Mt Savoia at 4,627m. However the highest peak is Margherita peak at 5109m and it also ranks the Rwenzori as 3rd highest mountain range in Africa.
Mountain Rwenzori is not a volcanic mountain though it's an ancient quartzite and Gneiss. The mountain is located close to equator and it has got numerous icy peaks seen miles away in many parts of western Uganda. Its sloes are beyond 1600m and are favorite to adventure hikers and the mountain is ranked as most challenging in whole of Africa.it has also got five different vegetation regions including; Bamboo or mimulopsis Zone at 2500-3500m, grassland at 1000-2000m, the afro-alpine moorland zone at 4000-4500m, Montane forest also at 2000-3000m and the Heather zone at 3000-4000m.

Lake Bunyonyi safari
Lake Bunyonyi lies in south western Uganda between Kisoro and Kibale next to Rwanda. It's located 1,962m above the sea level. After your safari with gorillas, Lake Bunyonyi can offer a relaxing experience just before you head out of the country. The lake is close to towns of Kyevu and Muke town. The lake has many Islands including; punishment Island, Bushara Island, Kyahungwe Island, Bwana, Nyuyeera and Bucaranuka Island.
This lake is also referred to as Panorama which leads to the lord of the Rings. You can swim, have canoe ride, and do bird watching and exploring the batwa Villages. This lake is a place where many Ugandans gather to unwind. It's also a wonderful place to view volcanic eruption. This lake is a live example of a lake that resulted from a volcanic eruption. Bunyonyi is a local word meaning the place of little birds and many tourists have visited this super natural wonder filled with beauty.