Uganda National Parks : Though small and landlocked country, Uganda boasts some of the best national parks in Africa. It has up to 10 gazetted national parks that are blessed with diversity ranging from rich fauna and flora, landscape scenery and friendly climate all year through. This diversity guarantees that a trip to any of Uganda’s national parks leaves visitors in total awe of Uganda’s rich tourism wealth. Here is a sneak peek at each national park, so travelers could have an idea about each of these beautiful destinations.
- Murchison Falls National Park.
This is Uganda’s largest national park and is found in the northwest and a section in the western region of the country. The park belongs to the Murchison Falls Conservation Area and visitors can meet four of the African big here. These include the elephant, lion, buffalo and rhino.
However, the park’s best selling point is glorious Murchison falls which is found on a section of the Nile as it approaches South Sudan. This feature lures several visitors each year to have a look at this great wonder.
This is among the country’s well-known game parks. This recognition is attributed to the park being one of the only four national parks where visitors can encounter mountain gorillas in their natural habitats. The park shelters more than 500 gorillas which counts for over half the number of last surviving individuals of these endangered species.
Book a gorilla trekking permit and get ready for an experience that will introduce to one man’s intriguing close relatives in the gentle giants. The park goes on to add 120 species of mammals, 200 plant species, and more than 348 bird species.
- Queen Elizabeth National Park.
Listed as the pearl of Africa’s most visited national park the park has almost any guest would look for in a safari. The park which was christened after Queen Elizabeth II is one of Africa’s blessed destinations with varied diversity of fauna and flora.
The park records over 95 mammal species, 500 bird species, and the parks highlight the tree-climbing lions. Visit the park to explore the stunning African savannah blending with the rift valley and volcanic scenery.
Stretching only over 370 kilometers the park stands as the tiniest savanna park of Uganda. The park is also the closest national park to the capital city of Uganda and for visitors who would prefer a taste of Uganda’s wilderness but are limited on time, this offers a great opportunity.
The park is a perfect destination for birding enthusiasts and is well-known for its numerous zebra herds, Impalas, hippos among others on top of the picturesque lakes that make up the park.
- Rwenzori Mountains National Park.
This park is recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site due to its exotic natural beauty and landscapes. The park offers the best hiking opportunity in Uganda and East Africa as it’s the home of the legendary mountains of the moon in mountain Rwenzori. Its snowcapped peak draws countless hikers in a quest to conquer one of the most fabled mountains in Africa.
- Semuliki National Park.
The park is one of the most recent gazetted parks and is famous for its striking highlight of the Sempaya hot springs. The park offers some of the best nature walks and birding. While in one of Africa’s ancient lowland tropical forests you will encounter interesting species like the grey-cheeked mangabeys, pygmy antelopes and De Brazza’s monkeys.
- Elgon National Park.
This extinct volcano holds the largest caldera in the world and sits on the border of Uganda and Kenya. The park is governed by the two countries and covers about 430 square miles. The park is ideal for hiking, bird watching, and landscape scenery.
- Mgahinga Gorilla National Park.
Though the smallest of Uganda’s national parks, the park holds absolute value as it guards some of the mountain gorillas in the world. One habituated family is found in this dense forest in addition to the also endangered golden monkeys and its scenic backdrop of the three conical volcano peaks of Mgahinga.
A Batwa cultural encounter gives you a look at the forest’s initial residents before they were evicted after it was declared as a conservation area.
- Kidepo Valley National Park.
This is among the last few but truly surviving African wilderness which made it be selected by CNN as one of the best safari destinations to visit in Africa. The park is the most isolated conservation areas in Uganda and boasts rich diversity of birds, mammals and flora species. The park also boasts the biggest buffalo herds in the world.
The park is one of the biggest havens for primates on the continent which earned it a name as east Africa’s primate capital. The park’s main activity is chimpanzee trekking where guests track man’s closest living relative sharing over 98 percent of our DNA.
Nature walks in this peaceful rainforest will leave you re-energized, refreshed, and ready for more Ugandan adventure most preferably Queen Elizabeth.
Comments