Astonishing activities to do in Uganda besides wildlife viewing: Uganda is a landlocked country in central Africa known as the heart of Africa. The land is known as “The Pearl of Africa” and has an area of approximately 69,484 square kilometers. It borders the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, and Tanzania. Uganda is home to a startling array of natural wonders, including Africa’s tallest mountain range, the source of the Nile, the world’s longest river, Africa’s largest lake, and the largest lake in Africa. The land is also home to the world’s second-largest freshwater lake after Lake Superior in North America. Uganda is home to the UNESCO-listed Rwenzori Mountains National Park. The Rwenzori Mountains are the tallest mountain range in Africa and include Africa’s third-highest mountain, Mount Margherita. The country is home to the longest world river, known as the Theile. The pearl of Africa is also home to one of the world’s remaining populations of endangered mountain gorillas, with over 840 residing in Uganda of the estimated 1,000 in the world, resting in the country’s two national parks, Mgahinga gorilla national park and Bwindi impenetrable forest national park. Uganda is also home to astonishing wildlife such as lions, tree-climbing lions, elephants, buffaloes, leopards, zebras, rhinos, stooped hyenas, and several antelopes, among others.
Astonishing activities to do in Uganda besides wildlife viewing while on a Uganda safari
Gorilla trekking
Mountain gorillas have made gorilla trekking the most highlighted activity on every safari in Uganda, and it has attracted a huge number of tourists to Uganda. Most of the tourists that do come to Uganda are very interested in taking part in this adventurous activity, and they want to spend time with the closest creatures to humans in their natural habitat, and it’s mostly done in the country’s two national parks, which are Bwindi impenetrable national park and Mgahinga gorilla national park. Gorilla trekking is an activity that involves hiking in dense, tropical rainforests to witness endangered gorillas in their natural habitat. Gorilla trekking always involves tourists moving through different forested jungles of the park with the main purpose of tracking where the mountain gorilla species are located, whereby they are accompanied by a park guide or ranger because they are familiar with all the parts of the park and they know the tricks to apply to trace the gorillas so easily. Trekking these fascinating creatures starts in the morning hours at the park’s headquarters with a briefing on the guideline rules and expectations while in the jungle, and later the armed guide or the park ranger will lead you through the jungles in search of these fascinating creatures in their natural habitat.
Meeting these fascinating mountain gorillas is the most interesting activity because you get to see them doing their day-to-day activities like hunting, breast-feeding, playing, feeding, and taking pictures, among others, as you learn more about their habitat by questioning your guide about different burning questions about the gorillas in the wild. Trekking these amazing primates requires one to have a valid gorilla permit that allows one above the age of 15 years to access them, with a maximum of 8 individuals to trek one gorilla family for only one hour of interaction. The Uganda gorilla permit cost $800.
Hiking the Rwenzori Mountain.
Hiking the Rwenzori Mountain is another must-do activity while on safari in Uganda. This remarkable mountain is located in the western region of the country, and it is ranked as Africa’s third-highest peak and Uganda’s tallest peak. It stands on an elevated area of about 5,109 meters above sea level and covers about 100,000 hectares of land. Hiking to the summit of this remarkable mountain takes about 8 to 9 days, and while on this hike, tourists get the opportunity to sight-see many attractive and stunning features, such as stunning waterfalls, fast-flowing rivers, layered vegetation, and many others.
Chimpanzee tracking in Kibale National Park
Chimpanzee trekking is one of the famous activities offered to visitors during a Uganda safari. Kibale National Park is home to a large concentration of these captivating chimpanzees’ individuals. The park offers opportunities to visitors who seek to have a close encounter with fascinating creatures in their habituated families. Uganda Safaris offers guided chimpanzee trekking safari experiences to visitors, where tourists get a guided walk to the dense rainforest in search of these fascinating creatures. These parks are home to several habituated chimpanzee groups where chimpanzee trekking experiences are conducted daily. During the trekking process, you will also get to meet with other species, such as primate species, wildlife species, and other bird species that make the forest their home. Once these fascinating endangered chimpanzees are encountered, you will be allowed to interact with them for only 1 hour, observing chimpanzees as they forage for food, play with each other, and interact within their social groups. When planning to have this fascinating safari experience in Uganda, you will be required to book a permit that authorizes you to carry out this exciting adventure at the cost of US$250 per person. Once these fascinating endangered chimpanzees are encountered, you will be allowed to interact with them for only 1 hour, observing chimpanzees as they forage for food, play with each other, and interact within their social groups.
Whitewater Rafting on the Nile
Uganda, the only safari destination in Africa, has the best rafting experiences at the start of the mighty Nile River in Jinja. Jinja alone is famous with tourists for its adrenaline-filled adventures enlisted on the best safari experiences in Uganda list. Visitors here will experience some of the world’s finest grade 5 whitewater rafting, bungee jumping, horseback riding, and quad biking adventure activities. Whitewater rafting in Uganda is considered one of the best one-day safari experiences, especially if you are an active adventurer and want to know how Ugandan cultures intermix with contemporary East and Western cultures. It is an excellent addition to Uganda’s safari experience.
Hiking in the Virunga Mountains
Mgahinga Gorilla National Park offers the best hiking experience to visitors on a Uganda trekking safari in Mgahinga Gorilla National Park. Hiking in the Virunga Mountains offers astonishing views and attractions. Mgahinga Gorilla National Park is home to three of the eight volcanoes in the Virunga Range. Such as Mount Sabyinyo, Mount Mubahura, and Mount Gashing, and it also shares a national park with the volcanoes in Rwanda. During the hike to the Virunga mountains, you will get the opportunity to spot numerous attractions, like numerous bird species such as the red-faced woodland warbler, Ruwenzori double-collar sunbird, Collared Apalis, Ruwenzori Turaco, handsome francolin, strange weavers like Archer’s ground robin, red-faced woodland warbler, Ruwenzori double-collar sunbird, Collared Apalis, Ruwenzori Turaco, and handsome francolin. You will see several gorilla families that can be spotted in the bamboo trees along the different Virunga Mountains, as well as different animals like forest elephants and duikers, among other attractions.
In addition, travelers can also engage in other activities such as cultural encounters where they will learn about different cultures and traditions, birding tours, Kampala city tours to explore the beautiful attractions within the city, boat safaris, water tubing, and many more.
This concludes the Astonishing activities to do in Uganda besides wildlife viewing.
