Uganda game safari
Uganda is blessed with unique wildlife including wild animals like elephants, buffaloes, giraffes, lions, leopards zebras, waterbucks, hippos, Uganda kobs, Jackson’s hartebeest, bushbucks, elands, topi, oribi, primates like gorillas, chimpanzees, olive baboons, red tailed monkeys, black and white colobus monkeys, L’hoest monkeys, vervet monkeys, bird species like the elusive shoebill stork, great blue turaco, saddle billed stork, black crake, handsome francolin, pied and malachite kingfisher, vegetation types among others which makes it one of the visited destinations in the world. Uganda harbors 10 national parks namely Murchison falls national park, Kidepo valley national park, Lake Mburo national park, Queen Elizabeth national park, Semuliki national park, Kibale national park, Mount Elgon national park, Mgahinga gorilla national park, Rwenzori national park and Bwindi impenetrable forest national park.
Game safari in Uganda can be done on a game drive, night game drive in the park, boat cruise, horse riding in Lake Mburo, hot air balloon in Murchison falls national park and Queen Elizabeth national park, biking among others which help you to explore and enjoy great views of wildlife species.
Where to go on Uganda game safari
Murchison falls national park, the national park is the largest and most visited national park in Uganda. Murchison falls national park is bisected by River Nile into two sectors that is the northern and the southern sector and the northern sector is the most visited sector harboring large concentration of wild animals therefore visitors who want to explore all the sectors will cross River Nile by a ferry. On your game safari in Murchison falls national park you will view various wild animals such as the lions, buffaloes, elephants, leopards, giraffes, Jackson’s hartebeest, Uganda kobs, waterbucks, bird species like the elusive shoebill stork among others. Various animal and bird species in the park will be viewed during the game drive which is done following tracks like buligi game track, Albert, victoria track and during the boat cruise which is done upstream to the bottom of the falls and downstream to the Victoria Nile delta.
Queen Elizabeth national park, this is the second largest national park in Uganda that is located in southwestern Uganda in Kasese, Kamwenge, Rubirizi and Rukungiri districts. The national park is one of the most visited parks in Uganda harboring wild animals like elephants, buffaloes, lions, leopards, waterbucks, Uganda kobs, bushbucks and the famous tree climbing lions which are found in the Ishasha sector in the southern part of the park. Wild animals in the park are viewed during the game drive in Kasenyi plains, Mweya peninsular and Ishasha sector or during the boat cruise which is done on Kazinga channel.
Kidepo valley national park, this is one of the isolated protected areas located in the remote Karamoja region in Kaabong district. The national park is rich is wildlife species with some species endemic to only Karamoja region. On your game safari in the park you will participate in the game drive where you will view animal species in the open savannah plains and other animals gathered around the water banks during the dry season to drink water. animals that will be viewed include giraffes, zebras, bush pigs, lions, elephants, buffaloes, leopards, cheetah, African hunting dog, bat eared fox, black backed jackal, hyenas, caracal, aardwolf, greater and lesser kudu, mountain reedbuck, Gunther’s dik-dik among others.
Lake Mburo national park, this is one of the smallest national parks located in western Uganda harboring abundant wildlife species. The national park offers game drives in the savannah vegetation and boat cruise on Lake Mburo where you will view animals around the water banks and in the savannah plains such as the buffaloes, impala, topi, eland, bushbucks, warthogs, leopards, hyenas, jackals, duiker, bohor reedbuck, Sitatunga, klipspringer, zebra, impala, hippos, giant forest hogs, bird species like brown chested wattled plover, Abyssinian ground hornbill, African fish eagle, saddle billed stork, papyrus yellow warbler, white winged warbler, pre-historic shoebill stork, black bellied bustard, grey crowned crane, rufous bellied heron among others.
Best time for a Uganda game safari
Visitors can go on a Uganda game safari anytime throughout the year though the best period is during the dry season in the months of June to September and December to February. during the dry season there is less rainfall in the parks which means that access roads to the national parks will be passable, there will be short grass in the park which enables clear viewing of the wild animals and many animal species will gather around the water bodies to drink water which gives you an opportunity to view abundant animals species and also take great photos.
Visitors can also travel on a Uganda game safari during the rainy season in the months of March to May and October to November. the rainy season is also known as the low season and during this period there is heavy rainfall in the parks therefore visitors who travel in the rainy season will explore the national parks with less crowds and also save some money in that the luxury lodges offer discounts to visitors as a way of attracting visitors to travel during the rainy/low season.
Where to stay on your Uganda game safari
There are a wide range of luxury, midrange, budget and campsite accommodations in Uganda where visitors on a game safari can stay therefore visitors are advised to choose lodges that are near the national parks for easy accessibility.
On your Uganda game safari you will have breathtaking and spectacular views of animal species like the big four mammals, bird species including the migratory, endemic birds which cannot be found anywhere among others which makes your safari in Uganda unforgettable.
