National Parks of Uganda

Uganda is one of the most beautiful countries in Africa with fantastic natural scenery, half of the world’s remaining mountain gorilla population and some of the friendliest people in Africa. It is also a unique and captivating tourist destination straddled across the Equator and perched on the northern shores of Lake Victoria. Situated at the heart of the African continent, Uganda offers gorilla tracking and game viewing within its undegraded national parks. Uganda is relatively a small country but despite its size, Uganda is the most alluring safari destination in Africa given its pristine forests, shimmering lakes and mountains.

The table below shows the primary activities that can be done in each of the featured parks:

National Park	Gorilla Trekking	Chimpanzee Tracking	Game Viewing	Trekking
Bwindi Impenetrable Forest	X
Queen Elizabeth		X	X
Kibale Forest		X
Murchison Falls		X	X
Mgahinga	X
Lake Mburo			X
Volcanoes	X
Semliki		X	X
Kidepo Valley			X
Rwenzori Mountains				X

BWINDI IMPENETRABLE NATIONAL PARK
Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is situated in south western Uganda on the edge of the western rift valley (Albertine Rift). This park protects more than half of the remaining mountain gorillas in Uganda and it is very popular for mountain gorilla trekking. The park is shared by three districts, that is Kabale, Kisoro, and Kanungu. The park is 331 square kilometers (205 square miles) in size and on an altitude of range of 1,160 meters (380 feet)(Ishasha Gorge) to 2,607 meters (680 feet)(Rwamanyonyi Peak). The local people neighboring the park are Bakiga and Bafumbira occupying the densely populated areas in Uganda. More on Bwindi Impenetrable National Park

QUEEN ELIZABETH NATIONAL PARK
Queen Elizabeth National Park, together with Kyambura and Kigezi Wildlife Reserve, forms the most diverse ecosystem in Africa. The melting glacier waters of Rwenzori Mountains create a vast wetland system comprising of two main lakes, George and Edward, as well as the connecting Kazinga Channel. Thousands of hippos populate these shorelines. Open savannah dotted with acacia and euphobia trees provide a habitat for elephants, lions, leopards, kobs, and buffalo. The park also harbors primate species, ten in number which include chimpanzees and monkeys. Waterbucks, giant forest hog, topi, hyenas, and crocodiles are among the many animals seen frequently in Queen Elizabeth National Park. More on Queen Elizabeth National Park

KIBALE FOREST NATIONAL PARK
Kibale Forest National Park is one of the most beautiful national parks in Uganda with a tropical rainforest and a diversity of animals. Kibale harbors the largest number of chimpanzees, with over 1,450 protected within the park. A community of chimpanzee has been habituated for 16 years. This gives tourists a chance to see the great apes in their natural environment. Threatened red colobus monkeys and the rare I’hoesti monkey are found in the park. At the same time the forest has one of the highest diversity and density of primates in Africa. More on Kibale Forest National Park

MURCHISON FALLS NATIONAL PARK
Murchison Falls National Park is the biggest park in Uganda, which derives its name from the Murchison Falls formed where the mighty river Nile explodes through a narrow gorge and flows down to become a placid river whose banks are thronged with hippos, crocodiles, water bucks, and buffalo. The vegetation at Murchison is characterized by savannah, riverine forest and wood land. Wildlife at Murchison Falls National Park includes lions, leopards, elephants, giraffes, buffalo, hartebeests, oribis, kobs, chimpanzees, and many bird species including the rare shoebill. More on Murchison Falls National Park

MGAHINGA GORILLA NATIONAL PARK
Mgahinga Gorilla National Park is the smallest park in the country, measuring about 38 sqare kilometers (25 square miles). However, it is a very important location as it is one of two habitats in Uganda for endangered mountain gorillas. Mgahinga Gorilla National Park is situated in south western Uganda, in Kisoro district. This park was gazetted in 1999 and is part of the Virunga Conservation Area. This park adjoins Rwanda’s Volcanoes National Pakr and the Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DRC) Virunga National Park. More on Mgahinga Gorilla National Park

LAKE MBURO NATIONAL PARK
Lake Mburo National Park, was designated in 1982, and is situated in Kiruhura district of Western Uganda. It is the only park that contains an entire lake. The attractive acacia-dotted savanna is home to huge herds of impala, as well as uncommon topi, eland, klipspringer and other antelope. Other animals found in the park include zebras and buffalo, and species of birds including crested francolin, emerald-spotted wood dove, brown parrot, barefaced go-away bird, rednecked spur, common quails, black-billed barbet, greenwood hoopoe, blue-napped mousebird, lilac-breasted roller, african-grey hornbill, nubian woodpecker, trilling cisticola, bee-eaters and the cheeky bronze-tailed starling, as well as the majestic crowned crane etc. More on Lake Mburo National Park

VOLCANOES NATIONAL PARK (PARC DES VOLCANS)
Volcanoes National Park is part of the bigger Virunga Conservation Area which includes Mgahinga and Virunga National Parks in Uganda and DRC respectively. These three parks are the home to half of all mountain gorillas. The history of Volcanoes National Park dates back to 1925 when a small triangle between Karisimbi, Bisoke and Mikeno was set aside to protect the mountain gorillas. Boundaries were later extended into Rwanda and DRC to form the bigger Albert National Park. Volcanoes National Park was the first national park in Africa. The park is famous for mountain gorilla trekking and its golden monkeys. More on Volcanoes National Park

SEMLIKI NATIONAL PARK
Semliki National Park lies in a remote corner of south western Uganda along the Uganda and DRC Border. This very dense wildlife forested jungle is famous for several adventure Uganda tours and safaris. Forest hiking, primate tours, camping safaris, hot springs and ecosystem tours are some of the most alluring activities in Semliki. Semliki National Park was gazetted in October 1993 making it one of Uganda's newest National Parks. It occupies a flat to gently undulating landform up to 760 meters (2500 feet) above sea level. This park harbors a large number of predominantly Central African species which cannot be found anywhere else in east Africa and these include some of the continent's most spectacular and sought-after birds such as long-tailed hawk, congo serpent eagle, lyre-tailed honey guide black-wattled hornbill and the nkulengu rail. More on Semliki National Park

KIDEPO VALLEY NATIONAL PARK
Kidepo Valley National Park is located in the north- eastern part of Uganda, 700 km (430 miles) from Kampala and it is tucked between the borders of Uganda, Kenya and Sudan. It covers an area of 1,442 square kilometers (895 square miles). It lies in the rugged, semi-arid valleys of Karamoja province, and those that make the long journey north would agree that it is a magnificent park. The park has spectacular scenery as well as a great number of fauna and floral species. More on Kidepo Valley National Park

RWENZORI MOUNTAINS NATIONAL PARK
Rwenzori Mountains National Park is located in the western part of Uganda on the border of Uganda and DRC. The park has an area of 998 square kilometers (620 square miles) and was named after the famous Rwenzori Mountains which is also referred to as the legendary “Mountains of the Moon." Rwenzori Mountains is one of Africa's tallest mountain ranges, with Uganda's highest peak and the third tallest mountain in Africa - Mount Stanley (5,109 meters / 16,763 feet)). Other major peaks in the Rwenzori range are Mount Speke (4,890 meters / 16,040 feet) Mount Baker (4,843 meters / 15,880 feet), Mount Emin (4,798 meters / 15,740 feet), Mount Gessi (4,715 meters / 15,465 feet) and Mount Luigi di Savoia (4,627 meters / 15,170 feet). More on Rwenzori Mountains National Park