Game Viewing & Game Drives in Uganda
Deep in the heart of the Great Western Rift Valley, Uganda Safaris offer a vast diversity of wildlife and a multitude of truly spectacular landscapes. Varied and wildly beautiful, Uganda game viewing parks are a home to no less than ten species of primates, including the endangered mountain gorilla and chimpanzee, as well as the exotic black and white colobus monkey.
game viewing safaris are famous for leopards, majestic Elephants, mysterious tree-climbing Lions, and magnificent Giraffes. Game drives in Uganda are usually enjoyed adding other activities on a safari like, traversing a mass of streams, rivers and lakes, including the Kyambura River, which eventually flows into the mighty Nile.
One of the most famous Game Drive destination in Uganda in Queen Elizabeth National Park’s Kyambura Gorge, known as the “Valley of Apes”. The gorgeous Kyambura (or Chambura) Gorge is situated in the far eastern corner of the park. Incredibly diverse landscapes and brimming with a rich wildlife bio-diversity you are sure to observe primates, wild animals and colourful, vibrant birds in their natural habitat.
Congregated in this one richly abundant area resides a tremendous number of primates. You will be able to see most of these from the comfort of your game viewing vehicle, or on an interesting guided nature walk. Hard to miss, baboons frolic about in their troops on roadsides, waiting for an open window opportunity, so they can feast on your delicious snacks. Glance into trembling treetops and you will be sure to see inquisitive red tailed monkeys swinging from atop a lush canopy.
Uganda’s Safari Parks
With 10 national parks, various large and small game reserves and an endowment of natural resources, largely covered by vegetation and huge expanses of tropical forests which are rich in flora and fauna; and unique physical landscapes, lakes and rivers, Uganda has always been home to a diverse wildlife that forms a bedrock of Uganda’s tourism industry.
The Pearl of Africa boasts of over 330 mammal species, of which none are critically endangered, 7 are endangered, 21 are vulnerable, and 17 are near-threatened. The wealth of invertebrate life of more than 100,000 species has been identified countrywide and an astonishing 1,200 butterfly species, including almost 50 endemics, have been recorded, not forgetting birdlife of over 1,000 specifies including the Albertine rift endemics.
Here, both animals and nature are in complete harmony with each other. A wide range of wildlife exists in the national parks and game reserves, providing one of the distinctive game viewing destinations on the continent.
These parks offer safe and excellent environment for Uganda safari opportunities since they are; including game reserves, wildlife animals and all visits to the parks are monitored and carefully protected by the Uganda Wildlife Authority with its team of rangers.
Aerial Game Viewing in Uganda
There are scheduled flights organized to almost all the national parks by Aero Link that can have you enjoy aerial game viewing, with daily departures to Kisoro, Kihihi, (Mgahinga Gorilla National Park and Bwindi Impenetrable National Park), Mweya, Kasese (Queen Elizabeth National Park, Rwenzori Mountains National Park, and Kibale Forest National Park), Semliki (Semliki National Park), Bugugu and Pakuba (Murchison Falls National park), Kidepo (Kidepo Valley National Park).
How to Go Game Viewing
Wildlife game viewing can be done in a 4×4 Custom Safari vehicle enhanced by a popup roof and/ or a guaranteed window seat. You can also have an aerial view of wildlife or boat cruise on the various water bodies like the Kazinga channel at Queen Elizabeth Park, the River Nile at Murchison falls national park, the Lake Albert, Semliki game reserve and on the lake at Lake Mburo national park.
For successful game drives, the time of day will improve your chances. The best opportunity to see wildlife is early morning and in the evening. When it is cool, animals are very mobile. The visitor may see plenty of game, mainly large animals, but the African wilderness has so much to offer: the incredible bird-life, little mammals, primates, reptiles, trees and other plants. Please come with an open mind and experience the different aspects of nature and conservation in Uganda.
Carry a pair of binoculars for spotting wildlife – Come with you camera to photograph important aspects of your game experience. Night game drives too have now been introduced in most national parks to see some nocturnal animals and birds rarely spotted during the day like the owl. A mix of car drives, boat cruises, guided walks, watch towers and canoeing will provide the variation you need to keep your tour captivating.
Accommodation is also available both within and nearby all the parks in the country and this varies from high end, mid range to budget establishments with the Uganda Wildlife Authority managing campsites in most of the national parks.
Whether your interest is birds, primates, butterflies or wildlife, Uganda has got you covered and most of these being in close to undisturbed environments, which are not heavily populated giving you the chance to exploit everything in their very natural habitat.
When to do it:
Game drives and views can be done at any period of the year, although many travelers prefer dry seasons (between January – April, and July – October); while others prefer wet seasons (between October – January and April – July).
