Uganda’s National Parks – Top Tourist Destinations
Uganda has 10 protected areas that have been set aside as National Parks. These areas include beautiful areas of mountains, tropical forests, savanna grasslands, woodlands, and wetlands. Uganda’s national parks are areas of protected countryside that everyone can visit.
Uganda has 10 national parks. But it’s the sheer variety of these parks that sets Uganda apart from other destinations across East Africa.
Uganda does have ‘traditional’ open savanna parks with elephants, giraffes, and big cats. More than that, however, it also has smaller wildlife areas inhabited by highly diverse, and sometimes endemic, species of flora and fauna; enjoying highly varied climates and at different altitudes. For example, Uganda is home to 13 of the world’s primates, including half of all mountain gorillas and large populations of chimpanzees too.
Thankfully, those days are now in the past and Uganda’s national parks are thriving once again. Some may not have returned fully to their past glory, but they are well on their way to recovery and the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) must be commended on its good work in this regard. UWA has also been supported by external agencies that have recognised the significance of Uganda’s wildlife areas and the unique role many of them play in world biodiversity.
Listing of Uganda National Parks
There are 10 National Parks in Uganda. One of the best known of Uganda’s national parks, and certainly the most memorably named, is Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Covering only 331 sq km, Bwindi is the best place to see the critically endangered mountain gorilla.
Gorilla trekking can also be viewed in Mgahinga National Park another beautiful park in South Western Uganda. Mgahinga is part of the Virunga Conservation area that includes Rwanda’s Volcanoes national park and Congo’s Virunga National Park.
Mgahinga Gorilla National Park
Golden Monkey – Mgahinga Gorilla National Park
Mgahinga Gorilla National park is a well-known park for gorilla safaris. At just 33.7km2, Mgahinga Gorilla is Uganda’s smallest national park. However, it is also one of the most dramatic for the park lies on the northern slopes of Mts. Muhabura, Mgahinga, and Sabyinyo, three volcanoes that create an unforgettable regional backdrop. These peaks are three of the six Virunga volcanoes that mark the southern limit of the Albertine Rift Valley and are divided between Uganda, Rwanda, and DR Congo. Read More
Kibale Forest National Park
Chimpanzee Tracking – Kibale forest National Park
Kibale National Park is a forested area for higher primates, with 13 available to see including chimpanzees. Read More
Rwenzori Mountains National Park
Uganda’s other natural Unesco World Heritage Site, the Rwenzori Mountains National Park, offers an altogether different experience, with high mountain passes and unique examples of flora. The Rwenzoris also provide one of Africa’s truly great hiking experiences. Read More
Semuliki National Park
Hotsprings – Semuliki National Park
While Semuliki National Park, in the remote west beyond the Rwenzoris is the furthest extent of the forest that stretches across the Congo Basin and is famed as the home of the Batwa people. Read More
Murchison Falls National Park
Giraffes – Murchison Falls National Park
The pick of Uganda’s open savanna areas is the 3,840 sq km Murchison Falls (Uganda’s largest) and the 1,978 sq km Queen Elizabeth National Park as well as the much smaller Lake Mburo National Park. Both of the bigger parks provide a wide choice of accommodation and growing numbers of plains game and are within easy reach of Kampala. Read More
Mount Elgon National Park
Offering a complete change of landscape and environment and located in the extreme east is Mount Elgon Nation Park. Dominated by Mount Elgon, which has the largest volcanic base in the world, the park has its own collection of animals at lower levels, while at higher altitudes there are exotic flora and an opportunity for visitors to climb to the caldera, 3,000 meters above sea level. Read More
Perhaps the least visited and most inaccessible is the 1,442 sq km Kidepo Valley National Park in the far north, close to Kenya’s Turkana District and straddling the border with South Sudan. The remoteness and untamed wilderness of Kidepo have been its salvation and the park emerged largely unscathed from Uganda’s troubles. For many, the 700 km trip from Kampala is worth the journey as there are 77 different mammals and about 475 birds to see. Read More
Queen Elizabeth National Park
Elephant – Queen Elizabeth National Park
Well known for the tree-climbing lions, Queen Elizabeth national park is located in southwestern Uganda in the rolling plains east of Lake Edward and in the foothills of South of the Rwenzori Mountain. The Savannah park covers an area of 1978 km2. Read More
Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park
Habitat to half of the world’s endangered mountain gorillas, the world heritage site is located in south-western Uganda in Karungu district covering an area of 331km2. The park is a sanctuary for forest elephants, baboons, colobus monkeys, chimpanzees, and many birds such as hornbills and turacos. Read More
Lake Mburo National Park
This the smallest national park covering an area of 260km2 located in the Kiruhura district near Mbarara. The park is well known as home to the antelope family, Zebras, giraffes, buffaloes, hippos. Among the 10 national parks, this is the only park without elephants. Read More