Uganda North to South in 7 Days

Established in 1962, Kidepo Valley National Park is a stunning and remote wildlife reserve in northeast Uganda, bordering Southern Sudan and near Kenya. Spanning 1,442 km2 with altitudes from 914m to 2,750m, the park features diverse landscapes, including rolling savannah, mountains, dry sand rivers, and forests. Despite being crisscrossed with rivers, they evaporate in the dry season, leaving occasional waterholes for wildlife. The park boasts a rich biodiversity, with over 475 bird species, including ostriches, and 77 mammal species, such as elephants, buffaloes, gazelles, kudu, hartebeest, eland, giraffes, zebras, leopards, lions, cheetahs, and elusive Patas monkeys.

Established in 1926, Murchison Falls National Park, Uganda’s first, spans 3,980km² in the north of the Albertine Rift. The park is bisected by the Victoria Nile, cascading over 80km of rapids to form the majestic Murchison Falls—a 40m drop in the rift valley wall. Launch trips offer a thrilling view of this natural spectacle. Beyond the falls, the Nile calmly flows through savannah and the papyrus delta of Lake Albert. The park features forested savannah and hosts diverse wildlife, including Rothschild giraffes, lions, leopards, elephants, buffaloes, hippos, giant Nile crocodiles, and Patas monkeys. With 451 bird species, including the elusive shoebill stork, giant kingfishers, bee-eaters, and night herons, as well as primates like chimpanzees, the park offers a rich biodiversity.

Established in 1964 as Kibale Forest Corridor Game Reserve and later gazetted as Kibale Forest National Park in 1993, this 760km² park boasts Africa’s highest primate density. While the main draw is the habituated chimpanzees, the park is also teeming with red-tailed monkeys, L’Hoest’s monkeys, grey-cheeked mangabeys, red colobus, and black-and-white colobus monkeys. The park’s diverse ecosystems, including rainforests on the plateau and savannah/swamp areas on the Rift Valley floor, support a rich variety of wildlife. Additionally, bird enthusiasts can enjoy spotting 300 bird species in this vibrant natural haven.

Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park, bordering the Democratic Republic of Congo in Southwestern Uganda, spans 331km². Originally a forest reserve in 1932, it evolved into an animal sanctuary in 1961 and achieved National Park status in 1991. “Bwindi,” meaning “Place of Darkness” in the local dialect, reflects the forest’s dense vegetation. With mist-swirled mountains reaching 2,607m, the park harbors lowland and montane forests. Home to 120 mammal species, including 10 primates, and 350 bird species, it also boasts 220 butterflies/moths, 27 amphibians/reptiles, and over 1,000 flowering plants. Notably, it shelters endangered species, with the mountain gorilla being the most famous resident.