There are a lot of things to do while on holiday in Uganda. From the rare mountain gorilla trekking experience in Bwindi and Mgahinga to leisurely stays along the Lake Bunyonyi, there are several holiday activities to do in Uganda. Here are the most exciting things to do in Uganda that you can incorporate in your next safari in Uganda.
Experience the Nile
Uganda is a popular safari destination with some of the unique attractions and activities not found elsewhere in the world and some of the outdoor activities white water rafting on one of the longest river in the word. The Nile River provides an excellent grade five white water rafting for over 21 km going through some of the beautiful water falls in the world.
Bungee jumping is another adventure that is so interesting on the Nile River it involves jumping from a high point of over 100m high with a string either on your leg or waste down on the river and after get on a canoe boat to sail you out of the river still in this eastern district of Jinja you can see the source of the Nile river where the waters start their 3 months journey in Uganda all the way to the Mediterranean sea in Egypt.
Gorilla Trekking
Gorilla trekking adventure is probably the most amazing and a highlight of any safari to Uganda. Its involves trekking through the thick forest and following slippery trails in the forested jungle Bwindi Impenetrable National park a world heritage site, looking for the few of the remaining rarest specie in the world, the Mountain Gorillas. The trek is probably tiresome because in involves long walks for about 2-5 hours but once you meet face to face with the gorilla all the fatigue and tiredness is all forgotten.
Mountain Gorilla Trekking:
What makes Uganda a distinct destination from the rest of the world except Rwanda and Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is basically the remarkable mountain gorillas. A safari in Uganda is incomplete without gorilla trekking. Uganda is undoubtedly the perfect destination for you to visit as it offers nearly half of the world’s remaining mountain gorillas making it a home to largest habituated gorilla groups for tourists to enjoy gorilla trekking experiences.
With over 480 mountain gorillas that live in dense jungles of Uganda, tourists have wide range of options to choose their best gorilla group from all the 12 habituated gorilla groups of which 11 are in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest and Mgahinga Gorilla National Park in Southwestern side of the country. You only need US$700 to obtain your gorilla permit in Uganda and for those who wish to improve on their experiences, there is also gorilla habituation experience which costs US$1500 per permit and you will enjoy 4 hours of face to face encounter with these remarkable creatures in the wild.
Chimpanzee Tracking
Chimpanzee tracking is yet another captivating activity that enables you meet with few of the remaining human closest relatives with over 98% of human genes. Like mount gorillas, chimps also involve walking through the jungle forest but difference is that chimps can be found both on ground and in tree branches, during yor tracking watch out for other primates like vervet monkeys, Red tailed monkey, black and white colobus monkey and lots of beautifully coloured bird species, chimp tracking is majorly done in Kibale forest national park. This ancient forest is believed to have the highest number of primates in Africa.
Game Viewing
Game drives in Uganda are done in 5 major national parks including Lake Mburo National Park, Murchison Falls, Queen Elizabeth, Kidepo Valley and Semulik National Parks. And Uganda is one of the few nations where you can meet all the big five animals, the Rhino, Cape Buffalo, Elephant, Lion and Leopard and its only in Uganda where you can see the rare tree climbing lions in Isasha sector south of Queen Elizabeth National Park while Kidepo valley national park has the highest population of cape buffaloes in Africa other wild animals in Uganda include Eland, world’s biggest antelope. Zebras, Topi, Uganda Kob, Crocodile, Giraffe, warthog, Bush pig, bush bucks, Hippos, Hyena, Jackal, among others.
Boat Cruises
Boat cruises are regarded as the most rewarding activities on any adventure safaris to Uganda as it takes you to highest concentration of wildlife. The boat cruises you around the river banks where most of the wildlife came to draw drinking water and bath. These boat cruise in Uganda are done in three different parks, River Nile in Murchison falls national park, Kazinga Channel in Queen Elizabeth National Park and Lake Mburo National park. Kazinga Channel and Murchison falls are believed to have the highest population of hippos in Africa.
Mountain climbing
Uganda’s Rwenzori Mountain also known as the “mountains of the moon” provides a first class trekking experience. Margarita peak the highest point in Uganda and 3rd highest in Africa just behind Mount Kilimanjaro and Kenya respectively is amazingly snow capped and its so captivating to experience atleat 5 different climate zone during this lifetime trek which include Savannah, tropical, Alpine, bamboo among other climate zone types. The trek can at least take you between 7 – 12 days in the high altitudes other mountains include Mount Elgon and Moroto.