Uganda

“The Most hazardous part of our expedition to Africa was crossing Piccadilly Circus.”
* Joseph Thomson (Scottish explorer)

Uganda is a small, wonderful country in Africa, home to an extraordinary range of languages and cultures, it is also the source of the White Nile and an ideal birdwatching, with over a thousand species of birds, and safari destination.

Known as the Pearl of Africa, Uganda is characterized by stunning greenery, deep lakes, volcanoes, stunning mountains, savannah, lush swamplands and half of the world’s last remaining mountain gorilla population.

Uganda, and its neighbour Rwanda, share the crucial responsibility of conserving a population of critically endangered mountain gorillas and chimpanzees in their impenetrable forests.

Famous for its gorilla trekking safaris, and for the lush tropical rainforests, the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest is a Unesco World Heritage site with awe-inspiring biodiversity that lies in the South-West of Uganda, today roughly half of the world’s total gorilla population lives in this park.

Established in 1991 as sanctuary to the endangered mountain gorilla, Bwindi protects at least nine other species of primate and several species of animals, birds and fishes in its ancient pristine rainforest on the steep ridges of the Virunga Volcanoes.

In Uganda there is the highest concentration of primates on earth and the Kibale National Park is Africa’s most important primate sanctuary.

The Kibale National Park is situated in Western Uganda, South of the Rwenzori Mountains, it is home to 13 species of primates and is well-known cause its large population of chimpanzees is healthy and numbering around 1,500 individuals.

The iconic Queen Elizabeth National Park is home to almost a hundred animal species as well as more than 600 types of birds, including the rare Shoebill Stork, and it is famous for its primate species, its unusual tree-climbing lions, and the large concentration of hippos; the Kazinga Channel is said to contain the world’s largest population of hippos.

Rwenzori Mountains, a UNESCO World Heritage Site better known as the Mountains of the Moon or Land of Mists, are surrounded by rain forests and contain diversity of flora that maintain a diverse, rich ecosystem and support five distinct vegetation zones, and as a result animals and birds flourish.

The Murchinson Falls National Park is situated in the Northern end of the Albertine Rift Valley, it was named after its dramatic Murchison Falls, and today is the country’s largest protected wildlife sanctuary.

The largest of the country’s national parks, offers wonderful natural landscapes, the mighty Nile River bisects flourishing savannas, flanked by lush riverine woodlands, before bursting through a chasm in the Rift Valley escarpment to form the raging Murchison Falls.

The Murchison Falls National Park is a birdwatchers’ paradise, with 451 species recorded including the rare Shoebill Stork.

The Kidepo Valley National Park is a rugged and wild area, it ranks as one of Africa’s less explored destinations, it is characterized by a diverse habitat, from pristine savannah landscape, broken by the Kidepo and Narus Rivers, to the dusty semi desertic areas.

The Kidepo Valley National Park hosts a large range of fauna and flora, over 77 mammals and around 475 bird species find shelter here.

Kidepo is a birdwatchers’ paradise specifically for those interested in Africa’s birds of prey, in fact no less than fifty-six species of raptors are found in the park.