Activities to do while on a Uganda safari | Game Drives | Primate Tours
Activities to do while on a Uganda safari: Uganda is one of the finest and most adventurous tourist destinations in the world. Uganda is referred to as the Pearl of Africa because it consists of trademark attractions that are sure to give a breathtaking and memorable experience for a lifetime.
Planning your trip to Uganda and ascertaining your interests on a safari in Uganda is not an easy task, as it is said if you fail to plan, you plan to fail. This goes to your experience in Uganda; if you fail to plan it very well by knowing the exact activities you wish to engage in, then you won’t achieve the best experience.
This article is to help you get the most of the best safari experience in Uganda as it highlights activities to include on your tour plan in Uganda.
The following are the activities to include on your to-do list on a safari in Uganda:
Mountain gorilla trekking
Mountain gorilla is extremely an extra ordinary offered in a few destinations in the world, for a record Uganda is a home to the biggest population of mountain gorillas in the world estimated to be over 400 individuals. These mountain gorillas in Uganda are found in Bwindi impenetrable a national park and mgahinga gorilla national park, Bwindi impenetrable national park is found in south western region of Uganda in kanungu district and so is mgahinga gorilla national park in Kisoro district.
Mountain gorillas in these families underwent through habituation process making them familiar with presence of human beings. Mountain gorilla trekking in these national park offers an adventurous experience as you hike through various altitudes in thick forests in search for the gorillas in their nests, upon finding the gorillas you spend one hour with them.
Being in presence these huge fur covered creatures will blow your mind as you watch these animals feed on leaves, fruits, playing, female gorilla feeding the infants, you also get to take perfect pictures with the gorillas.
As long as you follow rules and regulations you are bound to have a fascinating memorable experience, for a tourist who wants to spend more hours with the gorillas gorilla habituation experience is also offered in Uganda only in Bwindi impenetrable national park.
Chimpanzee tracking
Uganda is recognized for primates, which are 13 beautiful species that are spotted in numerous destinations in Uganda. Primates encountered on chimpanzee tracking safaris in Uganda include the crested mangabey, mantled guereza, De Brazza’s monkey, Ugandan red colobus, golden monkey, patas monkey, grey-cheeked mangabey, olive baboon, L’hoest’s monkey, blue monkey, red-tailed monkey, red colobus, black and white colobus, western red colobus and chimpanzee, having the most population in Uganda.
Chimpanzees and these primates are habitants of many forested areas, such as Kibale National Park, situated in western Uganda; Ngamba Island Chimpanzee Sanctuary on Ngamba Island, one of the islands of Lake Victoria; Kyambura Gorge, found in Queen Elizabeth National Park in western Uganda; Kalinzu Forest; Toro-Semuliki Wildlife Reserve; Budongo Forest; and the Uganda Wildlife Authority. In all these areas, tracking chimpanzees is an amazing experience as you watch them eating, playing, and grooming each other; chimpanzee tracking always takes 2-3 hours of tracking down the monkeys and one hour of being in their presence. For tourists who want to spend more hours with the chimpanzee, a chimpanzee habituation experience is offered, which gives you 4 hours. In this experience, you can also engage in feeding the chimps, thus activities while on a Uganda safari.
Game drive
Uganda as a tourist destination is known for offering the best game drive safari experience through its numerous national parks, which are dominated by flat landscapes and short savannah grassland.
Uganda is a habitat to many wildlife species, estimated to be above 345 species, which are spotted while on a game drive, such as spotted hyenas, zebras, elephants, buffaloes, lions, leopards, rhinos, giraffes, Uganda kobs, sitatungas, African wild cats, cheetahs, antelopes and many more.
A game drive in Uganda involves driving on trails in national parks such as Kidepo Valley National Park, the most scenic park in Uganda and East Africa; Lake Mburo National Park; and Murchison Falls National Park.
Game drives in Uganda are offered in three sessions: morning game drive, afternoon game and night game drive. The morning game drive is the best game drive, starting as early as 6:00 am, where you get to spot many animals as they wake up from their nests. The night game drive is best for spotting nocturnal animals like pottoes and leopards with the help of a spotlight, thus activities while on a Uganda safari.
NOTE: While on a game drive, it is recommended to use a 4×4 wheel car, which is easy to navigate through the park; carry a binocular for easy spotting of the animals at a distance; and have a good camera for taking highly memorable quality pictures.
Birdwatching
Uganda is an important birding site habiting many colorful bird species estimated to be 1050 recorded species, Uganda as a fantastic tourist destination is dominated by savannah vegetation, swampy, tropical and montane vegetation which makes it a spectacular birding sites.
These sites are home to bird species (land, water and forest species) such as grauer’s broad bill, great blue turaco, papyrus gonolek, Shelley’s crimson wing, Rwenzori turaco, handsome francolin, black bee eater, fox’s weaver, bar tailed trogon, standard-winged night jar, black breasted barbet, Archer’s ground robin, Rwenzori batis, red-faced barbet, chocolate backed kingfisher, karamoja apalis, regal sun bird, brown-breasted lapwing, red throated alethe, red-faced woodland, strange weaver, black and white casqued hornbill, red throated bee-eater, Nahan’s partridge, mountain masked apalis, Doherty’s bush shrike, yellow –eyed black fly catcher, ituri batis, dwarf honey guide, shoe bill the most sought for bird and many more.
These colourful bird species can easily be spotted on a bird watching safari in mabamba bay swamp, Murchison falls national park, Bwindi impenetrable national park, mgahinga gorilla national park, kibale forest national park, queen Elizabeth national park, lake Mburo national park, Semuliki national park, Budongo forest and Rwenzori mountains national park.
Cultural encounter
Uganda is a blend of many cultures living in different communities which are very fascinating to encounter, tribal cultural communities in Uganda include, Baganda, Basonga, Bagisu, Acholi, Ankole, itesots, Karamojong and many more.
These communities have different cultural norms and traditional practices which make them unique from each other, on culture encounter experience in central region of Uganda which is dominated by the Baganda people you can visit kasubi tombs the burial site of Baganda king, kabaka’s lake the longest surviving man-made lake in East Africa and kabaka’s palace.
on culture encounter experience you get to witness various cultural dressing code, songs, dance and drama and taste mouth-watering dishes such as Eshabwe from Ankole, Luwombo from Buganda, Atapa from Teso land, Malakwang from Acholi and Maleewa from Bagishu tribal people. Other places which you can visitor for culture encounters include Igongo cultural centre, Bwindi impenetrable national park and mgahinga national park for Batwa trail experience, Uganda museum, Ndere cultural centre and many more as also one of the Activities while on Uganda safari.
Whitewater rafting
White water rafting is another fascinating activity to add on your itinerary on your safari in Uganda, water rafting is the best activity for water lovers. In Uganda this activity is offered at river Nile the longest river in the world in Jinja, this thrilling activity involves riding through the waves of the white waters of river Nile of 25 kilometres taking 5-6 hours, the adventurous white water rafting on the rapids on river Nile is offered by a drift Adrenaline in four grades that is
- Grade 5 extreme rafting
- The raft river board
- Grade 3 full day rafting and
- 2-days water rafting
Boat ride and cruise safaris
For water lovers boat rides and cruises offers you an opportunity to explore the marine side of Uganda through a ride on its numerous bodies. Boat rides and boat cruise in Uganda is offered in the following fascinating sites:
- Lake Bunyonyi, a very scenic lake with 29 islands and a variety of bird species; a canoe ride on this lake in a dugout canoe takes you on a visit to the islands filled with fascinating history, such as Punishment Island, where teenage girls who got pregnant were left as punishment.
- Boat rides are also offered on Lake Victoria, lake katwe and many more lakes
- Boat cruises are offered in Murchison Falls National Park as a boat cruise to the bottom of the falls and a boat cruise on Kazinga Channel in Queen Elizabeth National Park. On this boat cruise you get to spot herds of elephants, buffaloes and many bird species.
Mountain hiking
If you are an adventurous tourist who loves heights, Uganda is your perfect destination. Uganda hosts magnificent mountains that offer breathtaking mountain climbing expeditions. Mountain hiking in Uganda takes place on mountains like Mount Elgon, mountain Rwenzori and numerous hills.
Mountain Elgon is situated in eastern Uganda, standing at an altitude of 4321 feet above sea level. This lake hosts the largest caldera in the whole world, which can only be spotted by hiking through the covered slopes of the mountain. Mount Rwenzori, referred to as the mountains of the moon, is situated in western Uganda, standing at the altitude.
Kampala city tour
Kampala is not only the capital city of Uganda, it is a prominent tourist destination. Kampala city is made up of 22 hills which host many sites which can be visited while on a city tour, 0n a tour in Kampala you can visit kasubi tombs an architecturally impressive site of cultural importance to Buganda kingdom, this site is a burial site for Baganda kings, Uganda martyrs shrine a religious site where the Uganda martyrs were burnt to death, Rubaga cathedral, Namirembe CATHEDRAL, Bahia temple and Hindu temple.
On Kampala city tour you can also visit many monuments situated in the city such as independence monument, world war 2 monument, kabaka mutesa monument and many more. there is many shopping centres such as Shoprite supermarket, Nakasero mark and owino market, Kampala city can be toured both on foot and on a boda boda (motorcycle) and this ride will blow your mind as you encounter many people up and down in the city doing there day to day activities thus Activities while on Uganda safari.
