Top safari activities to do in Uganda

Top safari activities to do in Uganda, Going on a trek in Uganda can be fun, fulfilling, or even life-changing. Also, if you don’t plan what to do on your safari to Uganda, it might not be as exciting, you might not get to do as much, or it might even be stressful. Here are the best things to do on a tour in Uganda that will make it worth your time.

The best things to do on a tour in Uganda

Going on a gorilla trek:
Which part of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is the best for trekking with gorillas?
One of the best safari things to do in Uganda is to go gorilla hiking. Uganda has two places where you can go gorilla trekking: Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and Mgahinga National Park. The Uganda Wildlife Authority manages five trailheads in these two parks that can be used for hiking trips.

The ones in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park are Nkuringo, Rushaga, Buhoma, and Ruhija. The one in Mgahinga is Ntebeko. There are 21 gorilla groups that live in all areas and are used to people, and 160 permits to go trekking with gorillas are easy to get. As far as seeing mountain gorillas goes, Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is the best place in Uganda.

Half of the people in the world live in this lush forest. Bwindi is a lowland, mountain, and ancient forest that covers 131 square kilometers (128 square miles). A UNESCO World Heritage site, the jungle is home to many endangered species and has a lot of different kinds of plants and animals.

Mgahinga Gorilla National Park is Uganda’s second gorilla park. It covers 13 square miles of the bigger Virunga habitat, which covers 168 square miles and includes parts of Rwanda and the DR Congo. There are eight major Virunga hills in Mgahinga. Three of them are Mount Muhabura, Mount Gahinga, and Mount Sabyinyo.

But Bwindi is the best place to go gorilla trekking because it has so many gorilla groups that are used to tourists. Bird watching, wildlife walking safaris, community programs, and habituation experiences are some of the other things you can do in and around the park.

The part of gorilla trekking you need to book for your Uganda safari depends on where you can get a gorilla pass when you book. Because there aren’t many licenses available, it can be hard to get the one you want from June to August and from December to February.

Chimpanzee trekking 

Second on the list of the best safari things to do in Uganda is chimpanzee hiking. Chimpanzees and humans share about 98.7% of DNA, making them very close cousins. Like people, they change with the times and make tools to help them stay alive. You can spend an hour with chimpanzees in their natural environment if you go to one of Uganda’s tree trekking spots.

You and your guide will be able to follow them to get great pictures and learn more about the chimps. There are about 120 chimps that live in the park and another 1400 that live in the bush, making Kibale National Park the world’s primate capital. About 95% of the time, people who go hiking will find chimpanzees.

Chimpanzee hiking can be done twice a day, once in the morning at 7 a.m. and at 2 p.m. in the afternoon. with six people in each of up to six groups tracking every day. The forest is home to about 13 different kinds of primates, such as black and white colobus, red-tailed, and red colobus monkeys, as well as grey-checked mangabeys and baboons.

About 300 chimpanzees live in the Kalinzu forest, and about 40 of them are used to people coming to see them. When you go trekking, you have a 60% chance of seeing chimps. But the bush has a lot more to offer than just chimp trekking. Take in the beautiful scenery and running streams while you’re on this chimpanzee trekking trip. This walk is usually long, so you need to be in good shape.

Chimpanzee trekking is a fun thing to do in the Budongo forest in the Kaniyo Pabidi area of Murchison Falls National Park. The bush is where most of the chimpanzees live, but only a few are used to people visiting. In Kibale Forest, you have to get a pass ahead of time, but at Kaniyo Pabidi, you can just tell the park staff the day before your chimp walk.

You can find a rare underground forest in the middle of Queen Elizabeth National Park, which is mostly Savannah. It’s called Kyambura Gorge. Some chimps live in the forest, but they can be hard to spot at times. The walk through the trees is relaxing, and the views of the canyon from a high point are valuable. Hipos and elephants might be around on your trek, but the armed guards are there to keep you safe. Rarely, though, do these things happen together.

Golden Monkey Trekking

One of the best safari things to do in Uganda is go golden monkey hiking. The Golden Monkey is a beautiful and unique monkey that lives on the slopes of the Virunga mountains, which are shared by Uganda, Rwanda, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The best place to go golden monkey hiking in Uganda is in the south western part of the country, in Mgahinga Gorilla National Park.

Chimpanzee trekking, gorilla trekking, and golden monkey trekking are all fun activities, but golden monkey trekking is a bit more active. This is because it’s done in the mountains, and the monkeys are always moving, so you have to follow them.

Their size is small, and they move quickly. They like to look for food in the bush where there are lots of bamboo because they eat the young bamboo shoots. They live in groups of 30 or more people and cover a large area. Your local tour operator will give you a golden monkey trekking permit ahead of time after you choose the date you want to go on the trip.

The golden monkey trek starts early in the morning at 7 a.m. with a briefing at the park offices. before people go on hikes in the park. You spend an hour with the golden monkeys after you see them. It takes about two hours, but it depends on where they slept the night before and how far away they are from where they started.

wildlife tour in Uganda

The vast savanna lands come to life with huge herds of wildlife, even though Uganda is not as well known as its neighbors Kenya and Tanzania. Uganda has a number of National Parks that you can visit on a wildlife safari. Some of the best places to see wildlife are Queen Elizabeth National Park, Murchison Falls National Park, Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary, and Lake Mburo National Park.

Kenya zebras grazing, lions lounging, elephants strolling, leopards sitting on tree branches, and huge forest hogs snuffling can all be seen on Uganda Wildlife Safaris. Anyone who goes on a Uganda Safari to Queen Elizabeth National Park would be amazed at how different everything is. It’s just beautiful to look at. You can go on a boat ride, a game drive, or a walk through the forest, or you can just sit back and enjoy the beautiful views.

Many of Uganda’s animals can be seen in Murchison Falls National Park, which has a wide range of plants and animals, from riverside woods and marshlands to wide Savannah. One of the best things to do in Africa is to take a boat ride upstream to the falls. Watch elephants, hartebeest, giraffes, buffalo, alligators, and many other animals and birds, like the rare Shoebill, as the launch glides along the water’s edge.

Kidepo Valley National Park, which has been called “the gem of Africa,” is one of Uganda’s most beautiful savannas. Wild animals like lions, leopards, cheetahs, antelopes, ostriches, and many species of birds live in the vast open fields that are broken up by lone acacia trees. This park has been home to more than 54 kinds of raptors.

Mountain hiking

One of the best outdoor things to do in Uganda is to go mountain hiking. When you go hiking in Uganda, you can see beautiful views as you follow marked trails on different hills. Most of the climbing is done in areas that are protected.

There are, however, other chances that aren’t in protected places. In Uganda’s Rwenzori Mountains National Park and Mt. Elgon National Park, many people go on multi-day hikes. In Uganda, you can go on a one-day trip to the Virunga Volcanoes. In other parts of Uganda, like the Sipi Falls, you can go on short walks that last a few hours.

In Uganda, the Rwenzori Mountains are the third highest mountain area in Africa. They are also a UNESCO World Heritage Site. In reality, they are the border between Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The tallest peak, Margherita on Mt. Stanley, is 5109 meters above sea level and is always covered in snow. It is the third tallest peak in Africa, after Kilimanjaro and Mt. Kenya. All hikers say that it has better views and landscapes than Africa’s two highest peaks, even though most of them find it hard. The round-trip hike can take anywhere from 6 to 8 days for a slow walker.

When you hike up Mt. Elgon, you can see waterfalls and caves that were made by lava moving. One of the world’s biggest calderas is on Mt. Elgon, and its tallest peak, Wagagai, is 4,321 meters high. Mount Muhabura is the highest point in Mgahinga National Park.

It is 4127 meters high. In the local language, the name means “The Guide.” At the top, there is a beautiful lake that is about 36 m wide and has views of both Rwanda and Uganda. It is also a great place to take pictures. The hike goes for 12 kilometers and takes about 8 hours to complete.

At 3660 meters, Mount Sabinyo is the second tallest rock in the park. The name comes from the local language, which means “Old Man’s Teeth,” which describes the rocky peak that is split by deep canyons. To get to the top of the mountain, you have to walk along a ridge that drops dramatically into gorges in both Rwanda and Uganda, with ladders on the last part of the hike.

You will be in Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Uganda all at the same time when you get to the finish line. It takes about eight hours to go the 14-kilometer route both ways.

With a height of 3474 meters above sea level, Mount Gahinga is the lowest of the Virunga Volcanoes. In the original language, the name means “Small Pile of Rocks.” It takes six hours to walk round-trip through a beautiful bamboo forest to get to the top. There used to be a Crater Lake on top of Mt. Gahinga, but now there is a thick marsh there instead.

Cultural Safaris

Uganda is a great place to learn about culture because it has 54 different tribes. People who come to Uganda on cultural tours can learn about and connect with the cultures of the places they visit. People who come to a certain place or home can take part in folktales, singing, dancing, and theater. Before eating fresh, organic food, they learn about the people’s beliefs and help make traditional foods. You can add other cultural activities to a wildlife or gorilla tour that you already have planned.

The paths in Batwa

For hundreds of years, the Batwa people lived in the dense woods at the base of the Virungas. This was before farmers, herders, and national parks were built. Their way of life was hunter-gatherer, and they got their food and medicine from the bush. The Batwa knew a lot about the plants that grew in forests and had many different ways to hunt and gather food.

Before, this information was passed down verbally through songs, dances, and stories. To learn more about the lives of these interesting people, ask that the Batwa experience be added to your trip to Uganda or Rwanda.

Shepherds who move around

Nomadic pastoralists moved their animals from place to place based on where they could find water and grass for their animals. As their population has grown, they have had to move to farmland and have had to greatly cut the number of cattle they own. Despite past movements, their society is still based on cattle and the things that come from them. Find out about the unique way they live. These traditional activities will take you to Karamoja, where you will meet and talk with Ik and Karamajong people.

Plant Growers

On the other hand, the farmers worked the land and went hunting to make a living. Because of population growth, these people’s main daily activity is now farming. The rest of the land is set aside for wildlife protection. Keeping animals and farming have recently become more involved with raising cattle and farming land. If you go to a cultivator’s home, you can learn about the many foods that are grown in Uganda.

birding safaris.

If you want to enjoy bird watching in Uganda, you have to be ready to be outside for a long time and hike in some places. In the Rwenzori Mountains, Mgahinga Gorilla National Park, Mt. Elgon, and Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, for example, you have to hike up and down steep hills to see birds. Uganda is a famous place in Africa to see birds because it is home to more than 1050 different species.

Ten percent of all bird species in the world are in this group. There are also 24 Albertine rift endemics in this area. The others are found in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, and Burundi.

Birds have been protected for a long time because they are seen as totems for groups or as messengers from the gods and the seasons.

There are species from both Central and East Africa living in Uganda because it is in both of those areas. Birdwatching can be done in both protected and unprotected areas. Birds like to live in woods, Savannah, farming fields, rocky ridges, marshes and papyrus swamps, and Afro-pine moorland.

23 of Uganda’s 24 Albertine unique species can be found only in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, making it a great place to go birdwatching. One of the best places in Africa to see birds is Murchison Falls National Park. There is a good chance that you will see the sought-after shoe bill stork on a hiking trip to Uganda, which will be an experience you will never forget.

Some of the best places in Uganda to see birds are Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Kidepo Valley National Park, Queen Elizabeth Nation, Murchison Falls National Park, Lake Mburo National Park, Semuliki National Park, Mgahinga Gorilla National Park, Mt. Elgon National Park, Rwenzori Mountains National Park, and Kibale National Park.

The Maramagambo Forest, the Mabamba Swamp, the Mabira Forest, the Kalinzu Forest, the Echuya Forest, the Budongo Forest, the PianUpe Game Reserve, the Nyamuriro Swamp, the Katonga Game Reserve, and many farmlands are also good places to see birds.

Adventure Activities

The largest river in the world is the Nile, which is also the best place in Africa to go white water rafting. If you haven’t already, you should put this amazing event on your list of things to do when you plan your Arusha tour. Going water rafting is a fun outdoor activity that will get your heart rate up. You can enjoy the thrill of grade 3 and grade 5 waves.

Rafting can be done with other activities like hiking, wildlife safaris, birding trips, culture meetings, and trekking to see gorillas or chimpanzees. It’s often called the “adventure capital of East Africa,” and a lot of people come to see more than just the Nile and Lake Victoria. They also come to see how peaceful and beautiful the town is.

Jinja is a place where you can have fun and explore. Other exciting things to do there include bungee jumping, tubing, kayaking, sport fishing, horseback rides, and quad biking. You could also visit the beautiful islands in Lake Victoria and enjoy the beauty of the Pearl of Africa.

Now that we’ve talked about the best outdoor activities in Uganda, let’s move on. Choose some of the best things to do on safari in Uganda and get ready for the best trip of your life. Get in touch with us to make a custom safari plan.