Self Drive Trip: Gorillas & Wildlife Experience in Uganda

Let’s be clear right up front, Uganda’s national parks suffered such a massive poaching scourge during the turbulent 1980s it is a second tier safari destination in comparison to its neighbors Kenya and Tanzania. Though that does not mean you shouldn’t consider it. Wildlife populations have rebounded in the national parks and the Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary means you can score the Big Five in Uganda again. But, ironically, the safari animals are not the main reason to do a safari here; it’s a variety of other things that make Uganda a special destination. Scenically Uganda holds its own with any other country – the mountains and Lakes of the southwest are postcard perfect, standing atop Murchison Falls is exhilarating and Kidepo Valley is simply amazing. The safari experience is also great because the national parks receive far reasonable number visitors than most parks in other countries hence holding the name green destination and promoting Eco tourism. The day I went searching for the tree-climbing lions at Queen Elizabeth National Park I didn’t see very many vehicles the entire morning. Plus, the mix of Central African rain forest and East African Savannah, hosting over 1000 species of bird, makes Uganda one of the best bird-watching destinations not just in Africa, but the world. But more than anything it’s the chance to see gorillas that makes Uganda excellent for safaris. Over half of the world’s remaining mountain gorillas live in Bwindi and Mgahinga Gorilla national parks where groups have been Eco-friendly habituated to humans to allow up-close encounters. It’s one of the most amazing wildlife experiences a person can have. This unique combination of factors, not available anywhere else, is why overall, Uganda is solidly one of my favorite countries in Africa and I’ve met others who share this opinion. Whether it’s your first safari or your tenth, Uganda can make it special but on an escorted trip or self drive tour with 4×4 Car Hire Uganda.

Uganda’s biggest attraction and activity is the mountain gorilla tracking. Seeing these gentle giants has been one of my best wildlife experiences ever. With Congo being unstable, Rwanda is the only other country where this is offered. Aside from gorillas, the forests of Uganda are a good place for seeing a wide variety of primates including the charismatic chimpanzees in Kibale, Budongo, Kyambura gorge and Ngamba Island Chimpanzee Sanctuary in Uganda, Nyungwe chimps in Rwanda.

Uganda’s central attraction is the opportunity to track one of the world’s two surviving mountain gorillas on the misty green slopes of the superb Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. This is arguably the ultimate African wildlife encounter: the simple exhilaration attached to first setting eyes on one of these gentle giants is difficult to describe. These are enormous animals – a male Silver back weighs three times as much as the average man, its bulk is exaggerated by a shaggily luxuriant coat – but also astonishingly peaceable, with the initially disconcerting but ultimately winning habit of staring deep into the eyes of human visitors, with soft brown eyes that appear to be seeking out some sort of connection. True, that magical hour with Uganda’s gorillas is relatively expensive and the trek up can sometimes be hard work, but in almost 230 years writing about Uganda, I have yet to meet anybody who has gone gorilla-tracking and regretted the financial or physical expense.