Uganda…! The pearl of Africa, a country gifted by nature. We bring you Uganda’s ten magical national parks;

  1. Murchison Falls National Park

Uganda’s largest protected area is a 5000km2 expanse formed by Murchison Falls NP and the contiguous Karuma and Bugungu wildlife reserves. The Nile transverses this wilderness, dividing grasslands roamed by big game on the northern bank from bush and forest inhabited by birds and primates on the southern side. The centerpiece is the river’s eruption through a narrow gorge at Murchison Falls.

  1. Mt. Elgon National Park

The 1145km2 Mount Elgon National Park protects the higher slopes of Mount Elgon, an extinct volcano, on the Uganda-Kenya boarder. The Mountain, which Measures 80km in diameter, once towered above Kilimanjaro’s current 5900m. Though now reduced to 4321m, still rises 3000m above the hot, dusty plains of Karamoja to provide a cool respite for humans and a refuge for flora and fauna.

  1. Kidepo Valley National Park

Located in Uganda’s distant north eastern corner, close to Kenya and South Sudan and forming the farthest extremity of the emote, sparsely populated Karamoja region, Kidepo represents one of Africa’s most magnificent wilderness. Big game favorites, including elephant, buffalo, giraffe, zebra, eland, lion, cheetah and ostrich, roam grasslands that extend towards distant mountain ranges in all directions.

  1. Elizabeth National Park

Uganda’s most popular and diverse conservation area, Queen Elizabeth National Park enjoys a fabulous setting on the rift valley floor, surrounded by lakes, escarpments and snow-capped Rwenzori Mountain. A variety of habitats, including grassland, acacia woodland, forest, wetland and open water, sustains a wide range of mammals while the park’s 604 bird species is a quite remarkable tally for a protected area covering less than 2000km2.

  1. Rwenzori Mountains National Park

Africa’s highest Mountain range, the 5109m Rwenzori-or Mountains of the Moon-is the snowy source of the Nile referred to by early geographers, 17 centuries before European explorers marked it on their mas. The high Rwenzori is a montane wonderland, the rails to the snowy peaks following glacier-carved valleys filled with fantastically coloured mosses and rare Afro-alpine plants that include giant forms of lobelias, heathers and groundsels.

  1. Semuliki National Park

The forested, 220km2 Semuliki National Park occupies an isolated slice of Ugandan territory beyond the Rwenzori mountain on the broad floor of the Albertine Rift Valley. Thanks to its great age (it predates the last Ice Age) and links with the Congo-Guinea biome (Semuliki represents the easternmost extent of the Congo’s huge Ituri Forest) the park contains an exceptionally rich and varied biodiversity.

  1. Bwindi Impenetrable National Park

One of Africa’s oldest forests-being one of few that predate the arid conditions of the Ice Age-the 325km2 Bwindi Impenetrable has carpeted the margin of the Albertine Rift Valley for some 25000 years. During this time, it has accumulated a remarkable biodiversity. Species counts include 350 birds, 310 butterflies, 200 trees, 51 reptiles, 38 moths and 120 mammals.

  1. Lake Mburo National Park

This compact jewel of a park is ideally placed for an overnight break between Kampala and the protected areas of western Uganda. Herbivores in the seasonal wetland valleys and acacia grasslands that surround Lake Mburo include species such as topi, eland and zebra that are rare or absent from the other parks in Uganda.

  1. Kibale National Park

This largely forested park, 795km2 in area, is best known for the number and variety of resident primates. An impressive list of 13 primate species includes Uganda’s largest Population of chimpanzees-an estimated 1450. Habituated groups can be tracked with experienced ranger guides at Kanyanchu River Camp.

  1. Mgahinga Gorilla National Park

Though Uganda’s smallest national park covers just 38km2, it forms part of a far larger, transboundary protected area that protects wildlife and habitats on the Virunga Volcanoes in Uganda, Rwanda and Congo. Mgahinga Gorilla enjoys a magnificent setting on the northern slopes of three of the Virunga’s six extinct cones; Mts. Muhavura, Gahinga and Sabinyo.