Best Four Uganda Tours Wildlife Destinations

Uganda tours are growing rapidly in popularity because of the fantastic opportunities to experience gorillas and chimpanzees in their natural habitat.

There are a few other national parks which don't boast the primates but which are still well worth a visit. These are the top four national parks in Uganda...

1. Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park

It's here that you will experience one of the most emotive wildlife encounters possible on earth. A close encounter with a gorilla.

There are three habituated mountain gorilla groups in the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and a limited number of permits are issued every day at eight per group.

The permits can be booked in advance by you or by a Uganda travel agent or you can book when you get there but then you run the risk of them all being sold out and you might have to wait.

Your chances of seeing the gorillas are excellent here because they are tracked each day by experienced trackers so their locations are known down to the last 24 hours.

This national park is a rainforest so you can expect precipitation most of the year with the heaviest rains occurring in March - April and September - November while other months are reasonably dry. Annual precipitation is between 1130mm and 2390mm (44-94 inches).

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2. Kibale Forest National Park Uganda Tours

If you want to visit chimpanzees on any Uganda tours then this national park is the place to be. They are tracked in much the same fashion as gorillas but they tend to spend a lot more time in the treetops.

This rainforest is the most accessible of all Uganda's major forests and is not only home to chimpanzees but 13 other primate species like the red colobus and L'Hoest's monkey.

Birders will be able to wallow in the luxury of being able to spot 335 species of bird such as the Prirogrine's ground thrush, turacos and hornbills.

The forest is not devoid of mammals either but they are hard to find so if you spot elephant, buffalo, giant forest hog and several species of antelope count yourself very lucky.

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3. Murchison Falls National Park

This is the largest national park in Uganda and it is bisected by the Nile river which cascades dramatically through a cleft in the rift valley escarpment into a pool below to form the Murchison Falls from which the park takes its name.

Previously denuded of wildlife by poachers in the 1980's the animals are starting to make a recovery and you can enjoy viewing crocodile, elephant, buffalo, hippo and a variety of antelope by taking a houseboat trip down the river.

The very rare and very large shoebill stork is also found here including a large number of other waterbirds.

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4. Queen Elizabeth National Park

If biodiversity were the measure of a national park, this one would be the best in Africa.

There are over 100 mammal species to be found here and an astonishing 606 bird species largely due to the abundance of water and the fertility of the volcanic craters, grassy plains and tropical forests.

This park was also beset by poaching but now that peace has largely descended on Uganda the wildlife is making a strong comeback with elephant, a profusion of hippos, the elusive giant forest hog and handsome Uganda kob all regularly sighted.