Chimpanzee trekking is one of the best and popular activities that is sought after by many tourists. There are 3 major chimp trekking destinations in Uganda: Kibale Forest National Park, Murchison Falls National Park, and Queen Elizabeth National Park. Kibale Forest is the best place for chimp trekking, as the forest has high population density.

Just like gorilla trekking, it involves trekking through the forest in search of the chimpanzees that keep on swinging from one tree to the next. After coming across the chimpanzees, you will spend an hour with them before trekking back.

Chimpanzee trekking starts very early in the morning and every trek begins with the tour guides giving tourists the guidelines and rules that need to be followed. While trekking, you will be able to see other primates and wildlife like the red-tailed monkeys, black and white colobus monkeys, a variety of bird species among others.

Gorilla Trekking in Uganda

 Uganda is a home to half of the world Gorilla population and it is one of the only three countries in the world where mountain gorilla trekking is managed.

In Uganda, Gorilla trekking can be done in two national parks namely; Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park and Mgahinga Gorilla National Park.

Gorilla trekking in Uganda can be done any time of the year. Uganda experiences two significant seasons; the dry and wet season. The activity can take anywhere between 2 to 6 hours, therefore making it an intense activity. You will be allocated a guide who will take you through the lives of the humble giants.

The best time for trekking gorillas in Uganda is the dry season when the ground is dry. It starts in June, July, August, September and December, January, February. In the dry season, the habitat is kept drier and makes it easier for trekkers to hike through dense vegetation and steep slopes to search for mountain gorillas unlike during the wet/rainy season when there is plenty of rainfall which make the ground muddy and slippery.

The wet season starts in March, April, May and October, November. This is also considered as the low season. During the wet or rainy season, there is plenty of forage for these great apes to depend on and visitors can take fewer hours since they do not move to further distances to search for what to feed on in the course of the day.

Cultural Tours

Uganda is indeed endowed with a diversity of cultural attractions ranging from food, dances, fashion, art and historical sites. You can only discover this diversity while on a cultural tour in Uganda. You could opt for a guided community visit or direct encounter with the different communities such as the Batwa, Baganda, Karamojong, Batooro, etc… You could also opt to visit various cultural centres such as Ewaffe Cultural Village, Ndere Centre in Kampala or the various crafts markets in the different parts of the country.

Birding in Uganda

Uganda is one of the most popular birding tourist destinations in the whole of Africa. Some of the bird species are not easily spotted in any other part of the African continent. There are several birding destinations within the country and these have made Uganda certainly one of the finest birding hotspots. There are more than 1060 bird species with some being very rare; such as the Shoe bill stork. Most of the bird species are found in the various National parks within Uganda. As you marvel at the spectacular birds, you will certainly come across a diversity of additional wildlife that will turn your bird watching safari into a very memorable encounter. Most of the birds can be spotted early in the morning as well as late in the evenings.

Wildlife Safaris

Uganda is endowed with over 10 National Park and 12 Wildlife Reserves and each of them has got its own unique attributes. The activity in these parks is wildlife viewing coupled with other activities such as bird viewing, boat cruises, hiking, etc…

Among the top destinations for game viewing include the Queen Elizabeth National Park, Murchison Falls National Park, Lake Mburo National Park, Kidepo Valley National Park, Kibale Forest National Park for Chimpanzee trekking and Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park for Gorilla trekking. Other parks include Mgahinga Gorilla National Park, Rwenzori Mountain National Park, Mt. Elgon National Park and Semuliki National Park. Most of the parks have a variety of wildlife and these include lions, elephants, buffaloes, leopards, antelopes, hippos, crocodiles, etc… and a variety of birds.