Mgahinga is Uganda’s smallest national park which was established with a main purpose of protecting the mountain gorillas of the Ugandan sector of the Virunga Conservation area that straddle Rwanda and the D.R.C. Of the 600 mountain gorillas left in the world, 300 are found in the Virunga Volcanoes, whilst the other 300 are in the nearby Bwindi National Park. Mgahinga is a dense tropical rainforest on the lower slopes of the volcanoes where the vegetation includes bamboo and lots of lichens and mosses – delicacies to a mountain gorilla. There is only one group of mountain gorillas in Mgahinga that is habituated to humans. Known as the Nyakagezi group, these gorillas can be visited on a gorilla track. A Mgahinga safari will take you to the richly forested Virunga Volcanoes for an audience with a mountain gorilla.

The Murchison Falls National Park is cut in half by the mighty River Nile as it squeezes itself through a 7-metre gap in a cleft of rock, creating an explosion of white water. It’s the most powerful natural flow of water anywhere on earth and the rock actually shakes from the force of the water. You may catch a glimpse of a Nile perch being spat from the river. These huge fish weigh up to 100 kg and are strong enough to withstand the pressure. The park is composed of the Bugungu and Karuma Wildlife Reserves. This park derived its name from the Murchison falls where the mighty River Nile explodes through a narrow gorge and flows down to become a placid river whose banks are thronged with hippos, crocodiles, waterbucks and bufalloes. The park has three eco systems, that is to say: Savannah, Wetland and Tropical Rain Forest coupled with woodland.

The Wildlife in the park includes among others the lions, leopards, heartbeast, topi, bushback(s) monkeys, baboons, elephants, giraffes, buffaloes, hippos, crocodiles, Uganda kobs, chimpanzees to mention but a few tied with numerous bird species including the rare shoebill and some West African rarities.

Bwindi is one of Uganda’s most recently created national parks. Formerly known as the Impenetrable Forest, the park covers 330 sq km (128 sq mi) in the south-west of the country, very close to the Congo border. It encompasses one of the last remaining habitats of the mountain gorilla, and is home to half of the surviving mountain gorillas in the world – an estimated 320 individuals. Because of the unrest in Rwanda and eastern Congo, Bwindi has become the main place in East Africa to see the gorillas.

The chance to come face to face with the exceptional Mountain Gorillas and Looking deep into their expressive brown eyes is surely the most thrilling and poignant wildlife encounter that Bwindi has to offer on the African continent as the most rewarding and an emotive experience, however, this should not distract us from Bwindi’s broader biodiversity of other primates like the Chimps, birding ranks the best in Africa, with 23 highly localized Albertine Rift endemics, diverse numbers of mammals, the unique cultures of the different people most of all the Batwa, (Pymies) the scenic features of the Montane forest and much more in fact the park is one of the richest areas in Africa for flora and fauna, containing elephants, the rare giant forest hog and at least 10 species of primate.

Uganda’s Kibale equatorial rainforest is an enchanting park full of lakes, grasslands, marshes and forests on the lower slopes of the Rwenzori Mountains in western Uganda. It’s best known for its healthy population of approximately 500 chimpanzees, though it’s also home to twelve other primate species and a few elephant. Chimpanzee tracking starts at the entrance to the park where you will meet the experienced guides and rangers – all with expert knowledge of Kibale’s flora and fauna. A Kibale Forest safari offers an excellent opportunity to see chimps – though once found keeping up with them can be quite a challenge if they decide to move on through the branches at high speed.

Semuliki National Park (SNP) is situated in the extreme west of Uganda, in Bundibugyo District and lies along the Uganda DRC border within the western arm of the great East African Rift Valley. This Park is an eastern extension of the vast Ituri forest in the Democratic Republic of Congo. It forms part of the forest continuum resulting out of the climatic upheavals of the Pleistocene and therefore one of the richest areas for both flora and fauna in Africa with a combination of the species from West African countries.

Semuliki National Park with an area of 220 sq kms, was gazetted in October 1993. The park occupies a flat with gently undulating landform ranging from 670 metre to 760 metre a.s.l. Since all streams and rivers from the surrounding areas drain through the park, coupled with the poor drainage and topography, many areas in the park are flooded during the rainy season.

This is the only Park in the lowland tropical rain forest in East Africa classified as moist and semi-deciduous. There are 336 tree species recorded of which 24 are restricted to Semuliki National Park, to the eastern part of the range, or are shared with only one or two neighbouring forests; they include Isolana congolan, Nesogordonia kabingaensis and Ejacis guineesis. Some tree species in Semuliki Natioanl Park such as Cordia millenii and Lovoa surymertonii are considered to be endangered.

There are 63 species of mammals, 9 species of which are diurnal forest primates (e.g. Chimpanzees, blue monkey, vervet monkeys and olive baboon), while nocturnal primates include poottos and galagos. The following species of mammals are also found in Semuliki National Park: forest buffaloes, blue duiker, beecroft’s flying squirrel, pigmy squirrel, little collared fruit bat, water chevrotaain and target rat.
At least 374 species of butterflies and moths have been identified including 46 species of forest swallowtails and charaxes plus at least 81 species of large moth, 12 of which are classified as restricted. The wide range of species is attributed not only to the forest’s location, but to the varied habitats, forest swamp, grassland, bush land and an extensive system of hotsprings, warm swamp and savannah woodland.

The park is surrounded by the Bamba, Bakonjo, Batuku located in the rift valley floor, The Batwa (pigmies) who are fruit gatherers and hunters at the same time who used to live in the and still depend on the forest

Semuliki National Park is breathtaking especially for bird, primate, butterfly and plant lovers. The jungle walk takes one up to the meandering River Semliki, the only one of its kind in East Africa. You may also see forest buffaloes and elephants, sitatungas, leopards, crocodiles, various primates and a wide range of forest and water birds.

Queen Elizabeth National Park offers an East African game park with crater-dotted hills and open grassland supporting an abundance of wildlife, including elephant, lion, leopard and the unique Ugandan antelope, the kob. The Kazinga Channel is said to contain the world’s largest concentration of hippo schools and numerous Crocodiles – all easily viewed from a boat cruise. The park is home to more than a quarter of Africa’s total birdlife. With more than 560 species of birds within its borders, the park is a bird watcher’s paradise! A Queen Elizabeth Safari offers the opportunity to see game in unusual landscapes and the park is one of East Africa’s best kept secrets. The animals here aren’t being hounded by dime-a-dozen minibuses.
This park was as a biosphere reserve with the furthest objective of harmonizing human activities with the conservation and protection of wild life, wet lands and natural resources. There are eleven fishing village enclaves within the protected area. The ethnic groups virtually attached to this area are; Banyankole Bakiga, and Bakonjyo.
Queen Elizabeth National Park together with Kyambura and Kigezi Wild life reserves form one of the most diverse Eco systems in Africa. Here, the melting glacier waters of the Rwenzori Mountains create a vast wetland system comprising of two main lakes George and Edward being channeled by the mighty Kazinga which stretches for about 37 kilometers to the remote Ishasha River in the south. This park has an extensive diversity of habitats that range from savanna and Wetlands to Tropical and lowland forest. This park is remarkable for its diversity in birds with a record of over 605 species and that’s why I may right to name it the birders‘ Paradise, the largest of any protected area in Africa to the Murchison Falls National Park. The lake shore lines are congregations of thousands of hippos as the patent Savannah speckled with Acacia and Euphorbia trees which furnish a dwelling for Elephants, Lions, Leopards, big herds of buffaloes, the Uganda Kob, and much more
Facts about Q.E.N.P
It covers approximately 2056sq-km2 Kyambura wild life reserve covering about 154sq. km2 and Kigezi wild life reserve covering an area of 256sq. km2. It receives an average maximum temperature of 28şC and 18şC. The park lies on an altitudinal range of 910 m at lake Edward to 1845m a.s.l that is at the top of the escarpment of the western arm of the Great Rift Valley
It is a habitat for a medium altitude moist semi-deciduous forest, riverine bush land, moist thicket, riparian forest, open grassland, seasonal and permanent swamps, open woodland, lakes and rivers.
This place can be best timed from December – February and the tour can be for at least 2-3 days.
It has recorded about 95mammal species and 606 bird species.

Lake Mburo National Park (LMNP) is a very special place; every part of it is alive with variety, interest and colour. LMNP contains an extensive area of wetland. The park harbours several species of mammals including zebras, impalas, elands, topi and buffaloes. Unique bird species, the park is situated in Mbarara district. It is about 3.5 hours drive from Kampala. The park is accessed from the Masaka-Mbarara road; turn left to Nshara gate (13kms past Lyantonde) or alternatively turn left at Sanga trading centre (27kms past Lyantode) which brings you through Sanga gate. Both junctions have clearly marked signposts. It is about 13kms from Sanga trading centre to Sanga and 8kms from the main road to Nshara gate. It is about 20 minutes drive from either gates to Rwonyo park headquarters. Its sculptured landscape with rolling grassy hills and idyllic lakeshores has a varied mosaic of habitats: forest galleries, rich acacia tree valleys, seasonal, and permanent swamps which all support a wealth of wildlife. The park covers an area of 370km2 it’s the easily accessible and smallest of Uganda’s Savannah national parks. Its mosaic habitat: dry hillside, rocky outcrops, bushes, thickets, open and wooded savannahs, forests, lakes and swamps are home to a surprising diversity of plants and animals.

The Park is famous for its richness in biodiversity with about 68 different species of mammals. The common ones being the zebras, impalas, buffaloes, topis and elands that are herbivores predators like, lions leopards, hyenas and jackals are also oftenly seen. The park is also rich with a bird checkl;ist of more than 315 different species of including the rare shoebill stork, papyrus yellow warbler, African fin foot, brown chested and wattled plover, carruther’s and tabora cisticola, great snipe, Abyssinian ground hornbill white winged warbler and much more. The woody vegetation of lake Mburo is dominated by Acacia species, Olea species and Boscia species.

The park has a number of tourist trails crisscrossed by numerous animals that are used for game drives. Impala track exposes the visitor to a diverse species of animals. Impala is the most common species viewed along this track although one may sight number of waterbucks, warthogs, topis and zebras.
Zebra track leads to harems of Burchell’s zebra with other species like bushbuck, oribi and reedbuck. The Zebra Track leads to the junction of Ruroko Track, a drive through a wetland basin and thick acacia shrub and woodland, with olive trees and eurphorbia species. Kopjes (rock outcrops) found along the Ruroko track, are home to the elusive klipspringers to which the rock is the best habitat.

The Kazuma Track passes through wooded grassland where black-bellied bustards often patrol the area. For visitors to experience a real exposure of thisl Park, they should climb Kazuma hill, which is high enough to enable them see what they could have missed. The five lakes within the park and the rolling hills become more visible and attractive. Its better seen than read or heard! Come travel with Africa Pride Safaris.
Kigambira Loop takes you through a wooded wilderness with scattered thicket and while you are here, look out for bushbucks and bush duikers.
The Lakeside Track is specially designed to facilitate viewing of water plants and animals. The park has a diversity of water birds and woodland birds, which can be sighted along these tracks.