Conservation Areas in Uganda of Significant Interest To Travelers

Uganda’s list of gazetted conservation areas encompasses 10 national parks, 8 wildlife reserves, 4 wildlife sanctuaries, and 9 Ramsar sites.

National parks get a higher status and conservation priority than other reserves. From the visitor’s point of view, they are generally better developed for tourism.

Bureaucratic considerations aside, the most meaningful way to categorize Uganda’s various national parks and reserves is based on the type of habitat they protect. We occasionally refer to some national parks as game or savanna reserves, forest reserves, and montane reserves.

In this sense, the term ‘game reserve’ applies to any reserve or national park that protects a savanna habitat and supports typical plains animals. In contrast, the term ‘forest reserve’ refers to any reserve or national park covering a forest environment and associated animals.

In some circumstances, the three montane conservation areas considered national parks in Uganda can be forest reserves. They all support montane and bamboo forests up to an altitude of about 3,000 meters above sea level. At this point, the habitat gives way to Afro-montane moorland at higher altitudes.

National Parks
Wildlife Reserves
Forest Reserves
Ramsar Sites
Others

National Parks Found in Uganda

Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, a very important conservation area to Ugandans. — The steamy morning above Bwindi’s rugged landscape. Imagine yourself at a cottage balcony with a steamy cup of coffee, watching the sunrise shooting crystal rays through the misty cloud before you hike down there to meet the mystical mountain giants. These moments are happening every morning for a few fortunate visitors to Bwindi Impenetrable Forst.

1. Bwindi Impenetrable National Park

Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is a 331-sq-kilometer (128 sq mi) UNESCO World Heritage Site of montane and lowland forest accessible only on foot. It is located in southwestern Uganda, on the border with DRC at the edge of the Albertine Rift, in the Districts of Kanungu, Kabale, and Kisoro, respectively, all under the management of the Uganda Wildlife Authority.

The park is a sanctuary for many Old Wold Monkeys like colobus monkeys, chimpanzees, and unique birds such as turacos and hornbills.

Its most notable inhabitants are the 459 Bwindi gorillas, almost half of the world’s population of endangered mountain gorillas. Bwindi has 19 habituated mountain gorilla groups open to tourism in four different sectors of Buhoma, Ruhijja, Rushaga, and Nkuringo.

There’s something fairy about Kibale National Park, and it’s not just the monkeys and chimpanzees. Even the monkeys find it irresistible. The place has more than a dozen unique primate species, creator lakes, and ethereal landscape views. It’s not a one-day visit kind of ecotourism visit; I visit it whenever I get a chance.

2. Kibale National Park

Kibale National Park is 766 square kilometers (296 sq mi) of moist evergreen protected rainforest containing both lowland and montane forests. It sustains the last significant expanse of pre-montane forest in East Africa.

It is an important research and ecotourism safari destination in Uganda. Kibale is well-known for its concentrated population of fifteen primate species and, most notably, the habituated chimpanzees. Kibale is the best conservation area in Uganda (and Africa) for watching primates up close and chimpanzee trekking safaris.

Kibale forms a continuous forest with Queen Elizabeth National Park creating a 180-kilometer (110 mi) wildlife corridor for animals to move between the two parks.

African elephant (Loxodonta africana) in Uganda — The Kazinga Channel in Queen Elizabeth is a magnet for amazing animal species. All kinds of animals come here to drink, eat, play, and find family real estate plots. The 32 kilometer (20 miles) connecting Lakes Gorge and Edward is one attraction that deserves your visit.

3. Queen Elizabeth National Park

Queen Elizabeth National Park, a 1,978-sq-kilometer (764 sq mi) game reserve in southwestern Uganda, is the country’s most popular tourist destination, with the highest number of visitors of all conservation areas in Uganda.

The game reserve is known for its abundant wildlife, including elephant, buffalo, Ugandan kob, hippo, topi, waterbuck, warthog, giant forest hog, Nile crocodile, leopard, spotted hyena, chimpanzee, and lion. Overall, it’s home to 95 mammal species and over 600 bird species.

In the park’s south is Ishasha Sector, famous for its tree-climbing lions, whose males often sport black manes. The area is a potential lion stronghold in Central Africa with an impressive resident lion, hyena, and leopard population.

Rwenzori Mountains Vegetation — The legendary “Mountains of the moon” reflects the mist-shrouded mountains of this rugged massif that tower almost 4,000 m above the Albertine Rift Valley, making them visible from great distances. These mountains offer a unique and pristine landscape of alpine vegetation studded with charismatic giant lobelias, groundsels, and heathers botanists and travelers have named “Africa’s botanical big game”. The combination of spectacular snow-capped peaks, glaciers, V-shaped valleys, fast-flowing rivers with magnificent waterfalls, clear blue lakes, and unique flora contributes to the area’s exceptional natural beauty.

4. Rwenzori Mountains National Park

Rwenzori Mountains National Park is a 1,000-sq-kilometer (386-sq-mi) UNESCO World Heritage Site in western Uganda. The conservation area comprises the more significant part of the Rwenzori mountain chain, which includes Africa’s third highest peak (Mount Margherita: 5,109 m).

The park’s glaciers, waterfalls, and lakes make it one of Africa’s most beautiful alpine areas. It also protects many natural habitats for endangered species and rich and unusual flora, including giant groundsels, heather, and lobelias.

The Rwenzori Mountains National Park provides stunning views of the glacier and snow-capped mountains just kilometers from the equator. The mountains are the highest and most permanent sources of the River Nile. Their multitude of fast-flowing rivers, magnificent waterfalls, and stratified vegetation make the conservation area exceptionally scenic and beautiful.

common duiker, Grey duiker (Sylvicapra grimmia) in Uganda — The grey duiker is widespread in east and southern Africa, in Uganda, it occurs and can easily be seen in Lake Mburo National Park and other protected parks in Uganda.

5. Lake Mburo National Park

Lake Mburo National Park is a 260-sq-kilometer (100-sq-mi) small game reserver and Ramsa site in southwest Uganda. The conservation area used to be a controlled hunting area, and the government upgraded it to a game reserve in 1963.

Lake Mburo is the smallest of Uganda’s National Parks but hosts a healthy wildlife population, including zebra, common eland, impala, warthog, African buffalo, hippopotamus, and over 300 bird species. Though there are no common sightings, predators include hyenas, leopards, genets, civets, serval, and jackals.

The red-tailed monkey

Semuliki National Park, is one of the most peculiar monkeys found in Uganda.

6. Semuliki National Park

Semuliki National Park is a 219-sq-kilometer (85-sq-mi) forest reserve of East Africa’s only lowland tropical rainforest in western Uganda bordering the Rwenzori Mountains and Lake Albert.

The conservation area borders the Semliki and Lamia Rivers and has two hot springs in a hot mineral-encrusted swamp. These hot springs provide salt licks for many animals and attract many shorebirds.

Semuliki National Park is one of Uganda’s top birding places with more than 400 bird species, including rare ones like the lyre-tailed honey guide. Two hundred sixteen of these species (66 percent of the country’s total bird species) are resident forest birds, including the rare Oberländer’s ground thrush, Sassi’s olive greenbul, and nine hornbill species.

The park provides habitat for over 60 mammal species, including buffalo, leopard, hippo, bush baby, civet, elephant, the Pygmy scaly-tailed flying squirrel, duiker, and many primates.

The Five Travel Regions in Uganda; Giraffe in Murchison Falls National Park Near Victoria Nile — The Nile River Flowing Through Murchison Falls National Park leaves gorgeous landscape scenes dotted with animals defining Africa as it is!

7. Murchison Falls National Park

Murchison Falls National Park is a 3,893sq-kilometer (1,503 sq mi) game reserve in northwestern Uganda bisected by the Victoria Nile and famed for its powerful waterfall on the edge of the Albertine Rift Valley.

The park, together with the adjacent Bugungu Wildlife Reserve and the Karuma Wildlife Reserve, form the Murchison Falls Conservation Area (MFCA).

Murchison Falls National Park supports four Big Five game animals, not the rhino. There’s a healthy population of buffalo, elephants, lions, and leopards, many antelope species, including Uganda kob, oribi, Jackson’s hartebeest, defassa waterbuck, grey duiker, and bushbuck. The Victoria Nile abounds with Nile crocodiles and hippos.

Game Viewing in Kidepo-Kidepo jungle safari Valley National Park in noreastern Uganda. Remote wildlife reserve — Kidepo Valley is a remote paradise for untamed landscapes, wildlife, tribes, and cultures.

8. Kidepo Valley National Park

Kidepo Valley National Park is a 1,442-sq-kilometre (557-sq-mi) game reserve in the Karamoja region in the extreme northwest of Uganda. The park features a rugged savannah landscape, the dominant 2,750 meters (9,020 ft) Mount Morungole, and the Kidepo and Narus rivers meander through its valleys.

Kidepo has an authentic wilderness feel great for adventurous travelers. It is extremely rich in predators, including leopards, lions, cheetahs, bat-eared foxes, and jackals. It has large herds of buffalo and antelope species, including Jackson’s hartebeest, Uganda kob, oribi, eland, and klipspringer.

The park is excellent for nature walks, Lonyii summit hikes, guided night game drives, and bird watching.

Mountain gorilla in Mgahinga national park — This tiny park is one of the three only sanctuaries for the mountain gorilla, golden monkey, and other endangered species.

9. Mgahinga Gorilla National Park

Mgahinga Gorilla National Park is a 33.9-sq-kilometer (13.1 sq mi) forest reserve in the corner of southwestern Uganda, bordered by the Republic of Rwanda to the south and the DRC to the west.

Mgahinga is contiguous with Virunga National Park in the DRC and Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda, all forming the transboundary Virunga Conservation Area covering 434 sq kilometers. It encompasses Mt Muhabura (4,127 m), Mt Gahinga (3,474 m) from which the park derives its name, and Mt Sabyinyo (3,645 m).

Mgahinga’s most famous inhabitants are the endangered mountain gorillas and golden monkeys. But the park has about 89 mammal species, including buffalo and elephant, golden cat, serval cat, leopard, spotted hyena, side-striped jackal, black-fronted duiker, bushbuck, and giant forest hog. Seventy-nine bird species also find refuge in Mgahinga, including several endemic species.

A guided nature walk down the ravine will not only put you on the same path with a habituated chimpanzee troop but also allow you to explore the rich conservation project and home to a number of animals, reptiles, and birds.

Wildlife Reserves

Although the list of conservation areas in Uganda includes wildlife reserves, most are merely adjuncts to one of the extensive savanna national parks. The only ones that have any tourist facilities at present are:

Toro Semliki Wildlife Reserve, 542 sq km in Western Uganda
Katonga Wildlife Reserve, 207 sq km in Western Uganda
Bugungu Wildlife Reserve, 473 sq km part of the Murchison Falls Conservation Area
Pian Upe Wildlife Reserve, 2043 sq km in the Karamoja subregion of northeastern Uganda
Kabwoya Wildlife Reserve, 87 sq km, Western Uganda
Kyambura Wildlife Reserve, 156 sq km found in Queen Elizabeth NP

Forest Reserves

Also, conservation areas in Uganda of interest to tourists are forest reserves. The Budongo and Kanyiyo Pabidi forest reserves south of Murchison Falls National Park have well-established tourist sites offering camping facilities, bandhas, and guided forest walks.

The Lake Victoria region supports large tracts of forest. The most accessible are Mpanga Forest Reserve near Mpigi and the Mabira Forest Reserve near Jinja, and both reserves offer reasonable accommodation and guided walks.

Kalinzu Forest Reserve between Mbarara and Queen Elizabeth National Park is also developed for tourism. Chimpanzee tracking in Budongo and Kalinzu forests is significantly cheaper than in the national parks.

Ramsar Sites in Uganda

Uganda has 9 Ramsar Conservation areas that BirdLife International recognizes as Important Bird Areas and provides a vital habitat for other threatened plants and animals.

Ramsar sites offer extra protection to the habitats of endangered species, such as the globally vulnerable Shoebill, the Papyrus Gonolek, and the Sitatunga, which attract several tourists to the country.

These wetlands’ cultural and socio-economic value is also crucial because local communities depend on them to survive. Locals get fish, construction materials, medicines, flood protection, water filtration, grazing, and much more.

Ramsar sites in Uganda include:

Lake Bisina Wetland System, 542 sq km in Kumi, Katakwi, Soroti
Lake Mburo-Nakivali Wetland System, 268 sq km in Mbarara
Lake Nakuwa Wetland System, 911 sq km in Kamuli Soroti
Lake Opeta Wetland System, 689 sq km in Nakapiripirit, Sironko, Katakwi, Kumi
Lutembe Bay Wetland System, 0.98 sq km in Wakiso
Mabamba Bay Wetland System, 24 sq km in Mpigi
Murchison Falls-Albert Delta Wetland System, 17 sq km in Masindi, Gulu
Nabajjuzi Wetland System, 17 sq km in Masaka, Sembabule, Mpigi
Sango Bay-Musambwa Island-Kagera Wetland System (SAMUKA), 151 sq km in Masaka, Rakai

Prominent Birding Sites

For birders, in particular, it is easy to view Uganda, with its lush natural vegetation and dense tropical cultivation, as nothing less than one giant nature sanctuary.

There are extensive forests on Buggala and other islands in Lake Victoria’s Ssese archipelago. In contrast, the small relic forest protected in the Entebbe Botanical Garden offers an excellent introduction to Uganda’s forest birds. It is an ideal place to look closely at black-and-white colobus monkeys.

Even a leisurely walk around Entebbe offers the opportunity to see such colorful species as Ross’s turaco, woodland kingfisher, white-throated bee-eater, and a variety of robin-chats and weavers.

Other Conservation Areas in Uganda

Several other conservation areas in Uganda are also of interest for their natural history. These include

Lake Nkuruba, near Kibale Forest
Amabere Caves in Fort Portal near Kibale National Park
Bigodi Wetland near Kibale Forest National Park
Lake Bunyonyi in Kigezi en route to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest
Echuya Forest in Kigezi,
Sipi Falls near Mbale, Mount Elgon National Park

The Writer, Herbert Baguma, is a Travel Writer & Marketer with an off-the-charts enthusiasm for culture and the natural world. Like nature, he prefers visuals, smell, taste, touch, and text rather than speech. In fact, you would find it rather challenging to get him to speak.