Uganda Wildlife Safaris

Uganda is one of top tourist destinations in East with over 10 national parks and wildlife reserves. The country is gifted by nature with a wade variety of mammals and over 1000 bird species. Agreeably; it is always recommended to end with Uganda in you East African safari. No other East African country can match the natural green environment that is found in Uganda which also makes the game drives in Uganda quite distinct from all the other game drives you will ever have on the rest of the African continent.

Wildlife Safaris

Wildlife safaris often get divided into two major categories for the case of Uganda because of the diversity that Uganda has to offer; Forest based wildlife safaris and grassland wildlife safaris.

Forest Based Wildlife Safaris

Uganda has a forest cover of  49,000 km². Though deforestation due to charcoal making is still a major threat to the forest cover of Uganda, there are several gazetted areas that are still under the government protection. Among these forests includes Mpanga forest (one of the birding havens in Uganda), Bwindi impenetrable forest national park (Still among the leading forest birding destination in Uganda), Mabira forest (mainly known for Ziplining) among several other forests.

When you mention forest wildlife in Uganda; there are four major tours to consider; Chimpanzee tracking, Chimpanzee habituation, Gorilla trekking and Gorilla habituation. Among these four the most popular are Gorilla trekking and chimpanzee tracking.

Gorilla Trekking and Habituation

Gorilla trekking is the most popular of all Uganda wildlife safaris. However unlike most of the other Ugandan safaris; Gorilla trekking is one of the few of those safaris that require a special permit for this special kind of safari. Uganda being a an eco-tourism destination though still lacking in several aspects, has tried has much as possible to preserve mountain gorillas as well as doing whatever they can to preserve their habitat. In doing so; only a total number of 40 people are allowed to visit the different mountain gorilla sectors in Uganda.

Only 8 people are allowed to visit a particular gorilla family per day. The time is very limited to ensure that the gorilla remain with their ample space without any humans. Not forgetting the fact that they are wild animals encountered in their wild environment, visitors are encouraged to keep a minimum distance of at least 7 meters from the mountain gorilla. However this is not always the case. Sometimes the gorillas are attracted to humans to the point of not only coming close to them but also touching them.

In the above case, you are instructed to stay still as the mountain gorillas do whatever they want in your presence. Any unnecessary movement might cause the mountain gorillas to react in an unexpected manner. It is believed that only the lucky ones get a chance to be touched by the mountain gorillas. Juvenile mountain gorillas are often the ones found of making noise and displaying their strength amidst of visitors; so you should never be moved by their showoff.

The silver-back male is always the leader of the group. It often rises to power by reason of its strength and care for the little ones which makes it win favor among the female gorillas. However lucky the silver back might be with the female mountain gorillas, this has to be backed up with enough power that makes all the other mountain gorillas to bow down.

Gorilla trekking is the epic ultimate Uganda safari yet the most expensive at the same time. As of 2020 1st July; a permit goes for US$700 per person for foreign non residents. This is US$100 more than the former cost of US$600. The only tricky beat is securing these permits more so in the peek seasons of January, July, August and December. It is often recommended to secure these permits at least three to four months before to avoid any disappointments.

Gorilla Habituation

Gorilla habituation is not a very popular activity. It is more of gorilla trekking only that in this case you are interacting with gorillas that are not used to having human beings in their environment. In other words; you are interacting with gorillas that are in a process of getting used to human beings by the help of a team of scientist. The only advantage that gorilla habituation has over gorilla trekking is; you have a chance to interact with people who have almost all the recent findings about mountain gorillas.

A gorilla habituation permit goes for US$1500 per person. This makes it the most expensive activity among all wildlife activities in Uganda. But do not be over taken by the prices, you should have it at the back of your mind that you are directly contributing to the preservation of these few of the remaining mountain gorilla species. Mountain gorillas cannot survive in captivity which implies they only places they can survive in are the two parks in Uganda, one in Rwanda and one in Democratic republic of Congo.

Chimpanzee Tracking and Habituation

It is no longer a secret that Chimpanzee have a 98.7% human DNA making them the closest relatives of human beings. This fact attracts several other questions on what else these animals share in common with the human beings. Unfortunately; when you visit chimpanzee sanctuaries, you often get to interact with chimpanzees that have adopted to human behavior. This is the very reason you need to visit the national parks and see chimpanzees in their natural habitats to see what they really have in common with the humans even in their natural environment.

Uganda has a total population of over 4990 chimpanzees distributed in Zoos, sanctuaries, and forests. Among these place includes; Kibale forest national park, Budongo forest, Kyambura gorge, Ngamba Island, Uganda wildlife conservation education center Entebbe, Bwindi impenetrable forest national park among several other location.

Chimpanzee tracking goes for US$200 as of 1st July 2020 though it was previously at US$150. This is the highest price when it comes to tracking chimpanzees since other locations such as Budongo and Kyambura gorge offer chimpanzee trekking for even less than US$100. The only challenge with other two locations is; there is always possibilities of not seeing chimpanzees when you go tracking yet in Kibale forest national park, it is a sure deal that you will see Chimpanzees on any given day.

Chimpanzee Habituation

Chimpanzee habituation is available in  Kibale forest national park at US$250 per permits as of 1st July 2020. Previously the permit was US$200 per person. Unlike chimpanzee tracking, Chimpanzee habituation offers a full day experience with chimpanzees that are still in a process of getting used to people in their presence. Chimpanzees in the habituation experience are likely to run away every time they see a human being however there are some which have somewhat gotten used to human beings in their places giving you an opportunity to spot them without running away.

Depending on your budget, chimpanzee habituation is often recommended above chimpanzee tracking since it gives you enough time not only to spot chimpanzees but also the other animals and bird species in Kibale forest national park using the same permit. However this does not mean you can wonder off from the time rather you get to see other wildlife during the chimpanzee habituation experience.

Forest Walks/ Nature walks

Nature walks are one of the best ways to explore Uganda’s forest wildlife but including but not limited to spotting chimpanzee (Not guaranteed) Mountain gorillas (Never a guarantee too), forest elephants, forest buffaloes, monkeys; black and white collobus monkeys, red tailed monkey, patas monkeys, vervets, Baboons among several other monkeys, Duikers, and so many other forest antelopes.

Grassland Wildlife Safaris

Grassland wildlife safaris can be done in over five of Uganda’s national parks. These include but not limited to; Murchison falls national park, Queen Elizabeth national park, Lake Mburo national park, Kidepo valley national park, Semuliki national park, among several other wildlife reserves in Uganda.