Uganda National Parks

Winston Churchill called Uganda “the Pearl of Africa”. Uganda is a country of beautiful forests, giant rift valley lakes and volcanic mountains. Uganda is bordered to the north by South Sudan. Rwanda and Tanzania lie at Uganda’s southwestern and southern borders, respectively. On the west, Uganda is bordered by the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the east by Kenya. The Nile River begins at Lake Victoria, the largest lake in Africa, and traverses Uganda’s Murchison Falls National Park on its way towards the Mediterranean Sea. Uganda has two other rift valley lakes, Lake Edward and Lake George, which is where Queen Elizabeth National Park is located. This national park is home to a population of chimpanzee.

Most of Uganda is located on the East African plateau, over 3,000 feet above sea level; however and there are also three mountainous areas in Uganda. The Rwenzoris Mountain Range, on the border between Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, is one of the few places in Africa that are permanently snow-capped. Rwenzori Mountains National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is located in the Rwenzori Mountains of Uganda. Mount Elgon, the oldest and largest solitary volcano in East Africa, lies on the border between Uganda and Kenya. The Virunga Mountains, a chain of eight volcanoes, are home to the critically endangered mountain gorilla. The Virunga Mountains run along Uganda’s southern border between Rwanda and on into the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

Although Uganda lies on the Equator its climate is tropical, it is tempered by its altitude. Uganda has two rainy seasons, March to May and September to November. It also has two dry seasons, December to February and June to August.

Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, with its population of endangered mountain gorillas, is a major attraction to most of Uganda visitors. Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, the only major tropical rainforest in Uganda, is a storybook jungle with trees covered in creepers and parasitic plants, and lush vegetation. Bwindi Impenetrable Forest is a sanctuary for almost half of the world’s remaining mountain gorillas. Bwindi Impenetrable Forest has to one of the richest collection of primates in Africa, including species such as the gorilla, chimpanzee, baboon, vervet monkey, red-tailed monkey, black and white colobus monkey, red colobus monkey, blue and golden monkey and L’heost’s monkey. Uganda has nearly 1,100 bird species and over 300 mammal species in its abundant forests, including African elephant, lion, hartebeest, cape buffalo, hippopotamus, Nile crocodile, Rothschild’s giraffe, warthog, kobe, shoebill stork, ostrich, Goliath heron, hamerkop, saddle-billed stork, greater and lesser flamingos, crowned eagle, black-winged stilt, black-collared lovebird, southern ground hornbill, and grey crowned crane, just to name a few.

Bwindi Impenetrable National Park