About Uganda National Parks
NATIONAL PARKS
Ugandan National Parks and Game Reserves make up the back bone of Uganda’s tourism industry by offering a diversity of flora and fauna, untapped lakes and rivers. The country has 10 National Parks rich in rare fauna, mountains, forests and snow capped peaks. These parks include;
Ruwenzori Mountains National Park:
This Park is a preserve for hikers because of its distinctive glacial peak with an elevation reaching 5,109m. The mountains are well known for the splendid scenery and vegetation. The snow capped 988sq mile mountain is known to be Africa’s third highest peak.
There are trails that lead one through the rain forest that surrounds the mountain in which monkeys and birds live. The main attraction is the flourishing vegetation found above 3000 m which includes the giant forms of Lobelia, Heather and Groundsel. Rwenzori Mountains National Park is also home to the hyrax, blue monkey, chimpanzee, giant forest hog and many unique bird species such as the Rwenzori touraco, the handsome francolin and the olive pigeon. It is located in western part of the country at the border of Uganda and DRC. This is also a World Heritage Site and a Ramsar site. By road, the Park is accessible from Kampala via Mbarara to Kasese or from Kampala through Fort Portal and then 75 km South on the Fort Portal / Kasese road. The park is 25 km from Kasese town. Chartered planes are also available from Entebbe / Kampala to Kasese and then by road for the rest of the journey.
Mount Elgon’s magnificent scenery is a main attraction for hikers. It is located in Mbale, Kapichorwa and Sironko districts on the eastern border to Kenya. It also has a variety of forest monkeys and small antelopes, caves and very spectacular hot springs within its crater. The mountain slopes support a rich variety of attitudinal vegetation zones. Bird lovers will enjoy about 300 bird species including the endangered lammergeyers, the rare Jackson’s francolin, guinea fowls, sunbirds and turacos among others. A number of primates inhabit the mountain, other animals include bushbuck, antelope, civet, wildcat and the elusive leopard roam below. Bush duiker, hyena, jackal, rock hyrax, buffalo and elephant rove between the forest and the moorland. Many of these animals visit Mount Elgon’s bat filled caves for their valuable mineral deposits.The best times to visit are during the drier seasons from June to august and march to December.
Mgahinga Gorilla National Park:
This is the smallest national park and it covers an area of 36 sq km and it was established in1991.It is the Ugandan part of the Virunga National park but with rare species. It is in the far south western part of Uganda in Kisoro.It may be small but it is arguably considered as the most panoramic park. This Park supports a diverse forest and moorland fauna, golden monkeys and at least 12 bird species. This park is located in the far southwest boarding DR Congo and Rwanda. It also home to the mountain gorillas. The park in habited by mostly the Bafumbira who lead a simple life mainly as cultivators and some Batwa people who once lived in the place and fed on wild life are the minority. One can enjoy activities like gorilla tracking, bird watching, volcano climbing and visiting cave that within the park. The park can be reached by road through Kabale and Kisoro 510km from Kampala.
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