Most of Uganda’s national parks and reserves are found in Western Uganda, which is the best place to visit for wildlife viewing. The gorilla trekking experience at Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, located in southwestern Uganda, is the region’s most famous activity.
While most visitors come to Bwindi to see mountain gorillas, there are many other animals in the forest, including nine other primate species, such as L’Hoest’s monkeys and black-and-white colobus monkeys, as well as forest duikers, forest elephants, and more than 200 butterfly species.
Kibale Forest Reserve, in western Uganda, is also known for its large population of primates. It has 13 resident species and the highest number of primates in the country.
Of all East African reserves, Kibale has the most primate species. The main attraction here is chimpanzee trekking, but visitors can also see olive baboons, black-and-white colobus monkeys, L’Hoest’s monkeys, and blue monkeys.
Queen Elizabeth National Park, in western Uganda, is the best park in the country for wildlife variety. It is home to 20 predator species, including the Big Four (elephant, lion, leopard, and buffalo), as well as 95 mammal species, chimpanzees, and an impressive 611 bird species.
One of the most memorable experiences here is seeing tree-climbing lions, which can only be found in one other place in Africa.
Murchison Falls National Park is another Big Four reserve (with rhinos being the only missing species). It is known for its large herds of elephants, giraffes, and buffaloes, as well as occasional sightings of the ground-dwelling patas monkey.
Murchison Falls is also one of the best places for birdwatchers, especially those hoping to see the rare shoebill stork.
Budongo Forest Reserve, located south of Murchison Falls, has a large chimpanzee population along with other primates, including red-tailed monkeys, blue monkeys, and black-and-white colobus monkeys.
It is also considered the best birdwatching site in Uganda, with around 360 bird species, many of which are rarely found in East Africa.
Lake Mburo National Park, near Kampala, is the best place to see Burchell’s zebra and Uganda’s only impala population. Although there are no elephants in this park, visitors can see herds of eland, topi, oribi, Bohor reedbuck, and sitatunga antelope.
Kidepo Valley National Park, a remote park in northern Uganda’s Karamoja region, near the Kenyan border, is home to a wide variety of wildlife, including Burchell’s zebras, Rothschild’s giraffes, black-backed jackals, cheetahs, elephants, lions, leopards, and buffaloes.
