One of the most popular activities in Uganda is game drives. These allow visitors to explore the savannah plains in a comfortable 4WD pop-up safari vehicle for clear animal viewing.
A professional driver-guide, who knows the different game tracks well, leads the game drives.
Night Game Drives in Uganda
Uganda also offers night game drives, allowing visitors to explore the Savannah national parks at night using spotlight torches. This is a great way to see nocturnal animals that become active after dark.
Night game drives are available in Queen Elizabeth, Murchison Falls, and Lake Mburo National Parks.
An armed ranger from the Uganda Wildlife Authority will accompany you during the night game drive and help you spot nocturnal animals such as lions, leopards, hyenas, civets, porcupines, genets, bush babies, nightjars, serval cats, banded mongooses, side-striped jackals, bush pigs, honey badgers, aardvarks, black galagos, and hippos feeding at night.
Where to Go for Game Drives in Uganda
Game drives in Uganda take place in different Savannah national parks, including the following:
Murchison Falls National Park
Murchison Falls National Park is the largest national park in northwest Uganda. It is home to 76 mammal species, including the big four—lions, leopards, elephants, and buffaloes.
Other animals found in the park include waterbucks, giraffes, Jackson’s hartebeest, oribi, Uganda kobs, and primates such as chimpanzees, black and white colobus monkeys, red-tailed monkeys, and olive baboons.
The park also has more than 450 bird species.
Murchison Falls National Park offers an exciting game drive experience where you can explore the savannah plains in a safari vehicle with a qualified driver-guide.
You will follow different game tracks, such as Buligi, Victoria, and Albert game tracks. The game drives take place in the morning or afternoon.
Along the way, you will see a variety of animals, including warthogs, lions, leopards, hippos, Uganda kobs, waterbucks, giraffes, oribi, buffaloes, elephants, and Jackson’s hartebeest.
Queen Elizabeth National Park
Queen Elizabeth National Park is located in the districts of Kasese, Rubirizi, Rukungiri, and Kamwenge in western Uganda.
The park is home to about 95 animal species, including the famous tree-climbing lions, elephants, buffaloes, Uganda kobs, leopards, waterbucks, and primates such as chimpanzees, L’Hoest monkeys, and black and white colobus monkeys. It also has more than 600 bird species.
Popular game drive areas in Queen Elizabeth National Park include the Kasenyi plains, Mweya peninsula, and Ishasha sector, where you can see the tree-climbing lions.
Kidepo Valley National Park
Kidepo Valley National Park is a remote savannah national park in northeastern Uganda. The game drive is the most popular activity in the park. It takes place in two main areas: Kidepo Valley and Narus Valley.
During the dry season, large groups of animals gather in these areas to drink water, making it an excellent place for wildlife viewing.
Lake Mburo National Park
Lake Mburo National Park is the smallest national park in Uganda. It is located along the Masaka-Mbarara highway in western Uganda. Despite its small size, the park offers an excellent game drive experience.
Animals you may see include buffaloes, giraffes, impalas, zebras, elands, waterbucks, warthogs, topis, leopards, and hippos.
Pian Upe Wildlife Reserve
Pian Upe Wildlife Reserve is located in the northeastern Karamoja region and is one of Uganda’s largest conservation areas. It is also considered one of the country’s best-kept secrets.
Game drives in Pian Upe take place in the early morning or late afternoon along different game tracks. Animals you can see include buffaloes, elephants, roan antelopes, elands, greater kudu, Jackson’s hartebeest, oribi, gazelles, topis, reedbucks, dik-diks, Uganda kobs, waterbucks, spotted hyenas, civets, black-backed and side-striped jackals, serval cats, and cheetahs.
