Posted in 
A safari to Uganda
The word ‘Safari’ is a Kiswahili translation of the English word ‘journey’ but has been borrowed to English to mean a tour or trip and is now widely accepted in the English vocabulary by most travelers. The word has been widely used to mean the tours that include viewing wildlife in the open parks of Africa where the wildlife still roams unlimitedly in their natural set up
In Uganda, the gorilla safari has been the most prominent and highly sought after safari. The safari may be only tracking the gorillas which takes a minimum of 3 days or may include gorillas and other wildlife for more days.
A typical wildlife safari in Uganda helps one to unearth Uganda’s true natural beauty which through the dawn of time has been astonishing to even the world’s iconic figures. If you would be wondering why of all the countries in the world, Uganda, is one of the only 3 nations with the endangered mountain gorilla that has moved the world and drawn its attention due to its threat to near extinction, you need just a moment in this lush country to find out for yourself as words may fall short of its natural beauty’s description.
To his great amazement, the British prime minister in 1907, Sir Winston Church hill was moved to describe this small lush country as the ‘Pearl of Africa’. Its friendly weather, the lush vegetation, the hospitality of its people, the fascinating landscape, surely the British prime minister had no more words than crown it the pearl of the African continent.
As wonder and amazement continued to spread across the world about the endowment of this country in the heart of Africa, in 1909, the former USA president Theodore Roosevelt could not afford the boredom in his comfortable white house but rather offer himself a yearlong Safari to East Africa to see The beauty that his British counterpart had described.
It is said, Roosevelt spent an equivalent of today’s $1.8m on his hunting safari in Murchison falls, where at the end of his safari, carried back with him 500 wildlife specimens including 5 Northern White Rhinos, 8 Elephants, 10 Uganda Kobs and a Shoebill Stalk in addition to 4900 mammals, 4000 birds, 2000 reptiles he went with at the end of his year- long East African safari.
The same awesome wildlife in this verdant country and its magnificent landscape prompted the European Explorer Earnest Hemingway to exclaim in his book, ‘Africa Journeys’, ‘…If I have seen Magic, it is in Africa’. The explorer in 1954 during his photography safari, on his flight from Kenya to Congo attempted to overfly the mighty Murchison falls, but his aircraft clipped an old telegram wire and curt wheeled into the nearby forest where he was rescued to Butiaba and his rescue plane crashed on takeoff.
A safari to Uganda is worthwhile as it takes you through the footsteps of the great personalities in history as those mentioned above and more like the Queen of England, the Duke of Wales and great explorers of the time like Speke, Grant and Stanley among others.
What to expect
Uganda shelters half of the remaining 880 mountain Gorillas in the world in its 2 gorilla parks of Mgahinga and Bwindi. The country is home to about 7% of the total world’s mammal species while over 60% of Africa’s bird species including the Albertine rift endemics call this verdant country, home.
Your enthralling safari begins at the Country’s entry point at Entebbe airport as your plane touches the Ugandan soil. As you set your foot on the fertile soils of Uganda, the tranquility and hospitality of its people, the calmness and the smiles all over, will welcome you as you enter the terminal. You will be treated like a king, but do not wonder, that’s the African way of welcoming a guest.
Your safari guide will be waiting for you to give you a brief introduction and welcome note into our lovely country. On your way to the capital Kampala, you begin to experience the African business life as you pass by the local men pushing different products on their bicycles, riding them on motor cycles or driving them in huge trucks carrying agricultural products to the main centers as they smile at you from a distance some calling you ‘mzungu’ if you are a white. The capital will give you a picture of how people make a living as you will meet a noisy and busy population some yelling at customers as a way of creating awareness about their products. Proceed to your hotel for a delicious meal covering both local and international cuisines in a modern ambiance.
The real adventure starts on the second day as you leave the noisy and somewhat stressing environment into the tranquil wild where only nature’s whispers and sights surround you. The safari to Uganda will help you to explore its unique wildlife sheltered in its 10 national parks each with its unique species.
The Journey to the East will bring you to one of the most prominent cultures where boys are periodically initiated into manhood by subjecting them to a thrilling pain as a way to prepare them for survival in this challenging world. Do not be surprised or terrified to meet a group of young men smeared with fermented millet as they run about and dance across the villages in preparation for the Imbalu ceremony where the foreskins of their penises are cut in broad day light without any formal sterilization; a culture that has stood the test of time and the identity of the Bamasaba people that occupy areas around the great Elgon Mountain.
This is just a welcome to this cultural melting pot of Africa where about 66 different languages and cultures are exhibited emanating from ethnic groups whose history is traced from all corners of the continent making it a summary of the African continent.
The journey then leads you to the largest intact mountain caldera in the world (7km wide) at Mt. Elgon which was once Africa’s highest mountain before erosion and landslides relegated it to the 8th position but still maintains its other position as the mountain with the largest volcanic base of about 42 km2.
The far north east and remote Kidepo valley national park is a gem of wonder in terms of wildlife diversity. Its 78 recorded mammal species list and over 450 bird varieties including the endemic Karamoja Apalis will give you an experience you will never forget in your life time. The semi- arid park shelters about 28 endemic species seen nowhere else in the country including the bat eared fox, the Aard wolf, the world’s fastest land mammal; the cheetah and the largest bird; the ostrich which also has the largest eye of any land animal. The Kori bustard; the largest flying bird and several endemic birds can be seen with ease in this remote park that is less visited. A game drive down to the Narus valley will expose you to sights of plenty of wildlife including the big cats like lion and leopard, the big game like elephants, giraffe, zebras and a variety of antelopes as well as the largest single herd of buffalos in the world. This will remind you that you are indeed in the true African wilderness where nature sprawls.
The Murchison falls National park awaits you with a lot to offer. The world’s strongest / most powerful waterfalls lies in this park at a point where the Nile river squeezes through a narrow gap between rocks, about 7m wide, before pouring 43m deep into the gorge creating a thunderous roar and a rainbow. The river that flows through the park has partly contributed to its flourishing wildlife including the Nile crocodiles, hippos, elephants, giraffe, hartebeest, lions, leopards, jackals and many others among the park’s 75 species recorded. The bird life here is enormous including the largest population of the rare shoebill stalk.
The Queen Elizabeth National park in the far western side of the country is home to over 100 mammal and 607 bird species and is regarded as Eat Africa’s most diversified national park with a bird population 2nd highest of any single destination in Africa. Four of Africa’s big five animals can be seen in this park in addition to a variety of antelopes. The uncommon tree climbing lions are only found here and in Tanzania’s L. Manyara national park in the whole of East Africa.
The Nearby Kibale forest national park harbors a population of about 4500 chimpanzees and is a prominent site for bird enthusiasts. Its primate population of 13 primate species is next to no other single destination in Africa and has been regarded as ‘the Primate capital of the world’. Although man’s closest cousin of all apes; the chimpanzee is the highlight of this park, other 12 primates including baboons, black and white colobus monkey, the vervet, red tailed, red colobus, monkeys as well as the grey cheeked mangabey among others can also be easily sighted during the trek.
The smallest savanna park in the country and the closest to the capital, Kampala; L. Mburo national park, is one of the best savanna parks where wildlife can be easily seen and the only park that offers an opportunity to explore its beauty on a horse back. Its endemic species of the Impala and zebra make it a must visit for any traveler interested in exploring Uganda’s wildlife. The elimination of lions by the adjacent herdsmen paved way for the flourishing of several antelope population as well as buffalos though another lion has been sighted recently. The bird population is splendid with both the savanna and swamp species like the papyrus gonolek and the rare shoebill stalk among others.
The far south west Bwindi impenetrable national park is popular for its population of the endangered and most venerated Mountain gorilla whose population had been threatened to near extinction but has since then recovered due to great conservation efforts. The park unveils a total of 10 primate species, about 400 bird varieties and over 120 mammal species including the forest elephants.
The nearby sister park; Mgahinga gorilla national park is known for its rugged terrain with huge stones down slopes to which the park derived its name. The park unleashes a wilderness experience of tracking the mountain gorilla as well as visiting one of the most ancient and rustic cultures; the Batwa community who used to leave in the dense forests in caves. The park is also a shelter for the rare golden monkey, one of the rarest primates in the world.
In the far west near L. Albert, is the Semuliki national park, a popular birding spot and a home to the Sempaya hot spring that has for long caused wonder and mixed feelings in the communities around as well as the visitors to the place. Whereas the locals believe it could be as a result of the mythical Bachweezi works, the geographers believe it is a result of the volcanic forces that occurred in the region. You will be mesmerized by the temperatures of the hot spring as you watch people preparing the porridge and boiling eggs in the geyser while others bathing in the warm end of the spring.
The neighboring Mt Rwenzori national park on the slopes of the highest block mountain on the continent shelters a variety of wildlife especially the mountain species. The mountain is the major attraction as it is the only of its kind along the equator with snow on top of its peaks. Hiking to the top at 5109m above sea level at Margherita, is an honor and prestige unparalleled as the mountain is one of the most challenging hiking spots in the world and the 3rd highest in Africa.
With us at Adventure Trails, you are guaranteed the best safari experience as we unveil to you the best of Uganda’s splendid wildlife, awesome cultures and magnificent geography.
