5 Reasons Why You Should Visit Uganda

Uganda is a must-go destination if you want to have a lot of memorable experiences. There are different things to do in Uganda, from bird watching to rafting and hiking up mountains. And you know what? If you can’t afford to go there right now, I’ll give you five reasons why you should save up to make it happen soon. A place that will make your friends ask “How did you manage to go there? I would love to do that too one day!”.

Wakanda Lake – Lake Bunyonyi

Lake Bunyoni is literally a dream. Imagine a tranquil and beautiful lake, surrounded by green hills, dotted with islands and filled with beautiful birds. That’s Lake Bunyoni.

The lake lies just south of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and is a great place to rest before your climb or recover after it!

Lake Bunyoni means ‘place of little birds’ so it’s great for bird watching, as well as boat trips on the lake, local interactions and hiking. The views are pretty spectacular wherever you go, but get yourself to an elevated position for the best ones and visit Arcadia Lodge for lunch with a view.

Highest Population of Gorillas

Top of my list of things to do in Uganda is going mountain gorilla trekking (sometimes called gorilla tracking) in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest.

Mountain gorillas can be found in the area known as the Virunga Mountains, and live in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and Mgahinga Gorilla National Park in Uganda, Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda and the Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

I’ve been lucky enough to go gorilla trekking twice now (I am aware of how lucky I am), once in Uganda and once in Rwanda. And I would do it again in a heartbeat. By far one of the best (if not the best) travel experiences of my life. And definitely my favourite wildlife encounter

With the price of gorilla trekking in Rwanda now being so high (double the price of Uganda at the time of writing) and the DRC being a volatile region, gorilla permits in Uganda are in high demand, so you should book as early in advance as possible. I’m talking 6 months to a year in advance to secure your permits in the location and day that you want.

The Rwenzori Mountains

Tree Climbing Lions in Queen Elizabeth National Park

I’ve been to Queen Elizabeth National Park twice now… and I’ve seen lions, but never seen tree-climbing lions. That’s not saying you shouldn’t go though!

We did see lions mating which was pretty cool and I would definitely advise hiring a tracker to help you find them (the lions here are collared).

The land part of the park is nice, however, there isn’t an abundance of wildlife compared with other safaris I’ve done, we did see quite a few elephants but my favourite thing to do is to take a boat trip on the Kazinga Channel where I guarantee you will see a lot of animals, often including elephants, hippos, crocodiles, birds and buffalo.

Just be aware of safety warnings in the area, as it’s close to the border with the DRC.

Murchison Falls

Murchison Falls National Park is a wonderful national park, once described by my friend heather as the ‘African Jungle Book’ and definitely needs to be on your list of things to do in Uganda.

The park is named after the waterfall, which you can also visit – seeing it from above, as well as below on a boat trip on the Victoria Nile.

There is loads of wildlife within the park, including lions, elephants, hippos, crocodiles, plenty of bird species and Rothchild’s giraffes which (in Uganda) are only found in Murchison Falls National Park and Kidepo National Park in the very far north, near the Sudanese border.

Uganda’s one of Africa’s most exotic and fascinating tourist destinations. Hopefully, this blog has confirmed to you why it should be a destination on your bucket list.