ABOUT THE PARK Size: 33.7km2, making it Uganda’s smallest National Park. The park takes its name from “Gahinga” – the local word for the piles of volcanic stones cleared from farmland at the foot of the volcanoes. The British administration declared the area a game sanctuary in 1930; it was gazetted as a National Park in 1991. Mgahinga […]
ABOUT THE PARK This extinct volcano is one of Uganda’s oldest physical features, first erupting around 24 million years ago. Mt Elgon was once Africa’s highest mountain, far exceeding Kilimanjaro’s current 5,895m. Millennia of erosion have reduced its height to 4,321m, relegating it to the 4th highest peak in East Africa and 8th on the continent. Mt Elgon […]
ABOUT THE PARK The park was gazetted in 1991 and was recognized as a World Heritage site in 1994 and a Ramsar site in 2008. Highest point: 5,109m above sea level on Mt Stanley’s Margherita Peak. The border with DR Congo bisects Mt. Stanley. The Rwenzori is not volcanic like East Africa’s other major mountains […]
ABOUT THE PARK Murchison Falls became one of Uganda’s first national parks in 1952 At Murchison Falls, the Nile squeezes through an 8m wide gorge and plunges with a thunderous roar into the “Devil’s Cauldron”, creating a trademark rainbow The northern section of the park contains savanna and Borassus palms, acacia trees, and riverine woodland. The south is dominated […]
ABOUT THE PARK Queen Elizabeth National Park spans the equator line; monuments on either side of the road marking the exact spot where it crosses latitude 00. The park was founded in 1952 as Kazinga National Park and renamed two years later to commemorate a visit by Queen Elizabeth II of England. The park is […]
ABOUT THE PARK Semuliki Forest Reserve was created in 1932 and upgraded to national park status in 1993. It is the only tract of true lowland tropical forest in East Africa, hosting 441 recorded bird species and 53 mammals. Large areas of this low-lying park may flood during the wet season, a brief reminder of […]
ABOUT THE PARK Wetland habitats comprise 20% of the park’s surface The parks’ precarious past has seen wildlife virtually eliminated several times: firstly, in various attempts to rid the region of tsetse flies, then to make way for ranches, and finally as a result of subsistence poaching. 20% of the park’s entrance fee is used to fund […]
ABOUT THE PARK Kibale’s most popular activity is the Kanyanchu Primate Walk. Thirteen species can be sought, and a good variety of diurnal monkeys invariably encountered, but the stars of this twice-daily show are chimpanzees. Kibale’s most popular activity is the Kanyanchu Primate Walk. Thirteen species can be sought, and a good variety of diurnal […]
ABOUT THE PARK The Mubare gorilla group was the first to become available for tourism in Uganda in April 1993. Nine groups are now habituated for tourism, and one group for research. Spread over a series of steep ridges and valleys, Bwindi is the source of five major rivers, which flow into Lake Edward. Bwindi Impenetrable National Park lies […]
ABOUT THE PARK The park contains two rivers – Kidepo and Narus – which disappear in the dry season, leaving just pools for the wildlife. The local communities around the park include pastoral Karamojong people, similar to the Maasai of Kenya, and the IK, a hunter-gatherer tribe whose survival is threatened. Kidepo Valley National Park […]
