Where To Go, Places To Visit

Where to go, places to visit in Uganda.

Uganda is jampacked with everything Africa has to offer; any traveler on a safari trip will not fall short of places to visit or where to go for an exciting and life-fulfilling holiday vacation in Uganda. From the small cities overflowing with myriad indigenous and world cultures to the remote countryside unexplored or untouched by modern cultures, from the savannah plains that loom with rare wildlife to the rainforest jungles that protect the highest concentration of primates in the world and the iconic mountain gorilla giants. Every corner, every place in Uganda is waiting for you to explore.

Uganda is fortunate to be geographically located at the equator, which gives it a warm climate all year round, making seasonal temperature variations insignificant in choosing which places to visit. The main factor you should consider for where to go on a safari trip in Uganda is the rainfall pattern, especially if you plan on hiking in the Rwenzori Mountains. The wettest months are April, May, October, and November. During these months, camping isn’t convenient (you’ll be packing up your tent in the rain as often as not), hiking can be an endurance test, and some unsurfaced roads may be impassable.

Attractions Highlight

The highlight of a visit to Uganda is the gorilla trekking experience to see mountain gorillas for many visitors. Consequently, most formal gorilla safari itineraries follow an established circuit between Kampala and the gorilla jungle parks in the extreme southwest of the country. It’s, fortunately, the area with the highest density of natural places to visit and associated infrastructure.

The West, Best Safari Circuit

A typical Africa safari in Uganda heads west from Kampala (or from Entebbe International Airport near Kampala) to the scenic Fort Portal area. Near Fort Portal town is the main attraction of chimpanzee trekking in the forested Kibale National Park—followed by a 2-3 night visit to Queen Elizabeth National Park (QENP) at the foot of the Rwenzori Mountains. South of QENP is Bwindi Impenetrable National Park which offers no less than four separate gorilla tracking locations or trailheads.

It’s a long haul from Bwindi back to Kampala/Entebbe, and many tour operators now offer their clients an overnight break at the lovely, if slightly low-key, Lake Mburo National Park.

It is possible to cover this Africa safari itinerary in seven days (ten days itinerary would be better), and many people do. However, those with time and flexibility to delay and detour will discover many more places to visit and go hiking and explore the country. Days can be spent exploring the Fort Portal and Rwenzori area, while Lake Bunyonyi and the Virunga volcanoes are worthwhile diversions near Bwindi Impenetrable Forest.

Northern Places, Pure Wilderness

Visitors’ intent on reaching true East African wilderness (a rare commodity in the densely populated south of Uganda) will want to go north to the Murchison Falls and Kidepo Valley national parks. These experiences do, however, incur a cost of increased travel time and expenditure. For a luxury Uganda trip, local domestic scheduled and chartered flights to the region are available.

The East, Adrenaline Adventures

Eastern Uganda is where to go for single-day tours and adventures. Visitors with time for a day trip at the end of their visit to Uganda invariably head east from Kampala to visit the famed Source of the Nile at Jinja. If this event represents a tick on a list rather than a life-affirming African experience, the same cannot be said for Jinja’s other main attraction: the menu of adventure sports offered along the Nile corridor north of the town. Activities such as whitewater rafting, kayaking, bungee jumping, and quad biking attract a young and young heart traveler’s steady flow. Jinja is commonly referred to as the Adrenaline capital of East Africa; go there to jumpstart your adventure adrenaline.