Top Four Uganda Safari National Parks and Reserves

Uganda is the mecca for seeing one of the worlds most endangered and largest primates, the mountain gorilla but there are some other national parks in the country that are well worth a visit too. These are the top four National parks in Uganda at the moment...

1. Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park

Most people only know about this park in Uganda because it's world famous for its population of mountain gorillas that are habituated to human presence. Spending an hour in the company of a giant silverback and the rest of his family is an amazing experience that has cemented Bwindi's reputation as one of the most popular African National Parks.

2. Kibale Forest National Park

This park is home to another endangered primate every bit as amazing as its larger cousin but more closely similar to humans. The chimpanzee roam freely through a dense canopy of forest trails here and you can track them in Kibale as they have also been habituated to humans. In fact, there are a total of 13 different species of primate inhabiting this area including the red Colobus and L'Hoests monkey.

This is also a birders paradise with 334 different species recorded and if you are very lucky you might get a sighting of the elusive forest elephant and the giant forest hog. Buffalo also call Kibale home and about six species of antelope.

3. Murchison Falls National Park

This is the largest national park in Uganda and it's named after a 43m waterfall that funnels through a small channel to plunge thunderously into a pool below. This park is also famous for its population of the very strange looking but also exceptionally rare shoebill stork. This is one of the few places in the world that you will have an opportunity to see them. You can see all of the big five here with the exception of white and black rhino and you can also track chimps in the Rabongo forest.

4. Queen Elizabeth National Park

This park is a birders nirvana with an incredible 606 bird species listed including flamingos which inhabit the crater lakes there and you will also find the shoebill stork here. There are almost 100 different types of mammals to be seen including the Uganda Kob antelope, elephants, lots of hippos and also habituated chimps in the Kyambura Gorge. Unfortunately there are no rhino, zebra, impala or giraffe to be seen due to intensive poaching of this area in the past but this reserve still boasts one of the highest biodiversity ratings of any game park on earth.

Here is how to plan and execute your own gorilla trek without having to rely on a safari operator which will cost you a lot more.

Uganda safari trip reports and reviews by past visitors who have been there and written about their experience.

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African Kenya Safari Holiday - 2 Finest Kenya Safari Vacations

1. Kenya Africa camping safaris

Camping safaris cater for budget travelers, the young (or young at heart) and those who are prepared to put up with a little discomfort to get the authentic bush experience. At the bottom of the price range, you?ll have to forgo luxuries such as flash toilets, running water and cold drinks, and you?ll have to chip in to help with chores such as putting up the tents and helping prepare dinner.

Showers are provided at some but not all campsites, although there?s usually a tap where you can scrub down with cold water. The price of your safari will include three meals a day cooked by the camp safari chef (s)

There are more comfortable camping options, where there are extra staffs to do all the work, but they cost more. A number of companies have also set up permanent campsite in the Maasai Mara and Samburu National Reserves where you can just drop into the bed at the end of a dusty day?s drive.

At the top of end of this market are some cvery plush luxury campsites offering hot showers and big permanent tents fitted with mosquito nets, beds and sheets, about as far from real camping as five-star hotels are from youth hostels.

Whatever you pay, you?ll end up hot, tired and dusty at the end of the day, but you?ll sleep well, and if you?re lucky your traveling companions should be like-minded independent souls with a sense of adventure. Few things can match the thrill of waking up in the middle of the African bush with nothing between you and the animals except a sheet of canvas and the dying embers of last night?s fire.

It?s not unusual for the elephants or hippos to trundle through the camp at night, or even the occasional lion, and, so far, no-one has been eaten or trampled on-that we know of.

2. Kenya Lodge & tented ?camp safaris

If you can?t do without luxuries, there?s another side to the safari business, a world of luxurious lodges with swimming pools and bars overlooking secluded waterholes, and wonderfully remote tented camps that re-create the way wealthy hunters used to travel around Kenya a century ago. Some of the lodges are beautifully conceived and the locations are to die for, perched high above huge sweeps of savannah or water. holes teeming with African wildlife. Most are set deep within the national parks, so the safari drives offer maximum wildlife ?viewing time. A lot of the environmental bad habits of the 1980?s, leopard baiting for example, are falling out of favour.

In the lodges you can expect rooms with bathrooms or cottages with air conditioning, international cuisine, terrace bar beneath a huge makuti (palm-thatched) canopy with wonderful views, swimming pool, wildlife videos and other entertainments, and plenty of staff on hand to cater for all your requirements.

Almost all lodges have a waterhole, and some have a hidden viewing tunnel that leads right to the waterside. Some also put out salt to tempt animals to visit, a dubious habit which shouldn?t really be encouraged.

The luxury tented camps tend to offer semi permanent tents with fitted bathrooms (hot showers come as standard), beds with mosquito nets, proper furniture, fans and gourmet meals served alfresco in the bush. The really exclusive ones are even more luxurious than the lodges, and tend to be very expensive; many of the guests fly in on charter planes, which should give you some impression of the kind of budget we?re talking about.

Robert is a travel expert with Landmarksafaris.com. He has authored more than 1000 articles on Africa Kenya safari vacation travel. Learn more of your experience in Kenya lake vacation safaris here: http://www.landmarksafaris.com/planner/?refferer=ezinearticles

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