Uganda, The Pearl of Africa
Scoops Global Safari Honors
Where richness and beauty of nature is concerned, there is no other country like Uganda – arguably! And the world has variously rated Uganda as one of the must-visit safari destinations on earth. Here-below are some selected top rankings the country has scooped in global safari and tourism rankings:
- Kidepo Valley National Park was ranked third in ‘Africa’s 10 Best parks’ by CNN Travel in 2003 and in 2016 – ‘Africa’s top hidden gem‘.
- Bwindi Impenetrable National Park has been voted Africa’s top birding site by the African Bird Club. While Fodor’s Travel Guides included Bwindi in its Top 10 African Safari destinations for 2014.
- The New York Times Travel section ranked Uganda one of the 33 places to prioritise for a visit in 2012.
- Uganda was among National Geographic Channel’s world-wide top 10 destinations in 2013.
- Lonely Planet, the world’s largest travel guide and digital media publisher, voted Uganda the number 1 tourist destination in 2012.
THE PEARL OF AFRICA
UGANDA
TOP AFRICA TRAVEL DESTINATION
Current Time in Kampala – Uganda
Uganda Destinations Map. Courtesy of Safaribookings.com
UGANDA, THE ‘PEARL OF AFRICA’!
Charles Miller describes the turn-of-the-century Uganda as “…set in a diadem of roller-coaster hills, spattered with the glowing embers of tropical flowers, brightened with clouds of butterflies and sweetened with the conversation of a million tropical birds.” 19th century British explorer, Speke wrote; “I was immensely struck with its excessive beauty … wherever I strolled I saw nothing but richness.” Winston Churchill, a British colonial governor summed-up the gem that Uganda is as “The pearl of Africa.”
Uganda is virtually virgin and an unreached tourism hub in the heartland of Africa.
The country is blessed with rolling hills, picturesque crater lakes, abundant wildlife, adventure activities and – of course, the endangered Mountain Gorillas. The signature on Uganda’s lush green sceneries is its typically friendly, welcoming and hospitable people.
At Africa Sceneries, we embody Ugandan passion for hospitality and pride in actualising your quest to discover the amazing ‘Pearl of Africa’.
The country is perhaps best known to tourists as the home of half of the world’s last remaining mountain gorillas, and this year there are more opportunities to spot the elusive creatures. Beyond up-close gorilla encounters in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest & Nyungwe Forest, Uganda is also the source of the Nile, boasts mountains that are among the highest in Africa — the Mountains of the Moon in Rwenzori Mountains National Park — and offers formidable white-water rapids for thrill seekers.
QUICK FATS
Capital: Kampala
Location: East Africa
Entry: Entebbe Int. Airport & Kenya, Rwanda, S.Sudan, & Congo DR Borders
Official languages: English, Swahili
Currency: Ugandan shilling
Population: 37.58 million (2013) World Bank
Security: Stable
RECOMMENDED UGANDA SAFARI ITINERARIES
All our tours are born out of a desire to share authentic African Safari experiences. Offering travellers individual journeys, designed to match your interests, tastes and budget, we provide tailor-made tours to Uganda’s most popular travel destinations. Enquire with our team of experts to start planning your safari journey today.
MAIN SARAFI ATTRACTIONS IN UGANDA
Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park
Over half of the world’s population of mountain gorillas live here along with a huge range of rare and exotic birds. You can also spot chimpanzee and elephant hiding in this densely forested mountain range. Trekking through this forest is one of Africa’s true adventures. Bwindi is a pristine rainforest on the edge of the Albertine Rift Valley. The terrain is a string of ridges and valleys covered in very dense impenetrable forest. Read More …
Kidepo Valley National Park
Today, the park scores highly as a wildlife safari destination due to its spectacular, wild, rugged and semi-arid landscape, some 500km from Kampala. Traversed by large sand rivers, the park is renowned for its distinctive composition of wildlife, profusion of big game and over 77 mammal species as well as around 475 bird species. In 2013, CNN Travel voted Kidepo Valley National Park Africa’s third best safari destination after Kenya’s Masai Mara and Central Kalahari Game Reserve in Botswana. Read More …
Kibale Forest National Park
TKibale is one of the best places in Africa to view many primate species. Visitors can expect to see five or six species in addition to chimpanzees. Species active during the day include vervet, red-tailed, l’Hoest and blue monkey, black-and-white colobus, olive baboon, red colobus and grey-cheeked mangabey. Other mammals including lion, elephant and buffalo are present, but rarely seen. Read More …
Lake Mburo National Park
In the middle of an extensive rich acacia woodland lies one of Uganda’s most spectacular and breath taking game parks. Lake Mburo National Park is a compact gem, located conveniently close to the highway that connects Kampala to the parks of western Uganda.
Murchison Falls National Park
The park is bisected by the Victoria Nile, which plunges 45m over the remnant rift valley wall, creating the dramatic Murchison Falls, the centerpiece of the park and the final event in an 80km stretch of rapids. The mighty cascade drains the last of the river’s energy, transforming it into a broad, placid stream that flows quietly across the rift valley floor into Lake Albert.
Mgahinga Gorilla National Park
Mgahinga Gorilla National Park sits high in the clouds, at an altitude of between 2,227m and 4,127m. As its name suggests, it was created to protect the rare mountain gorillas that inhabit its dense forests, and it is also an important habitat for the endangered golden monkey. Mgahinga’s most striking land features are its three conical, extinct volcanoes, part of the spectacular Virunga Range … Read More …
Rwenzori National Park
Rwenzori Mountains National Park protects the highest parts of the 120km-long and 65km-wide Ruwenzori mountain range. The national park hosts 70 mammals and 217 bird species including 19 Albertine Rift endemics, as well as some of the world’s rarest vegetation.
Semuliki National Park
Situated in a remote corner of southwestern Uganda, Semuliki National Park sprawls across the floor of the semuliki valley on the remote, western side of Rwenzori Mountain range. Semuliki protects an eastern extension of the vast Ituri Forest and forms part of a forest continuum that stretches across the Democratic Republic of Congo to the Zaire River. This is one of Africa’s most ancient and bio-diverse forests, and among the few to survive the ice age.
Mount Elgon National Park
Mt. Elgon is an extinct volcano that first erupted more than 24 million years ago. With the largest surface area of any extinct volcano in the world (50 km by 80 km), Mt. Elgon is the fourth highest mountain in Eastern Africa, with the second-highest peak in Uganda (Wagagi Peak – 4,321 metres). Mt. Elgon contains crater covering over 40kms at the top of the mountain, surrounded by a series of rugged peaks. Read More …
Queen Elizabeth National Park
Queen Elizabeth National Park is arguably the most popular destination in Uganda. This is mainly so because of the park’s diverse ecosystems that include wide open savannah grasslands that contrast sharply to the humid forests in the park.