Katonga Wildlife Reserve
Overview
Uganda Parks
Philip is a renowned Africa expert and author of many guidebooks to African destinations, including the Bradt guide to Uganda.
Katonga Wildlife Reserve is a little-known, low-key destination about 270km/168mi (5 to 6 hours' drive) west of the city of Kampala. Efforts to better protect the reserve against poaching are slowly restoring the animal population. Several antelope species are easily seen, including the Uganda kob. The rare, marsh-dwelling sitatunga antelope can sometimes be spotted as well, as can hippo and otter. There are no roads for vehicle safaris, so the park is best explored on foot.
Pros & Cons
Wildlife
Katonga doesn't support most of the large safari animals. Big cats are absent, and elephant and buffalo occur in small numbers only. But the reserve is one of the few places in East Africa that offers a chance to see the sitatunga antelope. Several other antelope species are present as well, including reedbuck, bushbuck, waterbuck and Uganda kob. Baboon and black-and-white colobus are also regularly spotted. Several years ago, zebra and impala were translocated to the park from Lake Mburo National Park. The birding is great due to the variety of habitats.
Scenery
A variety of habitats can be explored in the reserve including rainforest, papyrus swamps and savannah. The reserve is on the edge of the Katonga river valley.
Weather & Climate
The weather and climate of Katonga are comparable to that of Uganda in general. More info:
Best Time To Visit
Katonga can be visited at any time of the year, but the best time for wildlife viewing is in the Dry seasons (December to February and June to July).
Getting There
Katonga is the closest reserve to Kampala as the crow flies, but the drive still takes a good 5 to 6 hours*. It can be reached from the Fort Portal–Kampala road. Katonga can easily be incorporated in a standard Uganda itinerary, but seldom is due to the lack of amenities and low wildlife densities.
*Driving times are only a rough indication. You should always consider the possibility of significant delays.
Health & Safety
Please read our vaccinations and malaria page for Uganda, and our general wildlife viewing safety precautions page for more info:
