Uganda Travel Guide

The park is a very appealing place. The wildlife is not quite as ubiquitous as in some of the Kenyan parks I've visited, but of course I was only in Murchison for a couple of days. The Nile River was certainly a highlight and unique -- a rare chance to view wildlife interacting with this iconic river.

Fabulous primate destination

Primates were great. Inches away from Mountain Gorillas and 20 feet from Chimps on a walking safari. The River Cruise on the Kazinga had amazing views of hippos, elephants, birds, etc.
Food was surprisingly good. Very uncrowded. Accommodations were very good. Queen Elizabeth safari not up to Serengeti or South Africa standards but still ok. Guide was great. There were two of us and a guide and Land Rover for a week. Rarely saw other tourists. The locals were colorful but not sure they really liked us being there, esp if we took photos of them.
All in all, not on the beaten path but the experience is one not to be missed.

I am not really in to birding, but I did notice quite a few different types of birds and some interesting coloured birds and our guide, a Park Ranger was able to tell me about them; but as I said, as I am not a birder not I'm not sure if this what one would be looking for. Having said that, if you have an interest in birds, I would assume you have an interest in wildlife in general, so I think it is still a not to be missed destination.

Great "off the beaten path" destination away from the usual tourist traps

Though it is a country that is tourist friendly, it can be experienced in an "off the beaten path" way. The people are very friendly where ever you go. In Kampala there are low cost guest houses and hostels i.e. Makerere University Guest house for the thrifty traveler to 4-5 star accommodations like the Sheraton and Munyonyo Speke resort on the shores of Lake Victoria. The weather is moderate for the equator (low 80s during the day with about 30% humidity) due to the elevation which averages around 4,000 ft. Transportation is pretty much like anywhere you pay for what you get but generally it is a lot cheaper than other safari destinations like Kenya. The food is good especially the fruit. For fine chinese cuisine in Kampala I recommend Fang Fang restaurant which has two locations in the city. For good African fare any of the nice restaurants in the hotels will do. The scenery especially around Lake Victoria and in the west as you head to the Ruwenzori Mountains is exquisite with tall grass savannas with undulating green hills and terraced farming plots winding around the hills and valleys.. On the way to the north you will cross the Nile at Karuma falls a real spectacular site. The source of the Nile at Jinja is another must see. Uganda is a great place to see and experience. It's one place where the old and the new seem to thrive side by side in a tenuous yet complimentary harmony

Life Experience

I visited Uganda 3years ago, as a student in order to work on a project about their living standars. Because of the project I met a lot of people and I have to admit that they are very friendly and hospitable. The weather in Uganda is normal, not dry but warm. The food is cheap and tasteful. They mainly offer goat sticks, soup with rice and vegetables and mattoke which is a traditional plate made by bananas. The accommodation was good as the staff was very willing to serve you, but it was a little bit slow. As far as the transportation is concered, they have "boda-bodas", which are motor bikes where you sit behind the driver. They also have buses and vans which are like taxis. The scenery is green and magnificent and there is a great variety of wildlife to explore by selecting this country as a safari destination. This safari had been arranged by the hotel where I stayed, situated in Mbarara district. We woke up in the morning and a bus booked by the hotel, took us to "Queen Elisabeth National Park". Approaching to the park we were astonished by the beautiful sunrise. Then we left it all to our communicable guide who was explaining all only in english, as the official languages are english and swahili. Small safari vans took us to indiscribably places in this huge park, driving among a lot of animals. The feeling that you get when you are so close to them cannot be discribed. It is unbelievable that you are in their natural living place. Elephants, lions, hippos, crocodiles, monkeys are just a few of what you can see. This is a life experience that you have never imagined!!!

Wildlife disappointing compared to Serengeti area

Having done a safari in the Serengeti immediately before Uganda it was always going to be difficult to live up to expectations. The quantity and variety of wildlife was poor in comparison. The people in my group who were starting with Uganda were quite thrilled with what they saw so I may be being overly harsh. Our guide explained that much of the wildlife was decimated during the Idi Amin era and is still recovering so perhaps in the future it will improve. The campsites we used varied quite widely from fairly developed areas in Jinja/Kampala to merely a flat area near the river at Lake Mburo. The gorillas and Bwindi forest in general were amazing and did make the trip to Uganda worthwhile in my opinion.

Uganda is a great destination to get off the beaten track from countries such as Kenya and Tanzania.

We enjoyed our time in Uganda and saw a great variety of wildlife in the three parks that we visited. The weather in late June / early July was great. The food and accommodations at the parks were first-rate. The roads are a little challenging and take time to cover the distance, but add to the authentic feel of being on safari in Africa.

Excellent for mountain gorillas, and for a good not too touristy safari experience

I found Uganda to be a fantastic place. The highlight was, without doubt, the mountain gorillas which were truly breathtaking when seen in their natural environment. I found the way the treks were organized to be very good, making the whole experience accessible, but without it feeling too sanitised. I also enjoyed the other parts of my trip - while the game drives are not up to the quality in terms of number of animals that you might find in other reserves (so I am told - this is my only experience of safaris so far) what is great is that they are a lot quieter than other reserves in other countries. We saw a post-kill pride of lions ripping apart a warthog carcass and there were only a total of 6 or 7 vehicles around - something I believe is not likely to happen in places such as Tanzania which are more developed. The lodges were, without exception, fantastic - great food, nice atmosphere and friendly staff. The trip was expensive, but we did a lot - several boat trips, chimpanzee trekking and of course the gorilla trekking. It might not be somewhere you consider unless you are either a birder (Uganda is meant to be great for birds) or going to see the Gorillas, but for me it was a perfect place for mixing safari and trekking.

Nice nature, beautifull kind people

Nice nature parcs, good weather!, nice accommodations in the nature!, I did the trip with a Dutch organisation: Matoke Tours. It was really nice!

Uganda was a pleasant surprise. I was there for 2 weeks and it was amazing. It is definitely in the top 5 places I have been in the world with it's beautiful layout in Kampala (the view of the city from one of the many hills is incredible), to the wildlife of the Nile.