7 Best Holiday Tours to Take in Uganda
When it comes to holiday tours in Africa, Uganda is one of the best countries to take them in. This little gem offers plenty of fascinating activities that suit different tourists since it’s blessed with rich wildlife, birds, different traditional cultures, and a varied landscape of mountains, numerous water bodies, and forests.
So to help you easily decide which holiday tours to go on in the country, here’s a list of the seven best you can enjoy on your holiday vacation:
1. Game viewing in Murchison Falls and Queen Elizabeth nationals parks
These two parks offer the best game-viewing holiday tours in Uganda as they’ve got a diverse number of animals including elephants, lions, buffalo, leopards, hippos, giraffes, and crocodiles. You can enjoy sightings of these animals on game drives along different trails in the park, hot air balloon tours, and boat trips.
The boat cruise in Murchison falls national falls is majorly taken to see the breathtaking falls while the one in Queen Elizabeth is taken along the Kazinga channel to catch sight of the animals you failed see during the game drive, and a myriad of water birds on the shorelines like the saddle-billed stork, pelicans, grey-headed kingfisher, shoebill stork, etc.
Besides that, you can also track chimpanzees in both parks, with the activity carried out in the Budongo forest of Murchison Falls and the beautiful Kyambura gorge of Queen Elizabeth.
2. Gorilla trekking holiday tour in Bwindi Impenetrable forest
This is one of the most popular holiday tours enjoyed in Uganda as it allows you to trek the commanding gorillas in a rainforest. The forest is home to almost half of the world’s mountain gorillas, which are referred to as man’s second cousins because they share similar traits to ours. You’ll notice these shared behaviors while you observe the mountain gorillas play and interact with each other for an hour in a once-in-a-lifetime experience after finding them. And if that time isn’t enough for you, you can take part in the habituation of these apes, an activity that lasts four hours.
3. The Rwenzori Mountains of the Moon hike
For mountain climbers looking for a worthy challenge, a hike up Mt. Rwenzori will satisfy your desire on this holiday tour in Uganda. This snow-capped mountain that is also called the “mountain of the moon” has six ranges you can climb, but Mount Stanley is the biggest draw because of its third highest peak in Africa – the Margherita (5,109m). The ascent to the top is tiring as you’ll have to navigate a steep terrain covered with rocks, mud, and ice in the higher altitudes through a dense forest of varied trees. But the stunning views of glaciers, lakes, and the Albertine rift valley from the peak make up for the fatigue.
4. Birding holiday tour on Lake Bunyonyi
Lake Bunyonyi – the second deepest lake in the world – is a birder’s paradise as it’s a habitat to approximately 200 species of birds that live on its islands. While taking a bird-watching cruise along L. Bunyonyi to some of these islands, you’ll enjoy stunning views of terraced hillsides surrounding the lake. On Bushara Island, you can take a bird walk through Mukoni village to see birds, such as Bronze and Red-chested Sunbird, African Hobby, White-headed Saw-wing, Black Kites, Swamp Flycatchers, etc.
5. Track Chimpanzees in Kibale National Park
Besides gorilla trekking, this chimps tracking holiday tour is another favorite for primate lovers. It’s popular to carry out this activity in Kibale national park because the chimps are more than in other places in the country and are easier to find in its rainforest. And on top of that, you can see other primates while you trek, like the red-tailed monkey, L’Hoests monkey, and the red colobus monkey, etc. plus various bird species.
6. Adventure holiday in Jinja
A visit to Jinja is a must-do for adrenaline junkies since this city is known as the “adventure capital of East Africa” because it has numerous thrilling activities. White water rafting on the mighty Nile is the most popular activity, and others include bungee jumping, river boarding, kayaking, jet boating, and quad biking. Besides that, you can also visit the source of the Nile while in Jinja and even enjoy its vibrant nightlife.
7. Cultural encounter with the IK and Karamojongs
If you love learning about foreign cultures and customs, then this holiday tour to the Karamoja region to visit the IK and Karamojongs tribes will suit you well. The IK are an endangered people living on top of Mt. Morungole while the Karamojongs are pastoralists who share cultural traits with the Maasai of Kenya. You’ll enjoy watching their traditional music plays, and cultural dances on top of visiting their grass-thatched homes within homesteads called Asak by the IK and Manyatta by the Karamojongs. And on top of this, you can take game drives in Kidepo Valley national park since these tribes live close to it.
Now that you know the best holiday tours to take in Uganda, here are some tips to help you have a memorable time during your vacation:
- Book with a trusted company: With that, you’ll be assured of a stress-free safari as they will smoothly organize and run the tours. Also, they will be able to expertly deal with problems that may arise along the way.
- Book the holiday tour early: There are some activities, such as gorilla trekking that requires you to get the permits in advance before travelling to Uganda to avoid missing out on the activity since the permits are few and get snapped up quickly.
- Take the tours during the dry season: This is between June-August and December-February to enjoy your activities without much rain disruption. Note that it still rains during these seasons, but the rain isn’t a lot like in the wet season.
- Buy travel insurance: It’s best to have insurance even if you may end up not using it because you are better off safe than sorry, most especially if you enjoy adventure activities since they tend to be more risky.
- Pack the right clothes: What you pack can depend on the activities you intend on carrying out while on a holiday vacation to Uganda, but here is a list of the general things to carry along:
Sunscreen, Insect repellent, Sunhat, Sunglasses, Hiking shoes, Jacket, Long and short-sleeved shirts, Shorts and trousers, Swimwear, Camera, Travel adapter.
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