Top Five Most Popular Tourist Destinations In Uganda : Uganda which is also known as “The Pear of Africa” is a rich blessed country surrounded by thick forests, beautiful lakes and rivers, savannah grasslands, good climate, hot springs, waterfalls, snow peaked mountains, and its people are more friendly to all kinds and categories of foreigners and that is why this country has the best refugee policy in the world.
Uganda’s beauty and diversity of the stunning nature makes it a unique and the most visited country among other African countries because it is highly rated by the large numbers of tourists who travel from worldwide to visit the country. Uganda has a various numbers of stunning tourist attraction that are found in many national parks that attract many individuals to visit these national parks. Uganda has around 10 national parks but among these, there are some that are ranked as the most visited and these include the following;
Murchison falls National park.
Murchison falls national park is the biggest national park in Uganda covering a total surface area of 3893 square kilometers. It is located in Masindi district in the northern region of the Albertine Rift Valley. This National park was first gazetted as a game reserve in 1926 and later it was established as a national park in 1952, which makes it being considered as one of the oldest national parks in the country.
Murchison falls national park derives its name from the Murchison falls and it is being managed by Uganda Wildlife Authority, which is known to be a government agency that is responsible for the protection of all the national parks in the country. More so the southern part of Murchison falls national park is surrounded by the savannah woodlands, Marshy woodland, borassus palms, dense forests and acacia trees and it is also known to be a home to over 76 mammal species such as; African bush elephants, Antelopes, Buffaloes, Nile crocodiles, lions, leopards, giraffes, hippos, duikers, elands and also harbours around 451 birds such as the rare shoebill stork, grey heron, widow bird and many others.
Murchison falls national park is also considered among the most visited tourists destinations in Uganda because it has many attractions such as the Karuma falls, the beautiful water bodies like; Lake Albert and Kyoga, Ziwa Rhino sanctuary and the Murchison falls. During the visits on a safari in this park, tourists always get a chance to participate in several activities like; Game drives, boat cruises, sport fishing, cultural encounters, bird watching which always the tourists a memorable experience.
Queen Elizabeth National Park.
Queen Elizabeth National Park is ranked as the second largest national park in Uganda, which is located in kasese district in the Eastern region in Uganda. This park in 1952, it was known known as Kazinga channel national park and later was named as Queen Elizabeth National park after the visit of the Queen of England and it covers a total surface area of about 1978 square kilometers.
Queen Elizabeth national park is famous and ranked among the most visited national parks in the country because of its tree-climbing lions that attract numbers of people from worldwide. However, it is also a home to over 600 bird species such as the rare shoebill stork and many wildlife species such as; hippos, elephants, crocodiles, giraffes, leopards, flamingoes and many others. More so, tourists while in the park, they are blessed with classic views of the Rwenzori mountains, the beautiful crater lakes, kazinga channel, Lake Katwe explosion craters and many others.
Bwindi Impenetrable National Park.
Bwindi National park is located in Kanungu district in the Southwestern region of Uganda and is marked as one of the smallest national parks in Uganda, which covers a total surface area of about 321 square kilometers, and it stands at an elevation between 1,160 and 2,607 meters above the sea level. Bwindi National park was established as a national park in 1991 and later it was named as a UNESCO world Heritage site in 1994 with an aim of protecting the wildlife, plant species and most especially the endangered mountain gorillas within the park.
This park attracts many tourists making it one of the most visited park in the country because it is a home to over 400 plant species, 350 bird species, and 120 mammal species however it most famous because of Gorilla trekking activities due to the fact that there is large number of about 400 mountain gorillas that leave in this park alone.
Kibale National Park.
Kibale National park is situated in Kabarole district in the western region of Uganda. This National Park was first gazette as a forest reserve in 1993 and later it was established as a national park in 1932. Kibale National park is ranked as the highest national park, which stands at an elevation of about 1590 meters above the sea level while lowest level of the park stands at 1,100meters on the Albertine Rift Valley.
Kibale National park is also known to be among the top destinations that are commonly visited in the country because it is famous chimpanzee trekking and habituation activities because harbours a big numbers of chimpanzees within the park. However, it is also a home to other wildlife species such as; 375 bird species, 13 primate species, 70 mammal species and it also has other tourists attractions like; Amabere Ga Nyina Mwiru, crater lakes, Bigodi wetland sanctuary, kihingami wetland and many others that attract large numbers of people from all parts of the work and choose to go on a Uganda safari in Kibale National Park in Uganda.
Kidepo Valley National Park.
Kidepo valley national park is located in the Northern part of Uganda in Kaboong district covering a total surface area of 1442 square kilometers. This park was first gazette as a game reserve by the British colonial government in in 1958 and later in 1962; it was established as a national park under the reign of Apollo Milton Obote the former president.
Kidepo Valley National Park derives its name from the word “Akidep” which means to pick up and it considered among the most visited destinations in Uganda because it is one the best places bird lovers can visit due to the fact that it harbours over 480 bird species and it is also known as the only place where one can get to look at an Ostrich. It is also a home to over 77 mammal species such as; leopards, elephants, bush pigs, hippos and many others not forgetting other attracts that are withheld in the park like; Mount Morungule, Apoka Tourism centre, Lomej hills, Narus Valley, Kidepo valley, Kanangorok hot springs and many others.
Therefore, with these top five tourist destinations above showing how Uganda the Pearl of Africa is the best place for one to visit while planning to go on a safari, however there are more tourist destinations within the country where individuals visit and get so much to see and do. These other places include; Semuliki National Park, Lake Mburo National park, Rwenzori Mountains National park, Mgahinga gorilla national park, Mount Elgon national park among others.
