Uganda is one of the best destinations to visit for active adventures in Uganda. This land locked country lies in a prime location where the East African savanna meets the tropical rain forests of Africa. The country is neighbored by Kenya in the east, South Sudan in the north, Tanzania in the south, Democratic Republic of Cong in the West and Rwanda and Burundi in the south west.
It is one of the upcoming travel destinations in East Africa countries and there is a growing number of travelers interested in active adventures. The country has a vast biodiversity and it is a prime location for game viewing in its ten national parks.
Most of Uganda’s interior is covered by Lake Victoria and therefore among The African Great Lakes Region, Uganda is within the Nile basin, good equatorial climate, and welcoming people. And it’s no doubt, she qualified as the “ Pearl of Africa”. All these rare remarks about the country, in addition to its various tourist attraction centers and activities such as lakes and rivers, physical features i.e mountains, forests , different vegetation types, historical facts, source of River Nile among others have attracted so many visitors to the Ugandan border.
The Pearl of Africa offers very exciting adventure experiences to the tourists in various tourist destinations and they include the following
Gorilla Trekking
Meeting the mountain gorillas in the wild is one of the wildlife experiences not to miss in Uganda. Uganda is host to over half the world’s surviving mountain gorillas and has the world’s highest concentration of primates including chimpanzees. There are two prime areas where mountain gorillas are found in Uganda; Bwindi National Park and Mgahinga Gorilla National Park. These two national parks are located in the south western part of Uganda and are accessible in a 10 hours drive from Kampala or 6 hours drive from Kigali City, the capital of Rwanda.
A gorilla safari into these two amazing parks is such a rewarding experience that you can only do in Uganda, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Located in the south western corner of the country in the thickest of Bwindi Impenetrable National Game Park; the gigantic animals roam freely as they go about their daily lives. It’s an exciting experience to go gorilla trekking in the forest and stand just few meters away from these creatures as they play, eat rest and bond with their young ones. Tours are limited to a maximum of one hour in the company of gorillas in order to minimize behavioral disturbance and risk of disease transmission.
White Water Rafting in Jinja
This is one of the most exciting tourism activities all adventure lovers must not miss while in Uganda. The White Nile in Jinja is referred to the adventure capital of east Africa with rapids that favors white water rafting activities to effectively take place in the area.
White water rafting in Jinja enables one to explore the great river Nile in its early stages. Its however not an activity for the faint hearted people because while on the grade 5 rapids, all of you may find yourselves in the waters of the Nile, there is no need to fear this because there is always a rescue raft team to get tourists out of the water.
This adventurous activity is open all kinds of people and can be enjoyed any day of the year. There are photographers who capture the entire tourist’s moments while rafting and sell them at affordable prices.
Apart from white water rafting, there are other various adventurous tourist activities like kayaking, boat trips which feature cruising the Nile including sunset cruises that offer beautiful views of the sun setting over the Nile.
Chimpanzee Trekking
Chimpanzee Watching is another amazing adventure not to miss in Uganda. The country is one of the few destinations that host the highest density of chimpanzees in Africa. During your safari, you should book a meetup with the chimps in Kibale National Park, the Kyambura Gorge or Kalinzu Forest in Queen Elizabeth Conservation Area as well as Budongo Forest in Murchison Falls Conservation Area.
Mountaineering
This is also another exciting activity that one can do while on tour in Uganda since Uganda has one of Africa´s highest mountain called the Rwenzori Mountain which has quite a number of peaks that you can visit while mountaineering the Rwenzori Ranges in Uganda. Rwenzori Mountains of the moon is well-known for its stupendous mountain scenery, traversing up through bamboo forests into the mighty amphitheater of the Magherita Peak is a “once-in-a-lifetime” experience that cannot be easily attained elsewhere in Africa!
Mount Elgon is located in the Eastern part of Uganda. With its caldera, it is quite another interesting mountain hiking destination. It is ideal for both medium and high climbers. Reaching its peak (Wagagai peak) is quite adventurous and interesting. Being easy to climb Mt Elgon hiking does not require any specialized equipment or skills to reach the peak apart from physical fitness.