Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park ( 331 sq km) is located in southwestern Uganda in Kabale district. Popularly known as an Impenetrable forest, Bwindi is a magnificent verdant swathe across the steep ridges of the Albertine Rift Valley. Its one of the few ancient rainforests in Africa that flourished throughout the last Ice Age, and is home to roughly half of the world's mountain gorillas. The national park has 90 mammal species, including 11 primates, of which the black-and-white colobus, with its lovely flowing white tail, is prominent.

The forest birding ranks the best in Uganda, with 23 highly localised Albertine Rift endemics present.

Activities
Gorilla tracking is the most exciting activity Bwindi has to offer, and permits must be pre-booked at the UWA office in Kampala.

Other activities include:

• guided forest walks with one popular trail leading to a pretty waterfall;
• bird watching;
• and monkey viewing.
  

Uganda's largest national park (3840 sq km), it protects a chunk of untamed African Savannah bisected by the mighty river Nile. It is located in North western Uganda near Masindi. Its name is derived from the dramatic Murchison Falls, where the world's longest river explodes violently through a narrow cleft in the Rift Valley escarpment to plunge into a frothing pool 43m below. In the southeast, Rabongo Forest is home to chimps and other rainforest creatures. The Nile itself hosts one of Africa's densest hippo and crocodile populations, and a dazzling variety of waterbirds, including the world's most accessible wild population of the rare shoebill stork.

Activities

• Launch trips to the base of the fall;
• Game viewing;
• Bird watching;
• Chimp tracking;
• and game drives on a good road network.

1,978 sq km in size, it is located in the south western part of Uganda, near Kasese. QENP ranges from open savannah to rainforest, from dense papyrus swamps and brooding crater lakes to the vastness of Lake Edward, making it one of the highest biodiversity ratings of any game reserve/park in the world.

Almost 100 mammal species and a remarkable 606 bird species makes this superb safari territory, with elephant, a profusion of hippos, the elusive giant forest hog and handsome Uganda kob, all regularly sighted around the tourist village on the Mweya peninsula, which also boasts a marvelous waterfront setting in the shadow of the Rwenzori Mountains.

Activities

• Game drives around the Park, which offer you with great game viewing;
• Launch trips on Kazinga Channel - wonderful for bird watching and photography;
• Chimp tracking in Kyambura Gorge;
• Guided nature walks in Maramagambo;
• and viewing the tree climbing lions in Ishasha sector.

It is located in western Uganda near Fortportal and is 776 sq km in size. KFNP is one of Uganda's major rainforests and home of a remarkable 13 primate species, including the very localised red colobus and L'Hoest's monkey. Kibale's major attraction, however, is the opportunity to track habituated chimps. These delightful apes, more closely related to humans than to any other living creature, are tremendous fun to watch as they squabble and play in fruiting trees.
The forest also hosts an elusive forest elephant, smaller and hairier than its savannah counterpart, and other terrestrial mammals including the buffalo, giant forest hog, and six antelope species.

Activities

• Chimp tracking, which is the main activity;
• Guided forest walks, including night walks;
• and superb bird watching in the Bigodi wetland sanctuary, a superb community development neighboring the park;
• Between Fort Portal and Kibale Forest lies a field of beautiful crater lakes which are worth visiting.

This park lies in western Uganda, and is covered in extensive acacia woodland, with markedly different fauna to other reserves.
Lake Mburo is the best place in the country to see the gigantic Eland Antelope, as well as Zebra, Topi, Impala, and several Acacia-associated birds. The five lakes within the park attract hippos, crocodiles and a variety of water birds, while fringing swamps hide secretive papyrus specialists such as the Sitatunga antelope, and the red, black and yellow papyrus gonalek.

Activities

• Game Viewing is the major tourist activity in this Park. The Park has about 68 different species of mammals- herbivores such as the zebra, impala, buffalo, topi, eland and the rare Roan antelope, and predators like the leopard, hyena and jackal.
• Boat Rides: The presence of Lake Mburo within the park is a blessing worth mentioning. The lake is rich with a diversity of animal and plant species which can only be viewed clearly if you take a boat trip. The crocodiles, hippopotamuses and birds like Pelicans, Black Crake, Heron, Cormorant and the Fish Eagle. You may also sight the rare Shoebill stork. All these will furnish your visit with pride.
• You could also take some guide walks

Rwenzori mountain is Africa's tallest mountain range and reaches an elevation of 5,109m. This 120km chain is regarded to be the legendary snow-capped Mountains of the Moon, exceeded in altitude only by the free- standing Mount Kenya and Kilimanjaro.

The distinctive glacial peaks are visible from miles away, but the slopes above 1,600m are the preserve of hikers, who rate the Rwenzoris to be the most challenging of all African mountains.

The Rwenzoris are most notable for their majestic scenery and varied vegetation. The trails lead through a rainforest with rattling monkeys and birds, then a tall bamboo forest, before emerging on the high-altitude Moorland zone, a landscape of bizarre giant lobelias, towered over by black rock and white snow, looking at the world- all like the setting of a science fiction film.

Activities

• Hiking the Rwenzori is the main activity. The 7 days/6 nights is a rewarding trip that takes you through all the vegetation zones and glacial peaks.

Mt. Elgon is a 4,321m high extinct volcano, which in prehistoric times stood taller than Mt. Kilimanjaro does today. The mountain straddles the Kenya border, but its loftiest peak, Wagagai, lies within Uganda and is best ascended from the Uganda side.

Spectacular scenery is the main attraction for hikers on this oft-neglected and relatively undemanding mountain, but there is also a variety of forest monkeys and small antelope, along with elephant and buffalo. A checklist topping 300 birds includes many species not recorded elsewhere in Uganda.

Other attractions include ancient cave paintings close to the trailhead at Budadiri, spectacular caves, and hot springs within the crater.

Activities

• 4 days of hiking are a rewarding experience

Mgahinga Gorilla National Park is located in the southwestern corner of Uganda. The park covers the northern slopes of the three northernmost Virunga volcanoes: Mt. Muhavura (4,127 m), Mt. Gahinga (3,474 m), and Mt. Sabinyo (3,645 m). The Park is about 10 km south of Kisoro and is bordered to the south by the Republic of Rwanda and to the west by the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Mgahinga Gorilla National Park is 33.7 sq. km and consists of the partly forested slopes of three extinct volcanoes. From far away, the huge cones of the Virunga volcanoes dominate the landscape and beckon you as you approach.

Mgahinga park has great biological importance because throughout the climatic changes of the Pleistocene ice ages, mountains such as these provided a refuge for mountain plants and animals, which moved up or down the slopes as climate became warmer or cooler. The Virungas are home to a large variety of wildlife, including about half the world's critically endangered mountain gorillas.

Activities

Gorilla tracking is the most thrilling activity the park has to offer. The habituated gorilla in this park is called the Nyakagezi, which consists of 9 members, 2 silverbacks, 3 adult females, 2 juveniles and 2 infants.
Other activities:

• Climbing of Mt. Sabyinyo (366m), Mt. Gahinga (3474m), and Mt. Muhavura.(4127m)
• Cave exploration of the Garama cave. This is one of the caves where once the crafty Batwa (who were warriors) lived and fought their neighbors, the Bantu.
• Viewing platform:This is about 800 metres from the park's gate. Once on top, you will have a good view of the Park and the surrounding areas.
• Border trail - visa not required: This hike takes you first toward Sabinyo. The trail climbs up the base of Sabinyo for a while through fine montane forest before turning toward the Congo.
• Birding: Mgahinga Gorilla National Park is blessed with a unique bird fauna with 79 bird species recorded within the park that include several species endemic to the East Congo montane region.

The Kidepo Valley National Park is one of Uganda's most spectacular parks. It is 1,442 sq km and harbours scenery unsurpassed in any other park in East Africa. Tucked into the corner of Uganda's border with Sudan and Kenya, the park offers breathtaking Savannah landscapes, which end in rugged horizon.

The vegetation can best be described as open tree Savannah which varies much in structure and composition. Mountain forest dominates some of the high places, while areas along the Lorupei river support dense Acacia Geradi forest. The flora and fauna of the park are more typical of Kenya than the rest of Uganda. The landscape throughout the park is studded with small hills, rocky outcrops and inselbergs from which one can obtain stunning views in all directions.
The park harbours a great diversity of animal species than other parks. Of the 80 species of mammals listed in 1971, 28 were not known to occur in any other Ugandan park. Carnivore species unique to Kidepo and Karamoja region include the bat-eared fox, striped hyena, aardwolf, caracal, cheetah and hunting dog. Less common ungulates include the greater and lesser Kudu, Chandlers Mountain reedbuck, Klipspringer, Dikdik and bright Gazelle. The Beisa Oryx and Roan antelope have been severely depleted by poachers in the recent years. Among other large ungulates are the elephant, Burchell's zebra, bush pig, warthog, Rothschild giraffe, Cape buffalo, eland, Bush buck, Bush duskier, Defassa water buck, Bohor reed buck, Jackson's hartbeest and oribi. Five species of primate are found in the park, of which the Kavirondo bush baby is endemic. Carnivores present include lion, leopard, several small cats, spotted hyena, black-backed jackal, and side-striped jackal. The easiest to see is the jackal.
The park boasts an extensive avifauna. 465 species have been recorded (three new species were added to the list in 1995). Of particular interest, the ostrich and the Kori bustard are principally associated with arid regions.

The park is outstanding for its birds of prey. Of 58 species recorded, 14 are believed to be endemic to Kidepo and the Karamoja region. These include Verreaux's eagle, Egyptian vulture and Pygmy falcon. Also of note are four species of hornbills. The Red-billed, the Yellow-billed and Jackson's hornbill are peculiar to Kidepo, while the giant Abyssinia ground hornbill is quite common. There is, however, no comprehensive survey in Kidepo, and keen visitors stand a good chance of adding to the current list.

Activities

• Game viewing;
• Hiking and Scenery viewing;
• Picnic: To add flavor to your visit to Kidepo river, take time and visit the picnic site located on the sand and you won't also miss the sound of palm leaves in constant motion in the wind;
• Cultural performance;
• Bird watching;
• and nature walks

220 square Km in size, Semuliki National Park is situated in the remote corner of the extreme west of Uganda, in Bundibugyo district. It lies on the Uganda - Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) border within the western arm of the East African rift valley. To the southeast are the Rwenzori mountains, to the west is DRC, and to the north, Lake Albert. It is an eastern extension of the vast Ituri forest and formed part of the forest continuum during the climatic upheavals of the Pleistocene. This is one of the richest areas for both flora and fauna in Africa (especially for birds)

Activities

• Fantastic scenery, hotsprings, forest jungles, birding, primate viewing and river Semuliki meanders are some of the ideal attractions.
• Surely, you can't afford to miss getting off the regular tourists' circuit and spending three to five days camping and hiking in the only real jungle in East Africa.
• You will marvel at two Hotsprings situated in a tract of hot mineral encrusted swampland, rich in visible bird, insect and mammal life accessed by a modern railway network.
• Come and see a two-meter jet of hot water (130 degrees Centigrade), and a pool (12m in diameter) of oozing boiling water (106 degrees Centigrade). You can boil food, especially eggs, in this natural boiler within ten minutes and enjoy it!

Situated amidst hills of Kigezi, this "Switzerland of Africa" is the deepest lake in Uganda, and the third deepest in the whole world.
As the name suggests ('Bunyonyi' means small birds in the local language), birders will find this a rewarding venture. It is naturally decorated with 29 beautiful islands, many of these with well developed accommodation facilities, such as Bushara island. It's your choice to spend a night, or the entire holiday!

On the same island, approximately 50 bird species have been recorded - making it a great starting point for birding and nature tours on the lake. Some bird species include: the white-tailed blue Monard, african Harrier hawk, Levillant cuckoo, Cardinal woodpecker, and the Rufous-breasted wryneck. Weavers nesting on the Island include the large, golden, slender-billed baglafetch, and yellow-backed and spectacled weavers. Bunyonyi is also famous for crayfish - which you can't find anywhere else in Uganda.

One of the islands, Hakampene is famous for its history as a punishment island for girls who would get pregnant outside marriage. They would be thrown there to die but it is said that poor men who could not afford dowry, the lame, or the blind would pass around and pick them for marriage.