National parks you will find in western Uganda : Uganda has a total of 10 major national parks and about 10 more game reserves spread across the country and all harbouring different wildlife species that will delight you on your Uganda safari experience. However moat of the interesting game parks in Uganda are found in the western part of the country and here below are the national parks you will find in western Uganda.
Bwindi Impenetrable National Park
The most popular of all national parks in the western region Bwindi National Park sits on about 331 km squared of land of the Impenetrable forest that is home to a number of animals but most famously the mountain gorillas. Bwindi National Park is one of the four homes of the mountain gorillas in East Africa and it is home a half of the world’s mountain gorilla population. Of Couse the most sought after tourism activity done in Bwindi National park is mountain gorilla trekking that is done all year round at a fee of 700 USD per person per trek. The trek usually is adventurous and takes the whole day. People who take on the mountain gorilla trek have to book their permits in advance and have to be 16 years and above. Other activities done in this great forest including, forest walks to experience the numerous tree species in the forest, bird watching, mountain climbing, mountain biking and community tours.
Mgahinga National Park
Like Bwindi National Park, Mgahinga National Park is home to the famous mountain gorillas and it’s also one of the four homes of mountain gorillas in East Africa and the world. Mgahinga is the park with the least number of mountain gorillas only harbouring one mountain gorilla family of 10 – 14 members. The park is hilly with 3 major mountains Gahinga, Sabinyo and Muhavura so most people who visit the park apart from mountain gorilla trekking they take a hike on one of the mountains. Other activities at this park include Batwa community tours, nature walks and of course hiking.
Queen Elizabeth National Park
Named after the Late Queen of England, Queen Elizabeth National Park is the most popular wildlife park in Uganda and is found in between a section of Lake Edward and Lake George. The parks is home to over 50 mammal species including lions, elephants, antelopes, the Uganda Kob, giraffes, warthogs, hippos and others. Queen Elizabeth is also known for the tree climbing lions that you will find in the Ishasha region of the park. For primate lovers the park has some primates like chimpanzees, baboons, monkeys, that you will find in the Kyambura Gorge. The Kazinga Channel also offers you amazing boat rides and amazing views of the surrounding flora while enjoying beautiful sounds of the birds from the swamps and the trees.
Murchison Falls National Park
The oldest and largest national park in Uganda is best known for magnificent Murchison Falls on the Nile River. The park is home to over 100 mammals’ species the famous ones being the big five, the lions, buffaloes, elephants, leopards of course and others like the giraffes, impalas, antelopes among others. Activities at this park include game drives, boat rides, bird watching, and waterfall hiking among others.
Kibale Forest National Park
Known as the primate capital, Kibale National Park is home to the highest number of chimpanzees in the region and is also home to 12 other primate species that include the red baboons, colobus monkeys, black-and white colobus, velvet monkeys, Uganda mangabey among others. The park also has a famous swamp area the bigodi swamps that is home to over 500 bird species.
