Touring Uganda and Rwanda in Style

Uganda and Rwanda are neighboring countries and visitors find it easy to combine and visit these countries. One of the regions in Uganda with diversity of species is western Uganda, and the borders between Uganda and Rwanda are also in the west. Some visitors opt to land in Kigali, visit Rwanda and then Cross the border to Uganda and vise versa. It can be on self-drive basis or on the fully planned and booked trip.

Here below are some western attractions which can visited in Uganda;

Mountain Gorillas:

Uganda’s Gorilla parks are located in the west, that is Bwindi and Mgahinga National park: Visitors decide on which park to track gorillas. Bwindi is home to almost half of the mountain gorillas remaining in the world. And for Mgahinga, it has one gorilla family called Nyakagezi. Mountain gorillas are close relatives of Humans and standing near a gorilla family with a silver back, black back, mothers, juvenile and babies is emotional.

Other activities which can be explored in Bwindi include, Nature walks, birding, cultural Encounters. To explore such activities. It is necessary to stay for more days around the park. There are many Nature walks in Bwindi some are long taking and others are short taking Half day. Nature walks will reward visitors with activities like many types of monkeys, other small animals, different plants and unique land scape.

In Mgahinga, besides Gorilla Tracking, other activities include, Golden Monkey Tracking, Nature walks, Volcano Hiking, Birding and Batwa cultural Encounter. Golden Monkey Tracking is another unique activity in Mgahinga, they are rarely found elsewhere than Virunga, they are very attractive with their color and other characteristics. They live in troops and headed by Alpha Male.

Chimpanzee Tracking:

Chimpanzee Tracking is another great activity in the western Uganda. They can be tracked in Kibale National Park and Kalinzu Forest. Kibale in one of the places in Uganda with highest percentage of chimpanzees in the world. Visitors are free to do the morning session or the afternoon session. Chimpanzees are very attractive and active, be ready to follow them in the forest as they do their activities of playing, interacting and many more.

Other activities which can be done in Kibale Forest include, Birding where visitors can see forest birds, Nature walks, Chimpanzee habituation, there is also Bigodi swamp walk near the park, community encounters and many more.

Wildlife:

There are many wildlife parks in the western Uganda. They include, Queen Elizabeth National Park, and Lake Mburo National Park. The parks are home to many wildlife animals like Elephants, Hynas, Leopard, lions, antelopes, Hippos, and many more. Activities in Queen Elizabeth National Park include, Game drives, Boat cruise at Kazinga channel, Chimpanzee Tracking in Kyambura gorge, Community encounters, Visiting Katwe Salt Lake, tree climbing lions in Ishasha sector. And then in Lake Mburo, activities include, Game drives both day and night, boat cruise on lake Mburo, Horse riding, and many more.

Here below are attractions which can be visited in Rwanda side.

Mountain Gorillas in Volcanoes National Park.

In Rwanda, Mountain gorillas can be tracked in Volcano National Park which is part of Virunga’s. The park is blessed with many Mountain Gorilla families and each family is visited by 8 members of visitors per day. The activity starts in the morning and conducted by park guides and rangers. After finding the Mountain gorillas, visitors are allowed to spend 1 hour with the apes.

Other activities in the park include, Golden Monkey Tracking, Dian Fossey grave visit, Volcano Hiking and many more.

Wildlife:

Rwanda is one of the countries where you can see the big five in just one park. Rwanda’s Akagera National Park is famous and known to have a variety of wildlife, including the big five. Some of the wildlife in Akagera include, elephants, lions, Buffaloes, Rhinos, Antelopes, giraffes, and many more. Other activities around the park include, birding, boat cruise on Lake Ihema, Nature walks and Community Encounters.

Chimpanzee Tracking

This can be done in Nyungwe National Park. It is one of the parks with the highest percentage of primates, besides chimps, the park has different types of monkeys. Chimpanzee tracking is one of the main activities in the park. The activity starts in the morning and after finding the chimps, visitors are given 1 hour viewing and taking unforgettable photos. Other activities which can be done in the park include, Canopy walk, Nature walks, and birding.