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Uganda speeds to the top of Victoria's favourite country list
I’m fortunate to travel widely in order to keep my Africa knowledge up to date. It’s always exciting, but even more so to visit a country I’ve not spent time in before, and from the minute I landed in Uganda I knew I was in for a treat. Dramatic scenery, wonderfully hospitable people, incredibly diverse wildlife and stunning safari lodges make it a fascinating place. And then of course there are the extraordinary numbers of primates that make their home here – I had great viewings of chimps, baboons, hundreds of monkeys, and bush babies, as well as the exceptional mountain gorillas.
The birds are incredible too; watching a couple of statuesque shoebill storks up to their knees in water waiting to strike at passing fish left me just as buzzy as seeing the gorillas. There are some big animals - we saw one of the famous tree climbing lions in Ishasha - but there’s definitely less of the big wildlife here than in neighbouring Kenya and Tanzania. In my view though, Uganda offers so much more than just game: I was charmed by road trips passing through simple dusty towns (most of which were complete with a mobile phone shop!), herds of the graceful, long horned Ankole cattle, colourful markets, bicycles piled high with charcoal or bananas, and chubby babies strapped to their mothers’ backs. The scenery is utterly jaw dropping – I saw lakes, soaring hills, trickling waterfalls, tea plantations, open savannah plains, towering mountains, lush terraced valleys, dense forest and banana plantations. One minute I could have been in the foothills of the Himalayas, the next on the south downs of England. How amazing is that?
All in all, an utter gem and a wildlife lover’s and photographer’s dream – I’m completely hooked and can’t wait to return.
Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park
Bwindi has to be the epitome of a tropical rain forest with steep, densly forrested hillsides, lush vegetation, exotic birds and colourful butterflies. Gorillas are a big draw here and currently there are nine habituated families that can be tracked. An hour with these truly amazing animals was well worth the effort of the, often tough yomp - thick forest and steep slopes make walking here more difficult than some other areas. Bwindi Lodge or Gorilla Forest Camp are both lovely places to stay and activites besides the gorillas include nature walks to see birds, monkeys and orchids, I also spent a lovely afternoon on a community village walk meeting the traditional healer, the local tea plantation farmers, the local brewer and the Batwa pygmy tribe.
Lake Mburo National Park
Beautiful Lake Mburo with its forest-fringed shores and rolling green hills is a wonderful place to relax for a couple of nights. Among animals in the park are zebra, eland, and impala, most of which are unique to this part of Uganda and game viewing is possible by vehicle, boat, foot and on horseback. As far as accommodation goes, one of my finds of the trip was Mihingo Lodge, a small, pretty and privately owned lodge, close to the Lake. Set high on a hill with glorious views this would be a perfect stop for a night or two.
Queen Elizabeth National Park
This is Uganda’s most visited national park and with elephant, lion, buffalo, hippo and leopard, is probably the Uganda park most similar to those in neighbouring East Africa, though without quite the same high density of game. Some 610 bird species – possibly the most in any African park – mean it’s also a bird watching paradise. The Ishasha region to the south of the park is known for its tree climbing lions and I found a couple of nights at Ishasha Tented Camp – a pretty lodge set on the river bank – a good base from which to explore.
Kibale Forest National Park
Thirteen species of primate including chimpanzee, vervet monkey and red colobus make this a must for primate lovers. Tracking noisy chimpanzee families racing through the verdant undergrowth was a thrilling experience and one I will remember for a long time. Just walking in the forest, hearing the sounds and seeing the butterflies and birds was exciting enough – the primates were the icing on the cake. In terms of accommodation, Ndali Lodge is one of our favourites. Privately owned, with a breathtaking location on the crest of a hill overlooking two crater lakes, it’s an amazing place to unwind, sit by the pool and enjoy great food and wine. It was here that I had a wonderful afternoon at a vanilla farm learning how to process vanilla pods into vanilla essence.
Semliki Wildlife Game Reserve
This amazing reserve has a variety of habitat from wetland and swamp to grassy plain and forest. Likely game encounters include Uganda kob (an antelope unique to Uganda), waterbuck, black and white colobus monkeys, and more occasionally elephant, lion and leopard. The very stylish Semliki Safari Lodge is the only property in the reserve so game viewing in glorious isolation is virtually guaranteed. The boat trip on Lake Albert was one of my best mornings ever in Africa – we floated past local fishermen to the edge of the wetlands where in the peaceful early morning, we watched storks, herons, jacanas, pelicans and other waterfowl feeding. It was the Shoebill though, an extraordinary prehistoric looking bird which I’ve always wanted to see, that made my day, just standing nearby waiting for a fishy snack to pass by. Perfect.