Uganda
- Rotem Haskia
- Apr 19, 2020
- 6 min read
Updated: Apr 22, 2020
For a girl that her biggest loves are nature and wild life, flying to Africa for the first time was absolutely a dream come true but when I first told people that I'm flying specifically in Africa to Uganda their first response was- Why Uganda? This is the question that I'm going to answer in this blog! Yes it's true, most people when they think of a vacation in Africa they think of Zanzibar or when they think of safaris in Africa they think of Tanzania, but I'm here to tell you about a magical place where you will enjoy from amazing nature, wild life, safaris, culture and also all the tips to make the most of you trip.
Wild life
Gorillas track: The main wild life attraction in Uganda is the Gorillas tracking in Bwindi reserve! It's the main attraction because for other wild life you can easily go to Tanzania that also have the same animals but in bigger numbers so you will have bigger chances of spotting them, but only in Uganda and Rwanda you will be able to find yourself in a complete wild jungle face to face with Gorillas! This track is an expensive one (around 800$) but your trip to Uganda will not be complete without it and it's worth every dollar. You will be able to read more about this track in my next blog: "Gorilla tracking in Uganda".
Chimpanzee track: In Kibale you will find many options to explore, learn, and meet face to face the human's closest relatives also known as the chimpanzees. By paying 150% of your attention and trying to look for chimpanzee signs like calls and food you will try your luck in locating those amazing creatures in the wild forest. Tip: On the way to finding and tracking the chimpanzees you should look out for the black & white colobus, red tailed monkey or the grey cheeked Mangabey.
As I said before Uganda is not what you think it is, with many reserves and safaris there are so many wild life that you can spot. The locals will call the safari rides a "game drive", and why is that? Because well it's a game! Only if you are patient, determinate and mostly lucky you will win the game and the prize is to spot an animal! Entering some of the reserves can be a bit pricey (around 300$) but if you came to Africa and you came to see the wild life this is a price you will have to pay... Tips for a successful game drive: 1. Start your "game drive" early in the morning: Go out from your hotel before dawn and arrive to the safari with dawn! This will increase your chance of spotting animals that will later hide from the heat and when the sun comes up you will have almost zero chance to see them like lions. Also, you will get a chance to see animals that are more active in the night time such as hippos outside of the water and more. 2. Pack yourself a breakfast and even lunch: Game drives take a lot of time, patience and can be very long. You don't want to be in a hurry to go back for food and therefore to lose the best hours to spot animals. 3. I really recommend taking with a binoculars: This will help you so much in locating the animals from a distance and arriving to the spot first before all the other tourist will come and might scare the animal away with car noises. Also will just help you get a better look at the animal. 4. Share: If you found an animal and enjoyed watching it for a while keep in touch and call other tourist and cars because when they will find an animal they will call you too!
My recommended parks, safaris and the highlights in them, (of course there are many more):
Kibale National Park: Mostly known for Chimpanzee Tracking.
Lake Mburo National Park: The only park in Uganda with Eland and Impala and one of the few that has Giraffes and zebras.
Murchison Falls National Park: Also one of the few places where giraffe are found in Uganda and there is a great population of lion.
Queen Elizabeth National Park: In the Ishasha sector you may try your luck in seeing the tree climbing lions!
Bwindi national park: known for gorillas tracking
Nature
From the Nile river to the Murchison Falls Uganda is not the desert dry place that I imagined it will be, it's a green place that beside wildlife it also have some great views to offer you.
Nile River: We enjoyed the view of the Nile River from this dreamy hotel named "Eden". Our suite was just in front of the Nile River and we enjoyed waking up in front of it with the noise of the birds, monkeys and other unknown animals. We watched the sunrise and a couple of fishermen starting their work day in the water with wooden boats.
Not a lot of people know this but in the Nile River you can do an amazing extreme Kayak trip! I strongly recommend on it but just a heads up- it's really extreme!
Murchison falls: to the beautiful Murchison falls you can get either from the bottom with a boat or from the top with a car or by foot. Since the waterfall is so massive and the water float is so strong the boats can't get so near to the falls and I just have to recommend visiting them from above by foot. You will get so much closer and just feel your knee shaking from how powerful and breathtaking this strong waterfall is!
Katwe Lake: Located on the south western part of Uganda, here you can visit the salt village and learn all about salt making, visit the beautiful lake and might get a chance of watching the many flamingo that visit it.
Fishing village: By the Nile River you can find many fishing villages and by visiting them not only you will learn all about the fishermen's work during the day and night, you will also learn all about the local life. If you choose you may bring some candies to the nice children of the village, spend some times with them and their families and earn some great stories and knowledge from the locals.
The people in Uganda are very kind and nice, almost everyone speaks English and always willing to help.
Another very important tip of mine will be to have your own local driver and those are the reasons why: 1. The roads in Uganda aren't always the most comfortable one to drive and it's important to know how, where and when to drive them. 2. The distances and the drives can be really long and not all of us are capable of driving that long also in the bad dirt roads. 3. Another reason is that the locals have so much information to give us along the drive whether about places to visit, restaurants or location that has not been discovered by tourists and more. 4. Probably one of the most important reasons is that the locals have a special eye in finding, tracking and also behaving near the wild animal which is so important in the safari drives! I can't tell you how many times we drove in the safaris frustrated we can't see animals and our amazing driver just casually found a lion completely camouflaged in the bushes.
Food
In Uganda you can find everything in such affordable prices and in every meal you will feel like royalty. You must try the traditional Rolex and in every chance try more of the local amazing and interesting food.
Also you should enjoy a lot on the special, fresh and delicious fruits that this country has to offer.
I traveled around the world for a while now and I think Africa is the first place that really, truly and completely captured my heart. I don't know if its only because I love animals, or the wild nature or maybe it was the cultural experience. What ever it was I am happy I got the chance to come here and can't wait to be back.
For more picture click here or search @Travel_Rotem on Instagram.
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