The wildlife game drives in Uganda’s national parks are the highlights of your wildlife safari adventure. By extending your stay in a Savannah national park, you may add game drives to your other safari itineraries in Uganda and Rwanda, including as gorilla trekking, birding, and cultural safaris. They provide the most luxurious way to see the many national parks in specifically built safari vehicles, like bigger coaster buses, Land Cruisers, and Safari vans. The Savannah national parks in Uganda include Queen Elizabeth National Park, Murchison Falls National Park, Kidepo Valley National Park, and Lake Mburo National Park.
The only park in Rwanda where game drives are available is Akagera National Park, where visitors may see a variety of animals while relaxing in safari-style vehicles.
Depending on the amount of wildlife present, Ugandan wildlife game drives often run three to four hours, however some may go longer. Don’t worry if you become bored; your safari guide will arrange for beautiful pauses where you can stretch, admire the scenery, and nibble on some snacks or even have a special bush breakfast or sunset cocktail.
Your safari guide has the key to revealing the savanna’s mysteries. They will know how to locate critters that are expertly concealed, know which routes are the best, and provide a running commentary chock-full of local legend and wildlife information. In Uganda, quality is prioritised before quantity. Intimate wildlife interactions are possible when there are fewer tourist cars about, whether you’re watching a pride of lions, a herd of elephants feeding, or a cunning leopard on the hunt. Anticipate to encounter a wide variety of captivating antelope and birdlife, as well as classic African species like the tree-climbing lions of the Ishasha region, elephants, buffalo, leopards, and playful giraffes.
Where to go for Wildlife Game Drives in Uganda.
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Murchison Falls National Park
Murchison Falls National Park, Uganda’s largest national park, provides amazing semi-arid habitats for a variety of species and an amazing game drive experience. Going on game drives along the northern bank of the Nile is highly recommended, particularly in the early morning and evening when it’s possible to see predators like lions, hyenas, and leopards. Nonetheless, the Delta area surrounding Lake Albert is where most game drives take place. Any of the park’s numerous pathways can be used to search for the local fauna.
The meandering Victoria Nile, which rises in Jinja off Lake Victoria, the thunderous Murchison Falls, which drop around 43 meters, and the nearly permanent rainbow at the “Top of the falls” are all found in Murchison Falls National Park. The largest national park in Uganda, it is home to herds of elephants, capybaras, antelopes, giraffes, lions, leopards, and many more species. It was ranked as the ninth finest birding destination in Africa and is also home to a diverse range of birds.
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Queen Elizabeth National Park
Uganda’s most popular national park, Queen Elizabeth National Park, is located in western Uganda and boasts the highest biodiversity of any region in Africa. More than 600 different species of birds can be found in this national park, more than in any other protected area in Uganda or East Africa. The tree climbing lions reside in the Ishasha region of the park, which is located in the south. After a night of hunting and early in the morning, they are frequently spotted lounging on the fig trees. There are numerous ideas explaining why they decide to climb the trees; you can discuss a few of these with your driver guide.
It takes roughly two hours to drive from “the main” Queen Elizabeth, or the Mweya Peninsular, to Ishasha, depending on the stops made along the way to see various species. More than ninety-five animal species inhabit the park, some of which can be spotted during a game drive across the Ishasha, Kasenyi plains, and crater area. Big mammals include warthogs, water bucks, bush bucks, lions, elephants, buffaloes, leopards, hyenas, and hippos. Six different monkey species can be found there as well, including the stunning black and white colobus, baboons, and chimpanzees in Kyambura Gorge.
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Kidepo Valley National Park
Uganda’s Kidepo Valley National Park is a hidden gem that provides travellers with a breathtakingly natural experience. During the wet season, Kidepo and Narus, two seasonal rivers, flow through the semi-desert. With such stunning sunrises and sunsets throughout the landscape, CNN Travel named it one of the greatest parks to visit in Africa. It boasts one of the biggest herds of buffalo and prides of lions. More than 77 different mammal species can be found there. Animals are commonly found throughout the park during the rainy season, and during the dry season, you should head for the water features. During the dry season, the Kidepo valley is completely dry, and it’s enjoyable to explore and stroll through the sand that typically serves as the riverbed during rainy seasons. In the Kidepo Valley National Park, game drives may provide you with views of lions, buffalo, giraffes, zebras, cheetahs, kobs, elands, and other wildlife.
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Lake Mburo National Park
Lake Mburo National Park, the smallest of the Savannah parks, is the only park in Uganda with an entire lake inside its borders. Game drives at Lake Mburo aren’t as lengthy as they are in other parks because of its limited size. Walking safaris are a popular alternative to wildlife drives in this park. An alternative to game drives is to take a bicycle or horseback riding tour among the many grazing and sleeping animals in the park. Surprisingly, for its small size, it supports a surprising variety of flora and animals, including several bird and mammal species. Additionally, it is Uganda’s only home to the Impala. The zebra, with all of its beauty and tranquilly, has to be the emblematic animal of Lake Mburo. A night time game drive is the best time to spot giraffes, buffalos, antelopes, leopards, and hyenas, among other species.