Game drives in Uganda’s national parks are the perfect way of seeing wildlife in the savannah plains. Wildlife Safari Game Drives in Uganda are conducted on safari vehicles with pop-up roofs that allow visitors to see different wildlife species. Uganda has lots of mammals and the parks haven’t been much affected by mass tourism.
While on Game drive safaris or wildlife tours in Uganda, you are likely to experience uninterrupted sightseeing experience – something that is unlikely to happen in other national parks in the neighboring countries of Kenya and Tanzania.
Kenya’s Masai Mara and Tanzania’s Serengeti National Park are actually the authentic African game drive destination but be ready for many interruptions because of crowds unlike in Uganda where you have fewer safari vehicles on game drives and allow great wildlife viewing opportunities.
Wildlife Safari Game Drive National Parks
The top wildlife viewing parks in Uganda include Murchison Falls National Park, Kidepo Valley National Park, Lake Mburo National Park, and Queen Elizabeth National Park.
Wildlife Safari Game Drives in Uganda’s Queen Elizabeth National Park, usually focus on the tracks through Kasenyi, north Kazinga plains and the Ishasha sector for tree climbing lions. There is a variety of wildlife to witness in Queen Elizabeth National Park, including big game.
The main areas for game drives in Murchison Falls National Park include the Delta area where there are high chances of seeing the lions as they wait for prey. The other spots are the Buligi peninsula and the southern sector famously known as the heart of Murchison. It’s the best place to see the Rothschild Giraffes in Africa.
Lake Mburo National Park is the closest national park to Uganda’s capital Kampala. The best place for game drives in the park is on the east tracks that pass through a variety of landscapes including acacia woodland, wetlands, grassy hillsides, rock outcrops, and seasonally flooded valleys. The best time for the game drives in the park is in the early morning hours or in the late afternoon.
Wildlife viewing or game drives are done in a safari vehicle with a Uganda safari guide and park ranger in search of wildlife. Game drives in Uganda can be done either in the morning, evening or at night. These are referred to as morning game drives, evening game drives as well as night game drives. The day game drives are usually less expensive than the night game drive. A game drive lasts about 2-4 hours within the park.
Uganda is home to about 330 mammal species. Among these include the big five African game which are the buffaloes, rhinos, elephants, lions, and leopards. These can be seen in 3 of the national parks which are Murchison Falls National Park, Kidepo Valley National Park, and Queen Elizabeth National Park; however, rhinos can only be seen at the Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary. Therefore to see all of the big five, a tourist has to tailor their wildlife safari in Uganda to any of those three national parks as well as a visit to Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary.
On a wildlife tour in Uganda, you might be able to witness lions at Queen Elizabeth National Park that can climb trees, giraffes, elephants, oribis, antelopes, dik-dik, cheetahs, side-striped jackals, buffaloes, elands, warthogs, Ugandan kobs, leopards, duikers, and a variety of other animals.
Uganda is also home to 13 types of primates including over half of the world’s endangered mountain gorillas and chimpanzees. Gorilla trekking and chimp tracking are in many cases however, referred to as different activities since they include tracking and getting up close to chimpanzees or gorillas on foot. Wildlife viewing, however, is mainly done in savannah parks where wildlife is seen on a game drive through the trucks of the park.
Game drive safaris in Uganda can be on a short tour or even while on long Uganda tours. Wildlife tours can also be customized with Uganda gorilla safaris, birding or cultural tours.