A self-drive 4×4 safari is the only way to truly experience Uganda by traveling through the beautiful wildlife reserves. In Uganda, we have 4 famous self-drive routes and they include the North, East, West and South routes. But the most famous route is southwestern route and most classic self-drive itinerary in Uganda.
This self-drive route follows the main road from Kampala to southwestern Uganda as far as Mbarara, the town which lies at the junction of the main road south to Kabale and Kisoro and the main road north to Kasese and Fort Portal. Many travelers rush through this part of Uganda in their haste to reach the mountain gorillas in Kisoro or the Rwenzori Mountains west of Kasese.
The Mbarara road is without doubt, one of the best in Uganda and it is serviced by a steady stream of buses and minibuses zipping between Kampala, Mbarara and points further west. There is Lake Mburo National Park which offers the best game viewing in the area, plenty of crocodiles and hippos can be seen on the lake, and the reserve supports a surprising diversity of antelopes and other terrestrial herbivores as well as a wealth of water and acacia-associated birds. Lake Mburo is a must for self-driving safaris because it is the only place in Uganda where the impala still occurs and it is the best place to see large herds of eland, Africa’s largest antelope.
It is also one of only two Ugandan national parks where Burchell’s zebra still occurs and the lake and lush fringing vegetation support healthy populations of buffalo, warthog, bush pig and hippopotamus. Only two diurnal primates occur in Lake Mburo: the Vervet monkey and olive baboon. A wide variety of small predators are present, as are three larger predators: leopard, spotted hyena and side striped jackal. Lions were common in the park until recent times, but they were hunted to probable extinction by the late 1970s.
From Lake Mburo National you can connect to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park regarded to be one of the most biological diverse forests in Africa, largely due to its antiquity and an altitude range of between 1,160m and 2,607m above sea level. This park was gazette as the Impenetrable Forest Reserve in 1932 and as Bwindi National Park in 1991.
Tourism to Bwindi focuses on gorilla trekking safaris. Slightly more than half estimated 459 mountain gorillas. This biologically diverse region also provides shelter to a further 120 mammals, including several primate species such as baboons and chimpanzees, as well as elephants and antelopes. There are around 350 species of birds hosted in this forest, including 23 Albertine Rift endemics.
The plight of the mountain gorilla was highlight internationally by the release of the film gorillas in the mist, based on the story of the gorilla researcher and conservationist Diana Fossey, leading up to her brutal and unsolved murder in Rwanda’s Volcanoes National Park in 1985. Since this film went on circuit. Mountain gorilla tracking has become very popular with travelers and for many it is the project highlight of their trip to Africa.
A gorilla trekking safari in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is a life time experience. Gorilla treks begin at 8:00am every day with a briefing after which groups of a maximum of eight tourists trek into the mysterious jungle that protects close to half of the world’s surviving mountain gorillas. Led by our expert rangers and an experienced team of advance trackers, the trek can last anywhere from 2 hour to 8 hours depending on where the gorillas will be on a specific day. All tourists on gorilla tracking safaris to Bwindi will need a gorilla permit.
From Bwindi Park, the self –drive safari extends to Queen Elizabeth National Park Uganda’s most popular and accessible park. Bounded on the west by Congo border, Queen Elizabeth National Park runs from the base of the Ruwenzori Mountains in the north down to the Ishasha border post on the Ishasha River in the south.
Queen Elizabeth National Park’s main tourist circuit lies north of the Kazinga Channel and west of the Mbarara- Kasese road and it is focused around Mweya Lodge on the Mweya peninsula which overlooks the point where the Kazinga Channel exist Lake Edward. The less regularly visited Ishasha sector lies in the far south of the park and it is based around the small Ishasha camp on the Congo border. Ishasha is most famous for its tree climbing lions.
Two main game circuits run out of Ishasha, the northern and southern loops, both of which are roughly 20km in length. The northern circuit is rated the best for lions and it passes a swamp where shoes bills are frequently seen. And Mweya is the main camp in the Queen Elizabeth National Park and the network of game viewing roads around Mweya is well worth exploring if you have access to a 4×4 vehicle.
Self –drive to Kibale Forest National Park, east of the main road between Kasese and Fort Portal. Kibale Forest is something close to an independent traveler’s dream, offering the tantalizing combination of inexpensive, unpretentious accommodation, a decidedly off the beaten track atmosphere, wonderful scenery and a remarkable variety of activities.
Fort Portal is the closest large town to Kibale Forest and the most popular point of access to the area covered in this chapter. Kibale Forest lies a short distance southeast of Fort Portal, where it forms a contiguous block with the more southerly Queen Elizabeth National Park. Fort portal is perhaps the most attractive town in Uganda, situated in a lush, hilly area with excellent views across to the Rwenzori Mountains.
The national park itself offers affordable chimp tracking, superb bird watching and the greatest variety and concentration of primates found anywhere in East Africa, while the field of more than 30crater lakes to the west of the national park is one of the Uganda’s prime destinations for off the beaten track rambling and hiking.
Chimpanzee tracking is the paramount highlight for visitors to this park. Over several years of conservation and habituation, the chance of seeing them has risen to over 95%. Tourists can choose from either a morning or afternoon trek both beginning with a necessary briefing and led by an expert ranger guide. Treks can typically last anywhere from 2 to 5 hours depending on where the animals are on a particular day. A maximum of 6 tourists per group is permitted to spend a full hour with a community of chimpanzees. All tourists on chimpanzee tracking safaris to Bwindi Forest will need a chimpanzee permit.
And then self-drive to Murchison Falls National Park, Uganda’s largest national park and one of its most exciting. This park is bisected by the Victoria Nile, the park is rich in plains game, even after years of poaching and the falls after which it is named are among the most electrifying sights in Africa. Teeming with hippos and crocodiles, the Victoria Nile below Murchison Falls is also the best place to see what many regard as Africa’s most sought-after bird; the shoe bill stork, a denizen of papyrus swamps that is as elusive in its habits as it is bizarre in appearance.
En –route to the falls, the Budongo Forest has one of the most varied faunas of any forest in East Africa and it boats the region’s largest wild chimpanzee population. A must for bird watchers, Budongo also currently offers the cheapest chimp tracking in Uganda and it is readily accessible to travelers without private transport.
The gateway town to Murchison Falls and Budongo Forest is Masindi, which can be approached either as an extension of the western Ugandan tourist circuit, by cutting north from Fort Portal via Hoima along a wild 250km dirt road fringed by swamp and jungle, or else as a round trip from Kampala using a 220km road that is surfaced for most of its length.
Hoima stands at a minor route focus. It is the main town between Fort portal and Masindi and there are also roads connecting Hoima to Kampala in the east and to Lake Albert in the west. Masindi is the gateway to Murchison Falls and the Budongo Forest. If you are driving yourself, the direct route is 95km and it takes 2 to 3 hours from Masindi, while the route via Bulisa is 135km and takes around 5 hours.
Activities in the park include launch trips, game drives, top of the falls, sport fishing, cultural encounters, hiking and nature walks.