Self- drive holidays in Uganda offer persistent experiences such as tracking mountain gorillas in Bwindi Forest National Park, spotting tree climbing lions in Queen Elizabeth National Park or visiting the top of the falls in Murchison Falls National Park and the Big Five and over 1,000 bird species. No matter what you are looking for, Self- drive Uganda holidays are sure to provide you with history, culture and some of the most incredible wildlife adventures that Africa has to offer.

Self – Drive Holidays in National Park

Self – driving with 4×4 Car Hire Uganda takes you to Murchison Falls Uganda’s national park and one of its very best animals here are in plentiful supply and the raging Murchison Falls is a sight to behold. An early start takes you to Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary where you will go on a private guided nature walk including rhino tracking with a chance to see the rhino at very close range.

Start your day by taking the first ferry at 07.00am to the northern sector of the park for a game drive. All wildlife watching on land happens in the Buligi area, on the point between the Albert and Victoria Niles. Wildlife to spot includes elephants, Rothschild giraffes, lions, Uganda Kob, (antelope), water bucks, buffaloes, warthogs, spotted hyena, and leopards might also be seen.

In the afternoon you can opt to drive to the top of the Murchison Falls to see ‘the most powerful falls in the world, once described as the most beautiful thing to happen to the Nile along its 6700km length, the 50m wide river is squeezed through a 6m gap in the rock. A beautiful walking trail from top down to the river and upper stretch of this path offers views of Uhuru Falls. The boat can pick you later if there is an afternoon launch before returning to back to the lodge.

On your self-drive in Uganda, you can also visit Kibale Forest National Park as you next destination. The park is believed to have the highest density of primates in Africa. It’s most famous for being one of the best places in the world to track wild chimpanzees, with about five groups habituated to human contact.

The park is home to 13 primate species found within the forest including chimpanzees, red-tailed monkey, L’Hoest’s monkey, blue monkey, grey-cheeked mangabey, red colobus and black-and-white colobus and other highlights. dinner and overnight at your reserved lodge.

With around a 90% chance of finding them on any particular day, Kibale National Park is undoubtedly the most popular place to track chimpanzees in Uganda. There is a morning and afternoon departure, the struggle and sweat are all but forgotten as chimpanzees become visible in a clearing ahead and then draw near in curiosity- you could almost reach out and touch them. Of the four places to see habituated chimps in East Africa, Kibale National Park is the best all round experience.

You can also visit Queen Elizabeth the most popular park in Uganda. With landscapes including Savannah, bush land, wetlands and lush forests, the park is inhabited by 96 species of mammals, including healthy numbers of hippos, elephants, lions and leopards as well as chimps and hyenas. The remote Ishasha sector, in the far south of the park, is famous for its tree-climbing lions. There’s also an amazing 611 bird species here; more than found in all of Great Britain.

Most of the game viewing traffic is done in northeast of the park in Kasenyi, which offers the best chance to see lions as well as elephants, water bucks and kob. It is also one of the most scenic sections of any park in Uganda, particularly in the morning when the Savannah landscape shines golden. Night wildlife drives are also available. As well as being famous for its tree climbing lions, Ishasha in the south of the Queen Elizabeth National Park, is the only place to see topis and sitatunga’s.

The journey continues through rolling hills and colourful villages before you eventually reach Bwindi Impenetrable National Park home to almost half of the world’s surviving mountain gorillas. The authentic once-in-lifetime experience, hanging out with mountain gorillas is one of the most thrilling wildlife encounters in the world and in Bwindi Forest is one of the best places to see them. There about 96 gorilla permits available to track the rare mountain gorillas, permits cost 700 U$ including park entry and are booked through the UWA office.

Trips leave from the park office nearest the group you will track at around 8:30am daily, but you should report to the park headquarters by 7:45am. Once you join a tracking group, the chances of finding the gorillas are almost guaranteed. But, as the terrain in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is mountainous and heavily forested, if the gorillas are fair distance away it can be quite a challenge to get close. The path is often steep and slippery, and it can take anything from 30 minutes to eight hours to reach them, so you will need to be in reasonable enough shape.

But if you think you are going to struggle its strongly advised you hire a porter who can lend a hand getting up and down the hill. Walking sticks are also a very good idea and are provided by UWA.