Explore Uganda|Best Time to Visit Uganda 2022-2023

The country located East of the African continent is among those worth a phrase Explore Uganda.  Blessed with effortless virgin beauty with almost everything a traveler would wish to have on the bucket list. It’s one of the unknown destinations in terms of a safari but with almost the same potential as those most known destinations even though in Uganda its different in its own way.

Exploring Uganda| Diversity of The Country

The country so green with its vast abundance of lush flora and fauna,rolling hills and mountains found all over the country’s wide-sides, Uganda remains among those destinations one needs to explore on an Africa safari.

The country has over 20 National parks and wildlife reserves which you can combine for a safari. Most tourists who visit Uganda opt to do gorilla trekking which is the highlight of a Uganda tour but the country has a lot to offer besides seeing only gorillas in their natural habitat. Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and Mgahinga gorilla National parks are the only destinations where gorilla tracking can be done in Uganda.

SAFARI IN UGANDA | Explore Uganda

For safari kind of people, Uganda’s wide range of Savannah parks is an opportunity for many tourists visiting the country because they have a wide range to choose from. Most travelers combine these National parks to get broad and wide experience of wildlife viewing and some of them choose to do short safari tours for example, a safari to Uganda’s Murchison Falls National park for starters can be done in 3 short days just if you combine it with Rhino trekking at Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary.

The Murchison Falls National Park is one of the most famous parks in Uganda and it’s not often left out for Uganda’s visitors. Wildlife viewing here is in plenty because the park is home to about 354 birds species which makes it a popular destinations for ornithology and besides that it is also home to 79 mammals with 4 members of the African Big five animals.

The Murchison Falls National park is where the world’s most powerful waterfalls are found and it is here where the mighty River Nile forces itself into a narrow 7 meters gorge and drops down 45 meters into the Albert Nile. A trip to this world wonder is one of the many life changing scenes you can ever have on a Uganda safari.

Besides wildlife viewing in a safari vehicle here, most often tourists who visit Murchison Falls National Park, their highlight is a boat trip to the bottom of the falls. This is 17 km cruise down on the mighty River Nile to the point where the Murchison falls drops down.

Explore Uganda

Queen Elizabeth National Park | Explore Uganda

Often known as the “medley of wonders” the beautiful Queen Elizabeth National Park is actually the most visited of all parks found in Uganda. The park located south of Kampala city, about 410 km which makes it about 6-7 hours of driving through the scenic landscapes of the country.

Queen Elizabeth National Park wasn’t actually the park’s name not until the former Queen Elizabeth of the great Britain visited Uganda in 1954 and this park formerly known as Kazinga National Park and they decided to name it Queen Elizabeth. The park is home to about 600 of all Uganda’s bird species, 97 mammals with 4 members of the African big five animals and among them are the rare “Tree Climbing Lions” in the southern section of the park (Ishasha).

Most tourists visit this park because of it’s scenic potential especially for wildlife photography. The Rwenzori mountains borders this park in every corner so tourists can enjoy the spectacular beauty of the so called mountains of the moon even without a single step into them.

The park is also dotted with beautiful crater lakes which makes the destination even worth a visit.

Best Time To Visit Uganda.

Uganda can be visited all year round because of its stable climate which often favors travelers to travel any time of the year but besides all that, there’s of course that specific time of the year which is better for almost anyone.

First of all, from March-May and September-December its rainy seasons in Uganda and East Africa and from June-August and December-February are dry seasons. Most tourists visit Uganda in high/dry seasons and the parks are almost crowded everyday. During the low seasons that is wet season when it’s raining in East Africa, most of the tourism activities are discounted and its actually the best time to view the wildlife in their natural habitat.

Even though the wet seasons ain’t recommended, there are actually the best time of the year for adventure kind of tourists to visit Uganda. A lot of experiences can be seen during these hard times when on a Uganda safari.

 

Preparing for a trip to Uganda

You are preparing for a trip to Uganda the pearl of Africa. But you are looking for someone who can arrange a customized itinerary with an opportunity to view as much wildlife as possible.

Yes, you need a genuine tour operator who can assist you. How can you do it?

Briefly, let’s ponder on the days of Christopher Columbus.

What does Christopher Columbus has to do with planning your future trip to Uganda?

Well, imagine you are a sailor hundreds of years ago. And like Christopher Columbus, you wanted to travel to a new destination you have never been to. Let’s say from Europe to Africa.

How would you travel there?

You can’t draw a map of the sea. It all looks the same.

You can’t rely on GPS, only the compass was around.

And you can’t really see where you’re going, because the trip would take months.

So, back in those days, the only real way you could get anywhere safely, and on time, was by being able to navigate with the stars…

You’d wait for the stars to come out, and then you’d look for the North Star (Polaris).

And that’s what humans did for centuries…

If you wanted to travel a long distance, you’d need to read the stars and use the North Star as your guide.

But those that didn’t know how to read the stars – often got themselves and their crew lost. Or worse – they got shipwrecked.

And it’s the same today.

If you want to travel to a new destination…

If you want to go to Africa for the first time…

You need to use the North Star as your guide.

Learn To Use The North Star For your travel plans

Do you want to visit Uganda one day?

Do you want to see rare wildlife such as mountain gorillas, golden monkeys, chimpanzees, lions, leopards…..

Whatever it is that you want to do – you’ll need your North Star to get there.

And when it comes to planning an African safari, I believe the best ‘North Star’ you can have: is to deal with a genuine tour operator, tour guide, tour consultant or recommendation from a friend.

There are so many travelers who have visited Uganda, so you can always find helpful reviews on TripAdvisor.

You just want to see gorillas, but have no idea of other things to do. It’s the tour operator/ consultant who will put together a compelling itinerary that is also priced competitively. You will be glad to have followed their advice regarding the lodges and things to do. It will be a memorable trip. It would still be a good safari even without the gorillas, but of course the gorillas are always the icing on the cake.

Taking the above into consideration will get you ready for a trip to Uganda.

Here are simple steps to prepare for your trip to Uganda

 Make your travel reservations/ bookings ahead of time

Booking your activities and accommodation can easily be done online with a tour operator. If you want to visit Uganda for gorilla tracking or any other activity, try to book your trip in advance. Let’s say you are looking for a customized itinerary. And would love to try out different things such as hiking, wildlife viewing, rafting, chimp trekking, and boat trip to see hippos and crocodiles. These are different things that need to be put together.Therefore, contact a genuine tour operator for ideas to help plan your next vacation at least 3-5 months or even a year in advance. It’s possible to book gorilla permits, accommodation for that period and know how much does it cost.

Visas for Uganda travelers

Apply for a visa to Uganda and there are 3 ways to do so. You can fill and submit an application online at Ugandan immigration website, go to the country’s embassies and high commissions abroad or get it on arrival at Entebbe airport or other entry points.

Vaccinations

For any trip to Uganda, an International certificate of yellow fever vaccination is required. This document verifies that you have

Take a pocket Wi-Fi device with you

A Wi-Fi device is an essential item because in Uganda free Wi-Fi is limited. Although there are tour guides who offer free Wi-Fi to their clients, there are times you will need your own. Especially if you are self-driving, it can be difficult navigating routes and finding specific locations. Google maps can be helpful and saves time.

Read travel guide books, blogs for inspiration

There several Uganda travel experts on the internet for instance the Ugandan tourist, Uganda uncovered, Diary of Muzungu. I encourage you to always read more on Uganda forum on TripAdvisor to look at opinions of people who have traveled to Uganda before.

Top attractions

 Weather, seasons and when to visit Uganda

Uganda lies across the equator with warm tropical climate and can be visited any time of the year. However, the country experiences two seasons, the dry and the wet season. The dry season occurs between December to February and June to September. This is the peak season and attracts many tourists. There are fewer rains and so you will find it easier to do gorilla tracking and chimp trekking into forests.

What to pack

Take an extra bag

When and where to go, map and itineraries

Exchanging local currency in Uganda

Even though Uganda is still a cash-based society, exchanging money now days is easier due to much acceptance of international ATM cards and credit cards.Plan to exchange your cash at Entebbe airport when you arrive or in Kampala city where there are several forex bureaus such as at lugogo Shoprite mall and grand imperial hotel. Exchanging cash at forex bureaus does not incur costs and you get better rates than in banks. Be sure to exchange enough cashto cover up your expenses.

Book recommendations

Brandt Travel Guides for Uganda

Lonely Planet – essential travel guide to Uganda

The culture smart series Uganda

Public transportation

If you want to use public transportation from one place to another, you can book tickets for buses online. Ugabus app can be helpful once you arrive in Uganda.