They say beauty lies in the hands of the beholder but Uganda’s beauty is witnessed by both people living within and overseas. This is evident by the increasing influx of visitors from foreign areas to the various tourist destinations in Uganda for gorilla safaris and other wildlife adventures. The pearl of Africa is all about breath-taking wildlife game parks, free-flowing rivers, seething freshwater lakes, enthralling towering mountains and captivating diverse cultures. Tourists who have explored and uncovered the different natural wonders of the pearl of Africa have rave reviews about it. Uganda is a landscape covered by greenery with unique living species from north to south. In every part of the country you visit, you will be enthralled by the gifts of nature it’s endowed with. Although Uganda has a plethora of natural beauties to uncover, there are some special ones that are worth a detailed mention.
Mountain gorillas in forested highlands of Bwindi
Endangered mountain gorillas breeding in the tropical rainforests of Bwindi impenetrable national park are the niche beauty of Uganda. The mountain gorillas are one of the four subspecies of gorillas. They are rare and endangered species living in two restricted isolated areas of Virunga ranges churning in Uganda, Rwanda and Dr Congo and Bwindi forest in Uganda. Uganda alone is home to almost half of the total population of mountain gorillas in the world. The Bwindi impenetrable national park has 459 gorillas out of the over 1000 individuals in the world, making it the place to be for the gorilla trekking experience. The gorilla trekking experience is a tour activity that offers opportunities of encountering these enormous apes in the wild at close range. While on this trekking experience, gorillas are watched and observed communicating and interrelating among themselves. Their social antics are intriguing and visitors normally go bananas while watching them. It is really intuitive to see an animal show so much compensation to another like as though it were a human being. This is absolutely beautiful and captivating.
Kampala the city of Culture and History
Kampala is the face and capital city of Uganda. This place host lots of people from different walks of life and culture. It is a busy area dominated by business arcades at every corner, bodabodas coming from all sides of the road and white coloured passenger matatus ferrying people from and to the business centre. The right term to use is that Kampala is a bustling and chaotic area but with lots of adventures and attractions to enjoy right from its welcoming and jolly people, franchised restaurants, nightlife hangouts to the historical and cultural sites.
Out of the many attractions in Kampala, travellers mostly seek after its historical, religious and cultural sites.
The capital of Kampala has so many historical, religious and cultural sites that depict the Buganda culture and the colonial events, which unfolded in the past. The beauties to uncover on a Kampala city tour include Namirembe Cathedral- the arch worshipping place for Protestants, Rubaga Cathedral for the Catholic, Gadhafi Mosque- the main shrine for Muslims, Kasubi Tombs- the main burial place for the Kabakas of Buganda, Mengo Lubiri- the palace of the kabaka, Bulange Mengo- the parliament of Buganda, Bahai Temple- the only temple of Bahaullah faith in Africa, Namugongo shrine- the burial area of the Uganda martyrs et cetera.
Chimpanzees in the tropical rainforests of Kibale
In terms of excitement and pleasure, the chimpanzees in the Kibale forest are only beaten by the mountain gorillas in Bwindi. Chimpanzees are popular in the various rainforest around the world but the ones in Kibale are in such an astronomical population and occupy a wide area range. Kibale forest has over a thousand chimpanzees, the largest population in Africa.
The forest has three habituated communities to watch on the tracking expedition. Chimpanzee trekking experience is not so intimate as gorilla tracking because of the agile and arboreal nature of these small cunning apes. They are quick and spend most of their time on tree canopies thus being somehow hard to critically observe their characters. Travellers are advised to carry binoculars to get the most out of their experience. Other than that chimpanzees are interesting to watch, they exhibit a series of social antics that are almost similar to mankind for instance the use of tools like tree branches and stones to get food and also built their nests. They are also capable of peeling off a cover of any fruit to enjoy the inner fresh part. Their appearance is something to wonder about their well-designed faces, protruding digits at the end of their limbs https://libido-portugal.com/. You might think they are a hairy human race living in the jungle.
Big five in Murchison falls National park
A safari trip to Murchison falls national park makes it possible to watch the big five (lion, elephant, leopard, buffalo and rhino). Note that the park only has four of the big five animals, namely lions, buffalos, elephants and leopards but the Zziwa Rhino Sanctuary is within the vicinity. A stopover at Zziwa Rhino Sanctuary in Nakasongola is imperative, to watch Uganda’s only rhinos in the wild and then continue to Murchison falls national park to encounter the rest of the animals. The big five are legendary species of animals that were so hard to hunt during the African traditional society. The big five still have so much prestige even in this day and age generation as they are hard to find all together in one place. This is why we put them on the list of the beauties to uncover in Uganda.
Jinja The Source of the Nile
During the late 18th century, two European explorers in John Speke and Burton travelled as far as Britain to find the source of the Nile and guess where they discovered it, in Jinja an area located in the east of Uganda. Many wondered at that time where the River Nile, arguably the longest river in the world originated from and still now many speculate where the source of the Nile is found. The advice is to come to Uganda and uncover Lake Victoria, the source of the Nile situated in Jinja. To see the source of the Nile, a boat cruise trip on the waters of Lake Victoria in Jinja is taken. The boat lands near the small rocky island where travellers stand to watch water vigorously sprouting and spinning from underneath. While the Nile leaves Jinja making its way to northern Uganda to as far as North Africa, Egypt, it leaves lots of water features that harbour adventurous activities. Some of the activities carried out on the River Nile include White-water rafting at Itanda falls, Kayaking, Bungee jumping and water tubing.
The Snow Capped Summits of Rwenzori Ranges
Rwenzori Ranges and its snow-capped summits have been phenomena of interest since the 15th century when the Greek Scholar labelled it as the mountains of the moon. It is perplexing to find a snow-covered area in an equatorial region where the average temperature is 28 degrees Celsius. However, due to the climate change happening around the area, the glaciers are decreasing and predicted to get extinct in the forthcoming generations. For travellers who wish to witness snow in a sunny area, take the next flight to Uganda to take part in the Rwenzori hiking expedition to uncover its snow-capped summits before they are no more.
Tree climbing Lions in Queen Elizabeth National Park
Lions climbing trees! Yeah, it is real and only possible in the Ishasha sector south of Queen Elizabeth national park.
At Ishasha area, lions are seen atop of the fig and acacia trees resting. The lions climb trees to avoid being bitten by ants and termites on the ground, have a clear view of the prey and pounce on the opportunity and also rest after a long hunt. There are four prides of tree climbing lions in Ishasha, the highest you can find in the world. Lake Manyara National Park in Tanzania and Kruger National Park in South Africa are other places known for such species of lions, have only 1-2 prides each. Therefore, the best spot to encounter and uncover the tree-climbing lions is Queen Elizabeth National Park in Uganda.
What more beauty of Uganda is needed to uncover other than the above-mentioned attractions. For tourists interested in encountering the different wildlife species and natural resources, booking a safari with a local tour company is the best way.
