Author | Judy's Basket
15 Best Places to Visit in Uganda
Marred in the minds of many a tourist by the ever-present threat of one Joseph Kony and his so-called Lord’s Resistance Army, the nation of Uganda is actually one of Africa’s up-and-coming gems.
​
Yes, you’ll have to be careful, and there are warnings that need to be heeded about traveling to the contested and conflicted areas of the northern territories. However, Uganda is, for the most part, a safe and enthralling place.
It’s a land where hippos humph through the wetlands and lions laze in the acacias. It’s a land of rain-stained forests and misty hills that house chimpanzees. It’s got the lapping waters of Lake Victoria, and the winding channels of the Victoria Nile to boot. Vistas of rock-ribbed mountains and standalone volcanoes conquer the peripheries, shooting up to craggy summits where waterfalls and thunderstorms coalesce.
Meanwhile, Kampala is a pulsating city, steeped in tribal ancestry and life. It’s an all-around top African adventure!
Source: https://www.thecrazytourist.com/15-best-places-visit-uganda/15/
Lira is a little crossroads city in the midst of north-central Uganda. While it’s actually the fourth-largest in the country, it still manages to retain that charming provincial vibe and sleepiness. Travelers rarely come here too, adding a dash of off-the-beaten-track character and local authenticity.
Still chuffing after the appearance of tarmacked roads in 2007, the regional town of Fort Portal has a truly enviable position beneath the serrated tips of the mighty Rwenzori National Park. Chimps and gorillas tread the backcountry close by, giving the place a real feral feel. However, the center is anything but wild, with human energy dominating the action.
It’s just a short drive along the highways east to the river town of Jinja, which juts out into the waters where the Victoria Nile emerges from its eponymous lake. Sleepy, sun-cracked and relaxed, the place is the perfect antidote to the energy of life in the capital. It’s got a clutch of great bars, but is most famed for the wealth of riparian resorts that line the banks.
Hidden away in the northern reaches of Uganda (in one of the more dubious and unsafe parts of the country), the Kidepo Valley National Park is a great fly-in visit. It’s sat a whopping 700 kilometers from the capital, and is known for its remoteness. Totally undeveloped and untouched by mass safari tourism, the region is the old stomping ground of the Dodoth pastoralists.......
You’ll have to go to the far southern depths of Uganda to find the great galumphing beasts of the highlands: mountain gorillas. The appropriately-named Mgahinga Gorilla National Park is one of the top places to find them too, with its indelibly green rainforests falling down from the windswept heights of cloud-shrouded volcanos.
Despite being one of the smallest national parks in Uganda, the swaying savannah grasses and riparian habitats of Lake Mburo certainly pack a punch. They come spotted with buffalo herds and zebras, crossed by prancing reedbucks, and stalked with hyenas.
One of the main transportation and administration hubs of eastern Uganda, tin-shack Mbale hosts its own regional government and a clutch of good hotels and guesthouses. It’s particularly useful for those on their way to the heights of Mount Elgon and the famous summit of Wagagai – a 24-million-year-old volcano that is the seventeenth highest in all of Africa.
The rock-ribbed, jungle-topped highlands of the Mount Elgon National Park are peppered with so many natural beauties it can be difficult to describe them all at once. Cascading down from the extinct caldera of one of Africa’s oldest volcanos, there are waterfalls, dank cave systems, and rugged canyons aplenty.
Handily named just QENP for short, this huge dash of wilderness that lies close to the banks of Lake Edward and the DRC border in the west is Uganda’s most famous national park. It’s visited by thousands of tourists each year, who come in search of the lazy Congo lions and the swinging chimps that can be seen mingling between the Maramagambo Forest and the grassy savannah. The whole area is also scarred by countless volcanic features, going from the awesome Katwe craters to great rifts in.......