National parks in Uganda
The most famous national parks in Uganda are Queen Elizabeth National Park , Ruwenzori National Park and Murchison Falls National Park . More parks and game reserves are available
- in the southwest: the Mgahinga Gorilla National Park , the Bwindi National Park , the Kyambura Game Reserve , the Lake Mburo National Park , the Katohga National Park , the Semliki National Park and the Toro National Park and the Kibale National Park (a primate Reserve);
- to the northwest: Murchison Falls National Park, Aswa Lolim Game Reserve, and Ajai Game Reserve ;
- in the east (ascending from south to north): Mount Elgon National Park , Pian-Upe Game Reserve , Bokora Game Reserve , Matheniko Game Reserve and Kidepo Valley National Park .
Bwindi Impenetrable National Park
Mountain gorillas , elephants , chimpanzees and other species of monkeys and various small antelopes are found in this woodland reserve . The endangered mountain gorillas are also protected in Uganda in the Mgahinga Gorilla National Park.
Kibale National Park
The Kibale National Park takes its name from the Kibale Forest. This forest is unique in terms of its biodiversity and population size of primates . For example, over a thousand chimpanzees live here. Some of them can be watched by visitors. In addition to the black and white guereza , the red guereza also occurs there. Also forest elephants live there. The Kibale Forest was threatened by deforestation and settlement. Now it is a magnet for tourists.
Murchison Falls National Park
This national park in the north-west of the country comprises the largest protected individual area in Uganda. The grassland is populated by lions , African buffalos , elephants , Uganda kobs (a species of antelope common in Uganda) and, as a specialty, the rare Uganda giraffe (also: Rothschild giraffe). The park is named after the Murchison waterfall : there the Nile cascades over a step in an impressive manner. Nile crocodiles (which feed on animals that fell victim to the waterfall, among other things), hippos and many birds live in and around the river .
Queen Elizabeth National Park
Queen Elizabeth National Park is located in southern Uganda on Lake Edward and Lake George . The "Mweya Lodge" on the "Kazinga Canal" is well known. There you can see hippos and pelicans, but also various kingfishers, fish eagles, Goliath herons , Defassa waterbuck, African buffalo, elephants, lions and zebra mongooses. Acacias and candelabra milkweed shape the flora. In the Maramagambo forest there are also different species of monkeys and giant forest pigs, in the south of the park you can see crowned cranes, Uganda's heraldic birds , and topis . The lions living there have a habit of climbing trees. The "Crater Area" is also interesting, where grassland predominates.
Rwenzori Mountains National Park
The up to 5109 m high East African Ruwenzori Mountains (written in English Rwenzori ) are located directly on the border of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda. In 1994 its unique landscape was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO . After the mountain massifs Kilimanjaro (898.5 km; southeast) and Mount Kenya massif (810 km; east) hundreds of kilometers away , the Ruwenzori Mountains with the Margherita Peak are the third highest elevation in Africa. Of the three, it is the most powerful. It is also one of three mountains on the continent , the highest peak regions of which are heavily glaciated , although it is located in the tropical hot regions. In addition to these glaciers, the rocky mountains are home to firn and snow fields, raging mountain rivers, mountain lakes and lush vegetation that merges into the pristine tropical rainforest in the lower mountain regions .
The Ruwenzori Mountains represent an important, species-rich habitat. Due to the hot and humid climate, a unique nature has developed, not only in the lower regions of the mountain world, in which countless plant species thrive. Many of them are splendid - they are mostly larger than elsewhere. The degree of soil coverage with plants is also enormous. The tree line is only about 3700 to 4000 m above sea level. Mosses, ferns, bamboo, tree-high Erica plants, tussock grass , lobelia species such as Lobelia wollastinii and candlestick trees ( Senecio nivalis ) that are reminiscent of palm trees grow on the flanks, in the bogs, along the torrents and rivers and the lakes of the Ruwenzori.
Thousands of animal species live in the mountains, some of which penetrate into the summit regions. To the north of Eduard Lake, i.e. at the southern foothills of the Ruwenzori Mountains, the okapi was first sighted or discovered at the end of the 19th century . Other species are African Elephant , reedbuck , bushbuck , Kob , monkeys , giant forest hog , chimpanzees , colobus (Colobus), sunbirds , African buffalo and leopard .
Kidepo Valley National Park
In the extreme northeast of Uganda lies the Kidepo Valley National Park, which is rarely visited for several reasons. It is a dry savannah . Their fauna is hardly or not at all to be found in Uganda. The greater kudu and cheetah are permanent residents, while herds of elephants and African buffaloes seek out temporary watering points in the otherwise dry park.
Lake Mburo National Park
This acacia-lined savannah landscape has several lakes surrounded by swamps. The wetlands are known to be home to many birds. Zebras, warthogs, African buffalo, impala and numerous other grassland species live in the savannahs , including the last population of the eland antelope , the largest antelope species to be found in Uganda . The proximity to the capital Kampala is an advantage for some observers.
Mgahinga Gorilla National Park
The main attraction of this park are mountain gorillas , which are also protected in Bwindi National Park. The Mgahinga Gorilla National Park includes the portion of the Virunga volcanoes in Uganda . Nine isolated, wooded and active volcanoes form the Virungas, in which the triangle between Uganda, Rwanda and the DR Congo lies.
Mount Elgon National Park
The Mount Elgon National Park lies on the border to Kenya near Mbale . Mount Elgon (4,321 meters above sea level) is located exactly in the border area. Some of the peaks of this former volcano are in Kenya, from there it is also known that elephants come from far away, enter a cave and eat salty earth in the dark. A mosaic of grasslands, moors and mountain rainforest shapes the character of this landscape.
Semliki National Park
The Semliki National Park is located at the northern foot of the Ruwenzori Mountains and includes a spur of the Ituri Rainforest , the largest part of which is in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. There are typical bird species for the Congo Basin that do not otherwise exist in Uganda. The nearby Semliki game reserve extends to Lake Albert . There you can watch the shoebill if you spot this well camouflaged and mostly immobile bird.
Game reserves
- Kyambura game reserve
- Aswa Lolim Game Reserve
- Ajai Game Wildlife Reserve
- Pian-Upe Game Reserve
- Bokora game reserve
- Matheniko game reserve
See also
Egypt | National parks in Algeria | National parks in Angola | Equatorial Guinea | Ethiopia | Benin | List of nature reserves in Botswana | Nature reserves in Burkina Faso | Burundi | Djibouti | Ivory Coast | Eritrea | Gabon | List of protected areas in Gambia | National parks in Ghana | Guinea | Guinea-Bissau | Cameroon | Cape Verde | National parks and nature reserves in Kenya | Nature reserves in the Comoros | National parks in the Democratic Republic of the Congo | Republic of the Congo | Nature reserves in Lesotho | Nature reserves in Liberia | Libya | National parks in Madagascar | National parks in Malawi | Mali | National parks in Morocco | Mauritania | Mauritius | National parks in Mozambique | Nature reserves in Namibia | Niger | Nigeria | Rwanda | National parks in Zambia | São Tomé and Príncipe | Senegal | Seychelles | Nature reserves in Sierra Leone | National parks in Zimbabwe | Somalia | List of national parks in South Africa | National parks in Sudan | South Sudan | Nature reserves in Swaziland | National parks in Tanzania | Togo | Chad | List of national parks in Tunisia | National parks in Uganda | Central African Republic .