List of Protected Areas in Uganda
The best-known national parks and wildlife sanctuaries are the Uganda Queen Elizabeth National Park, Rwenzori National Park and Murchison Falls National Park. Other parks in the southwest are the Mgahinga Gorilla National Park, Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, the Kyambura Game Reserve, Lake Mburo National Park, the Katohga National Park, Semliki National Park and Toro National Park. Specially because of its diversity in terms of the monkeys primate reserve of Kibale National Park was created. In the northwest next to the Murchison Falls National Park, the Aswa - Lolim National Wildlife Refuge and the Ajai - Wildresevat were established. In the east there are, from south to north in ascending order, the Mount Elgon National Park, the Pian- Upe Wildlife Reserve, Bokora National Wildlife Refuge, math Niko Wildlife Refuge and the Kidepo Valley National Park.
Detailed Description of the National Parks:
Bwindi Impenetrable National Park
In this woodland sanctuary mountain gorillas, elephants, chimpanzees and other apes species and various small antelope occur. The endangered mountain gorillas in Uganda are also still protected in Mgahinga Gorilla National Park.
More below the main article Bwindi Impenetrable National Park
Kibale National Park (also: Kibale Forest Primate Reserve )
Kibale National Park takes its name from the Kibale Forest. This forest is unique in terms of its diversity and population size in primates. For example, here live a thousand chimpanzees. Some of them can be observed by visitors. In addition to the black-and- white Guereza also the Red Guereza occurs there. Also, forest elephants live there. The Kibale forest was threatened by deforestation and colonization. Now he is an attraction for tourists.
Murchison Falls National Park
This National Park in the northwest of the country comprises the largest single protected area in Uganda. The grasslands inhabit lions, African buffalo, elephant, Uganda Kobs - (a common antelope in Uganda ) and as a special rare Uganda Giraffe (also: Rothschild giraffe ). The name derives from the park is the Murchison Falls: There, the Nile rushes in an impressive manner over a step. In and near the river Nile crocodiles live ( which feed among other animals who are victims of the waterfall were ), hippos and many birds.
More below the main article Murchison Falls National Park.
Queen Elizabeth National Park
The Queen Elizabeth National Park is located in the south of Uganda on Lake Edward and Lake George. Well known is the " Mweya Lodge " at " Kazinga Channel". There can be especially hippos and pelicans, but also observe various kingfishers, fish eagle, goliath heron, Defassa waterbuck, African buffalo, elephant, lion and zebra mongoose. Acacia and candelabra euphorbia characterize the plant world. In Maramagambo forest, there are also different types of monkeys and giant forest hogs, in the south of the park one can observe crown cranes, the birds coat of arms of Uganda, and topi. The lions living there have a habit of climbing into trees. Also interesting is the " Crater Area", there exists grassland before.
Rwenzori Mountains National Park
The up to 5,109 m high East African Ruwenzori Mountains ( also called Ruvenzori or Rwenzori ), which means in the language of Bakonjo " Rainmaker ", located right on the border of the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda. 1994 the unique landscape of the UNESCO declared World Heritage Site. After the hundreds of kilometers away massifs Kilimanjaro ( 898.5 km; southeast) and Mount Kenya massif (810 km; east side) houses the Rwenzori Mountains to the Margherita Peak, the third highest mountain in Africa. It is from these the same time the most powerful and also, although it is the third mountain on the continent, its highest peak regions are heavily glaciated in the tropical - hot regions. Apart from these glaciers is home to the Rocky Mountains firn and snow fields, raging mountain rivers, beautiful mountain lakes and a very lush vegetation, which merges into the lower mountain regions in the jungle -like rainforest. The Rwenzori Mountains National Park is an important, lush and species- rich habitat dar. Due to the hot and humid climate has not only in the lower regions of the mountain world developed a unique nature, thrive in the countless species of plants. Many of them have a magnificent stature - they are usually larger than elsewhere. Also, the degree of coverage of the soil with plants is enormous. The tree line is only at about 3700-4000 m altitude. Mosses, ferns, bamboo, tree high Erica plants, tussock, lobelia species such as Lobelia wollastinii and palm trees reminiscent candles Schopf trees ( Senecio nivalis) growing on the flanks, on the moors, along the mountain streams and rivers and the lakes of the Ruwenzori. The mountainous thousands of animal species that penetrate partly to the summit regions live. North of Lake Edward, that in the southern foothills of the Rwenzori Mountains, late 19th century, the okapi has been sighted or detected for the first time. Other species are African elephant, reedbuck, bushbuck, kob, monkeys, giant forest hogs, chimpanzees, colobus monkeys ( Colobus ), sunbirds, African buffalo and leopard.
More below the main article Ruwenzori National Park
Kidepo Valley National Park
In the extreme north- eastern Uganda of several reasons rarely visited Kidepo Valley National Park is located. It is dry savannah. Their fauna found elsewhere in Uganda barely or not at all. The Greater Kudu and the cheetah are permanent residents, while elephant herds and herds of African buffalo visit the otherwise arid park in finding temporary water bodies.
Lake Mburo National Park
This lined with acacia savannah has some lakes that are surrounded by marshes. The wetlands are known that there exist many birds. In the savannah zebra, warthog, African buffalo, impala and many other grassland species, including the last one to be found in Uganda population of eland antelope, the largest antelope live. The proximity to the capital, Kampala, for some observers beneficial.
Mgahinga Gorilla National Park
The main attraction of this park are - as the name suggests - mountain gorillas, which are also protected in the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. The Mgahinga Gorilla National Park in Uganda comprises the underlying portion of the Virunga Volcanoes. Nine individually standing, wooded and active volcanoes forming the Virunga where the border triangle between Uganda, Rwanda and the DR Congo is.
More below the main article Mgahinga Gorilla National Park
Mount Elgon National Park
The Mount Elgon National Park lies on the border to Kenya near Mbale. The Mount Elgon ( 4321 m above sea level) is located exactly in the border area. Some of the summit of this extinct volcano located in Kenya, there is also known that elephants come from far away, from entering into a cave and eat salty earth in the dark. A mosaic of grassland, moorland and mountain rainforest shapes the character of this landscape.
Semliki National Park
The Semliki National Park lies at the northern foot of the Rwenzori Mountains and includes a spur of the Ituri rainforest, most of which is located in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Here come the Congo Basin before typical bird species that otherwise do not exist in Uganda. The nearby Semliki Wildlife Reserve extends to the Lake Albert. There you can watch the Shoebill, if you discovered this well-camouflaged and often immovable bird.
More detailed description of the wildlife sanctuaries:
- Kyambura Game Reserve
- Aswa - Lolim Game Reserve
- Ajai -game Wildresevat
- Pian- Upe Wildlife Reserve
- Bokora Game Reserve
- Math Niko Game Reserve