Uganda Tourism News

The tourism industry in Uganda has good news, another baby Rhino has been born at the Ziwa Rhino sanctuary, off the Kampala-Gulu highway, Nakasongola district in the Kafu river basin. This new born has brought the total number of the formerly extinct white rhino given birth to in Uganda to five in less than years.

Rhinos were mostly found in Murchison falls national park and Kidepo national park. But with the wars in 1970’s, they were extinct through poaching and currently, they are only in Ziwa rhino sanctuary. Tourists en route to Murchison falls national park for wildlife tour always make a one hour stop over to track the rhinos before proceeding to the park.

The government has a future plan to re-introduce the rhinos in the parks once they breed a good number of them.

Angie Genade the executive director of the Rhino Fund Uganda noted that this newly born Rhino came months just after the recent birth of “Malaika” calf on 2^nd July, 2011 and added that it’s a blessing to Uganda’s conservation society as she is the only country worldwide with such an advancement in Rhino conservation.

Wildlife tours generate more foreign exchange in the tourism industry in Uganda, only second to Gorilla tracking tours which is done in Bwindi Impenetrable national park and Mgahinga national park

Uganda has registered an increase number of tourists in this month of December and is likely to receive more tourists in the coming months as a result of the relative stability in the country. This has also been triggered by the increased alshabaab threats in the neighboring Kenya. Kenya has been leading in wildlife safaris, but with the alshabaab threats, she has received many cancellations and the tourists who are interested in wildlife adventure opt to come to Uganda.

Uganda has other wildlife attractions such as Gorilla tracking in Bwindi impenetrable national park, Mountaineering in Mt.Rwenzori National park and Mt.Elgon National park, Cultural tours among others.

Uganda has been ranked to be the leading tourist destination country in the world, according to Lonely planet survey. Lonely planet is the world’s leading travel website, and according to the survey which was made, most tourists around the world agreed that Uganda has the best tourist attraction sites and is best to travel to.

Uganda has many national parks, all of which are virgin with many flora and fauna.  There is also many bird species with over 1000 bird species recorded. Queen Elizabeth national park itself has over 600 bird species, and Murchison National park has a concentration of animals and has the mighty Murchison falls which is a fascinating site.

Uganda also is a home to the half of the world’s remaining mountain Gorillas with two national parks;Bwindi impenetrable national park and Mgahinga national park. Most tourists are interested in Gorilla tracking and make it to Uganda to do the Gorilla tracking adventure.

Other factors considered apart from wildlife safaris. Birding tours and gorilla tracking tours were that Uganda has the ever glaciated mountain range in Rwenzori National park. Tourists who like hiking adventure come to climb the mountains of the moon. Other tourist destination centers and activities include the source of the Nile in Jinja, White water rafting, fascinating falls in Mt.Elgon national park among others.

Uganda wildlife authority in partnership with International Gorilla conservation programme has started the census of Mountain Gorillas in Bwindi impenetrable national park. This is the fourth time they are doing the census since 1991 when the park was established.

In the last cencus of 2006, the number of mountain gorillas was established to be 300, short of 20 of the 320 counted in 2002. Bwindi impenetrable national park harbors half of the remaining world’s mountain gorillas, other gorillas found in the virunga mountain ranges which is shared by the three countries that is Volcanoes National park in Rwanda, Virunga national park in DR Congo and Mgahinga national park in Uganda.

The census is being carried out by experts from the three gorilla countries Rwanda, DR Congo and Uganda, and the results are expected to be released next year after analysis.

According to the conservationists, the counting is done by counting the nests and feaces. The three countries benefit much from the Mountain gorillas through the sale of Gorilla tracking permits, with many tourists all over the world coming in to see the carry our Gorilla tracking adventure.

A rare species of white elephants has been spotted in Queen Elizabeth National Park in South Western Uganda. The elephants were spotted by a group of tourists in Ishasha sector, which is also famous for tree climbing lions. There is a biggest concentration of animals in the Uganda  National parks, almost all parks except Lake Mburo National Park having the elephants. Kibale National Park and Bwindi impenetrable national park, famous for Chimpanzee tracking and Gorilla tracking respectively, have forest elephants. Whereas Murchison falls national park, Kidepo National park and Queen Elizabeth National park contain the black species of the elephants.

White elephant species are commonly found in Asia, but with the spotting of this specie in Queen Elizabeth National park, it is a great development to the tourism industry in Uganda.

Following the restoration of peace in Northern Uganda, tourism in the area has slowly started to improve. The Northern region was ravaged with instability for the last two decades, but with the defeat of Lord’s resistance army, peace has been restored and now tourists are free to go in the region without any fears. The northern region has many tourists’ attractions, like Kidepo National Park, Murchison falls National Park which covers part of the northern region, and other game reserves which all a good for wildlife tours and birding tours. Northern region also is reach in cultural tours and nature walks.

There are now good tourist hotels being built in the area, and being proxy to Southern Sudan which has just attained independence as an independent state from Northern Sudan, the tourists stop in Northern Uganda en route to Southern Sudan. The Southern part of Uganda was in early years once affected by insurgences which scared away tourists from going three especially for Gorilla Tracking in Bwindi impenetrable National park and Mgahinga National Park.

Two more habituated Mountain Gorilla groups have been established in southern Bwindi impenetrable national park bringing the number of groups in Southern Bwindi to two. According to the Uganda Wildlife Authority, the two groups will be officially launched in November this year, and this will increase the number of Gorilla Tracking permits to 72 per day, as the number of habituated groups will be nine, each group allowing a maximum of 8 people per day. The new groups are Oruzogo and Kahungye, and this makes Uganda among the three Mountain Gorilla countries the one that sells more gorilla tracking permits.

Rwanda has currently seven habituated groups in Volcanoes national park, where as DR Congo has 6 habituated groups in Virunga National park. Gorilla tracking is the major tourist activity in Uganda, though there are other tourist attractions like wildlife tours, Mountaineering, Birding tours and sightseeing as well as cultural tours.

At the end of this month, Ugandans will have an opportunity to visit Uganda National parks and other wildlife and forest reserves to watch different species of birds available. This has been arranged in an effort to boost Birding in Uganda, thereby improving on the tourism industry.

According to Mr.Stephen Masaba, the acting director of tourism and business services in Uganda Wildlife authority(UWA), this Birding activity will help Ugandans acquaint themselves with the knowledge of different bird species which will assist in selling them to the international community.

Birding is one of the tourism activities that contribute a lot of money into the industry, second to Gorilla Tracking. This is due to the fact that, tourists interested in Birding tour, take longer in the country, and visit many National parks and reserves, thereby spending more in entry fees to different parks, accommodation, transport, hence increased income into the country.

Some of the areas that have been listed to be visited include; Bwindi Impenetrable national park, Mgahinga national park,  Katonga and Kyambura Wildlife Reserves,  Rwenzori National Park, Mabira Forest Reserves,  Semliki National park,   Lutembe Bay, Kumbu Forest, Kibimba,   Lake Mburo National Park,  Entebbe Peninsula,   Kidepo National Park,  Kawanda-Namulonge, Mbarara University of Science and Technology Mt.Elgon National Park,  Bahai Temple,  Rwenzori Bottling Company Namanve, Murchison falls national park among others.

Kenya wildlife authority (KWA) announced the increase of park entry fees to USD80 from USD60 effective this month. This decision has not been welcomed by the tour operators arguing that the timing is bad and they have not been consulted in the decision. The Tour Operators say that this increase is going to affect their business since most of them already made the bookings and already charged little money from their clients.

The has been general increase in the prices in the whole of East African region, with Uganda National parks entry fees being the first to be raised following the increased cost of administration.

Kenya mostly leads the region in wildlife tours, where as Uganda, Rwanda are famous for Gorilla Tracking tours with the mountain gorillas only found in Volcanoes national park in Rwanda, Mgahinga national park and Bwindi impenetrable national park in Uganda.

Local residents in Kiruhura district begged the president to assist them in curbing on the wild animals destroying their crops and water sources. The residents argue that the animals from Lake Mburo national Park escape and destroy their plantations.

They said that they have often talked to Uganda wildlife authority(UWA) officials to fence the park in vain. UWA officials have kept them on empty promises, and argued that they will be forced to start killing the wild animals if UWA cannot hid to their requests.

This is not the first stand off by the residents neighboring the Uganda National parks to complain about the wild animals. Residents neighboring Queen Elizabeth National Park, Murchison falls national park have often complained of the same.

The Batwa community who were evicted from Bwindi impenetrable national park, famous for gorilla tracking are still on standoff with UWA claiming to be relocated in a better settlement.