National Parks of Uganda | Complete Safari Planning Guide

Uganda is home to 10 national parks protecting one of the most biodiverse concentrations of wildlife on the African continent. Within a country roughly the size of the United Kingdom, travelers can trek mountain gorillas in ancient rainforest, track white rhinos on foot through open savannah, watch the Nile roar through a seven-meter gorge, follow chimpanzees through equatorial forest, and cruise through waterways where hippos and elephants share the same bank. No other country in East Africa concentrates this range of wildlife experiences into this much geographic variety.

This guide covers all of Uganda’s national parks: what makes each one unique, which wildlife and experiences define each destination, and how they connect as part of a Uganda safari itinerary. Use the park cards below to explore each destination or contact Back to the Source Tours to plan the right combination around your dates and interests.

How to Choose the Right Uganda National Park Combination

Most travelers visiting Uganda combine two to four national parks in a single itinerary depending on available days. The most popular combination is Bwindi Impenetrable Forest for gorilla trekking with Queen Elizabeth National Park for game drives and the Kazinga Channel boat cruise. Adding Kibale Forest for chimpanzee trekking creates a complete primate-focused safari. Murchison Falls National Park adds the drama of the Nile River and Uganda’s largest open savannah wildlife experience. Kidepo Valley National Park in the remote northeast is for travelers who want the most wild and undiscovered safari landscape in Uganda.

Back to the Source Tours designs Uganda safari itineraries of 7 to 12 days that combine the parks best suited to each traveler’s interests, fitness level, and time available.

East Africa Tour Packages

Safari Travel Form

Bwindi Impenetrable National Park

Tucked away in the misty highlands of southwestern Uganda, Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is more than just a destination, it’s a profound experience. Perched on the edge of the Great Rift Valley, Bwindi is a living museum of biodiversity and cultural heritage, wrapped in one of Africa’s oldest and most [...]

Murchison Falls National Park

Murchison Falls National Park: Uganda’s Majestic Waterfalls and Wildlife- If there’s one place in Uganda where nature shows off with unmatched drama and diversity, it’s Murchison Falls National Park—the country's oldest and largest protected area. Spanning over 3,840 square kilometers, this spectacular park is a mosaic of rolling savannahs, riverine [...]

Queen Elizabeth National Park

Queen Elizabeth National Park is understandably Uganda’s most popular tourist destination. The park’s diverse eco-systems, which include sprawling savanna, shady, humid forests, sparkling lakes, and fertile wetlands, make it the ideal habitat for classic big game, ten primate species including chimpanzees. [...]

Kibale Forest National Park

Kibale Forest National Park is highest at the park’s northern tip, which stands 1,590m above sea level. The lowest point is 1,100m on the floor of the Albertine Rift Valley to the south. 351 tree species have been recorded in the park, some rise to over 55m and are over 200 years old. [...]

Lake Mburo National Park

Lake Mburo National Park is a compact gem, located conveniently close to the highway that connects Kampala to the parks of western Uganda. It is situated approximately 240 kilometers from Kampala, a 4hrs drive, and only 30 kilometers from Mbarara – the biggest town in western Uganda. The park is [...]

Rwenzori National Park

The Rwenzori Mountains National Park – the fabled Mountains of the Moon – lies in western Uganda along the Uganda-Congo border. The equatorial snow peaks include the third highest point in Africa, while the lower slopes are blanketed in moorland, bamboo, and rich, moist montane forest. [...]

Kidepo Valley National Park

Located in the rugged northeast corner of Uganda—where rolling savannahs meet acacia-dotted valleys and the remote Karamoja highlands rise in the distance—Kidepo Valley National Park is a hidden gem that feels as wild and uncharted today as it did when first protected in 1958. Covering some 1,442 km², Kidepo was [...]

Mount Elgon National Park

Rising majestically on the Uganda–Kenya border, Mount Elgon National Park is home to Africa’s largest intact volcanic caldera and one of the continent’s oldest mountains. Stretching over 1,100 square kilometers, this park protects a landscape sculpted over millennia by geothermal forces—towering peaks, steaming caves, vast moorlands, bamboo forests, and cascading [...]

Semuliki National Park

Uganda’s Tropical Treasure on the Edge of History Located in Uganda’s far west, where the Albertine Rift meets the Congolese border, Semuliki National Park is a verdant realm of lowland tropical forest, steaming hot springs, and deep cultural heritage. At just 220 km from Kampala (a 5–6 hr drive) and only [...]

Mgahinga Gorilla National Park

Located in the extreme southwestern corner of Uganda, where the borders of the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda converge, Mgahinga Gorilla National Park is a rugged realm of volcanic peaks, mist-shrouded forests, and some of the rarest primates on Earth. Established in 1991 as Uganda’s smallest national park (just [...]