Camping in the wild on a Uganda Tour or Uganda safari

Camping in the wild when on a Uganda tour/safari is a good way to experience being part of nature. It involves making your bed on the ground or close to the ground amidst the natural environment. While on a Uganda tour safari, you can explore various types of camping which can go well together though have some small variations, but they all give an opportunity to learn and experience the beautiful nature as you explore and relax. Here are some of the types of camping you could explore while on a Uganda tour / safari.

  1. Tent Camping

This is the most common type of camping that comes to mind when anyone talks about camping. As the name suggests, it involves pitching up a tent (campers’ tent) which is usually set up in a designated campsite for one or several nights. This type of camping can take various forms such as forest camping, beach camping, primitive camping or basically pitching a tent anywhere for the night.

To experience forest camping while in Uganda you can visit the Kibale national park located in the Southwestern part of Uganda near Fort Portal and Kasese. The national park is well endowed with a thick forest which is a home for 13 primate species such as chimpanzees, baboons, black and white monkeys, red colobus monkeys and several over wildlife like the great blue turaco and other 370 bird species and butterflies. The Park also offers a number of camping options at various accommodation/ campsites such as Kibale forest camp located just outside the southern part of the Kibale national park which offers both the basic camping option and the option to camp in luxury with fully furnished stylish safari tents with an en-suite bathroom, flush toilet, and a hot water bath all in the midst of the natural forest. The beauty to camping in Kibale forest camp is that you will wake up to the beautiful sounds of birds chirping in the morning and a view of beautifully colored butterflies flying within the forest as their beautifully coloured wings are sun kissed by the golden rays of the morning sun creating an illusion of a fairy tale while enjoying the fresh scent of nature of a perfect blend of trees, flowers and plants.

For a beach camping experience which is at times referred to as lakeside camping, Tongolo Resort Beach is a perfect destination where you can enjoy a view of the point where Lake Victoria meets the world’s longest river, River Nile. The beach is located in Jinja which is about 120 kilometers from Kampala City (approximately 2-4 hours’ drive) and can also be accessed by boat within Jinja and the cruise will take about 10-15 minutes. There are a number of fun outdoor beach camping activities you can participate in while at Tongolo resort Beach such as Beach soccer, basketball, beach volleyball, sunbathing, quad biking, boat cruise to the source of the Nile, lake swimming, watching fishing eagles and other bird species and definitely have a campfire.

Camping in the wild on a Uganda Tour or Uganda safari
Tent Camping
  1. Wild Camping

Wild Camping which is also famously known as camping in the wild is another common camping concept especially in Uganda national Parks like Kidepo national park, Semliki national park, Mgahinga national park, Queen Elizabeth national park, Lake Mburo national park, Bwindi Impenetrable Forest national park, Mount Elgon national park and Rwenzori national park. These wild campsites we usually set up within or very close to wild animal habitats and these campsites are not fenced off. This gives you the opportunity to observe the wild animals’ night activities, have the thrill of wild animals coming so close to you and enjoy the thrill of waking up to wild footprints of animals just inches away from the entrance of your tent while Camping in the wild on a Uganda Tour.

  1. Bushcraft/ Survival Camping

Bushcraft camping/ survival camping which you ought to leave for the highly experienced campers like Bear Grylls. This type of camping is so intense and requires you to have, as a must, survival skills. You have to have mastered different techniques to provide for yourself with basic necessities like food, shelter and water. You have to know how to maneuver without maps and find the best places to build a shelter for the night. You can have this Uganda Safari experience in Mount Elgon National Park or Semliki National Park. You can journey with an experienced safari guide or must share your planned route and have a safety/ rescue plan B just in case you lose your way or things do not work out as planned.

  1. Backpack and hiking camping

Backpack and hiking camping is another intensive camping experience. It involves carrying all your camping gear in your backpack and having to assemble it again every time you have to set camp of the night. A backpack and hiking camper usually does not spend several nights camped in a specific spot, they always hike and set camp in a new location almost on a daily basis. This experience is best enjoyed when hiking a vast area with a challenging terrain so that you have a full adventure of moving and camping in different sites from a period that can even last a month long. You can have this experience with in Queen Elizabeth National Park, Murchison Falls National Park or take a weeklong hike from Lake Bunyonyi to Lake Mburo National Park and then to Queen Elizabeth national Park thus Camping in the wild on a Uganda Tour.

  1. Canoe Camping

If you would like to sail and experience a natural waterbed, then this is the experience for you. Canoe trip adventures combine hiking trails surrounding lake communities with exercising your muscles as you paddle and spending the night under a canopy of stars. This experience can be enjoyed on Lake Bunyonyi located in Kabale district in western Uganda, Lake Mutanda in Kisoro district, Lake Kivu which boarders the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda, and on the famous Lake Victoria.

Camping in the wild on a Uganda Tour or Uganda safari
Canoeing on lake Bunyonyi

As you pack for you next camping trip in Uganda, here are a few items you should not leave behind:

  • Camp Tents
  • Sleeping bag
  • Inflatable pillows
  • Sunscreen
  • Insect repellent spray
  • Hammock
  • Torch
  • Waterproof matches/ lighter
  • First aid Box
  • Map
  • Compass
  • Whistle
  • Mirror
  • Power bank
  • Multipurpose Backpack
  • Boots
  • Water bottle and food container
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