Awesome things about Uganda : With a population of over 45 million, Uganda is one of the most densely populated nations in Africa.
A Generous and Welcoming People
People who live in Uganda are some of the friendliest people on the continent. Sociable, exuberant extroverts are willing to welcome or help you through your visit fill every corner you may travel. According to the UN, the country has the most welcoming refugee policy in the World.
Welcoming all nationalities is an intrinsic part of the culture, and the people of Uganda are quick to offer smiles to newcomers. The people are amazingly friendly!
Uganda is not without its problems; however, its draconian stance on homosexuality is highly publicized by international media but nothing of the sort shows within the people and their cultures when you are within the country. Same-sex people hold hands and walk with no impunity from the public.
Political power struggles sometimes make social life come to a complete standstill. That is seasonal and only happens in big cities, like most countries. The overwhelming majority of visitors to Uganda love the place, especially when visiting the countryside, where you will find almost all-natural attractions. Uganda has a high-energy core with a relaxed periphery well suited for families and others who prefer to stay home. Its people are cheerful, welcoming, and insanely generous to all aliens.
Over 50 Tribes with Different Cultures Live in Uganda
Uganda is a cultural melting pot as evidenced by 50-plus various indigenous languages belonging to five distinct linguistic groups and an equally diverse cultural mosaic of music, art, and handicrafts. There is no telling what you get when you mix over 50 cultures in a tiny 241,037 square kilometers (93,065 square miles) piece of land, but you can imagine.
Because Ugandans are generous and welcoming people, many foreign cultures have entangled the indigenous cultures to create stunning cultural effects like innovative, colorful dressing, music, dance, food, and language.
Though foreign, English and Swahili are the country’s official languages. Swahili is a valuable communication link with the country’s Eastern neighbors of Kenya and Tanzania, where it is widely spoken.
Although Ugandans speak different languages, many of the languages bear some similarities. Others are entirely different, and the tribes that share the languages are unique in their way of life. Because of this, various communities have different cultural rites and practices.
What is awesome about Ugandan cultures is that its people easily adapt to new cultures but never entirely abandon their indigenous languages and cultures. It’s not surprising to find a Ugandan speaking more than 4 native languages, including English and can understand the basics of at least 5 other native languages. One language proliferates almost the whole country, and that is Luganda.
Highest density of primates and gorillas worldwide
Although not even the UK’s size, Uganda harbors 20 primate species among its rainforest jungles. Gorillas, chimpanzees, monkeys, and the most adorable of the adorable (though a bit gross) bush babies all call Uganda home. The mountainous jungles of this tiny east-African nation are lush and endowed with animal and plant species. Kibale Forest alone protects 13 primate species, the highest population density of primates globally, while Bwindi Impenetrable and Mgahinga National Parks protect more than half of the total population of mountain gorillas.
Because of its primate endowment, Uganda offers the best affordable primates tours in the World. Better than the other two countries, gorilla trekking excursions occur in two locations; Bwindi impenetrable national park and Mgahinga National Park. Chimpanzee tracking occurs in Kibale forest national park and a handful of other forest reserves in its western part.
To make primate tracking more interesting, Uganda also offers Habituation Experiences. The experiences are some of the most intense wildlife encounter activities in the World. A guest is escorted to join researchers, trackers, and rangers in the impenetrable jungle to track and stay with a wild primate family from dawn until dusk. The activity is bound to trigger the most intense emotions that will change all your feelings about the natural world. Because of the dangers involved, habituation is a little bit pricy; $1,500 for gorilla habituation and 250 USD for chimp habituation experience.
Uganda is The Most Affordable Safari Destination
Although East Africa is known for its expensive destinations. Uganda offers the very bottom of the budget. Relatively, a luxury safari trip in Uganda is what a semi-luxury trip in Kenya would cost you.
Hotels, safari camps, and lodges have recently sprawled around cities and national parks in Uganda, sending price competition wars across the tourism industry. To the traveler’s advantage, they cannot fail to find affordable places to stay from the myriad choices. Uganda offers the lowest accommodation prices, from tented budget camps, guesthouses, and hotels to international luxury brands and private safari cottages.
The national park charges the lowest entry fees in East and Central Africa, while gorilla trekking and chimpanzee tracking permits are the lowest offering the most entertaining primate adventures in the World.
Uganda Has Relatively Low Tourist Numbers
Compared to its neighbors, Uganda has the lowest number of tourists flocking the country. Low numbers mean that your toes will not be stepped on, and when planning, you will not hustle with availability, and you will get the best attention during your trip to Uganda.
Low numbers also mean that Uganda offers great private travel options. You could be the only one on a safari drive on the entire safari park with no disruptions bucket-list tickers, giving you a life-changing connection with the natural world.
The ’80s crippled Uganda’s tourism industry, allowing its neighbors to outshine its attractions. Uganda has recovered impressively, repopulating its national parks at world-record speeds. Approximately 23% of Uganda is reserved for wildlife and showcases the most beautiful landscaped on the continent.
If you are looking for an undiscovered, raw, and authentic African experience that is not staged to impress, Uganda is your choice. With your map in hand, a couple of guides on your mobile, and a hired 4×4 vehicle, you can explore Uganda with little to no hustle. Uganda is practically the easiest African safari destination to explore on your own.
Huge Wildlife Reserves
Relatively the size of the UK, Uganda surely packs a great deal within its tiny-ness. Over 23% of Uganda is reserved to protect Wildlife, creating a massive green blanket across the country.
Uganda Wildlife Authority protects ten National Parks and over 15 wildlife reserves and sanctuaries. Most visited are the primates’ parks, and the big game savannah parks, Queen Elizabeth National Park, and Murchison Falls National Park.
An impressive population of Ugandans comfortably live around the National Park borders, in harmony with the wild. The most extensive wildlife reserves in Uganda, Pain Upe Game Reserve, Murchison Falls, and Queen Elizabeth National Parks, make approximately 3100 square miles and protect the highest number of animal species.
Tourism significantly contributes to local communities.
Tourism contributes significantly to Uganda’s gross domestic product, provides significant investment opportunities and employment, and is a substantial source of foreign currency, according to the Economic Policy Research Centre (EPRC), tourism contributes about 7.6% of the GDP, and in 2018, Travel and tourism in Uganda employed about 667,600 people.
Communities surrounding game reserves and national parks benefit directly from tourism activities. A healthy number of camps and lodges have popped up in these areas, employing many locals in their operations. For example, Bwindi Impenetrable is the only national park with the highest human population in its boundaries on the continent. Almost everyone living around Bwindi directly benefits from tourism in the park.
Uganda has the most sustainable/eco-friendly holidays than its neighbors. A good percentage of the money you will spend on a safari tours to Uganda will most probably benefit the local person or contribute to conservation.
Uganda is a Bird Heaven
As of May 2020, a total of 1066 bird species have been confirmed. The number represents over 50% of Africa’s total bird list and 10% of the World’s avian total, making birding in Uganda most rewarding for birdwatchers. The concentration of bird species in such a tiny country can be attributed to Uganda’s location at a transitional point between the east African savanna, the West African rainforest, and the north’s semi-desert, which creates green basin-like heaven for winged creatures.
The rainforests of western Uganda are the country’s most important bird habitat and the most significant interest to birdwatchers, mainly if they are already reasonably familiar with typical East African birds. The most alluring forest in terms of localized species is probably Semliki, closely rivaled by Budongo, Kibale, and Bwindi Impenetrable Forest.
However, in practical terms, Kibale Forest is probably Uganda’s best single stop for forest birds because of the keen birding guides who take tourists into the forest and the nearby Magombe Swamp—located in Bigodi wetland just opposite Kibale National Park in Fort portal district. That said, just about any forest in Uganda will be rewarding; even the relatively tame botanical garden in Entebbe will throw up several interesting bird species.
Unfortunately, most forest birds are very secretive. It can be challenging to get even a glimpse of them in the dense undergrowth, let alone a clear enough look to make an identification. You would probably identify more bird species in a ten-minute walk in the suburbs of Entebbe than you would in an afternoon walking through the Semliki Forest.
For this reason, first-time Africa birding safari visitors might do better concentrating on locations other than forests. If you want to see a wide range of birds in Uganda, try these places: Entebbe, Lake Mburo national park, Queen Elizabeth national park, Murchison Falls national park and northern Uganda region.
Lions Climb Trees in Uganda
Uganda is one of the few places in Africa where you will witness the tree-climbing lions’ unusual behaviors. Somewhat off the beaten track in the far southern sector of Queen Elizabeth National and the far isolated northern Kidepo National Park, a population of tree-climbing lions laze sprawling limbs on fig trees during the heat of the day. A sight that attracts thousands of travelers to Uganda.
In Uganda, lions are found in the three largest savannah parks: Murchison Falls National Park (MFNP), Kidepo Valley National Park (KVNP), and Queen Elizabeth National Park (QENP). Lions, after mountain gorillas, are the most sought-after species by tourists visiting Uganda.
A WCS assessment in 2006 showed that each lion in Queen Elizabeth National Park generated about USD 13,500 per year for the national economy in terms of the revenue it brought into the country. An influencing factor was that tourists are willing to stay longer just to see lions climb trees.
Ecologically, lions play an essential role in maintaining ecosystem health and balance by predating on herbivores, often targeting sick individuals and thereby keeping disease down and disposing of carcasses. It makes the tree-climbing lions important to Uganda’s economy and ecology.
