5 Best Places to Visit on a Self Drive Safari in Uganda

Uganda is a relatively small country, no larger than the United Kingdom. It is a little destination that is often toured by road! With some sealed highways radiating from Kampala, the capital of Uganda to regional towns, there is a growing number of travelers who explore the country on self-drive adventures!

A self-drive holiday in Uganda amazingly offers the best and the most flexible road trip to holidaymakers who prefer traveling independently. When it comes to self-drive trips, no better destination beats Uganda within East Africa. It is a safe and secure country to explore and experience as a family, a group, solo traveler on a self-drive tour. The friendly and hospitable people also make it easy for travelers to explore the country on self-guided vacations.

Imagine getting behind the wheels of your rental car of choice and you cruise through Uganda’s most breathtaking landscapes, pristine national parks, reserves, and making stopovers at any points of your choice. This is a one-of-a-kind road trip any enthusiastic traveler on an African safari holiday needs to be part of.

Nothing compares to the exciting experience when you decide to hire 4×4 car in Uganda to enjoy the freedom one enjoys when on a road trip on a self-drive in Uganda. You can imagine you being the manager of your own trip and you have the opportunity to discover the pearl of Africa your way!

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Best places to go for a self-drive holiday in Uganda

Jinja

Jinja is incredibly one magical destination worth visiting while on a self-drive holiday in Uganda. Best known as the adrenaline adventure capital of East Africa, Jinja is an exceptional place where you can find the only world’s source of the River Nile. Your exploration in Jinja begins with an en-route visit to explore Ssezibwa Falls, Mabira Forest where you can engage in forest hike, zip-lining, bird watching, and others.

While in Jinja, you have plenty of thrilling adrenaline adventures to keep you busy throughout the day. They range from kayaking, bungee jumping, speed boat cruise white water rafting, quad biking to horseback riding. A complete self-drive tour in Jinja requires at least 3 days, 4 days, or 5 days and there is the possibility to extend it to the Sipi Falls or Kidepo Valley National Park in Eastern Uganda.

Murchison Falls National Park

Murchison Falls National Park, Uganda’s largest park with an area coverage of 3840sq.km boasts of its biodiversity worthy exploring using a self-drive rental car. On your self-drive holiday in Murchison Falls, expect more than the big game. There are also numerous oribis, waterbucks, over 451 bird species, primates including chimpanzees, and above all, do not leave without witnessing the Murchison Falls as it tries to get itself a narrow gorge of about 8 meters before dropping off its waters 43m.

Murchison Falls National Park is Uganda’s only park on the Northwestern side. It is a 4-5 hours drive from Kampala and on your self-drive holiday, expect to enjoy more than game drives but also chimpanzee tracking, birding, boat cruise, nature walks.

Rwenzori Mountains

If you are interested in the mystical challenge, the best place to consider a must-visit is the Rwenzori Mountains, National Park. The Rwenzori Mountains are arguably Uganda’s most dramatic and scenic region. Located between Lake Albert in the north and Lake George in the south, the terrain rises above to over 4000 meters above sea level making it the second highest mountain in Africa.

Climbing the Rwenzoris is such a rewarding experience that takes you through dramatic landscape characterized with crater lakes, tropical forests, savanna, and Alpine before you reach the snow-capped summits of Margherita Peak. A complete trek to the highest peak takes 7 days of both ascent and descent.

Kidepo Valley National Park

This is Uganda’s virgin land! Located on the border with South Sudan, Kidepo is the less explored of Uganda’s national parks. It is one of Africa’s most magnificent wildernesses. If you are looking to a game viewing safari, this the ultimate destinations to visit.

The park hosts big games that includes cheetahs, elands, elephants, giraffes, lions, zebras, etc. In addition to that Africa’s largest single herds of buffaloes roam the extensive grasslands of Kidepo.

Though the park is isolated in the farthest corner of the Karamoja Region, it is worth a visit, and most travelers doing self drive safaris in Uganda do not miss including this less-visited destination in their trip itinerary.

Southwestern Destinations

If there is the one most endowed part of Uganda when it comes to nature then it is the Southwestern. Imagine of a place to find the world’s rare mountain gorillas in the wild and think not beyond a self-drive holiday in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and Mgahinga Gorilla National Park.

Mgahinga Gorilla National Park is a small park in South Western Uganda that is home to two rare primates; the mountain gorillas and the golden monkeys. These two primates can be tracked in the park through the gorillas are known to roam “out of bounds” into Rwanda and Congo.

Still, as an enthusiastic primate lover, Kibale Forest National Park and Semuliki National Park have you sorted. To enjoy the amazing view of East Africa’s rare tree climbing lions, a visit to Queen Elizabeth National Park is worthy of your self-drive holiday.

Other magical places to visit include Lake Mburo National Park, Lake Bunyonyi (one of the deepest lakes in Africa), Kisizi Falls.

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