Hidden Wilderness of Uganda

Named the ‘Pearl of Africa’ due to its immense wild beauty it is somewhat shocking that Uganda’s safari tourism is primarily all drawn to trek with gorillas, and since there are only 32 gorilla trekking permits a day very few safari tourists are travelling the country on any given day. Some people gorilla trek and move onto other East Africa safari destinations while some others stay on to chimp trek in Kibale, and/or possibly visit Queen Elizabeth and Murchison Falls National Parks. While all of these parks have low visitation there remains a couple of hidden untamed wilderness parks that almost no one goes to.

Wildplaces Africa operates the one and only lodges in both Kidepo Valley National Park and the Toro-Semliki Game Reserve/Semliki National Park area creating as exclusive an opportunity as there can possibly be to explore African wilderness.

Photo © Wild Places Africa

Kidepo Valley is the most remote park in Uganda, occupying a dramatic landscape in the far north where Uganda meets Kenya and Sudan. Scenery is classic and varied with large valley expanses of golden savanna, conical hills, and rocky kopjes. Abundant wildlife includes some of the largest buffalo herds on the continent, elephant, lion, cheetah, leopard, giraffe, zebra, waterbuck, etc., in fact there are 28 mammals found in Kidepo Valley N.P. that are not found in any other Ugandan park – a fact that proves it is has more in common with Kenya than it does with most of Uganda.

Apoka Lodge sits in the middle of this majestic area, the only lodge in the park it provides just ten luxurious wood and canvas suites, ensuring an exlusive wide-open wilderness experience within a 1,442 square kilometer park (for comparison the Masai Mara National Reserve is 1,672 sq km.). Game drives help cover the vast area but in true throwback fashion walking is a specialty and not too be missed here. Culturally the area is distinctive as well and it is recommended to experience the cherished traditions of the Karimajong people. This may be the most scenic landscape in all of East Africa and yet this wilderness remains virtually unvisited and there for you to experience what the more famous areas were like decades ago before mass tourism found them.

The Toro-Semliki Game Reserve is also in a very interesting geographic location, as it lies at an ecological crossroads where East Africa meets the edge of Central Africa, leading to an amazingly diverse compilation of species. Here it is possible to see the typical savanna elephant and buffalo but also the smaller forest elephant and forest buffalo. The rainforest is an extension from the Congo allowing a safe visit to this most diverse region of all of Africa. Primates abound including several communities of chimpanzees. It is possible here to accompany the resident researcher in search of the chimps providing an opportunity to learn of the ongoing research and assist in habituating chimps.

Semliki Safari Lodge is often called the best in Uganda. The lodge, catering to a maximum of 16 guests, is the only one in the entire Semliki Valley including the Game Reserve and National Park. Once again exclusive wilderness is the result of a visit here. Activities are well varied to take advantage of the mixed habitats. Guided walks and hikes in savanna and forest habitats, game drives, night drives, chimpanzee research, visits to Batwa (often known as Pygmies) villages, and boating/fishing on nearby Lake Albert.

Certainly a Uganda trip must have a visit to experience the gorilla. Wildplaces Africa has brought their outstanding skills to build a new lodge (just opened in August 2008), Clouds Mountain Gorilla Lodge. In their typical style this lodge is away from the others on the remote south side of Bwindi providing convenient access to the Nkuringo gorilla group. Here you actually walk from the lodge to the staging area and then walk down to the gorillas. Clouds has exclusive rights to the gorilla permits adding to the ease of obtaining them. Most importantly, this is the first community based lodge project in Uganda! Wildplaces has partnered with the Community of Nkuringo who have a significant stake in the venture, as well as the African Wildlife Foundation and the International Gorilla Conservation Programme in an effort to provide direct benefits to both the community and mountain gorilla conservation.