Visit Uganda

The Essence of Uganda

“You climb up a railway instead of a beanstalk and at the end is a wonderful new world.” So said Winston Churchill of this welcoming country. From Kampala’s parks to coffee plantations, volcanic peaks and iconic wildlife, Uganda is awesome. 

Why choose a tour in Uganda?

From the shores of Lake Victoria to sanctuaries and national parks, Uganda’s landscapes are renowned for rich ecosystems of river rapids, jungles, forests, and grasslands, forming the habitats for rhinos and hippos, warthogs and waterbucks, Big Cats, buffalos, bats and brilliant birdlife, and of course, the silverback mountain gorillas, the stars of its show.

Kampala, the cosmopolitan capital, is Uganda’s largest city, bordering Africa’s largest lake, Victoria. Covering a series of hills with contemporary buildings and splashes of greenery in parks and gardens, it counts mosques, Hindu temples, and Christian churches among its cultural landmarks. 

Murchison Falls National Park spreads across 3,800sq.kms of western Uganda to the shore of Lake Albert; home to hundreds of species of birds, and 76 mammal species from lions and leopards to elephants and buffalos. Famed as the location for the classic ‘50s film ‘The African Queen’, the conservation area is bisected by the Victoria Nile, its 80km run of rapids culminating in a crashing cascade into the ‘Devil’s Cauldron’.  

Kibale National Park is bordered by banana and coffee plantations, recognized as one of Africa’s richest ecosystems, and filled with evergreen trees and semi-deciduous forests, the perfect habitat for rare Red Colobus monkeys and the region’s chimpanzees. With the bird and butterfly haven of Bigodi Wetland Sanctuary at its southern edge, Kibale connects with the Queen Elizabeth reserve to form a 180km wildlife corridor.  

Hemming Lake George, Lake Edward and the wildlife rich Kazinga Channel which links the two, Queen Elizabeth National Park sweeps from savannah to papyrus swamps, from hyenas and jackals to bushbucks, bat caves, and boating floats among the hippos; stretching, at its southern tip, to encompass Ishasha, a true African wilderness, renowned for its tree-climbing lions.

A UNESCO Natural World Heritage enclave, Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is not quite impenetrable, but its Rift Valley ridges are no stroll in the park. Shrouded in mists, cloaked in jungle foliage, and threaded with rough tracks and rock-strewn streams, its rainforest canopies are filled with birds, and its many mammal species include the (estimated) 400 mountain gorillas, about half of their total number on Earth. An encounter with these ‘gentle giants’ is a magical experience.

When to go on Uganda holidays

Crossed by the Equator, Uganda’s typically tropical climate is tempered by the altitude of the regions, with the plateau (covering much of the country) pleasantly warm, when low-lying areas can be very hot, and the southern mountains around Bwindi are mild to cool, and almost always cloudy. In the centre-south plateau, where our tours are focused, the rainiest months are April-May and October-November, though thunderstorms can erupt in the ‘dry season’; and daytime temperatures rarely vary from 24° throughout the year.

Jules Verne tours are timed to avoid the rains and to team the best climate conditions for trekking and for wildlife watching.

Who are Uganda tours suited to?

An ideal combination of a relatively small country with remarkable diversity, Uganda is eminently explorable, innately authentic, and entirely focused on its untamed wildlife; so, while it is joyously less visited than its East African neighbours, it is also less predictable, with all the thrills and frustrations that can sometimes come with the experience. Uganda will delight adventurous travellers with a curious mind, a love of Nature, a reasonable level of fitness for trekking, and an ability to ‘travel light’.

Our small-group tours are a perfect fit for Uganda’s uncrowded, undisturbed, ethos.

Why book Uganda tours with Jules Verne?

With 45 years’ experience and a passion for creating extraordinary journeys, Jules Verne finds the most intriguing, adventurous, and inspiring places to explore. Our Uganda safaris typically take to the tracks with a knowledgeable driver/guide, well versed in the habits and habitats of the country’s amazing animals. Highlight experiences include visits to a fishing village, a tea plantation, the private Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary, with the only wild white rhinos in Uganda, and the scenic Kasenda Crater Lakes area; along with a float on the Victoria Nile, the chance to hike up Murchison Falls, and a nature walk in the wetlands of Bigodi.

Our guided tours to Uganda are ABTA and ATOL protected, and we offer a 100% price guarantee, so you can book with complete confidence.