Rhinoceros
Ziwa Rhino sanctuary is now home to 21 White Rhinos located about 175km on the Kampala Gulu Highway at Nakitoma Town Centre and are the only Wild Rhinos in Uganda.
The Rhino tracking activity at the sanctuary is usually an add on before or after the Murchison falls National Park Safari.
The civil un-rest in Uganda in the 1970’s brought the Rhinos to extinction due to hunting, poaching and increase in human population, the Rhino numbers decreased severely.
Budongo Forest- Busingiro and Kaniyo Pabidi Eco-Tourism Centre
Busingiro eco-tourism site is located at Busingiro, about 40 kilometres off the Masindi – Butiaba road close to Budongo Forest Reserve, in Bujenje County.
The community eco-tourism site offers forest/nature and primate walks and bird watching in Budongo Forest Reserve. The “royal mile”, a road stretch constructed by one of the Bunyoro kings for leisure/nature walk, is a key attraction for visitors to the centre.
Kaniyo Pabidi eco-tourism centre is located about 25 kilometres along the Masindi – Murchison falls road, in the Budongo Forest Reserve area, in Kibanda County.
In addition to forest/nature and primate walks and bird watching, the area is famous for easy chimpanzee viewing.
Buliisa Escarpment and Hot Springs are found in the western rift valley in the Lake Albert basin.
The area offers good opportunity to view effects and features of faulting, including the western rift valley. The salty waters of the gently flowing hot springs cover an area of about 50 square meters.
Salt farms have been created in the area by the community who harvest and treat it from within the area using traditional methods.
The white sandy beaches at Buliisa offer potential for development of water sports activities and resorts. However, the waters of the Lake were reportedly likely to be infested with the bilharzia bacteria.
Improvement of sanitary conditions in communities bordering the lake will make the waters safe for swimming and other sports activities.
Butyaba Port is located 120 kilometres west of Masindi town on Lake Albert. The Port lies in the western rift valley, below the Buliisa escarpment and the Bugungu Wildlife Reserve.
The area was an important Port for the ship services provided by the East African Community and the post-independence colonial government. Ruins of the former infrastructure are still visible, including an abandoned ship estimated to have had capacity for about 300 people.
Families of former workers at the Port still occupy some of the old houses, while the newer settlers have put up both temporary and permanent accommodation.
The sandy former Port is decorated with beautiful royal palm trees planted during the years of prime activity. Butyaba’s existing infrastructure, lake-side location, proximity to the Bugungu Wildlife Reserve and Murchison Falls National Park and labour available in the former East African Housing estates, render the area suitable for tourism investment.
Murchison Falls is characterized by eternal war between rock and water. The waters violently compress through a narrow gorge, spraying misty droplets along their wake over a 50m radius.
This creates a permanent rainbow over the battlefield and causes a continuous roar. From Baker Point on the southern side, you can also view the Nile splitting into the smaller Uhuru Falls, created in 1962 when the river burst its banks.
River Nile
A boat ride along the Nile to the foot of Murchison Falls is a rewarding experience for nature lovers, as the northern bank teems with a variety of mammals, birds and reptiles.
Guided nature walks along both the north and south banks are another refreshing activity, and sport fishing is also possible here. Rafting is available.
Kaniyo Pabid Forest is located in the south of Murchison falls conservation are and it this forest ecosystem harbors a habituated chimpanzee group which can be tracked for those looking for Chimpanzee tracking in Murchison Falls National Park. It is also home to black-and-white colobus and blue monkeys and olive baboons.
Other wildlife that visits include Elephants, buffalos, lions and leopards. A great number of forest birds can be ticked off the list here, including the chocolate-backed kingfisher, white-thighed hornbill and Puvel’s illadopsis which cannot be found anywhere else in East Africa. Kaniyo Pabidi has a campsite, cottage accommodation, forest walks and excellent bird watching.
The Top of the Falls Trail
This trail takes you around the top of the falls and proceeds right up to the water’s edge. You may hike to the top of the falls from the boat landing and get close to the narrow gorge through which the river explodes into the falls. Campsites, picnic sites, and walking safaris are provided here.
Buligi, Albert and Queen’s tracks north of River Nile is highly rewarding with high concentrations of wildlife. Wildlife safaris big herds of buffaloes and elephants can be seen grazing in this grassland. The most convenient time is between 0700hr and 1600hr.
Situated about an hour’s drive from the Paraa ferry jetty, almost 20 sq km of grassland fringing the delta formed by the Victoria Nile as it flows into Lake Albert is the focus of most game drives north of the river. This happens to be the most impressive area in terms of wildlife concentrations, especially around the delta.
