Top Big Five Destinations in Uganda and Rwanda
Top Big Five Destinations in Uganda and Rwanda for Wildlife Safaris are among the top wildlife destinations that offer sensational and exciting wildlife safari experiences in Africa, with higher chances of seeing the iconic Big Five animals. This guide will give you a clear analysis of the ultimate wildlife safari destinations and experiences in Uganda and Rwanda. Uganda’s Murchison Falls National Park and Rwanda’s Akagera National Park contain fabulous, diverse habitats ranging from lowland, open savannah, thickets, undulating hills, and riverine forests. This diverse setting supports an impressive range of wildlife with over 800 bird species and several mammals, especially members of the Big Five, such as Lions, Elephants, Leopards, buffalo, and rhinos. However, other unique primates, especially the endangered mountain gorillas and chimpanzees, are to be found in other parks such as Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and Volcanoes National Park.
Top Big Five Destinations in Uganda and Rwanda
Akagera National Park (Rwanda)
Akagera National Park is a wildlife-protected area and one of the top Big Five destinations in Rwanda, found in the northeastern part next to the Tanzanian border. It is the only savannah wildlife national park in Rwanda that offers exceptional wildlife safari experiences with diverse activities and attractions, making it a favourite destination for adventure seekers. The park offers unique game drives such as morning, afternoon, and night game drives, which allow visitors to explore the park’s varied and unique biodiversity, including the famous Big Five, such as the elephants, buffalo, lions, leopards, and rhinos. Other wildlife species to see include zebras, impalas, jackals, spotted hyenas, warthogs, waterbucks, and kobs, among others.
Akagera National Park offers a wide range of activities for nature lovers, such as game drives, bird watching, boat trips on the scenic Lake Ihema, and others. With its spectacular beauty and unique adventure activities, the park is a relatively off-the-beaten-track destination, though overlooked with less attention from adventure seekers.
Volcanoes National Park (Rwanda)
Following the top Big Five destinations in Uganda and Rwanda, Volcanoes National Park is an exceptional tourist destination, located in the northwest of Rwanda, famous for stunning activities such as gorilla trekking, chimpanzee trekking, bird watching, and hiking, among others. This is so because it is home to endangered species such as mountain gorillas, chimpanzees, and several unique bird species. The park is also a unique destination because it is a stopover centre for all gorilla safaris in Rwanda, housing the highest number of mountain gorillas in the Virunga Conservation Area.
Murchison Falls National Park (Uganda)
Following the top Big Five destinations in Uganda, Murchison Falls National Park is Uganda’s remarkable and protected area located in northwestern Uganda with unique and diverse wildlife species, including members of the Big Five such as Lions, leopards, Elephants, buffalo, and Rhinos that inhabit the adjacent Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary. The park covers an area of about 3893 km² in addition to Murchison Falls, thus covering an area of about 5072 km², including Karuma and Bugungu wildlife reserves. The park is home to several wildlife species, including 76 mammals, 451 bird species, and several primates.
Other wildlife species to see include side-striped jackals, spotted hyenas, Rothschild giraffes, Jackson Hartebeest, topi, defassa waterbuck, Uganda kob, sitatunga, warthogs, and other antelopes. Reptiles include the Nile crocodile, monitor lizards, and hippos, among others. The park also offers other safari experiences such as game drives, hiking to the top of the falls, and taking a boat launch along the Albert Delta as well as the Victoria Nile to the base of the falls.
Queen Elizabeth National Park (Uganda)
Queen Elizabeth National Park is one of the top Big Five destinations in Uganda and Rwanda, with a unique level of biodiversity, including members of the Big Five. This is one of the most popular and diverse conservation areas in Uganda, with a unique and fabulous setting on the rift valley floor. The park is surrounded by several water bodies, snow-capped Rwenzori Mountain ranges, escarpments, and a diverse range of wildlife species. Several habitats, including grassland, acacia woodland, forest, wetland, and open water, sustain a wide range of mammals, especially members of the big five such as lions, leopards, elephants, and buffaloes, and over 615 bird species.
The park is also famous for the tree-climbing lions, a reputation earned due to the unique nature and behaviour of these incredible lions in the Ishasha sector. Other species include Chimpanzees, several antelopes, hippos, monitor lizards, and many others. Safari experiences in Queen Elizabeth National Park include the scenic boat cruises on the Kazinga Channel (a narrow water channel that joins Lake George to Lake Edward), game drives, and many others.
Bwindi Impenetrable National Park (Uganda)
Besides the top Big Five destinations in Uganda and Rwanda, Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is not a destination for the Big Five animals. This impenetrable forest is one of the most exciting and unique national parks, an exceptional primate tourist destination famous for gorilla trekking, birding safaris, hiking, nature walks, and cultural encounters. It is home to the endangered mountain gorillas, forest elephants, duikers, giant forest hogs, bushpigs, several other primate species such as blue monkeys, black-and-white colobus monkeys, olive Baboons, L’hoest monkeys, and about 350 bird species, including 23 Albertine Rift endemics, among others. Safari experiences include primate trekking of mountain gorillas and other primates.
Wildlife Comparison between the two countries
Due to a diverse range of wildlife-protected areas, Uganda offers a more varied range of Big Five mammal sightings in protected areas such as Murchison Falls National Park, Kidepo Valley National Park, Queen Elizabeth National Park, and Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary. All these wildlife destinations offer unique and stunning opportunities to see elephants, lions, rhinos, leopards, and buffalo in their natural setting.
On the other hand, Rwanda’s Akagera National Park is the only destination where you can spot most of the exciting large mammal sightings while on a safari in Rwanda. The park has a unique level of biodiversity with diverse wildlife species, including a growing population of the Big Five, such as lions, buffalo, elephants, rhinos, and leopards.
Since Volcanoes National Park and Bwindi Impenetrable National Park have exceptional levels of biodiversity and offer excellent opportunities for mountain gorilla trekking as the top highlight, they are not for the Big Five; hence, they are must-visit travel destinations for mountain gorilla trekking.
Following the Top Big Five destinations in Uganda and Rwanda for Wildlife Safaris, these two destinations provide visitors with exceptional wildlife adventure experiences, including the most challenging animals to see and hunt in Africa, according to trophy hunters. However, for the Big Five game sightings, Akagera National Park in Rwanda, Murchison Falls National Park, and Queen Elizabeth National Park in Uganda offer the best sightings and are the top recommendations. For gorilla trekking safaris, Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda and Uganda’s Bwindi Impenetrable National Park are the ultimate destinations with unique mountain gorilla trekking experiences.