Nature Walks in Uganda : Uganda is home to some of the most beautiful and scenic landscapes: from tropical forests, volcanoes and Block Mountains, lakes and rivers to savannah plains that boost diverse wildlife serving as a habitat for various species. If you plan to travel to Uganda for gorilla and wildlife safari, there are also beautiful nature walks that you can add in your itinerary. Nature tours allow visitors to explore Uganda national parks and forest reserves, farmland, valleys and plains to admire the unique plant life (vegetation), landscape, terrain and wildlife. You will also have experience in the life of the people in the areas visited. Nature walks may or may not require a guide depending on the location and knowledge of the person planning to trek/walk. The tracks offer opportunities of bird watching, hiking, wildlife viewing and cultural trails. Forest reserves like Mabira forest, Bugoma, Maramagambo, Busitema, Budongo, kyambaura gorge, Mpanga and Kalinzu forest reserve, have been set apart for the vital biodiversity conservation and worth visiting for nature lovers, bird watchers and eco-tourists. Butterfly viewing, as well as trekking reptiles like snakes, are a niche to some travellers. For those who want to experience tropical rainforests, the best parks for nature tours are Bwindi impenetrable forest national park, Kibale forest national park, Semliki National Park. Below are some of the places for nature walk tours in Uganda;

Mabira forest reserve

Mabira tropical rainforest covers an area of about 300 sq km located between Kampala and Jinja cities, about 54 km which is an hour drive from Kampala city.  It’s easy to access for visitors taking day trips from Kampala or Jinja to explore the lush rainforest, home to about 300 bird species, 218 butterfly species, 312 tree species, several primates and at least 23 different mammals.  Among the eco-tourism activities to do in Mabira forest include birding, nature walks, cycling, zip lining, primate walk, and butterfly watching.

There is an eco-tourism centre which runs more than ten trails where tourists can be guided or hike on their own to explore various parts of the forest. There are also accommodations in the form of bandas and a rainforest lodge for your overnight stays at Griffin Falls Camp located at the trailhead for zip lining. Several trails are dedicated for birding and primate viewing such as the picnic trail, grassland trail, and market loop trail which lead through the rainforest along streams and permanent rivers in Mabira forest. Visitors enjoy sightings of primates such as red-tailed monkey, black and white colobus monkeys.

Mabira forest is a birding spot where you can view birds along the trails such as hamerkop bird, forest wood packers, African emerald cuckoo among others, Butterfly lovers can walk on the butterfly trail where you can see lots of butterflies, plants and gigantic trees with buttress roots, orchids, vines, lianas and some are said to be over 100 years old. Adventurous tourists can do zip lining canopy tours which also involves hiking and offer stunning views of griffin waterfalls.

The Royal Mile walk in Budongo forest in Murchison falls national park

The Royal Mile walk located in Budongo forest and top of the falls hike in Murchison falls national park are one of the best destinations for nature walks. These places offer nature walk trails for chimpanzee tracking and birding experiences. Budongo forest reserve is a natural habitat for chimpanzees and more than 200 bird species. In addition to chimpanzee trekking with expert guides, you can enjoy the historical Royal Mile walk created by the 19th century King of Bunyoro Kitara kingdom, Omukama Kabalega. The walk takes about 1-3 hours through the primary forest, and you can see a lot of plant species, trees, spot primates, birds as well as learn about the history of Bunyoro kingdom.

The most iconic portion of hikes in the park is the hike to the top of the falls where you get a fantastic view of River Nile (Victoria Nile) exploding through the narrow gorge. The Nile-Albert delta swamp walk takes you along the river Nile where you can spot the shoebill stork and lots of water birds like the African dart, Egyptian geese and Pied Kingfishers.

Bwindi impenetrable national park

Bwindi impenetrable forest national park is best known for mountain gorilla trekking and is recognised by the UNESCO as a world site heritage.  While trekking gorillas, visitors also get to take nature walk in the jungle. This happens in 4 gorilla sectors which include Buhoma, Ruhija, Rushaga and Nkuringo. The best nature walk trails are found in Buhoma sector and Ruhija sector. The park covers approximately 331 square kilometers of an ancient tropical rainforest at the edge of the Albertine rift valley with diverse flora and fauna including 400 plants, 220 butterflies, 350 bird species and 120 mammals thus Nature Walks in Uganda .

To get most out of Bwindi than gorillas, do a nature walk through this mist covered tropical rainforest to see more than your expectation as you will have an alternative of about six nature walks and hiking trails in Buhoma. While here, you will hike through the forest to the waterfalls and uphill to the Democratic Republic of Congo border. Ruhija offers a pathway to the Mubwindi swamp and bamboo forest ideal for bird watching. Below are some of the walking trails in Bwindi national park;

• Kashasha River Trail – This trail is about 4-5 hours hike and ushers you into the jungles of the ancient forest and the end of the trail is 600 meters high. This interesting trail involves walking through steeper inclines and using the Buhooma-Nkuringo route.  Most times, this trail begins from Nkuringo Park headquarters then goes down through a community land until reaching the Park Buffer zone. This trail passes the junction of the two Rivers inside the forest, thereafter another 20 minutes’ ascent to meet with the alternative route. This trail is inside the forest and about 90 minutes’ walk from Buhoma and several bird species, plants/flowers and trees especially ferns can be spotted. If you want to enjoy the most stunning views, then go through this trail as it offers an intimate experience of the natural wonders within this misty rain forest environment, and the birds are plenty when using this trail.
• Mubwindi Swamp Trail – This trail is about 4-5 hours along a path in the jungles and slopes/descends through the magical rainforest with breath-taking viewpoints along the way of rich valleys and the Virunga massif. Visitors are likely to encounter some primates especially the Chimpanzees and monkeys, numerous bird species, forest elephants, luckily even the mountain gorillas and the bush pigs because majority of those wildlife are found within this area of the Forest.
• Bamboo trail – Hiking through the Bamboo Trail takes 7 hours and involves climbing a steep area of up to the highest point in Rwamunyonyi hill at 2,607 meters above sea level.  As you hike using this trail, you will encounter different vegetation and plant species that include the Bamboo forest with over 14 different plant species until when you reach the Afro-montane vegetation zone.  During this trail, you will encounter different birds and plant species. The view point of this trail (top of Rwamunyonyi Hill) rewards hikers with spectacular view of Lake Bunyonyi and the breath-taking views of the Virunga Volcanoes and Bwindi Impenetrable Forest.
• Muzabajiro Loop Trail – This trail takes about 3-4 hours rewarding tourists with the most beautiful view because it involves walking through the forest, and climbing to Rukubira Hill where tourists enjoy the fantastic view of the Virunga Mountains Massif, Buhooma areas of Bwindi Impenetrable forest and the western rift Valley below.
• Ivy River Trail – This trail is a 14km/full day’s walk with the most fascinating experiences and is conducted through an old road in the Jungles. While on this trail, tourists can encounter several mammal species including bush pigs, several primate species, bird and butterfly species and also some of the local community members while from the market. An alternative route for this trail can be from Buhoma to Nkuringo. The trail usually takes six and a half to seven and a half hours. The start of the trail can be from Nkuringo or Buhoma. Sometimes this trail starts from Nkuringo Park headquarters, then follow a murram road downhill as you are rewarded with breathtaking views for about 7kms and turn right to Ivy River. It is 2-3 hours walking from the Nkuringo Park headquarters to the Ivy River, while from this River to Buhooma as you walk through the forest takes approximately 4 hours hence total walking time is about 6 hours thus Nature Walks in Uganda . Tourists ascend and descend gently through the interesting areas of the jungles with numerous viewpoints from the murram road from or to Nkuringo while overlooking mist covered valleys. This trail is commonly used by the local community members when travelling to or from Nkuringo especially during market days to the Nteko Village, Situated on the Southern Boundary of the Park. Some of the interesting animals you are likely to encounter include duikers, bush pigs, some famous bird species, monkeys and beautifully colored butterflies.
• The Habinyanja (Railegh) Trail – This trail always takes 4-6 hours. After passing through the Munyanga River, tourists use a fairly steep slope of the Habigorogoro and Riyoyi Ridge overlooking the Buhoma River. The most interesting features on this trail is the “African corner” named after a rock that represents the map of Africa. With the steep ascent, keen hikers can relish a more relaxed gentle slope to the Habinyanja Swamp.  Bird watchers will also find this trail interesting because they might encounter the African Back duck, Black Bee-eaters, Pel’s Fishing Owl among others thus Nature Walks in Uganda .
• Rushura Hill trail – This trail passes through a forest shared by two countries. Rushura hill is the highest point in Buhoma sector, and the trail begins near Buhoma Park headquarters, through the terraced gardens and breath-taking forests. What makes this trail worth trying is that tourists are rewarded with several scenic viewpoints. The moment you get to the top of this hill, you will be amazed by the mind blowing views of the Western Rift Valley, Rwenzori Mountains, Lake Edward, Bwindi Impenetrable forest and then Virunga Volcanoes. This hike is considered the most scenic because when on top of the mountain (about 1,915 meters high) you have the greatest views of the surrounding areas.

Walking safaris in Lake Mburo national park:

Uganda’s smallest savannah destination of approximately 330Sqkm is one of the easily accessible national parks that boasts of a large population of Impalas and Zebras. Also to expect on your guided nature walk with an armed ranger, are the aggressive Cape buffalos, Giraffe, Topi, Warthogs and Eland enjoying the salt licks on the mineral-rich rocks attracting the large concentration of wildlife making a great moment to photography safari thus Nature Walks in Uganda .  

Kibale forest national park

Kibale forest national park is home to the highest concentration of 13 primate species, including the chimpanzee. Tourists visit this park mainly for chimpanzee tracking safaris, habituation experiences and birding. There’s one lodge inside the forest, and if you stay overnight at Primate lodge, you will enjoy primate calls at night as they go to rest and morning alarms for breakfast before a day’s activity. Alternatively, you can take a spotlight short walk at night as you may encounter many nocturnal animals such as Bushbabies, Poto, Ardvark, Tree hyrax, Frogs, Nightjars, Civet and serval cats. 

A nature walk in Mgahinga volcanoes, definitely calls for hiking since its Uganda’s portion of the three Virunga mountains found in Mgahinga gorilla national park. Travellers can challenge themselves by hiking up Mount Muhabura, Mount Sabinyo and Mount Gahinga. More nature walks done on the foothills of Rwenzori, Elgon, Mabamaba swamp, Semilki, Lake Victoria, Mpaga forest, Crater lakes in Fort potal, Plantations in Bushenyi among others.