Game drive safari in Uganda; Game drive is one of the most popular activities in Uganda where travelers get an opportunity to explore the savannah national parks in a comfortable 4WD pop up Uganda safari vehicle with a professional driver guide who is well conversant in different game tracks. Uganda is a home of 10 national parks which harbor different wildlife species ranging from mammals, primates, birds among others and among the 10 national parks, game drives are done in four savannah national parks namely Murchison falls national park, Kidepo valley national park, Lake Mburo national park and Queen Elizabeth national park.

Game drives in Uganda can either be done very early in the morning at around 6:30am when the animals are most active in the evening when the animals are going back to their resting areas or at night where you will be able to view nocturnal animals which become active at night.

Game drive destinations in Uganda

Game drive in Murchison falls national park

Murchison falls is the largest and one of the most visited game drive destination in Uganda. The national park was gazetted in 1952 which makes it the oldest national park in Uganda and it’s a home of about 76 mammal species and over 450 bird species. Game drives in Murchison falls national park can either be done very early in the morning or in the afternoon with a professional driver guide following different game tracks like Buligi game track, Queens track, Pakuba track, Victoria track, Tebito track, Albert track, Chobe track among others where you will be able to spot animals like buffaloes, elephants, Uganda kobs, oribi, Jackson’s hartebeest, waterbucks, bushbucks, hippos, giraffes among other feeding in the open savannah plains, view predators like lions, leopard, hyenas among others looking for a morning hunt and different bird species.

Murchison falls national park also offers night game drive where travelers will be able to explore the park at night with experienced park rangers and spotlight torches for clear viewing of nocturnal animals like hyenas leopards, civet, lions, genet, porcupines, bush babies, nightjar, hippos feeding, porcupines among others.

Game drive in Lake Mburo national park

Lake Mburo national park is the smallest savannah national park located in western part of Uganda in Kiruhura district. Game drives in Lake Mburo national park can either be done early in the morning or in the afternoon following game tracks like the zebra track, the lakeside track, Kazuma track, Kigambira loop trail track among others where you will be able to view animals like zebras, buffaloes, waterbucks, impalas, elands, bush bucks, warthogs, giraffes, leopards, topi, bush pigs, hippos, duikers, reedbucks among others.

Lake Mburo national park is one of the destinations that offer night game drives where visitors will be able to explore the park at night with spotlight torches. During the night game drive in Lake Mburo national park, you will be able to view nocturnal animals like leopards, spotted hyenas, genet, bush pigs, white tailed mongoose, side-stripped jackal, porcupines, honey badger, Aardvark, black Galago view hippos among others.

Game drive in Queen Elizabeth national park

Queen Elizabeth national park is the second largest national park in Uganda after Murchison falls national park. The national park is located in western part of Uganda in Kasese, Kamwenge, Rubirizi and Rukungiri districts. Queen Elizabeth national park is a home of 95 mammal species and over 600 bird species which makes it one of the best wildlife viewing destinations. Game drives in Queen Elizabeth national park can either be done very early in the morning at 6:30 am or in the evening in a comfortable Uganda safari vehicle with a professional driver guide. During the game drive, you will follow different game tracks in Kasenyi plains, Ishasha sector, Mweya peninsula, Kazinga channel drive circuit, crater drive circuit among others where you will be able to view animals like buffaloes, elephants, leopards, the famous tree climbing lions in Ishasha sector,  Uganda kobs, warthogs, topi, giant forest hogs, spotted hyenas, hippos, bush bucks among others.

Queen Elizabeth national park also offers Night game drives which is only done in Mweya peninsula with spot light torches for clear viewing of nocturnal animals like leopards, serval cats, spotted hyenas, lions, civet, banded mongoose, bush babies, hippos among others.

Game drive in Kidepo valley national park

Kidepo valley national park is the most beautiful protected area located in north eastern part of Uganda in Karamoja region bordering with South Sudan and Kenya. Kidepo valley national park is one of the best wildlife viewing destinations due to the fact that it’s known for harboring abundant wildlife species. Game drives in Kidepo valley national park is done in two areas that is the Narus valley area and the Kidepo valley area and it can either be made early in the morning, in the afternoon or in the evening.  During the game drive, you will be able to spot animals like elephants, buffaloes, Uganda kobs, waterbucks, zebras, giraffes, bush bucks, elands, Jackson’s hartebeest, bohor reedbucks, oribi, warthogs, kudus, lions, leopards, cheetahs, hyenas among others.

Best time to do game drives in Uganda

Game drives in Murchison falls national park, Queen Elizabeth national park, Lake Mburo national park and Kidepo valley national park can be done all year round though the best time is during the dry season in the months of June, July, August, September, December, January and February because during this period there is little or less rainfall in the national parks therefore access roads and game drive tracks will be dry and passable, vegetation will also be thin or short which gives you an opportunity to view different animals feeding in the open savannah plains clearly compared to the rainy season when  the vegetation is tall which makes wildlife viewing difficult.

During the dry season, many animals gather around the water bodies to drink water and cool their bodies which helps you to have great views of different animals and take beautiful pictures.

Game drive in Uganda is an exciting activity that can be combined with other activities like boat cruise, gorilla trekking and gorilla habituation experience in Bwindi impenetrable national park, Chimpanzee trekking and chimpanzee habituation experience in Kibale forest national park, sport fishing, horseback riding, bird watching among others. For more information about game drive safari in Uganda, you can reach out to us at Achieve Global Safaris.