Where to do night game drives in Uganda
When and where to go on a night game drive in Uganda. A night game drive is a fun activity that lets guests explore the grassland lands at night with spotlights to help them see animals that come out at night. Uganda has 10 national parks. They are Queen Elizabeth National Park, Murchison Falls National Park, Kidepo Valley National Park, Semuliki National Park, Lake Mburo National Park, Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Kibale Forest National Park, Mgahinga Gorilla National Park, Rwenzori National Park, and Mount Elgon National Park. Uganda has ten national parks. Only three of them offer night game drives: Murchison Falls National Park, Queen Elizabeth National Park, and Lake Mburo National Park.
Where in Uganda you can go on night drives to see wildlife
The national park of Murchison Falls
It is the biggest national park in Uganda, and it is in the northwest corner of the country. The national park is home to many animal species, such as the “big four” mammals—lions, leopards, elephants, and buffaloes. There are also giraffes, waterbucks, Jackson’s hartebeest, oribi, warthogs, chimpanzees, olive baboons, red-tailed and black-and-white colobus monkeys, and over 450 bird species, including the elusive shoebill stork.
The northern part of Murchison Falls National Park is where most of the night game drives happen. They begin around 6:30 pm. You will have flashlights with you on the night game drive, and an armed UWA ranger guide will be with you to help you see animals that come out at night, such as lions, leopards, hyenas, civets, genets, nightjars, bush babies, hippos eating, and more. Along with night game drives, tourists can do other fun things in Murchison Falls National Park, like sport fishing, day game drives, a boat cruise through the Nile delta or to the bottom of the falls, chimpanzee trekking in the Budongo forest, bird watching, guided nature walks, and more.
The national park Queen Elizabeth
The second biggest national park in Uganda is Queen Elizabeth National Park. It is in the western area, in the districts of Kasese, Kamwege, Rubirizi, and Rukungiri. Uganda’s Queen Elizabeth National Park also has an exciting night game drive that lets visitors see the grassland lands at night.
Queen Elizabeth National Park only has night game drives on the Mweya peninsula because the Kasenyi plains are very popular with tourists during the day. The drives begin at 6:30 pm with an armed ranger guide and spotlight torches to make it easy to see animals that come out at night, such as lions, leopards, serval cats, bush babies, genal, civet, hyenas, banded mongoose, and more. You might also see hippos eating during the game drive in Queen Elizabeth National Park. Other animals you might see include cows, elephants, Uganda kobs, waterbucks, warthogs, and more. Queen Elizabeth National Park has many other things to do besides night game drives. These include boat cruises on the Kazinga Channel, tracking lions, watching birds, going on organized nature walks, and climbing chimpanzees in the Kyambura Gorge.
The national park of Lake Mburo
The smallest grassland national park in Uganda is Lake Mburo, which is in the western Kiruhura district. In Lake Mburo National Park, you can find buffalo, waterbucks, impalas, zebras, oribi, topi, elands, giraffes, bush bucks, warthogs, and more than 350 kinds of birds, including the ancient shoebill stork.
At about 7:00 p.m., Lake Mburo National Park’s night game drives begin with spotlights and an armed UWA ranger guide who will help you see animals that come out at night, such as leopards, hyenas, bush pigs, white-tailed mongoose, side-stripped jackal, aardvark, black galago, honey badgers, porcupines, genet cats, view hippos, and more. During the trip, visitors can also go horseback riding, sport fishing, bird watching, on a boat cruise, on guided nature walks, on day game drives, and do many other exciting activities in Lake Mburo National Park.
How much does a Ugandan night game drive cost?
For night game drives in Queen Elizabeth National Park, Murchison Falls National Park, and Lake Mburo National Park, it costs 30 USD per person who is not from East Africa, 20 USD per person who is from East Africa, and 50,000 UGX per person who is from East Africa when using a private vehicle. Only pre-registered vehicles will be allowed on night game drives, and the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) must be used.
A night game drive in Murchison Falls National Park, Queen Elizabeth National Park, or Lake Mburo National Park in a car owned by the Uganda Wildlife Authority costs 40 USD per person who is not from East Africa, 35 USD per person who is from East Africa, and 40,000 UGX per person who is from East Africa.
Kenya’s best time to go on a night game drive
You can go on night game drives in Murchison Falls National Park, Queen Elizabeth National Park, and Lake Mburo National Park at any time of the year, but the best time is during the dry season, which is June, July, August, September, December, January, and February. This is because there is less rain in the park during these months, so the plants will be short, making it easier to see the animals that come out at night. The game drive tracks will be dry and easy to use during the dry season. This makes it easy to dry game at night.
Where in Uganda you can go on night drives to see wildlife
A game drive at night in Uganda
What should you bring on a Ugandan night game drive?
When you go on a night game drive in Uganda, you should bring a spotlight, bug spray, long-sleeved shirt and pants, a warm sweater, your camera, and extra batteries, among other things.
