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7 Unique Experiences You Can Only Have in Uganda

www.interiorsafarisea.com

Uganda earned its status as a bucket list destination thanks

to the country’s most famous residents, the majestic mountain gorilla. The

thrill of trekking through Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and spending time

in the presence of these extraordinary animals draws travelers from around the

world, but there’s so much more to Uganda than awe-inspiring apes.

This astonishingly diverse country which Winston Churchill

famously dubbed the ‘Pearl of Africa’ is also home to tree-climbing lions, some

of the rarest bird species on the planet like the African-Green Broadbill

and the spectacular natural scenery that will leave you in awe.

Are you an animal activists or you are a conservationist, or you are just a nature lover or both, If you’re ready to start planning the ultimate Uganda

itinerary, read on for a list of remarkable experiences from wildlife viewing

to cultural attractions that can’t be missed.

Elephant surrounded by grass and trees in Uganda

Spot four of the Big Five on safari in Uganda- © Godfrey

Elasmus.


1. Chimpanzee trekking in Budongo Forest Reserve

Chimpanzee trekking offers a completely different experience

to a traditional gorilla trekking tour. Rather than observing gentle giants in

a quiet, intimate setting, you’ll follow a boisterous group of chimps as they

leap and scamper through Budongo Forest Reserve, heading in whatever direction

the agile animals lead you.

The reserve is home to nearly 700 of these playful primates

including six groups habituated for trekking. Knowledgeable guides follow the

chimps’ daily movements and lead groups of up to six people into their habitat.

Much like on a gorilla trek, it can take anywhere from 30

minutes to a full day to locate a group of chimpanzees, which provides ample

time for participants to learn about the forest’s ecology before spending an

hour watching a chimp family play and go about their daily lives in the wild.

Chimpanzee swinging from tree branches in Uganda

Add chimpanzee trekking to your Uganda itinerary-© Godfrey

Elasmus.


2. Look up for the tree-climbing lions in Queen

Elizabeth National Park

Not only is Queen Elizabeth National Park home to four of

the Big Five safari animals (lion, leopard, elephant, and Cape buffalo), it’s

also one of the few places on the continent where you can see a wonderfully

rare wildlife sighting: tree-climbing lions.

 Found in the park’s southerly Ishasha sector, lions ascend

the wide branches of acacia and sycamore fig trees to catch a cool breeze and

avoid insect bites on the ground-a unique behavior that’s rarely exhibited in

other lion populations. If your safari guide shouts “lions!” in this region,

remember to look up rather than out at the grasslands.

 When traversing the park, be sure to plan a stop at the

equator. Monuments on both sides of the road mark the exact spot of latitude

00, a perfect photo opportunity.

Lion in the grass in Uganda

Look for lions on the ground and up in trees in Queen

Elizabeth National Park-©Godfrey Elasmus


3. Spot rare bird species in Uganda’s parks

If you’re a birding enthusiast, prepare to be wowed: Uganda

is home to more than half of Africa’s bird species, and it’s one of the richest

birding destinations on the continent. Visitors from across the globe flock to

Uganda hoping to get a glimpse of more than 1,000 species, including several

found nowhere else on Earth.

 With the right itinerary, it’s possible to identify as many

as 200 species in a single day. Keep an eye out for the prehistoric-looking

shoebill stork, considered one of the most desirable bird sightings in Africa;

the colorful African green broadbill found in Bwindi Impenetrable National

Park; and one of the world’s rarest birds: the elusive Shelley’s crimson wing

(which can be found in Bwindi and Kibale National Park).

 Two birds sitting on a branch in Uganda

Uganda is an excellent destination for birding enthusiasts.


4. Ride the Nile to Murchison Falls

Majestic waterfalls draw visitors to Murchison Falls

National Park, and a boat trip along the Nile River to their base is one of

Uganda’s signature wildlife activities.

 The three-hour trip allows travelers to get up close and

personal with an abundance of wildlife, including hippos, Nile crocodiles,

elephants, giraffes, buffaloes, and plenty of birds.

 This activity offers a new perspective on the traditional

safari, along with incredible photo opportunities. An early boat trip in the

cooler morning hours is often followed by an afternoon game drive and

sundowners, while a morning game drive and bush breakfast set the stage for an

afternoon boat trip.

 Murchison Falls, Uganda

Murchison Falls, Uganda -©Godfrey Elasmus


5. Whitewater rafting on the Nile

When it comes to adrenaline-fueled activities in Uganda,

look no further than Jinja, the undisputed adventure capital of East Africa.

 Of the town’s many activities from horseback riding to

kayaking and bungee jumping-nothing is more thrilling than whitewater rafting

on the Nile. This mighty river boasts class 1-6 rapids, making it an ideal

activity for first-time rafters, families, and adrenaline junkies looking for

an unforgettable adventure.

 Rafters on the lower-class rapids can enjoy a relaxing

float, swimming in the river’s warm pools along the way, while those opting for

higher class rapids can set off on a heart-pounding adventure filled with

plenty of thrills and spills.

The Nile River, Uganda-©Godfrey Elasmus


6. Get buzzed on a coffee safari

Uganda is quickly becoming the next up-and-coming

destination for specialty coffee in East Africa thanks to its high-quality

Arabica coffee plants.

A coffee safari in the Sipi Falls region or the Buhoma

sector of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is a fantastic way to learn about

the country’s burgeoning coffee industry (and get your caffeine fix at the same

time).

 Directly benefiting local communities, these coffee tours

give visitors the chance to explore coffee farms, meet local farmers, and learn

about the stages of production from field to cup. Of course, a sample of the

plantation’s finest brew is included as well.

 Rolling hills and greenery in Uganda

Experience the beauty of Uganda’s rural regions-©Godfrey Elasmus.


7. Experience the culture of rural communities

Uganda’s culture is defined by its colorful communities and

more than 50 distinct ethnic groups. Each area of the country offers

opportunities for visitors to interact with locals and learn about their unique

customs and livelihoods.

 Activities like the Batwa Experience near Mgahinga Gorilla

National Park offer a glimpse into the living history of this tribe that once

called Uganda’s forests home. The Batwa are one of the oldest surviving

communities in Africa and have preserved many of their traditions.

The Ik reside on Mount Morungole

near Kidepo Valley National Park and welcome visitors who partake

in a challenging day-long hike to their isolated home.

 Due to years of isolation and their strong beliefs, the

Ik have been able to maintain their ancestral customs dating back

thousands of years and willingly share these with visitors keen to make the

trek.

 Thinking it’s time to make your dream Uganda trip a reality?

Head to www.interiorsafarisea.com now to explore a range of Uganda tours, and

get ready to cross these bucket list-worthy adventures off your list-©Godfrey Elasmus

  3 years ago
Amphibious Hippopotamus


Hippopotamus is also commonly known as Water-Horse. Hippos are the third-largest land mammal after the elephant and the rhinoceros. Weighing in at 1,500–1,800 kg (3,300–4,000 lb.), an adult male stands up to 1.5m (4.5 feet) at the shoulder, and, oddly enough, their closest living relatives are whales and dolphins. Hippos spend most of their days submerged in water to keep cool, as they have no sweat glands.

Though they have webbed feet, their huge bulk prevents them from floating and they cannot swim. Their size does not, however, prevent them from outrunning a human - hippos have been estimated to reach terrifying speeds of up to 30 or even 40km per hour on land.

An adult hippo can spend as long as six minutes underwater, and their raised eyes, ears and nostrils allow them to remain almost entirely submerged for long periods of time. After spending the day bathing, hippos venture out at dusk and spend the night grazing, travelling up to 8km (5 miles) and consuming up to 68kg (150lbs) of grass each night to maintain their enormous size.

When hippos sleep in the water during the day they generally prefer to sleep in areas of shallower water. They are not standing or floating when you see them sleeping but rather laying flat on their bellies. Despite being semiaquatic and having webbed feet, an adult hippo is not a particularly good swimmer nor can it float. It is rarely found in deep water; when it is, the animal moves by porpoise-like leaps from the bottom.

#AfricantripswithGodie

#visitUgandarwandatanzania #Mammalsofeastafrica

  3 years ago
Reflection of the pearl of Africa


Tourism is a recreational travel that people do, Uganda has

been one of the African countries that has attracted prominent number of

tourists from different parts of the world. Uganda the pearl of Africa is one

of the fastest growing economies in Africa, there are so many building blocks

of this economy but one of the vital one that she is proud of is her tourist

attraction that she exhibits to tourists, with a lot of nature, culture and

amusement to offer. A tree did not start as a tree it started as a seedling

sown in the soil and because of the rich nutrient of the soil and care given to

it, it turned it into a tree, there are companies that have thrived and are

still pushing hard to strengthen the tourism industry in Uganda. One of them is

Interior safaris East Africa, one of the veins of the heart of Uganda tourism.

Uganda

has one of the best climates in Africa and in the whole world, this has maintained her tourist

attractions which has made it possible for tourism to occur. One of Uganda’s

tourist attractions are national parks, Uganda has numerous national parks like

Murchison Falls National Park often known as Kabalega mostly visited by

tourists because of its natural beauty, it’s located in the northern region of

Uganda it is 1,344 square miles large this makes it the largest wildlife

reserve. Queen Elizabeth National

Park which is 1,978 square kilometers in size and Lake Mburo National Park etc.

Uganda also has unique eye-catching features in the national parks like trees,

different species of birds and mountain gorillas. Interesting and enjoyable

activities at your view from different parts of the parks which includes

birding, chimpanzee tracking, cultural visits like meeting pygmies from Batwa

who were the first inhabitant of montane rainforest, hot air balloon safaris

and boat cruise. Due to the magnificent hospitality that Ugandans give tourists,

has increased their interest in touring the country because they make them feel

at home. All national parks in Uganda have lodges and hotels at different

points of the national parks which provide the tourists with good care, great

meals and fancy accommodation. When it comes to the longest river in the world

don’t look farther because it’s here in Uganda as well as mount Elgon, these

are places tourists won’t stop talking about because they are enticing and rich

in nature.

Life

has been made easy in case you would love to tour Uganda; with the help of

Interior Safaris East Africa you can be anywhere you want to be. Interior

safaris East Africa has been in the center of the tourism industry in Uganda,

it was founded by Elasmus Godfrey Tumwesigye in 2013. It has its head office in

Uganda. Interior safaris East Africa cares so much about their customers to the

extent that we have Agents in Europe for tourists interested in bare a peek of

the pear of Africa and the great lakes at large.  Interior Safaris East Africa is surely the

right package deal to take you around Uganda, Rwanda and Tanzania because it

comes With lots of surprises from their services, Interior Safaris East Africa

gives the best to its customers, and that’s why before tourists decide on the

place they would love to visit they first speak to a tour consultant from Interior

Safaris East Africa who will later give them advice about the package that will

fit in their budget that they will be comfortable with.

Connect now to be in a

place enriched with nature. 

  3 years ago
International Polar Bear Day: Feb 27, 2021

Information from https://www.wwf.org.uk/learn/fascinating-facts/polar-bears

photo: Florian Schulz/visionofthewild.com

1. POLAR BEARS ARE CLASSIFIED AS MARINE MAMMALS

Because they spend most of their lives on the sea ice of the Arctic Ocean depending on the ocean for their food & habitat, polar bears are the only bear species to be considered marine mammals 

photo Jon Aars/Norwegian Polar Institute/WWF-Canon

2. POLAR BEARS ARE ACTUALLY BLACK, NOT WHITE 

Polar bear fur is translucent, and only appears white because it reflects visible light.  Beneath all that thick fur, their skin is jet black. 

Photo: naturepl.com/Steven Kazlowski/WWF

3. THEY CAN SWIM CONSTANTLY FOR DAYS AT A TIME. 

As well as reaching speeds of up to 6mph in the water, polar bears can swim for long distances and steadily for many hours to get from one piece of ice to another. 

Their large paws are specially adapted for swimming, which they'll use to paddle through the water while holding their hind legs flat like a rudder. 

 photo: Steve Morello/WWF

4. LESS THAN 2% OF POLAR BEAR HUNTS ARE SUCCESSFUL 

Although about half of a polar bear's life is spent hunting for food, their hunts are rarely successful.  Polar bears main prey consists of ringed seals and bearded seals, 

though they will scavenge carcasses or settle for small  mammals, birds, eggs, and vegetation 

photo: Public Domain

5. SCIENTISTS CAN EXTRACT POLAR BEAR DNA FROM JUST THEIR FOOTPRINTS 

an innovative new technique developed by WWF and DNA specialist firm SPYGEN allows scientists to isolate DNA from a polar bear's footprint in the snow. 

Two tiny scoops of snow from a polar bear track revealed not just the DNA of the polar bear that made it, but even from a seal, it had recently eaten. 

photo from WWF.org Website

6. THEY FACE MORE THREATS THAN CLIMATE CHANGE

While climate change remains the greatest threat to the polar bear's survival, that is not all that the predator is up against.  The oil and gas industry is turning its eyes to the arctic, and with it comes potential risks of habitat destruction from oil exploration work.  Contact with oil spills can reduce the insulating effect of a bear's fur requiring them to use more energy to get warm, and can poison them if ingested.  Polar bears can also be exposed to toxic chemicals such as pesticides through their prey, which can affect a bear's biological functioning and ability to reproduce. 

photo: Klein & Hubert/ WWF

7.  GRIZZLY-POLAR BEAR HYBRIDS EXIST

As recently as 2006 genetic testing confirmed the existence of polar bear-grizzly bear hybrids, also known as 'grolar bears' or pizzly bears'.  The hybrid physically resembles an intermediate between the two species, but as wild hybrids are usually birthed from polar bear mothers they are raised and behave like polar bears.  The ability for polar bears and grizzly bears to interbreed is unsurprising when you consider that polar bears evolved from brown bears as recently as 150,000 years ago. 

 image:  WWF-Canada

8. THERE ARE AS MANY AS 19 SUBPOULATIONS OF POLAR BEAR

The total population of approximately 26,000 wild polar bears is divided into 19 units or subpopulations, of these just 1 subpopulation is increasing, 5 are stable and 4 are in decline.  The remaining 9 have not been assessed as they are data deficient. - we simply do not have enough information about them to know how they are doing.

 

photo: Steve Marello/WWF

9. MALE POLAR BEARS CAN WEIGH AS MUCH AS 10 MEN

Male polar bears can weigh up to 800kg and are twice the size of females.  This, in addition to the fact that they can measure up to 3 metres long, making polar bears the largest land carnivore in the world. 

photo WWF-US/Elizabeth Kruger

10 THEY CAN SMELL THEIR PREY UP TO A KILOMETER AWAY 

Polar Bears have a very strong sense of smell, which they use to find seal breathing holes in the ice.  Once it has found the hole, the bear will wait patiently until the seal comes up for air to attack.  They can even detect a seal in the water beneath a metre of compacted snow. 

PLEASE ADOPT A POLAR BEAR AT support.wwf.org.uk

Other cool facts about Polar Bears: 


They can overheat when in running in the summer and when temperatures rise above freezing. 

The clean themselves by rolling in snow. 

They can reach speeds of up to 25 mph on land and swim 6mph. 

They can live up to 30 years 

A female polar bear will have an average of 5 litters of cubs her lifetime 

SAFARI TRIPS TO SEE POLAR BEARS! 

Polar Bear Mother and Newborn Cubs – March

Spring Polar Bears of Baffin – March & April

Narwhal and Polar Bear Safari – May & June

Polar Bears and Glaciers of Baffin Island – August

Polar Bear Migration Fly-In Photo Safari – October & November


YES, THERE IS MORE TO KNOW! 

Polar bears touch noses to ask to share food. 

Polar bears do not prefer sea ice to land, they need sea ice to survive. 

A polar bear’s hunting and eating patterns depend completely on sea ice. Why? Because seals depend on it––and seals are the only food source with a high enough fat content and enough calories to keep a polar bear healthy. Polar bears can only reach seals from the platform of sea ice. While they are good swimmers, catching a seal in open water is extremely challenging and unlikely. Polar bears also rely on sea ice for travelling, breeding, and sometimes denning.

Habits and Behaviors:  

Polar bears communicate through body language, vocalizations, and scent markings:

Head wagging from side to side: A sign that polar bears want to play. Adult bears initiate play—which is actually ritualized fighting or mock battling—by standing on their hind legs, chin lowered to their chests, with front paws hanging by their sides.

Nose-to-nose greetings: How a bear asks another bear for something, such as food. The guest bear will approach slowly, circle around a carcass, then meekly touch the feeding bear's nose.

Chuffing: A vocal response to stress, often heard when a mother bear is worried for her cubs' safety.

Scolding: Mother bears scold cubs with a low growl or soft cuff.

Rushing: When a male approaches a female with cubs, she rushes toward him with her head lowered.

Hissing, snorting, lowered head: Signifies aggression.

Loud roars or growls: Communicates anger.

Deep growls: Signifies a warning, perhaps in defense of food.

Charging forward, with head down and ears laid back: Attack mode.

Moving downwind of dominant bears: Signifies submission.



TO KEEP UP TO DATE ON POLAR BEARS WE RECOMMEND YOU BOOKMARK:  

https://polarbearsinternational.org/




  3 years ago