Uganda's parks, compared
3 parks on wildlife, activities, cost, access and health. Every rating opens to show why.
Three parks side by side reads best. Tap a park to swap it in or out.
| Compare | Kidepo ValleyBest for walking | Murchison FallsBest for big game | Queen ElizabethBest for birding |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3Late Dec to early Mar | 4Late Dec to Feb | 3No dry season | |
3Late Dec to early MarBuffalo: National stronghold; Nubian giraffe: 163 (2025); Lions: ±12 (2022 survey) | 4bestLate Dec to Feb; second window June to SeptemberNubian giraffe: About 2,250; Lions: 240 (2022 survey); Leopard density: 14.1 per 100 km² | 3No dry season; drier windows Jun to Jul and Dec to FebHippos: About 6,950; Elephants: 4,711 ± 1,106 (2018 survey); Lions, park-wide: 93 or under 40 | |
| Elephant | Likely | Likely | Likely |
| Lion | Rare | Likely | Fair chance |
| Leopard | Rare | Rare | Rare |
| Buffalo | Guaranteed | Guaranteed | Guaranteed |
| Wild dog | Rare | Absent | Absent |
| Cheetah | Rare | Absent | Absent |
| Hippo | Not published | Guaranteed | Guaranteed |
| Giraffe | Guaranteed | Guaranteed | Absent |
4475 speciesAbout 475 bird species listed on the wildlife page. | 4450 speciesAbout 450 bird species listed on the wildlife page. | 5best600 speciesAbout 600 bird species listed on the wildlife page. | |
| 3Walking | 5Water | 4Water | |
3Ranger-guided walks at $25 from Apoka, longer walks in East Kakine among giraffe, buffalo and elephant, the 15 km Rionomoe Trail, and hikes up Mount Lomej at $40 and Lonyili at $50. | 3A ranger-escorted hike to the Top of the Falls at $15, birding and nature walks at $25, and chimpanzee tracking at Kaniyo Pabidi from age 12. | 3Birding and nature walks at $25, chimpanzee tracking in Kyambura Gorge at $100 from age 12, and mongoose tracking on Mweya at $30. | |
3Night drives cost $30 per person with a mandatory UWA guide and are sold only to guests sleeping inside the park. | 3Night drives cost $40 per person with a UWA guide and are sold only to guests sleeping inside the park; night nature walks cost $50. | 3Night drives cost $30 per person with a compulsory UWA guide and are sold only to visitors sleeping inside the park; night nature walks cost $50. | |
1The sand rivers flow only after rain, the Kanangorok hot springs are a scenic border excursion rather than a bathing resort, and no boat activity is listed. | 5bestThe launch to the foot of the falls at $30 and the delta cruise for shoebill leave the same jetty, and sport fishing below the falls targets Nile perch. | 4The two-hour Kazinga Channel cruise from Mweya at $30 is the signature, with sport-fishing permits sold separately. | |
3Self-drive costs $10 a vehicle in a park built around it, but Kampala is 571 km and about 10 h away, a sound 4WD is required and there is no fuel in the park. | 4bestSelf-driving is allowed and reasonably common: 305 km of tar from Kampala in 4 to 5 h, a bridge at Paraa and $10 a vehicle for a self-guided drive, with a 4x4 for the game tracks. | 3A self-guided drive is $10 a vehicle and Mweya is 8 km from tar, but Kampala is 410 km and 7 to 8 h away and the murram to Ishasha needs a 4x4. | |
| $40cheapest bed | $8cheapest bed | $10cheapest bed | |
$40bestInternational adult per day ({'name': 'UWA Conservation Tariff 2024–2026 (official PDF)', 'url': 'https://ugandawildlife.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/UWA-Conservation-Tariff-July-2024-June-2026.pdf'}, 2026-08-17). | $45International adult per day ({'name': 'UWA Conservation Tariff, July 2024 to June 2026 (official PDF)', 'url': 'https://ugandawildlife.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/UWA-Conservation-Tariff-July-2024-June-2026.pdf'}, 2026-08-17). | $40bestInternational adult per day ({'name': 'UWA Conservation Tariff July 2024 to June 2026 (official PDF)', 'url': 'https://ugandawildlife.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/UWA-Conservation-Tariff-July-2024-June-2026.pdf'}, 2026-09-18). | |
$40Lowest listed rate per person per night across 10 places; 3 are budget tier. | $8bestLowest listed rate per person per night across 20 places; 6 are budget tier. | $10Lowest listed rate per person per night across 42 places; 17 are budget tier. | |
$110Median of 3 priced places; top end $880. | $60bestMedian of 9 priced places; top end $780. | $120Median of 23 priced places; top end $990. | |
3Cheapest listed bed $40, 3 of 10 places in the budget tier, park fee $40 a day. | 4bestCheapest listed bed $8, 6 of 20 places in the budget tier, park fee $45 a day. | 4bestCheapest listed bed $10, 17 of 42 places in the budget tier, park fee $40 a day. | |
| $1,205mid-range | $1,470mid-range | $1,080mid-range | |
$610bestBudget one: self-drive camping, the trip most people take | $870Budget one: self-drive camping, the trip most people take | $660Budget one: self-drive camping, the trip most people take | |
$1,205Budget two: a mid-range stay at Kidepo Savannah Lodge | $1,470Budget two: a mid-range lodge stay at Murchison River Lodge | $1,080bestBudget two: a lodge inside the park, with the chimpanzees added | |
$7,740Budget three: fly-in and top-end | $5,070Budget three: fly-in and top-end | $2,400bestBudget three: fly-in and top-end in Ishasha | |
| No scheduled flightsnearest airport | Entebbe, about 1 h by Aerolinknearest airport | Kasese airstrip (Aerolink from En…nearest airport | |
No scheduled flights; Kampala 571 km, ±10 h, or charter to ApokaFrom the getting-there and flights pages. | Entebbe, about 1 h by Aerolink; Kampala 305 km, 4 to 5 h by roadFrom the getting-there and flights pages. | Kasese airstrip (Aerolink from Entebbe), then 1.5 to 2 h to MweyaFrom the getting-there and flights pages. | |
EssentialFrom the getting-there page. | Needed for the game tracksFrom the getting-there page. | Advised for Ishasha; 2WD to Mweya in the dry seasonFrom the getting-there page. | |
| Late Dec to early Marpeak game viewing | Late Dec to Febpeak game viewing | No dry seasonpeak game viewing | |
Late Dec to early MarFrom the best-time page. | Late Dec to Feb; second window June to SeptemberFrom the best-time page. | No dry season; drier windows Jun to Jul and Dec to FebFrom the best-time page. | |
Open all year; wet season Apr to OctFrom the best-time page. | Open all year; no scheduled flights Mar, Apr, May, NovFrom the best-time page. | Open all year; one flight a day in Mar, Apr, May and NovFrom the best-time page. | |
| High, year-round, countrywidemalaria | High, all year (NaTHNaC)malaria | High, all year (NaTHNaC)malaria | |
High, year-round, countrywideFrom the health page. | High, all year (NaTHNaC)From the health page. | High, all year (NaTHNaC)From the health page. | |
Not publishedOnly the history page mentions tsetse, as the colonial bush-clearing of the 1950s; the health page is silent. | PresentDocumented and current on the Nile corridor, with government control and tsetse traps visible in the park; still rare in visitors. | Not publishedNo published park-specific record of tsetse density or sleeping sickness; the guide advises dressing for the fly anyway. | |
Dec to Mar, up to 31.7°C mean maxMean daily maximum of the hottest month, from the health page. | February, 33.9°C mean daily maxMean daily maximum of the hottest month, from the health page. | February, 29.4°C mean daily maxMean daily maximum of the hottest month, from the health page. | |
Kaabong and Kitgum, several hours out; referral hospital in GuluAir evacuation: Charter flight, Apoka or Lomej airstrip. | Masindi General, district-level; real backstop KampalaFrom the health page. | Kilembe Mines Hospital, Kasese, about 60 km from MweyaFrom the health page. | |
| 5Wilderness | 4First safari | 3First safari | |
2Malaria risk is high all year, there is no clinic and the hospitals in Kaabong and Kitgum are hours away on dirt, flights are charter only and Apoka Rest Camp is unfenced; Apoka Safari Lodge lets under-fives stay free. | 3bestMurchison River Lodge has a pool, childcare and published child rates and Pakuba a family room, but malaria is high all year, tsetse is documented on the Nile corridor and serious care means Kampala. | 3bestMany lodges publish child policies and family cottages, Engiri and Katara among them, but malaria is high all year, the guide says to stay out of all fresh water and Kampala is 7 to 8 h away. | |
2Buffalo and giraffe are guaranteed, but a 2022 survey estimated about 12 lions in the whole park and the trip takes about 10 h by road or a charter. | 4bestGiraffe, hippo, crocodile and buffalo are guaranteed and lion and elephant likely, 4 to 5 h on tar from Kampala or about 1 h by Aerolink from Entebbe. | 3Hippo, buffalo and Uganda kob are guaranteed and elephant likely, but lion is only a chance and Ishasha needs its own night, half a day's drive from Mweya. | |
5bestNothing here is crowded, ever: the distance keeps the park empty and the guide lists three places to stay inside it. | 3Uganda's busiest park, where 38 per cent of recorded visitors are in transit on the public road; January to March brings the fewest vehicles on the Buligi tracks. | 2A public highway runs through the park, eleven fishing villages sit in and against it, and the guide lists 42 places to stay. |
Each park in one line
Kidepo Valley Uganda's far north-east: the Narus Valley's buffalo herds and giraffe under mountains on two borders.
Murchison Falls The Nile forced through a gorge: boat trips to the falls, Uganda's giraffe stronghold and most of its lions.
Queen Elizabeth Two lakes, the Kazinga Channel's hippos, Ishasha's tree-climbing lions and Uganda's longest bird list.