Things To Do in Uganda According to Locals Experts.
The top holiday activities and the ten best things to do in Uganda, as determined by local experts, will blow your mind in 2025 and provide travelers with excellent options. Uganda is known as the Pearl of Africa because of its abundant wildlife and vegetation, as well as its hospitable populace. This is a true jewel to see, and there are a ton of things to do in 2025 for visitors.
Mwesigwa Adventure Safaris can effectively customize these Ugandan activities for various types of tourists. Depending on your level of trekking ability, Uganda offers a variety of hiking spots for all types of safari travelers.
Hiking excursions in Uganda are an excellent method to see the many plant types, butterflies, and flora species that are dispersed among the various elevations. There are several additional hiking locations around the nation where visitors may go on short hikes.
The Top 10 Activities in Uganda
What this post on Things to Do in Uganda will cover
Trekking with Gorillas
Habituation of Gorillas
Trekking chimpanzees
The Habituation of Chimpanzees
Tours for Observing Birds
Rafting in white water
Drives for games
Safaris by Boat
Mountaineering and Hiking Cultural Tours
The following is a reviewed list of the top ten activities in Uganda: bird watching tours, white water rafting, game drives, boat safaris, hiking, cultural tours, gorilla trekking, gorilla habituation, and chimpanzee trekking.
Gorillas Trekking
One of the main attractions in Uganda is gorilla trekking, which is also one of the activities that offers significant discounts to those planning to participate in the activity in 2025.
Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and Mgahinga Gorilla National Park are the natural homes of Uganda’s mountain gorillas.
Every morning at 8:00 am, there is an etiquette briefing before gorilla trekking begins.
Depending on their level of trekking abilities, each of the eight people is assigned to a gorilla family to hike with during the briefing.
A maximum of one hour is allotted to photographing the gorillas and observing their social interactions.
Because of their manner of existence and several surprising behaviors, gorilla trekking is a highly special kind of monitoring primates.
Gorilla trekking licenses in Uganda are now just US$ 800 instead of US$ 700 for international nonresidents, US$ 700 instead of US$ 600 for foreign residents, and UGX 300,000 instead of UGX 250,000 for Ugandans and East African nationals.
Experiences of Gorilla Habituation
Habituation of Mountain Gorillas in Uganda
The only location in Africa where one may witness gorilla habituation is in Bwindi Forest.
It takes a team of people, including trackers, researchers, conservationists, and rangers, two to three years to completely acclimate a troop of mountain gorillas to human presence.
Only four people may go for gorilla habituation each day, in contrast to eight individuals trekking a single family during gorilla trekking.
Because of this, reservations must be accepted as soon as possible—at least six months in advance.
During habituation, a maximum of four hours were spent with the mountain gorillas.
Compared to hiking, which only allows for an hour or so, this means spending more time with the gorillas. People learn a great deal more about mountain gorillas, their habits, and their way of life throughout this procedure.
The cost of a one-day gorilla habituation experience permit in Uganda is $1500 USD per person. To obtain a permit for gorilla habituation in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, a person must be at least 15 years old.
3. Chimpanzees Trekking
Tracking Chimpanzees in Kibale National Park, Uganda
The best monkey tracking safari activity in Uganda is chimpanzee trekking, which is unquestionably one of the top ten things to do there.
The most popular option is chimpanzee trekking in Kibale Forest National Park in Uganda.
Additional chimp tracking locations include Kyambura Gorge, Kalinzu Forest, and Budongo Forest.
One of the most popular activities offered by Uganda Safaris in pursuit of the closest primates to humans is chimpanzee trekking.
There are chimpanzees in 21 African nations, but Uganda offers the finest chimp trekking safari experiences since it has the largest chimp population.
The whitetail tuft, which older chimps lack, helps distinguish newborn chimpanzees from adults while monitoring them in Uganda.
Several chimpanzee families are acclimated to the various ecosystems in order to make chimpanzee trekking safaris in Uganda feasible. This ensures that the chimpanzees are used to human presence and behave almost “normally,” exhibiting all of their personalities throughout a trek.
4. Habituation of Chimpanzees
Experience of Chimpanzee Habituation in Kibale, Uganda
In contrast to chimpanzee trekking, chimpanzee habituation involves visitors in the process of “wild” chimpanzees becoming used to human presence.
Only in Kibale Forest National Park may chimpanzees in Uganda undergo habituation experiences. In Uganda, chimpanzee habituation allows you to spend more time with the animals as you participate in the process of acclimating them to human presence.
Expect to get up early, prepare a lunch, and spend the whole day in the bush with Ugandan chimpanzees. You locate the chimpanzees where they spent the night and constructed their nest. You spend the day with the chimpanzees, seeing how they behave and how their day unfolds.
Chimpanzee habitat licenses cost UGX 150,000 for East African nationals and US$ 250 for international residents and nonresidents.
5. Tours for Bird Watching
Safari for Birdwatching in Uganda
For those who like bird watching, one of the things to do in Uganda is bird watching. It is reported that Uganda is home to about 1,065 different kinds of birds. Fox’s weaver is one of these that is native to Uganda.
One Uganda birding tour may witness more than 600 different kinds of birds, depending on the itinerary. The biggest living bird in the world, the ostrich, the greater and lesser flamingos, the shoebill stork, and the grey-crowned crane are a few of the bird species found in Uganda.
The Handsome Francolin, Rwenzori Apalis, Grauer’s Swamp Warbler, Grauer’s Warbler, Shelley’s Crimson-wing, Rwenzori Turaco, Willard’s Sooty Boubou, Stripe-breasted Tit, Grauer’s Broadbill, Red-throated Alethe, Dwarf Honeyguide, Black-faced Apalis, Neumann’s Warbler, Red-faced Woodland Warbler, Archer’s Robin-chat, Blue-headed Sunbird, Yellow-crested Helmet Shrike, Regal Sunbird, Stuhlmann’s Sunbird, Strange Weaver, Dusky Crimson-wing, and African Green Broadbill are among the endemic bird species found in Uganda along the Albertine Rift.
Uganda is home to a variety of interesting bird species that are seen across the nation. Bird viewing is safe for 2021 excursions since it includes small groups of people.
6. Rafting on white water
Whitewater Rafting on the Nile | Jinja, Uganda’s Wildwaters Lodge
The best grade 5 white water rafting in the world can be found on the Nile River near Jinja. White water rafting near the Nile River’s source in Jinja is the ultimate adventure activity for any safari tourist visiting Uganda.
The Nile River’s rafts float northward with rapids as their white water volumes burst through enormous cliffs. As you raft on the waves, white water rafting is a challenge that will keep your pulse racing and your adrenaline level high. Depending on your degree of fear tolerance, Jinja offers a variety of white water rafting options. Here is a selection of the most recent
7. Drives for games
Uganda’s Queen Elizabeth National Park offers a game safari.
In national parks and reserves, game drives are the most popular and ideal method to explore and view animals. Tourists who like to watch animals in the morning, evening, or night may do so with ease thanks to game drives. To see the animals as they graze in the park, game drives are conducted along designated pathways.
You get the opportunity to see a variety of common and uncommon wild creatures with a knowledgeable park guide. Kidepo Valley National Park, Murchison Falls National Park, Queen Elizabeth National Park, and Lake Mburo National Park are the best places to go game driving in Uganda. To fully experience the allure of the forest, including a game drive in your itinerary when organizing a Uganda wildlife vacation.
8. Safaris by Boat
Boat Ride in the Kazinga Channel | Uganda
Boat safaris are the greatest method to explore because of the wildlife that lives around the country’s many water features.
Boat cruise safaris are ideal for exploring the area or seeing water animals like hippopotamuses, crocodiles, and birds that live near the beach.
The well-known Kazinga Channel boat tour in Queen Elizabeth National Park, the Murchison Falls boat cruise, and the Lake Mburo boat ride are the best destinations for boat cruise excursions.
9. Hiking
Margherita Peak Summit in the Rwenzori Mountains
The Rwenzori Mountains, Mount Elgon, and Mgahinga Volcano are popular destinations for trekkers on hiking safaris or mountain climbing safaris in Uganda.
Activities in Uganda, Depending on your level of trekking skill, Uganda offers a variety of hiking spots for all types of safari travelers. Hiking excursions in Uganda are an excellent method to see the many plant types, butterflies, and flora species that are dispersed among the various elevations.
There are several additional hiking locations around the nation where visitors may go on short hikes.
10. Cultural tours
Get to know the History of the Kingdom of Buganda and British Intrusion
Uganda is a culturally varied nation, with distinct cultures found in every area. The greatest approach to learn about the customs of the people who live in Uganda is to take a cultural tour.
Ugandan cultural tours provide visitors a taste of the country’s diverse population via dance, music, theater, and much more.
The Batwa pygmies live in the foothills of Mgahinga Gorilla National Park and Bwindi Impenetrable National Park in Rushaga, southern Uganda, and are often visited by tourists on safaris in Uganda.
A little tribe known as the Batwa Pygmies used to coexist alongside mountain gorillas in the wild. In northeastern Uganda, near Kidepo Valley National Park, the Buganda Kingdom, the IK, and the Karamojong are among the various civilizations that are often visited.
There is always a lot to learn, thus visiting any culture in Uganda might be a quick or lengthy journey, depending on how much you want to study. Mwesigwa Adventure Safaris can effectively customize these Ugandan activities for various types of tourists.