Bwindi Impenetrable Forest-one of the ancient forests is situated in the South-western part of Uganda, and covers an area of 331 square kilometers. This magnificent UNESCO World Heritage Site was gazzeted in 1992 (the same year with Mgahinga National Park) and was inscribed to the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 1994. This Site characterized by different altitudes that range from 1160 meters to 2706 meters above sea level and is a biod8iversityy hotspot that prides itself as a home to over 120 mammal species, more than 350 bird species, 27 species of reptiles, over 200 butterfly species, more than 200 tree species and over 104 species of ferns. The most paramount attraction within this Park is the critically endangered Mountain gorillas, several endemic species and numerous tree species, but it is one of the strictly protected Forests with limited access granted to the local community members living around the National Park. In order to make the local community members benefit from the Park without necessarily entering it for firewood, the 20% revenue sharing scheme was introduced to make them benefit from different community development projects.
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Kidepo National Park
Size: 1,442km2
The park’s altitude ranges between 914m and 2,750m above sea level.
The park contains two rivers – Kidepo and Narus – which disappear in the dry season, leaving just pools for the wildlife.
The local communities around the park include pastoral Karamojong people, similar to the Maasai of Kenya, and the IK, a hunter-gatherer tribe whose survival is threatened.
Kidepo Valley National Park lies in the rugged, semi arid valleys between Uganda’s borders with Sudan and Kenya, some 700km from Kampala. Gazetted as a national park in 1962, it has a profusion of big game and hosts over 77 mammal species as well as around 475 bird species.
Kidepo is Uganda’s most isolated national park, but the few who make the long journey north through the wild frontier region of Karamoja would agree that it is also the most magnificent, for Kidepo ranks among Africa’s finest wildernesses. From Apoka, in the heart of the park, a savannah landscape extends far beyond the gazetted area, towards horizons outlined by distant mountain ranges.
During the dry season, the only permanent water in the park is found in wetlands and remnant pools in the broad Narus Valley near Apoka. These seasonal oases, combined with the open, savannah terrain, make the Narus Valley the park’s prime game viewing location.
