MORE THAN FORESTS

“The clearest way into the universe is through a forest wilderness” John Muir. An inspiration quote that remind us of the true beauty of the universe. A forest in the eco system has helped to balance the bio diversity on land. With a large numbers dominated trees, and fauna.  Forests  in Uganda, are a home to any tree species and habitats to  a number of other species that include birds and wildlife.

20% of Uganda’s and is covered by woodland and forests. The total area of forest cover and woodland is 49000km, where 924.08 km are tropical rain forests, 350.60km are forest plantations, 39742.02 k m are woodlands and 30% in protected areas that include wildlife reserves and national parks

Some forests in Uganda are located within the preserved and protected areas. Making them home to a number of significant wildlife that attract tourists.

Budongo forest

The Budongo forest is located in the western region of Uganda, in the north western region near a protected area; Murchison falls national park.   It is located on  the north eastern side of the Lake Albert escarpment.

The forest has four streams that input into Lake Albert these include, Siba, and Kamirambwa, sonso and waisoke stream.

Budongo forest is dominated by medium altitude and moist semi–deciduous vegetation.  The forest covers an area of 825 km², rolling into the East African rift with 465 tree-species. However, the most popular tree specie is the huge growing huge growing mahogany tree.

Budongo forest is a home to 24mammal species, 360bird species 290butterflies and 9primates. Chimpanzee tracking in the Budongo forest is a major highlight in a Uganda primate safari.  And this small forest is the only place to track chimpanzees from while on a visit to Murchison falls national park.

The chimpanzee experience in Budongo forest avails a chance to witness and feel the presence of the robust, chimpanzees in the forest. The track takes about three hours with one hour of full interaction with the chimpanzees, feeding, swinging from the tree branches and the echoing vocalizations, of the chimpanzees make the whole experience lively and heavenly.

The other places where Chimpanzee tracking can be done are Kibale Forest and Kyambura Gorge in  Queen Elizabeth national park.

Bwindi impenetrable forest

It is located in the Kanungu district in south western Uganda. The forest sits at the western branch of the Albertine slopes of the East African right valley. It covers an area of 334 kilometers occupied by bamboo, vines, ferns and many more. The forest is part of Bwindi impenetrable national park, which is a major attraction on Uganda safaris.

The thick vegetation, temperature and biodiversity, enables the stay of many beautiful flora and fauna into the Bwindi.

Bwindi impenetrable forest is famous for being a home to the endangered mountain gorillas. The gentle species of the mountain gorillas found home into the thick forest of Bwindi. The different habituated gorilla families of Bwindi enable the gorilla trekking activity.

The gorilla trekking experience exposes the interesting lives of the gentle primates. The trek through the thick forest in Bwindi takes about 2 to 8 hours depending on the location of the mountain gorillas. The forest is home to different gorilla families, distributed and divided into sectors.

The forest holds half of the remaining mountain gorilla population, with the other population in  Mgahinga national park, volcanoes national park of Rwanda and Virunga national park of Democratic republic of Congo.

Mabira forest

It is the largest semi-green rain forest in the Victoria basin, it covers an area of 300 square kilometers. Mabira forest is located north of Lake Victoria in Buikwe district between Jinja and Lugazi. This forest is rich in biodiversity with over 9 primate species. It is in this forest, where we find the endemic Ugandan mangabey and 300 bird species.

Mabira forest has been established to accommodate many touristic activities for adventure seekers. These activities include; zip-lining across the forest canopy, bird-watching, mangabey tracking, nature-walks and many more.

Let’s take you deep into the forest. Let’s walk together following different trails