Self Drive Around Northern Uganda- Self Drive Uganda

Uganda a renowned safari destination accommodates both travelers on fully guided and self-guided safari. Today, several travelers however have wished to test their capabilities of driving in a foreign country. So, hiring a car for Uganda self-drive adventure is another amusement to consider when planning for a safari in Uganda.

Best time to travel to northern Uganda

Within the large number of parks and nature reserves which this country has, to the north is the Kidepo Valley National Park, and to the northeast the Matheniko Reserve. To visit these wonders of nature, besides the fact that you can do it practically throughout the year, the north is rainier.

During the second dry season of Uganda (June to September), the rains will be less torrential. In the north, however, the rainy season is longer, so it goes from the end of March to the middle of October. If, therefore, you want to avoid the rains, you had better travel to this region between November and February, the first dry season of the year.

How to access northern Uganda?

The route as usual starts from Kampala taking the northern directing through Bombo road, and then it turns to be the Gulu-Kampala road. The northern safari route will not branch to west Nile region, continue to Kabong to Kidepo Valley National Park.

Among the amusing moments on a safari to Uganda is taking a drive through the Northern route. The northern route remained for unique encounters of which some are not seen with other adventure routes in Uganda.

The northern safari road trip is an adventure packed route, when taking this amazing route on your self-drive road trip safari expect to encounter; the big five, world’s most powerful waterfalls, magnificent colorful waterfalls, abundance of wildlife. There are amazing people, one Uganda’s biggest cities of Gulu among many other considerations.

Destinations to Visit in Northern Uganda

Murchison Falls National Park

Uganda’s top visited tourist destination, Murchison falls National Park is among the special places where many tourists don’t wish to have it missing on their travel. A self-drive to Murchison is among the ease to drive places which even needs fewer hours of driving about 5 hours. Murchison is Uganda’s largest protected areas among the 10 National Parks in Uganda.

The park has unique and amazing features that have kept it most loved and most visited park in Uganda. However, though it’s magnificent, Murchison Falls National Park is not the most famous among tourist destination in Uganda, but comes second after Queen Elizabeth National Park.

Murchison Falls National Park is unique with mighty Murchison Falls which is almost the major attraction at the Park. The Murchison Falls are arguably the world’s most powerful falls due to their thunderous rapids that force into a narrow gorge of about 7m wide. The rapids rush to roughly pour 45m down forming the humus brownish bubble flow of the Victoria Nile.

The northern section of the park features the open savannah woods accommodating largest concentration of wildlife. Majorly at the Delta point where the Victoria Nile meets with Lake Albert to make one of the largest deltas in Uganda that host larger numbers of animals, birds and others. The northern section of the Murchison Falls National Park is majorly known for adventure packed game drive. Take a guided-drive here expect to watch prides of lions, herds of elephants, buffalos, antelopes, giraffes, warthogs, leopards on rare occasions, Marabou stork etc.

Taking a kind of self-drive in Murchison you expect to take adventures like game drives, boat cruise, sports fishing, nature walks, and visiting of the falls, bird watching, and chimpanzee tracking in the nearby Budongo forest reserve.

Kidepo Valley National Park

Kidepo is Uganda’s remotest park to access by road. The remote Kidepo Valley Park was rarely visited by tourist due to changes with accessing the park. However, the accessibility of the park has become easy still by road due to improved road facilities. There is no longer worry of taking a self-drive safari road trip into this far designated tourist destination.

Kidepo Valley National Park is among Africa’s amazing destinations which displays the real authentic African. The best landscape view with the endless savannah plain views packed with abundance of wildlife species. Kidepo is divided into the Kidepo Valley and the Narus Valley, and Narus Valley that starts around Apoka is the famous with animals.

The park has one of the highest concentrations of wildlife species. The animal sights are decorated with zebras, giraffes, buffalos, elephants, several antelope species, lions are common. All these are common with the immediate Narus Valley. Unique birds are counted among are the ostrich, the secretary bird among many other species.

Driving to Kidepo Valley National Park in the recent years was one of the hectic undertakings. However, the narrative has changed with improved road infrastructures, longer distances are now driven on paved roads and reaching the region the unpaved roads are not such bad.

Timu escarpment walk

Timu escarpment was the start of the final residence of the Ik community in Uganda from the hills of Kenya’s Turkana County.

The lush forest is located on the southern side and has served the community for many basic livelihood needs such as food, fuel wood, medicine, meat, honey and water.

The biodiversity in this forest and surroundings is unexplored and undocumented. The fast wilderness has the potential of becoming a heaven for off-the-beaten path nature seekers, cultural tourists, outdoor adventurists and bird watchers. Stay at the newly opened Timu Eco-Camp, overlooking the scenic Rift Valley disappearing into the arid lands of Northern Kenya

Sir Samuel Baker’s Fort at Patiko

In Ajulu parish, Patiko sub-county, Aswa County, the Fort is situated 30 kilometers from Gulu town. It was built as a center for the acquisition of slaves.

The same Fort was occupied by Sir Samuel Baker from 1872 to 1888 before serving as the offices of Emin Pasha and Gordon, the respective governors of the British Protectorate’s Equatorial Province at the time. The northern Ugandan insurgency prevented the Fort from being fully utilized for tourism.

Aruu Waterfalls

These magnificent waterfalls are located in Padar district en-route to Kidepo Valley shorty after Gulu city. Aruu waterfalls are unique and beautiful waterfalls that give an awesome breathtaking moment of relaxing after your long journey drive. A short drive to Aruu falls takes a minimum of one and half hour. Reaching here have to slope down on sharp stones, and cross ponds by a lop which a great moment in the forest.

Gulu City

One of the major cities in Uganda, Gulu is the major city for the northern region. When driving through the city can take a moment and visit some special places within. You can take up a walk into the main market of Gulu city or even tasting on the some local dishes prepared in restaurants within Gulu city.