A prominent South African magazine has named two of Uganda’s national parks among the 15 best wild places in Africa. In its April 2004 issue, Getaway Magazine listed Murchison Falls National Park and Bwindi Impenetrable National Park as the 7th and 8th best wild places in Africa respectively.

As the name suggests, Murchison Falls National Park, has the magnificent Murchison Falls that have rendered many a tourist breathless when they catch sight of the stunning Falls.

The magazine describes the six-meter gorge through which “the River Nile has to squeeze at the Murchison Falls before plunging 45 meters into a rock wall”.

“A must-experience during a visit to the Murchison Falls National Park is an 11-kilometre boat trip past all manner of great creatures and giant tamarind trees to the foot of the Falls,” the magazine adds.

Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, which was named eighth best wild place in Africa, was described as a ‘quintessential equatorial jungle’.

The Getaway Magazine notes that Bwindi supports more species of trees, ferns and butterflies than any other forest in East Africa.

“Searching for mountain gorillas is like a game of hide and seek, in which the guides know where they were the day before, pick up their trail the next day, and track them down, the magazine describes, adding that, “When a group (of gorillas) is found, the hardship is worth it.

The rankings are contained in an article titled, “Best Wild Places” authored by journalists, Don Pinnock and David Bristow, who traversed the continent in search of the best wild places.

Tanzania’s Ruaha Game Reserve and Serengeti National Park were chosen as the two best wild places in Africa, with the Kruger National Park in South Africa taking third place.

The Okavango Delta in Botswana, Kgalagadi Reserve in both South Africa and Botswana, and the Simiens Mountain National Park in Ethiopia were named fourth, fifth and sixth best wild places respectively.

Other countries whose national parks were listed among the best include Zambia, Mozambique, Madagascar, Democratic Republic of Congo, Namibia and Zimbabwe. Kenya was the only country in East Africa whose national parks were not among the rankings.