Uganda the pearl Africa is located in east Africa and blessed with a variety of outstanding and exclusive tourist attractions. The country is truly gifted by nature and it was on such grounds that the United Nations education scientific and cultural organization (UNESCO) came up to identify those unique wildlife and cultural tourism destination that offer once in a life time tourism experiences. Out of the major tourism destinations, three were identified and these indeed offer incredible Uganda safari experiences and makes tourists to appreciate the true beauty of Uganda. The three heritage sites include the following;
Bwindi Impenetrable National Park
Located in southwestern Uganda, Bwindi National Park is a home to the most endangered primate species the – mountain gorillas. Mountain gorillas are primates in the apes’ family that live in the forested mountains. They are covered with black fur, are vegetarians that feed on plant leaves, bamboo shoots and wild fruits. They live in groups that range from 10 to 30 and are led by the dominant male mountain gorilla called a silverback.
The total mountain gorilla population on earth is estimated at 900 and Bwindi impenetrable forest national park has 450 mountain gorillas, which is half of the total population.
Bwindi has 11 habituated mountain gorilla groups each visited by a group of 8 tourists every day, which they spend with one hour. The mountain gorilla groups in Bwindi are distributed in three major areas that include the Buhoma sector, which is the most visited area. The Buhoma sector has three mountain gorilla groups – the Habinyanja gorilla group with 17 mountain gorillas, the Mubare group with 8 mountain gorillas and the Rushegura group with 19 members.
The Ruhija sector of Bwindi also has three gorilla groups – the Bitukura group with 14 mountain gorillas, the Kyaguriro group with 15 mountain gorillas and the Oruzogo group with 25 mountain gorillas.
Lastly the southern part of Bwindi has five habituated mountain gorilla groups – the Busingye group with 9 mountain gorillas, the Bweza group with 9 mountain gorillas, the Kahungye group with 13 mountain gorillas, the Mishaya group with 12 mountain gorillas, the Nkuringo group with 19 mountain gorillas and the Nshongi group with 26 mountain gorillas.
Bwindi impenetrable national park is the best destination for mountain gorilla tracking worldwide and getting there from Kampala, Uganda’s capital city takes about a 9 to 10 hours drive through the beautiful countryside of Uganda.
The Kasubi Tombs
This is an outstanding cultural and heritage site situated in Kampala district. The Kasubi tombs are ceremonial burial grounds for the Buganda kings. The Buganda kingdom is the strongest and still active kingdom in Uganda. The kingdom covers central Uganda and up to today the local people strongly holds on to the local traditions. Muteesa 1 was the first Buganda king who was buried at the tombs and later Kabaka Mwanga, Edward Muteesa II and Daudi Chwa II were also buried here. The tombs are situated just a few meters from Kampala city center and were constructed using local material including thatch and mud.
The Kasubi tomb is a unique UNESCO cultural heritage sites and it’s the best place to learn more about the unique traditional cultures of Buganda kingdom.
Mount Rwenzori National Park
The Rwenzori Mountains are also known as the mountains of the moon and are located in the western part of Uganda. The Rwenzori Mountains have the third highest peak on the continent – mount Stanley that stands 16,762 meters above sea level.
The mountain is the major tourist attraction but there are many more wildlife attractions including the rare three-horned chameleon (Johnson’s chameleon), unique montane vegetation, a number of birds including those endemic to the Albertine rift, forest elephants, giant forest hogs and many others. The Rwenzori mountains national park is a UNESCO world heritage that is very worth visiting.