THE VIRUNGA RANGE – UGANDA SAFARI NEWS

The Virunga range which derives its name from a local Kinyarwanda word Ibirunga is positioned in the north of Lake Kivu in the east-central Africa stretching for 80km (50 miles) along the Uganda, Rwanda and Democratic Republic of Congo boarder and is famously encountered by travellers undertaking safari holidays in Uganda and Rwanda. The Virunga range stretches from east to west direction perpendicular to the rift valley where Lake Kivu and Lake Edward thrive. The Virunga range is a big block that comprises of series of volcanic mountains that number to eight including; the highest Karisimbi (4,507m) shared by Rwanda and Democratic Republic of Congo, followed by Mount Mikeno (4,437m) in Democratic Republic of Congo, Mount Muhabura (4,127m) shared by Uganda and Rwanda, Mount Bisoke (3,711m) shared by Rwanda and Democratic Republic of Congo, Mount Sabyinyo (3,674m) shared by Rwanda, Uganda and Democratic republic of Congo, Mount Gahinga (3,474m) shared by Uganda and Rwanda, Mount Nyiragongo (3,470m) and Mount Nyamulagira (3,058m) in Democratic Republic of Congo.
The six of these Volcanic Mountains that form the Virunga range are extinct with Sabyinyo and Mikeno being the oldest dating back to the beginning of the Pleistocene Epoch about 2,600,000 – 11,700 years ago evidenced by the disappearance of their craters and the jagged peaks that have for long suffered the effects of denudation forces. In fact, Mount Sabyinyo is preferred for Volcano climbing by travellers on safari tours in Uganda due to its series of peaks. Mount Karisimbi, Gahinga, Muhabura and Bisoke appeared towards the end of the Pleistocene epoch approximately 900,000 to 130,000 years ago. Nyiragongo and Nyamulagira emerged about 20,000 years ago at the western end of the Virunga range thus being the last volcanoes to be formed and are still active with extensive craters. For example Nyiragongo has a crater of 1.2km with liquid lava pool which prompted the famous eruptions of 1912, 1938, 1948, the 1970s, and 2002 which destroyed the greater part of Goma city in the Democratic Republic of Congo leaving enormous people homeless.
Interestingly to note about the Virunga Volcanoes is that they are habitats to a range of the world’s endangered species including the critically endangered Mountain gorillas that form the basis for gorilla trekking safaris in Uganda and Rwanda and the rare and endangered golden monkeys also famously encountered on golden monkey tracking activity. The Virunga range has been gazetted as a protected area by each country establishing a national park on the side that belongs to her territory. For example, the Ugandan side was gazetted as Mgahinga National Park; the Rwandan side was gazetted as Volcanoes National Park while the Democratic Republic of Congo was gazetted as Virunga Mountains. This has not only ensured the thriving of various species that find a refugee in these mountains but also has ensured the continued existence of these scenic landscapes whose fame has prompted travellers to plan safaris to Uganda and Rwanda.
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UGANDA WILDLIFE AUTHORITY EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR IN DISARRAY OVER LOST IVORY – UGANDA SAFARI NEWS

The Executive Director of the Uganda Wildlife Authority – a public body that is charged with the responsibility of taking care of Uganda’s wildlife that thrive in various national parks, wildlife reserves, zoos and sanctuaries where Uganda safaris are undertaken was reported to have been suspended on Thursday following the disappearance of ivory from the government strong rooms according to New Vision paper.
Though Andrew Seguya – the Executive Director of UWA denies his suspension from office citing that he is not aware of the suspension move, several agencies and personalities including the Members of Parliament, the minister of Tourism ,Wildlife and Antiquities have supported the move to have him step aside for the investigations to triumph harmoniously. This move follows the suspension of five other Uganda Wildlife Officers at the beginning of this week which included; warden law enforcement – Moses Olinga, head ranger – Moses Sikuku, clerk to the armory – John Lopeyo and two enforcement officers, Louise Muhumuza and William Echemu. Dr. Andrew Seguya has been the head of UWA since 2010 after being transferred from Uganda Wildlife Education Center.
The 1,335kg of ivory which is equivalent to $1.1m or 3billion Uganda Shillings disappeared from UWA strong rooms something that was unearthed by UWA audit report. This prompted President Museveni to task the Inspector General of Government (IGG), Irene Mulyagonja to carry out an investigation featuring the disappearance of ivory that has been seized from wildlife traffickers and poachers since 1990.
Ivory is got from elephants which are part of the Big five land animals that are cherished by tourists while on wildlife safari tour in Uganda and continued poaching is a big threat to their existence and continuity that would definitely lead to their extinction.
This implies that elephants just like mountain gorillas that form the ground for gorilla trekking safaris in Uganda should be accorded maximum conservation efforts because they carry with them precious tusks that are highly demanded especially in parts of Asia since they are mixed I n traditional medicine and are also considered a symbol of status.
The poaching of elephants to extinction will have great effect to Uganda’s bio-diversity and the ecosystem in general in terms of vegetating taming. While on a tourism perspective, it would definitely reduce the tourism  products and would prompt travellers to reduce on planning safari holidays to Uganda.
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SWIMMING AT MWEYA SAFARI LODGE – UGANDA SAFARI NEWS

Queen Elizabeth National Park situated in the west of Uganda is apparently considered the mostly visited Uganda safari destination. The Park is rich in a range of wildlife including lions, elephants, buffaloes, antelopes, leopard, among other species that are scattered across its savannah landscapes.
Spending an overnight in Queen Elizabeth National Park while on your wildlife safari in Uganda would go unchallenged if you opt for Mweya Safari Lodge. Perched on the peninsular of Mweya overlooking the 45m long Kazinga Channel and one of the largest lakes in Uganda Lake Edward, Mweya Safari Lodge is an upmarket/luxury accommodation establishment that will meet every traveller’s expectations.
Little would be mentioned if one leaves out swimming at Mweya. Standing as an Olympic size swimming pool of considerable width and length, Mweya swimming pool is one of those ideal water gatherings that will lure your heart to forget about undressing. The pool overlooks the cozy waters of Kazinga channel where a range of wild game dwell on the channel shores quenching their thirst while the aquatics like Nile crocodiles and Hippos enjoy the soothing waters that originate from the glacial peaks of Rwenzori Mountains usually encountered on a launch cruise while on safari tour in Uganda.
The mid-morning brightening tropical sunshine emanates from the east shining through these clear waters of the pool inspiring their blue color providing the swimmers with options of staying in the waters or to do a sun bath on the stretched cozy chairs that surround the pool. The rich bar side or well stocked book bank of Mweya Safari lodge will leave you options of taking a soothing drink or reading an inspiring novel or a travel magazine at the pool whose generated memories will lure the home friends to plan a safari holiday to Uganda for a similar encounter.
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HOT AIR BALLOON ACTIVITY OPENS IN QUEEN ELIZABETH NATIONAL PARK – UGANDA SAFARI NEWS

Uganda has for long been capitalizing on gorilla trekking safaris and wildlife safaris as the prime tourist packages in her range of National Parks like Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Queen Elizabeth, Murchison Falls and Lake Mburo National Park. Little efforts have been directed at product diversification thus keeping the tourist experience narrowed to the above encounters.
The potential of culture and heritage attractions alongside the opportunities presented by social events, festivals, conferences and incentives are apparently highlighted by the tourism developing and marketing agencies both from public and private sector to widen the scope of tourist products so as to increase the number of travellers that plan safari tours to Uganda.
As the innovations keep on arising from different angles, the hot air balloon initiative has made its self to Uganda with its pioneer project in Queen Elizabeth National Park which is the most visited Uganda safari park. The proprietor of this initiative has acquired a valid operating license from the National regulatory Authority – Civil Aviation Authority, has a professional pilot with 1000 hours minimum experience in flying hot air balloons of various types and sizes in countries of Turkey and Egypt, covered by British Insurance Company via UAP worth 500000 USD and a Kubicek balloon which is a brand of Czech Republic. This demonstrates the zeal and the might of this new tourist product.
The balloon which apparently has the capacity of taking 16 travellers on safari in Uganda will be complimented by a second balloon in three weeks’ time having the capacity of taking up to 24 tourists. The activity that will enable travellers to explore the amazing savannah landscapes of Queen Elizabeth National Park with its counts of lions, elephants, buffaloes, and a range of antelopes among other wildlife will be commencing in the early morning at 05:30 am where the crew including pilot, travellers and the balloon will assemble and start moving in order to get the right spot for taking off considering the wind direction. After ascertaining the right spot, the guests will be served coffee, tea and refreshments as they watch the balloon being unloaded and assembled with cold inflation taking place followed by hot inflation after which the guest will attend to short safety briefing before commencing the flight.
The flight will be lasting about an hour flying in various elevations in line with the direction of wind allowing the guests to enjoy the views of Queen Elizabeth National Park at a height of 3000 feet. As the balloon flies, the safari vehicles will be following it on the ground so as to pick the guests after landing. After landing, a non-alcoholic juice sparkling celebration will be made and certificates issued which is a unique encounter to have while on a safari holiday in Uganda. The hot air balloon encounter is 380 USD per person.
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PR FIRMS TO BE USED TO MARKET UGANDA – UGANDA SAFARI NEWS

Uganda stands as an impressive destination with a lot of tourist products that go beyond gorilla tracking safaris or wildlife safaris include culture, adventure, religious pilgrimage, meetings ,incentive conferences and events. However, it is unfortunate to acknowledge that this potential has not been fully tapped for tourism development in Uganda that would bring with it jobs, income and resource conservation.
The reason behind the low level utilization of Uganda safari products can be attributed to ineffective marketing efforts that the Uganda Tourism Board has been applying for long. These have included targeting the International media which is very expensive and has minimal impact in terms of increasing safaris to Uganda.
From this background, the Uganda Tourism Board (UTB) is putting together the efforts of using foreign Public Relations firms to boast up the move of marketing Uganda as a tourist destination. This model will be experimented in Germany, United Kingdom and United States and the PR firms’ details are to be exposed in subsequent days.
This move can be considered as one of the transformational attempts that Uganda is taking to increase the publicity of its safari attractions and enhance its destination image so as to gain a competitive advantage that would see travellers increase their desires of planning safari holidays to Uganda.
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UGANDA SHOULD ENHANCE HER ROAD SAFETY – UGANDA SAFARI NEWS

Uganda is by no means an ordinary destination considering its diversity of tourist attractions and activities ranging from gorilla trekking safaris, wildlife safaris, cultural encounters, chimpanzee trekking safaris among other experiences that are carried out in her various protected areas including National Parks, game reserves, forest reserves, zoos and sanctuaries. This rich background in turn pulls good number of tourists to undertake safari holidays in Uganda.
However, it should be noted that for tourism to succeed at a given destination there are various elements that must be in place or call them  components of a tour package which include transport, accommodation, attraction and ancillary services. This shows that from the word go the transport component is vital to the tourism industry which gives this argument leverage. The nature of roads connecting to Uganda safari destinations requires overhaul as most of them are loose surface that pose difficulties to traverse especially in seasons of rain. This problem has been neutralized by the usage of 4×4 wheel drive which has the power to navigate through such landscapes.
Besides the road structure, the issue of the road behavior or term it the traffic control element is still lacking. This does not only threaten the lives of the natives but also those that undertake safaris in Uganda. The traffic control systems are limited to major towns and the upcountry areas are less monitored which poses the ground for over speeding and breaking of road use rules which in turn puts the lives of people at stake. For example on November 4th, 2014 the Australian couple who were on safari tour in Uganda lost their lives while riding a BMW motorbike after colliding with a Toyota Prado 3km past Mubende town.
Tanya Natasha Griffion aged 34 and Dean Griffon aged 33 had traversed other African countries including Zimbabwe, Malawi, Namibia and Botswana but became unlucky in Uganda. Though this can be considered as a sudden happening, other people including Ugandans also lose their lives too on these roads. The human errors, reckless ness and negligence behind these accidents can be easily reversed by enforcing the road standards and the travellers on Uganda safaris would not only enjoy the tourism offerings but also feel safe on the roads where he/she is passing.
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UGANDA; A CRADLE OF TOURISM EXPERIENCE – UGANDA SAFARI NEWS

Uganda is a rich destination that has got an extended historical background that feature it’s natural and human made aspects that would pull travellers to undertake safari tours to Uganda. The features go beyond the commonly mentioned chimpanzees and mountain gorillas that have formed the basis for gorilla tracking safaris in Uganda and Uganda chimpanzee trekking safaris to include the snowcapped Rwenzori Mountains, impressive climate, Uganda martyrs, and wild game among others that have rich potential to satisfy the travellers’ interests.
The challenge to this experience is poor promotion strategies that leaves most of the travellers to would have picked interest in Uganda safari products unaware of such encounters. The country has ideal climate that would pose a perfect escape for the polar people in times of winter. The promoters of these tourist products have failed to tap the comparative advantage of the local opportunities for example they have maintained foreign names on local attractions such Lake Victoria instead of Enyanja Nalubaale or Lake Albert instead of Mwitanzige. This shows the relevance of using both names in the promotional campaigns to bring out the authentic bit of it.
The effort to construct the Kasese International Airport to facilitate easy transfer of travellers on safari holidays in Uganda who may not be interested in surface travel is seen as positive move to boasting country’s destination competitiveness. It would thus complement Entebbe and Gulu Airports. The introduction of single tourist visa for East African countries is also a facilitating factor that will see Uganda realize its potential as a cradle of tourism experience.

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THE INTERNATIONAL TOURISM EXPO ENDS IN KAMPALA – UGANDA TOURISM NEWS

The International tourism expo the second of its kind came to an end on this weekend after two and a half days exhibition featuring great Uganda safari products at the Uganda National Museum.
Arranged by the Uganda Tourism Board, Ministry of Tourism, Wildlife and Antiquities and a range of safari lodges in Uganda including upcountry hotels, tour operators that package tourist products that pull travelers to plan safari tours to Uganda and Uganda Wildlife Authority which showcased Uganda’s protected areas including national parks, game and natural reserves such as Bwindi Impenetrable National Park the haven for gorilla trekking safaris in Uganda, Kibale National Park the haven for chimpanzee trekking safaris, Murchison falls and Queen Elizabeth National Park well known for wildlife safaris among other areas.
Running under the theme “Celebrating People and Culture” the expo featured cultural dance groups across Uganda which demonstrated various dance styles in different tribal groups of Uganda. The main aim of this Ugandan International Expo was to draw attention of Ugandans to their attractions so as to be part of those that undertake safari holidays in Uganda.
The issue of safari holidays being expensive to Ugandans were acknowledged and need to have affordable prices in terms of accommodation, transportation and park entrance fees has been noted and officials noted that when the opinion from the people about what stops them from visiting Uganda safari products is well explored, adjustments can be done.
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THE COLDNESS OF RUHIJA – UGANDA SAFARI NEWS

Ruhija is one of the four sectors where gorilla trekking activity is conducted in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. It is situated in the eastern part of the forest alongside Buhoma in the north, Rushaga in the south and Nkuringo in the east. The area is a home of the three gorilla families that have been habituated by travellers on Uganda gorilla safaris namely; Bitukura, Oruzogo and Kyaguriro.
To undertake a gorilla trekking activity in Ruhija requires you to spend an overnight in any of the lodges in the area like; Ruhija Gorilla Mist Camp, Bakiga lodge, Ruhija Gorilla Safari Lodge, Trekkers Tavern among other accommodation establishments so as to catch up with the activity at 8am. However, one cannot skip the coldness of Ruhija. Being a raised terrain inclined towards the highlands of Kigezi marked by dense jungle crowned with impressive mist, Ruhija presents intense cold moments that leave gorilla safari undertakers who are not used to winter conditions in a state disarray.
Regardless of cozy beddings, beautiful wooden beds, well-crafted cottages some of which have iron roof, the night in Ruhija may be uneasy in a room with no fireplace. Hot water bottle like containers are used in some of the lodges to warm your body and sometimes present themselves as the only savior especially for lonely travellers undertaking a gorilla safari tour in Uganda. The evenings nights and mornings are wholesomely cold and always require covering yourself with thick cloths to generate some warmth.
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HERITAGE SAFARI LODGE; A NEW CRAFT IN MURCHISON FALLS NATIONAL PARK – UGANDA SAFARI NEWS

Positioned at the boarder of the northern side of Murchison Falls National Park, Heritage safari Lodge is by no means an ordinary accommodation establishment for Uganda safari tour undertakers. The lodge provides easy connection about 15minutes drive to the park through Tangi gate whose environs are bewildered by numerous counts of wild game that is always sought after on Uganda wildlife safaris including giraffes, elephants, Uganda Kobs, buffaloes, Jackson’s hartebeest, and waterbucks among other species.
Crafted in typical traditional architecture, heritage safari lodge stands to justify the long ignored beauty of the traditional African building materials. It is crafted in pieces of local wood, thatched by local grass materials, light by locally generated solar power whose bulbs inside the rooms are remote controlled while compound lighting bulbs have got a sensitivity element which is a unique thing to encounter while on your safari holiday in Uganda. The public area which doubles as a restaurant and bar contains charging facilities where traveller’s gadgets can be charged, has a television with international channels and the capacity to show international games including soccer, the bar features both local and international brands while the restaurant has the capacity to handle all clients dietary requirements.
One could not talk about heritage safari lodge without mentioning its warm, friendly, flexible and welcoming staff. Its proprietor William is unique as he has set his own trend by making a very close touch with his guests more than any other person of his caliber in this industry. Their efforts to attend to guests make travellers to expect the home-like treatment while planning their safari tour to Uganda. Interestingly to note is that unlike the adjacent Bwana Tembo and Fort Murchison, the accommodation rates at heritage lodge are still pocket friendly allowing travellers to save for other safari activities.
Heritage lodge took 120 days for construction and plans to have a museum featuring a cross section of African artifacts and a boat that will connect to Ntoroko on Lake Albert. Its future is much brighter and identifying with it is laying a foundation for the future pride. Its cottages slope down to the Albert Nile which gives impressive views of River Nile – the world’s longest river as it makes its way out of Uganda to Mediterranean sea which gives a great scenic view for Uganda safari undertakers.
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