National Parks Around Virunga

National Parks Around Virunga

SEMULIKI NATIONAL PARK

In 1932, the Semliki Forest Reserve was established, and in 1993 it was given national park status. It is the sole area of real lowland tropical forest in East Africa and is home to 53 mammal species as well as 441 bird species.
Large portions of this low-lying park may flood during the rainy season, serving as a temporary reminder of the seven-million-year period during which the entire valley was submerged beneath a lake.
Near the park, there are four different ethnic groups. The Bakonjo cultivate the mountain slopes, while Bwamba farmers reside along the Rwenzori’s base. While pygmies known as Batwa reside on the edge of the forest, Batuku cattle keepers live on the open plains.
On the distant western side of the Rwenzori, the Semuliki National Park sprawls across the Semuliki Valley’s floor. The largest eastern outgrowth of the vast Ituri Forest in the Congo Basin dominates the park. One of the oldest and most diversified woods in all of Africa is found here.

Many elements in the Semliki Valley are more typical of central Africa than eastern Africa. The Semuliki River, which serves as the international border, is a miniature version of the Congo River, the forest is home to a variety of Central African wildlife species, and the area is populated by a Batwa pygmy community that originated in the Ituri. Additionally, grass-thatched huts are shaded by West African oil palm trees. This park offers a flavour of Central Africa without requiring visitors to leave Uganda.
Another 120 mammals live in this biologically varied area as well, including elephants, antelopes, and various monkey species like baboons and chimpanzees. This forest is home to about 350 bird species, including 23 endemics to the Albertine Rift.
Along the Semuliki River, crocodiles and hippos are common. More than 300 species of butterflies, including 46 types of woodland swallowtails, and 235 types of moths have been identified.In Semuliki National Park, there are records of around 435 different bird species.Among the 35 bird species on the checklist are the spot-breasted ibis, Hartlaub’s duck, Congo serpent eagle, chestnut flaned goshawk, and red-thighed sparrowhawk.In addition, 12 other species, including the western bronze-naped pigeon, have been spotted.Cukoo with a golden throat.

RWENZORI MOUNTAINS NATIONAL PARK

The park was established in 1991, and in 1994 it was designated as a World Heritage site. In 2008, it was designated as a Ramsar site.
Margherita Peak on Mount Stanley is the highest point at 5,109 metres above sea level. DR Congo’s border cuts via Mount Stanley.
The Rwenzori is a slab of rock that has been up-faulted across the Western Rift Valley and is not volcanic like the other significant mountains in East Africa.
Ptolemy, an Alexandrian geographer, gave the Rwenzoris the moniker “Mountains of the Moon” in AD 150.
On May 24, 1888, the explorer Henry Stanley plotted the Rwenzori. He gave it the name “Ruwenzori,” which is a native term that roughly translates to “Rain-Maker” or “Cloud-King.”

Margherita Peak was first scaled by Ms. Beryl Park, who was 78 years old, in 2010.
Along the Uganda-Congo border, in western Uganda, are the Rwenzoris, also known as the legendary Mountains of the Moon. The lower slopes are covered in moorland, bamboo, and lush, damp montane forest, while the equatorial snow peaks contain the third-highest point in Africa. A magical, fairy-tale image is created by the huge lobelias, “everlasting flowers,” and colourful mosses that cover the mountainside.
The 120km long and 65km wide Rwenzori Mountain range is protected by the national park known as Rwenzori Mountains. The national park is home to 217 bird species, including 19 endemics to the Albertine Rift, 70 animal species, and some of the rarest plant life on earth.
World-class hiking and mountaineering trails can be found in the Rwenzori Mountains. Skilled climbers can reach the summit of Margherita, the highest peak, after a nine to twelve-day walk, however shorter, easier excursions can be taken to reach the nearby peaks.

Bakonzo communities nearby provide accommodation with home-cooked regional food, nature excursions, homestead visits, and cultural performances for those who would like something a little less taxing.

QUEEN ELIZABETH NATIONAL PARK

The park is home to over 600 different bird species and over 95 different mammal species. There are monuments on either side of the road that indicate the precise location where it crosses latitude 00 in Queen Elizabeth National Park, which straddles the equator.
Kazinga National Park was established in 1952, but two years later it changed its name to honour a visit by Queen Elizabeth II of England.
The park’s highest point is 1,350 metres above sea level at the Katwe explosion craters, while its lowest point is Lake Edward at 910 metres.
It makes sense that Queen Elizabeth National Park is the most well-liked tourism site in Uganda. Big game and 10 primate species, including chimpanzees, find the park’s diverse habitats, which include a vast savanna, shady, sparkling lakes, and wetlands, to be their ideal environment.

The park’s breathtaking views include dozens of enormous craters that have been dramatically carved into rolling green hills, panoramic views of the Kazinga Channel, whose banks are lined with hippos, buffalo, and elephants, and the endless Ishasha plains, whose fig trees conceal lions ready to pounce on herds of unwary Uganda kob. All of these sights are set against the ragged Rwenzori Mountains.
Queen Elizabeth National Park is home to magnificent wildlife attractions as well as an intriguing cultural past. Visitors have numerous chances to interact with the local populations and take in storytelling, dancing, music, and other cultural activities. The ecosystems in the park have been preserved thanks to its gazetteing, which also benefits the nearby community.
Thorny Acacia predominates this savannah habitant with the high concentration of candelabra shrub, a cactus that grows along the kazinga river and on the kasenyi plains. The majority of Queen Elizabeth is made up of open grassland and savannah, which tends to be damp and woody in the west than the eastern half.
At least 95 different kinds of mammals may be found in Queen Elizabeth, which also boasts 20 carnivores, including the spotted hyena, side-striped jackal, lion, and leopard.
Queen Elizabeth National Park in Uganda is a true Buffet of Treasures!