Uganda national parks had in the past seen a drastic decline in the number of tourists and wildlife. The leading national parks in Uganda visited by tourists is Murchison falls national park and Queen Elizabeth national park. However, the leading tour attraction in Uganda is the mountain gorillas. Mountain gorilla trekking in Uganda is carried out in Bwindi national park as well as Mgahinga national park occasionally.

However like any industry, tourism has also got its hurdles and setbacks in Uganda. The recent Al-shabab attacks on Kenya’s tourists has helped see an increase in the number of tourists visiting Uganda. The governments of UK and USA have warned their citizens about traveling to Kenya. However, most of these warning are not warranted given the hard work the Kenyan government has put into ensuring the safety of the tourists coming to Kenya. The leading Kenya travel packages which is Masai Mara safaris is also in a region far from the Somali border where most of the insecurity had taken place.

In Uganda, the Country is enjoying good political stability and the number of tourists is increasing steadily. However there was bad tourism publicity recent from a tourist who visited the Murchison falls national park. A visit to Murchison falls national park is probably is however one of the most romantic Uganda safari packages.

Tsetse flies have affected the areas around Murchison falls national park and this has been worrying stakeholders in the tourism industry. However the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries has now embarked on the process of eradicating tsetse flies in the region.

Mr. Luyimbazi Fredrick the Assistant Commissioner for Entomology has said that this will help boost tourist confidence in the area. Mr. Luyimbazi Fredrick visited the region recently during a Murchison falls safari and found that the number of tsetse flies in the region had greatly reduced.

The Assistant Commissioner toured Red Chilli rest house, Sambiya River lodge and the Uganda Wildlife Authority offices all which are located in the Murchison falls national park. He urged government to invest in the eradication of tsetse flies in the region.

There was an incident where a tourist provided negative publicity about the tourism in the Country. A tourist visited Murchison Falls national park in August 2011 and posted bad reviews about the place saying it swarmed with tsetse which is actually not true. The tourist was telling other tourists not to visit the region.

The entomologist said one other solution to the tsetse flies is spraying with environmentally friendly pesticides.

Apart from gorilla safaris in Bwindi, the other top Uganda travel package is a Murchison falls safari.

The Virunga national park is the oldest national park in Africa and was opened in 1924, however, the park has seen a lot of political instability over the years. However since the eruption of the mountains the number of tourists visiting the region has more than double compared to a year early. In November this year the park saw 350 people visiting the park in comparison to 150 people who visited the park last year. The park was effectively the home of the rebels led by Laurent Nkunda who completely paralysed any tourist activities in the wildlife reserve in 2008. However after the defeat of the rebels the park was opened to tourists again in 2009 with 550 tourists visiting the park. In 2010 the park saw 1,800 tourists and it is expected that this year will see the park record about 4,000 tourists with an estimated one million US dollars in tourist dollars. The Nyamulagira is Africa’s most active volcanic mountain and began its eruption in November this year.

Mountain gorillas and Uganda safari packages

It has been erupting for the last month and is attracting tourists in their droves. The eruption has been so spectacular and offers great photographic opportunities. Although the Virungas is a World heritage site, its future is in jeopardy given the political unrest the Country and the region has faced. The current dispute of the results of the elections and sensitive political atmosphere in the Country may put the future of the park at risk. The eruption was over 200 meters high with spectacular colors lighting up the skies above attracting droves of tourists to this beautiful Country. The costs of running the Virunga national park is estimated at 3.8 million US dollars annually and 80 per cent of the money comes from the European Union which is set to end in 2012. Given the current economic crisis in Europe the parks future is so uncertain. Of the money raise from tourist dollars 50% goes to the ministry of tourism while 30% goes to maintaining schools and clinics as well as creating jobs in the local community. The park managements keeps 20% and with the current eurozone economic crisis the future of the Virunga national park is bleak.

Find your gorilla tour package from us we offer:

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• Gorilla trekking in Virunga
• Gorilla trekking in Uganda
• Visit Rwanda gorillas

Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary located in the District of Nakasongola which has been in the spotlight during the probe into the Protected Areas Management for Sustainable Use – PAMSU a project under Uganda Wildlife Authority.

This bad publicity has however been countered with the birth of a baby rhino at the Sanctuary which sees the number of total rhinos in the Country go up to 13 in total.

During the turbulent political times of Idi Amin, rhinos were poached to extinction in the Country. People hunted the rhinos for their horns which were on high demand as a source of materials for artifacts as well as medical portions by traditional herbalists.

The birth of this female rhino now brings the population of the rhinos at Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary to 11 and in addition to the two rhinos at Uganda Wildlife Education Center this makes the population of the rhinos 13 in total in Country that once had an astonishing number of rhinos. It is also the only female to born in Uganda for over 30 years.

The rhino sanctuary according to the executive director of Rhino Fund Uganda, Angie Genade has only three females excluding the newly born female. Rhinos have a gestation period of 16 months and if there’s any mishap in their reproduction their population growth would be greatly hampered. There’s need to have then reproduce quickly so as to reintroduce them in to the national parks in which their population was whipped out in 1982/83.

The population of rhinos has been reduced drastically across Africa due to poaching for their horns. It is a believed by many especially in Asia that their horns act as an aphrodisiac.

The last rhino to be born in Uganda was in January 2^nd last year and it was named Justice. Baby Justice was born to Kori a different mother to that of the new female baby rhino.

The Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary has become a feature most of Uganda safari packages especially for tourists enroute to Murchison falls national park. A Murchison falls safari will soon include rhinos if the population of the rhinos in Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary increases and they are reintroduced to the park.

Uganda has a lot to offer including mountain gorillas and for your mountain gorilla tours visit www.gorillatoursinuganda.com

After Rupi Mangat had missed all three sightings of the elusive cheetah she had to console herself with pictures from the feisty chairperson of the Friends of Nairobi National Park – FoNNAP – Dr. Paula Kahumbu. This was during a camping safari in Nairobi national park which still has a good number of wildlife.

Later they moved on to the 6,000-acre wildlife haven; Lisa Ranch and Sanctuary which has wildebeest, giraffes, Grant’s and Tommies, elands plus a lot of other plains game. The ranch definitely rivers the Masai Mara and it also has lots of Kori bustards and other bird species.

One would be forgiven for thinking that they were doing a Masai Mara tour during a wildebeest migration. Or even in the Samburu national park renowned for its large number of svelte gerenuk which has been dabbed by many as the long-necked giraffe antelope. A herd of these beautiful creatures watch as they drive past on the rim of the hills of Waami which Mbithi Michael of the ranch describes as the “sleeping lady” because it looks like silhouette of a woman lying on her side with its spectacular views of the forest glades on either side. Michael in his early 30s, whose passion for the wildlife runs deep says they have been managing wildlife on the ranch since 1991. He practically knows every hill and brow in the ranch and he was only 10 years old when he first arrived on the land with his dogs and it was when he first spotted a cheetah.

He has since then never stopped looking out for the cheetahs in the ranch which has a very high concentration of the wild cats. It is not hard to see why these now rare cats are in high numbers – the plains are vast and there are plenty of Thompson’s gazelles and other wildlife for them to easily feast on.

Michael says that first gerenuks which were all females came to the ranch of their own accord. However, they were all females and so they had to ask for permission from the wildlife authorities to let them bring in 6 males from the Selankay conservancy near Amboseli in 1999 and are now numbering 40 in all.

He also says the lesser Kudu a type of antelope with spiral horns located 15kilometers away are about to get extinct if nothing is done to save them. They were enticed into the ranch in about the year 2000 when they were living in unprotected areas where they faced a lot of poaching for bush meat.

Wildlife have and are still faced with a number of threats. According to Michael the plains in the 1890s were teeming with wildlife most of which have now been decimated. There’s potential however to bring back most the wildlife like buffalo and topi which were once wiped out from the plains by rinderpest.

For your East Africa wildlife tours:

• Kenya wildlife safari
• Tanzania wildlife safari
• Uganda wildlife safaris

Prince Williams wedding is going to be one of the most expensive wedding ever in Britain with security estimated to cost the equivalent of 2.5 billlion which alone would be twice the amount spent on the wedding of his parents, the late Princess Diana and Prince Charles. The wedding guest list is comprised of over 1,900 people.

However, the fact that the royals chose Kenya as the place for their proposal says a lot about Britain’s love for the Country. Rutundu Log Cabin is known for its exclusivity and Serenity and it is no wonder Prince William chose this as the place to pop the question to Kate. In 1952, Queen Elizabeth the grandmother of Prince William was announced Queen while on a wildlife safari tour in Kenya. This all began in 1949 when King George VI canceled his planned visit of Australia and New Zealand due to his failing health and the stress brought on by the World War II coupled with lung cancer. It was 3 years later that King George allowed his heir and Princess Elizabeth to make this royal trip on behalf of the Kingdom. The then Princess Elizabeth however made a detour to Kenya to visit a prominent settler Major Sherbrooke Eric Walker.

Then as the World War raged on and the Allied forces won, King George however succumbed to his illness and the news reached Princess Elizabeth and her husband the Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Philip as she was the Treetops during a mountain retreat.

It is not hard to imagine why they choice Kenya. According to a tour guide, the couple were free to be themselves with no paparazzi and no prying cameras. There was no one watching their every move in the wilderness of Kenya. This however was not the first time the Prince had visited Kenya. In 1996, Prince William and his brother Harry did a Kenya holiday safari and were at Ngwesi during its construction

Kenya is definitely a land of beauty will lots of tour attractions to offer visitors to the Country. From the Masai  Mara which was dabbed one of the Wonders of the World to its culture and beautiful landscape with lots of Contrasts. Millions of tourists are visiting Kenya each year to experience first hand what they have been seeing on Discovery and National Geographic Channels.

For your Masai Mara safari and Kenya safari

According to Mr. Dion, Uganda’s greatest resources are its character which he suggested that once developed the Country would be able to offer something different to the people who visit the region.

According to the President of Solimar International Mr. Chris Seek which is an international travel and tour consultancy involving in marketing as well, most of the tourists visiting Africa are destined for South Africa and Kenya. Mr. Seek, however says these African safari destinations are over “discovered” and that Uganda has to emphasis its competitive edge while focusing on cultural tourism and the endemic wildlife that it has such as the mountain gorillas.

Uganda is being marketed currently mainly by local and international tour operators however Mr. Seek and Dion are here in Uganda trying to see ways of how Uganda can market the Country through developing partnerships with large international multinationals. Mr. Seek and Dion said Uganda’s tourism stakeholders should see to partner with international tour operators and engage in integrated marketing campaigns and not just rely on small activities with minimal impact. They said that the local tour operators should endeavor to lead the way in this as the government tries to provide an enabling environment. For more on Uganda tourism

Presently there’s use of Internet Marketing as well as social networking as well as international and domestic media like ads on the local dailies both online and off. Mr. Seek said that marketing cannot be done alone.

Uganda unlike its competitors Kenya and South Africa in sub-Saharan Africa which also have beautiful landscapes and Wildlife attractions does not invest much in promoting local tourism like the others. Kenya and South Africa have invested heavily in promoting tourism in their Countries.

In 2004 for instance Kenya spent over 6.4 million dollars in promoting its tourism whereas South Africa spent over 44.8 million euros in 2005. This explains the hight number of tourists visiting these two Countries. Uganda was fortunate enough to have over a million tourists visiting the Country in 2009, about 1,084,000 tourists visited Uganda that year. This trend has been increasing since then.

Uganda has beautiful tour packages to offer, some of these Uganda tour packages include:

• gorilla tours in Uganda
• chimpanzee tours
• gorilla trekking
• Uganda birding safaris
• white water rafting on the Nile

There are a number of other safari lodges located in Kidepo national park however most are mid-range and budget accommodation options. One of these is Katurum safari lodge which is in a dilapidated state. The President of Uganda, Mr. Yoweri Museveni issued a directive to the Uganda Wildlife Authority – UWA the body responsible for running Uganda’s wildlife resources to hand over management of the safari lodge to Mr. Cornelius Kodet a local businessman in the tour and travel industry.

Katurum safari lodge was constructed in the 1970s but was later run down and vandalized when Amin was overthrown. The roof was completely vandalized by the locals  who vandalized the roofing materials. Mr Kodet is the proprietor of Aero beach in Entebbe, Mount Moroto Hotel in Moroto and Apule Safari Lodge in Mbale.

This was directive was in a letter dated May 14^th to the Minister of Trade Tourism and Industries Maj. Gen. Kahinda Otafiire through the former President’s Principal Private secretary Ms. Amelia Kyambadde. The letter authorized the Minister to give the safari lodge to Mr. Cornelius Kodet to carry out renovations and management.

This was in accordance to a meeting between the president and Mr. Cornelius Kodet at the State House in Entebbe in which Mr. Cornelius requested the President to allow him carry out renovations and take possession of  Katurum Safari lodge.

The Minister of Trade Tourism and Industries, Mr. Kahinda Otafiire carried out the directive allowing Mr. Cornelius to take over the safari lodge. However, the Uganda Wildlife Authority rejected the offer saying Mr. Cornelius cannot take over the control of the safari lodge as the hand over did not follow proper procedures.

In a letter dated Oct. 26^th 2010 to Mr. Kodet,  the management of Uganda Wildlife Authority – UWA said they could not agree to a concession arrangement with Mr. Kodet due to the fact that the transactions to acquire the land did not follow the proper Public Procurement regulations.

The Uganda Wildlife Authority in the letter acknowledged the different correspondences between Mr. Kodet and the Minister of Trade Tourism and Industry but said they couldn’t go ahead with the transactions as the business man had not furnished them with a proper business plan.

Ms. Lilian Nsubuga the spokesperson for the Uganda Wildlife Authority said she was aware of the situation however she did not have any updated information. She said Katurum safari lodge is one of Uganda Wildlife Authority properties which was advertised via the International Tender of Joint Ventures.

When asked Mr. Kodet said that he was told by the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Trade Tourism and Industry, Mr. Julius Onen that the presidential directive was not binding. He however said that he had submitted his investment plan to the president and would start working on the property immediately.

Uganda has a lot to offer visitors  to the Country including Mountain gorilla tours, birding safaris and other adventure sporting activities like white water rafting on the Nile river in addition to Rwanda safari packages like gorilla trekking as well as Kenya safaris like Masai Mara tour. Uganda gorilla tours and gorilla trek in Uganda

The Uganda Wildlife Authority however has taken exception to this saying citing the Uganda Wildlife Act allows only the Executive Director of the UWA the power to declare an animal a vermin which has to then be declared as a published in the local newspapers or gazette that has a wide circulation in the affect areas. The Act states that the ownership of every wild animal and wild plant existing in its wild habitat in Uganda is vested in the government on behalf of, and for the benefit of, the people of Uganda.

And where the animals are of value, like in the case of the Luweero baboons, the executive director is mandated under the law to advise the local communities and recommend the appropriate methods for taking the animals away. Apparently, the enthusiastic Luweero District vermin control officers did not seek technical guidance from UWA before they killed the more than 30 baboons. Uganda wildlife safari

They also didn’t consider an agreement between UWA and the districts of Luweero, Nakaseke and Nakasongola meant to provide guidance on how the mentioned areas can benefit from the wildlife in their areas. It’s amazing how some of our public officers are in a hurry to offer knee-jerk solutions to complex issues. Kenya wildlife tour

A UWA spokesperson said, and rightly so, that although baboons are vermin and can be destructive, killing them indiscriminately is against the law. It’s prudent that the public should support professionals who are charged with the work of ridding society of dangerous animals but they should execute their duties in accordance with the law.

Uganda is privileged to have a variety of wildlife, including baboons, which certainly add to the biodiversity of our country’s eco-system. Instead of killing these animals, vermin control officers should have coordinated with the UWA to have them relocated or exported to countries which are not blessed with such wildlife.

The country would in the end have generated revenue for the sustainable use of our wildlife for the benefit of both the present and future generations.

Click on the following links for your Rwanda gorilla safari and Uganda gorilla safari which have a great list of gorilla tours

After fulfilling her 30 year old dream of climbing the Rwenzori Mountains in western Uganda, Beryl Park from Canada is not sure of accomplishing a similar feat in future. She needs not anyway. She is already a world record breaker.

The 78-year-old successfully reached Margherita Peak, 5,109 metres above sea level, on November 13, making her the first recorded — by the Guiness Book of World Records — advanced age female climber to successfully reach the highest peak of the Rwenzori.

If foreigners can come all the way from Europe and Asia to appreciate our country, why not us?” Baguma said. Baguma pointed to relative peace, aggressive marketing through promotions and trade fairs as the reasons for the increased visitations. “We recently appointed Moses Kipsiro and Susan Kerunen as goodwill ambassadors to promote the local tourism industry. We believe they will be a key marketing tool for our country,” he said. While Kipsiro was recognised for bagging two gold medals at the recent Commonwealth games in India, Kerunen, was selected for emerging the best African artiste in 2008 and 2009. Baguma called for more investment in the hospitality sector. Rwanda gorilla trekking