Uganda is one of the most beautiful countries in Africa. With its dense misty forests, snow-peaked mountains, glassy lakes and sprawling savannas, it’s no wonder Winston Churchill named Uganda the ‘pearl of Africa’.

Bwindi Impenetrable National Park lies in southwestern Uganda on the edge of the Rift Valley. Its mist-covered hillsides are blanketed by one of Uganda’s oldest and most biologically diverse rainforests, which dates back over 25,000 years. The forest is one of the richest ecosystems in Africa, contains almost 400 species of plants. An estimated 320 mountain gorillas, 350 species of birds, 120 mammals.

The Rwenzori Mountain also known as “Mountains of the Moon” a UNESCO World Heritage Site, lie in western Uganda along the Uganda-Congo border. The equatorial snow peaks include the third highest point in Africa, while the lower slopes are blanketed in moorland, bamboo and rich, moist montane forest. The national park hosts 70 mammals and 217 bird species.

Queen Elizabeth National Park is located in western Uganda, and is Uganda’s most-visited National Park. Named after Queen Elizabeth II and was established in 1954. The park’s diverse ecosystems, which include sprawling savanna, shady, humid forests, sparkling lakes and fertile wetlands, make it the ideal habitat for classic big game, ten primate species including chimpanzees and over 600 species of birds.

Kibale National Park is a national park in South Uganda protecting moist evergreen rain forest. The park contains a diverse array of landscapes. it sustains the last significant expanse of pre-montane forest. The park is home to a total of 70 mammal species, most famously 13 species of primate including the chimpanzee, contains over 375 species of birds.

Mt. Elgon National Park has the largest volcanic base in the world. Located on the Uganda-Kenya border it is also the oldest and largest solitary, volcanic mountain in East Africa. Its vast form, 80km in diameter, rises more than 3,000m above the surrounding plains. The mountain’s cool heights offer respite from the hot plains below, with the higher altitudes providing a refuge for flora and fauna. Mount Elgon National Park is home to over 300 species of birds, including the endangered Lammergeyer. Small antelopes, forest monkeys, elephants and buffalos also live on the mountainside.

Semuliki National Park sprawls across the floor of the Semliki Valley on the remote, western side of the Rwenzori. The park is dominated by the easternmost extension of the great Ituri Forest of the Congo Basin. This is one of Africa’s most ancient and bio-diverse forests; one of the few to survive the last ice age, 12-18,000 years ago.

It has the diverse cultural mosaic of music, art, and hand crafts to the culture and norms, to the rituals, and regalia the diversity in Uganda’s culture is unmatched. There are 3 completely unique linguistic groups namely the nilotics, Bantu and the people from central Sudan.

Uganda is recognized internationally and given accolades in the tourism area, also is the pearl of Africa and a very gifted by nature. Uganda is located in East Africa and it offers a lot and so much more to those interested in exploring more about this beautiful country. Uganda has a number of savanna wild animals that include elephants, white rhinos, buffaloes, Nile crocodiles, hippos, zebras, Johnson’s hartebeests, Oribi, giraffes, and many others. Tourists on game drives and boat cruises and many others can see most of the animals.