Uganda...Many Facets to this Country

Uganda

The draw for many to travel to Uganda is the opportunity to trek with mountain gorillas in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. The Ugandan Wildlife Authority does an incredible job managing this invaluable natural resource while supporting opportunities for the local community to be involved and benefit financially from this conservation effort. There is a hefty $600 per day permit fee to trek to see these critically endangered animals in their natural habitat, however that is less than half the permit costs to trek with Mountain Gorillas in Rwanda. Uganda, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo are the only countries with mountain gorilla habitat.

Uganda has incredible wildlife but there are many other facets to this country. There are opportunities to study humanitarian work to micro finance to conservation and more. A few initial considerations for travel to Uganda –

-Uganda has an easy online e-visa process

-Proof of Yellow Fever vaccine is required to secure your visa

-High volumes of traffic have to be considered when planning visits in/around Kampala

-Quality of roads outside of Kampala vary and travel time can be longer than anticipated, many roadworks are ongoing which adds to potential delays

-Domestic flights between certain regions are an option to limit road travel

While infrastructure outside of cities is still developing, there are quality accommodation options throughout the country to meet international standards for both business and leisure travelers.

Note: Everyone is closely watching the Ebola outbreak in the neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo. According to the U.S. State Department at the time of writing there has only been 1 confirmed case in Uganda associated with the DRC outbreak. We hope the government’s prevention efforts continue to be successful.