Are you planing to visit some or all of Ugandas National Parks? The size of Uganda is 241,038 km² and it takes about 12hrs to drive across the country from border to border. Uganda has ten national parks as the main tourist attractions where you will be able to do a whole range of activities including; gorilla tracking, chimp and other primates tracking, forest walks, wildlife viewing safaris, boat cruises, site seeing, adventure activities, mountain trekking up to 5109m high on the snow caped Rwenzori montains, cultural encounters and may more activities.
To be able to plan your trip around Uganda, you will need to know the distances that will be involved on the daily travels around this country in order to plan properly. Most visitors will want to visit the national parks, wildlife reserves, main towns and the surrounding attractions close to these areas. Uganda has one city, Kampala located on the shores of lake victoria, around 40km from Entebbe airport.
At the moment, most international travelers landing in Uganda will land through Entebbe as the only international airport. Only visitors taking a local flight from Kajansi or Entebbe to the respective national park, will not reach Kampala. So if you plan your trip by road after landing in Entebbe, start your distance calculation from Kampala.
The ten Ugandas National Parks
- Murchison falls national park
- Queen Elizabeth National park
- Mount Elgon National Park
- Mgahinga Gorilla national park
- Bwindi impenetrible national park
- Lake Mburo national park
- Semuliki national park
- Kidepo valley national park
- Kibale National Park
- Rwenzori Mountains National park
Here are the distances from Kampala city to each of the ten national parks.
| From | To | Distance (km) | Driving time (hrs) |
| Entebbe | Kampala | 40 | 1hr 27m |
| Kampala | Lake Mburo national park | 255 | 4hrs 52m |
| Mount Elgon national park, Mbale | 226 | 4rs 57m | |
| Murchison falls national park | 282 | 4hrs 23m | |
| Kibale national park | 292 | 4hr 50m | |
| Semuliki national park | 331 | 5rs 30m | |
| Rwenzori mountains national park | 374 | 6rs 36m | |
| Queen Elizabeth national park | 372 | 6hrs 27m | |
| Bwindi Impenetrable national park | 469 | 8hrs 43m | |
| Mgahinga gorilla national park | 480 | 9rs 11m | |
| Kidepo valley national park (Apoka lodge) | 692 | 10hr 54m |
Here are the distances between the national parks on the different safari routes around Uganda.
| From | To | Distance (km) | Driving time (hrs) |
| Murchison falls national park | Kibale national park | 284 | 6hrs 30m |
| Kibale national park | Rwenzori mountains national park | 107 | 2hrs 22m |
| Kibale national park | Semuliki national park | 87 | 1hr 57m |
| Rwenzori mountains national park | Queen Elizabeth national park | 48 | 1hr 4m |
| Queen Elizabeth national park | Bwindi impenetrable national park | 129 | 3hrs 35m |
| Bwindi impenetrible national park | Mgahinga gorilla national park | 134 | 4hrs 17m |
| Lake Mburo national park | Queen Elizabeth national park | 207 | 4hrs 4m |
| Lake Mburo national park | Bwindi impermeable national park | 250 | 6hrs 11m |
| Lake Mburo national park | Mgahinga gorilla national park | 288 | 6hrs 23m |
| Mount Elgon national park | Murchison falls national park | 434 | 6hrs 28m |
| Mount Elgon national park | Kidepo valley national park | 380 | 6hrs 37m |
| Kidepo valley national park | Murchison falls national park | 369 | 6hrs 12m |
Common route-plans for trips around Uganda
- Route 1: Kampala – Murchison – Kibale – Rwenzori – Queen – Bwindi – Kampala
- Route 2: Kampala – Rwenzori – Kibale – Queen – Bwindi – Kampala
- Route 3: Kampala – Mburo – Bwindi – Kampala
- Route 4: Kampala – Elgon – Kidepo – Murchison falls – Kampala
- Route 5: Kampala – Elgon – Murchison falls – Kampala
- Route 6: Kampala – Kidepo – Kampala
You can choose to take one of these routes or make one of your choice based on the distances provided above. Mid-way to every national park, you will find wildlife reserves that you can add on your trip for a day or night break of the journey. I will publish a list of Uganda wildlife reserves next, please look out for it here or contact us for a link.
Every route has community and cultural encounters that add allot of value to your trip, off the beaten track. These include community tours, workshops and demonstrations, cultural experiences or community accommodation lodges, home-stays and campsites. contact us for a list of these community encounters.
In case you need any help, feel free to contact us and we will provide advice on how best to plan your dream trip.
