In most cases, an experience with a car rental comes with self-drive trails; the act of renting a car and experiencing nature on your own is the most recommendable. A road trip to northern Uganda is among the most rewarding routes to consider for safaris, for reasons yet to be revealed. In recent years, Northern Uganda was a nightmare for travelers due to its proneness to rebel activities; however, today the region is among the safest places to visit on a holiday to the Pearl of Africa.
With this write-up, we’re describing almost all of what one should expect to see when taking a road trip to northern Uganda, especially on a self-drive. A self-drive with a Uganda Car Rental is limited by knowledge, which guests always depend on when visiting the area. So, let’s broaden your regional knowledge so that if you’re planning your next holiday to Uganda, you can consider including them.
Here we’re going to share both en-routes and destinations separately; this is going to be so helpful to anyone planning a road trip through the northern route. This road trip will consider going and coming back on the same route. It’s not a round circuit, as many have always opted; we’ve noticed that many travelers have always gone on holidays to Uganda on the northern route.
The Northern Route
The northern route starts right from Kampala, taking the Bombo road at the formerly known KPC, which is located in Kampala city center. The vehicle will drive through Luwero, Murhison Falls National Park, Gulu City, Kitgum, and Kidepo Valley National Park before arriving in Moroto Town. At least you need like 7 days on your holiday road trip to exhaustively explore what this region has to offer.
En-route on a road trip to northern Uganda
When planning a self-guided road trip, it’s a great idea to know the basic stopovers for various purposes. These stopovers can be for refreshing (secretion), meal planning, shopping, and en-route attractions. So, the en-routes on the northern region road trip are in one of the mentioned categories.
Migyera is almost the first stopover to consider when on a road trip in the northern region. This stopover is ideal for refreshment (secretion), shopping for some edibles from the supermarket, and refueling your vehicle. Migyera is located in Nakasongora district along the Gulu-Kampala highway.
Kabalega Dinner
This fantastic traveler’s roadside restaurant has branded itself with cozy and tasty food, including both local and continental dishes. When seated at the dinner, you’re amazed by the crowd of tourists who are en route to the center for their meals. The restaurant organizes or prepares breakfast, lunch, and dinner meals; don’t allow hunger to reign over you when driving on the northern route.
Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary
The sanctuary was started as a breeding ground for the once-extinct rhinos in Uganda, and this has turned into another stunning tourist destination to always consider when visiting Uganda, especially on the northern route. The Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary is considered an en-route just because there are a limited number of travelers who take this route with the only purpose of visiting the rhinos. Ziwa is the only destination in Uganda where you can have a chance to track endangered rhinos. When seeking to watch the big five on this route, your full list must include Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary. The sanctuary is located in Nakasongola, and the entrance is just next to Kabalega Dinner.
Karuma Town
This is another vibrant town along the Gulu-Kampala road; it’s great to have your overnight stay in one of the lodges or hotels within the area or your evening dinner and lunch meals here. Karuma has become famous because of the 600 MW hydropower dam. The dam has influenced a lot of things to happen in the town in terms of infrastructural development. Staying at Karuma, there is Karuma Game Reserve, which is an extension of Murchison Falls National Park and harbors a great number of monkeys, which are always seen playing along the roads.
Gulu City
Gulu is among the 10 operating cities in Uganda; the city is also the largest town in northern Uganda, which combines West Nile, Northeastern, and Northern at large. Gulu is a historical city with several tourist attractions. However, on a road trip to northern Uganda, this can be considered an en-route. Mainly, the stopovers are made to take just a drive around, visit the main market, have lunch, or stay overnight at the center. Gulu has amazing hotels and lodges for your overnight stay during the trip.
Aruu Water Falls
One of the few amazing waterfalls is Aruu Falls, where the waters are clear and safe for swimming, which is not the case with most of the waterfalls in Uganda. Aruu waterfalls are located in Padar district along the Gulu-Kitgum road; it’s one of the best places to visit en route from Gulu to Kidepo.
Kitgum Town
Is highly unlikely to be visited by many tourists, but you can just consider a stopover, take a drive through the town, and then continue with your journey.
Moroto Town
Moroto, the most enchanting town within the Karamoja region, has attained a certain level of development that is far beyond any other town within the region. And the town is the closest and biggest town to Kidepo Valley National Park. Moroto is fantastic for cultural towns; these are mainly organized by the Kara Tunga Rest Camp, which gives an insight into the Karamoja people. When at Moroto, you can also visit and hike Mount Moroto, which is the highest in the northern region and the 4th highest in Uganda.
Tourist Destinations
Mostly, the northern road trip is dominated by two major tourist destinations: Murchison Falls National Park and Kidepo Valley National Park.
Murchison Falls National Park
Uganda’s most interesting park, as far as adventure experiences are concerned, Murchison Falls National Park is the largest among other parks, covering an area of 3,778 kilometers squared. Geographically, the park is located in northwestern Uganda and is the most visited park.
Murchison Falls National Park is crossed by the Victoria Nile, forming the northern and southern sections of the park. However, the Victoria Nile is very vital for the formation of the Murchison Fall. These are arguably the world’s most powerful waterfalls. This is by considering how the rapids force into the narrow gorge, which is 7m wide, and thunderously pour at 45m down.
There is no Murchison Falls National Park without the falls. And the river continues with an amazing flow towards Lake Albert, forming the Delta, which is the park’s hub for wildlife games. The northern section features savannah woodlands of acacia and palms.
And an adventure to Murchison Falls National Park is the best chance to watch the Big Five on a safari to Uganda. Among the adventures expected are some of the big five: lions, leopards, elephants, and buffalo. Herds of antelope species, towers of giraffes, schools of hippos, over 400 bird species, and many more species En route to Murchison is Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary, the only home for rhinos in Uganda.
Among the activities to do at Murchison Falls National Park are game drives, boat cruises, visiting the top of the falls, climbing to the top of the falls, nature walks, community visits, wild camping, and sports fishing, among others.
Kidepo Valley National Park
The remotest park by road access, highly termed the true African wilderness,” is located in the rugged northeastern region bordering Sudan and Kenya. The amazing feature of Kidepo Valley National Park is the widest opening of the savannah landscape. It takes about 10 hours of scenic driving to reach Kidepo Valley National Park by road and only about an hour by aircraft.
The park has two popular sections, Kidepo Valley and Narus Valley, which both persist with water even in the driest season. These two sections have the highest concentration of wild animals. The eco-biodiversity of Kidepo consists of over 74 mammal species, including some of the big five mammals, antelope species, zebras, cheetahs, and wild dogs.
There are about 470 bird species, including ostriches and secretary birds, among others. In 2019, CNN named Kidepo Valley National Park among the most attractive destinations in Africa. And in 2021, the park will feature in the World Tourism Awards list of the best safari parks in Africa, and safari bookings in 2019 listed the park at number 11 among the best 50 national parks in Africa.
Adventure activities in Kidepo Valley National Park include game drives, nature walks, birding, mountain climbing, and Karamoja cultural visits.
