Rules & regulations governing parks in Uganda

Rules & regulations governing national parks in Uganda and Tourist activities

In this article, we are aiming to exhaust rules and regulations governing all national parks in Uganda. You should note that Uganda has an endowment of forest parks, savanna parks, and mountain or Montane parks. Examples of montane forests are Mountain Rwenzori National Park (Mountains of the Moon), Mountain Elgon National Park, and Mgahinga Gorilla National Park.

They are mountainous forests because the largest part of the land is dominated by mountains. Savannah parks are dominated by savannah glass lands or savannah woodlands. They include Murchison Falls National Park, Kidepo Valley National Park, Lake Mburo National Park, Queen Elizabeth National Park, and Semuliki National Park. Forests dominate the forest parks including Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and Kibale National Park.

For more clarification, there are rules governing primate trekking in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park Mgahinga Gorilla National Park, and Kibale National Park. There are also rules governing hiking Mount Rwenzori, Mount Elgon, and Mount Mgahinga among others. The major activity in Savannah Park is game drive or game viewing. These are governed by specific rules and regulations. This article combines rules and regulations governing park activities and rules governing the entire national parks in Uganda.

Rules and regulations governing Uganda parks

Avoid off-track driving / off-track walks – Uganda Wildlife Authority officially designates trails for game drives/ nature walks. The authorities, therefore, prohibit off-track to avoid vegetation destruction and wildlife loss in accidents.

Avoid car horn noise making – unnecessary noise disrupts the wild like in the parks. This rule and regulation serve all parks in Uganda.

Firearms and ammunition are prohibited in the parks – unless authorized by the park authorities, firearms and ammunitions shouldn’t enter the parks. Travelers with firearms can not only turn dangerous to wild animals and birds but also to fellow travelers and park staff.

You should not exceed the speed limit of 40Kms per hour. To prevent accidents, the park authorities allow 40Kms per hour speed in all parks. While overspeeding, you can easily knock wild animals, fellow travelers, or park staff.

Dogs and pet animals should not enter in the park. Pet animals like domestic dogs can attempt to fight wild animals hence disruption. More so, domestic animals can also turn dangerous to humans which they are not familiar with. Therefore, it’s better not to enter the park with any such pet animals.

The park gates open at 7:00 am and close at 6:30 pm so, keep time. Tourists who reach the park before and after the set time are not allowed to enter the park.

All camping should be in designated sites – camping and fire camps should only be in the right places. Camping in unauthorized places can put your life in danger of being attacked by wild animals.

Do not litter rubbish in the park. Keep the parks clean because animals may accidentally consume the damped rubbish.

Do not destroy any vegetation in the park. Uganda Wildlife Authority’s motto states “Conserving for Generations” meaning that we have to protect wildlife and natural habitats.

Rules and regulations governing primate trekking

Do not smoke in the presence of primates. Primates like Gorillas, chimpanzees, Golden monkeys and so on may get respiratory organ diseases like lung cancer through perceived smoking.

Do not litter rubbish in the park- primates can eat from the leftovers dumped in the park and can easily catch diseases.

Keep low voices when you are near Gorillas and chimpanzees. The primates may charge and cause harm to the trekkers.

Keep in groups because scattering is a sign of an attempted attack on the primates. Gorillas are so sensitive and when they detect an attack, they can show you bad energy.

Wash your hands whenever you are heading to meet primates in Uganda. The aim is to prevent the spreading of diseases.

Photography

The park management does not allow Flashing photography during Gorilla, chimpanzee, and golden Monkey trekking. Flashing disturbs the peace of the primates while in their natural habitat however, the park authorities allow taking photos. So, you should endeavor to keep your cameras flashless.

You should bury all waste products in a deep pit to avoid the spread of diseases from human waste to primates.

Avoid clothes whose colors shout because you can scare the primates to shy away from your proper viewing sites.

If you discover yourself to be sick, please do not meet primates. You can postpone your trip or ask for a refund.

A maximum of eight people meet each gorilla family and chimpanzee group. This serves conservation reasons and to avoid stressing the primates.

You should leave a distance of 7-8 meters between the primates and humans to minimize the spreading of diseases.

Do not drink when you are near the primates. The primates may attack you to grab the drink.

Do not touch the primates to minimize the spreading of diseases.

Trekkers have 1hr to stay with the primates and take photos/ films. It’s only habituation that allows you to spend 4 hours with the primates.

Do not destroy any vegetation in the park to conserve it for generations.

Rules and Regulations for hiking Mount Rwenzori and Mount Elgon

The Uganda government together with UWA and UTB came up with rules and regulations governing Mount Rwenzori and Mount Elgon hiking below:

Follow the instructions of your guides

Accept the park limit of 16 persons per hut per night

You should not make fire with local firewood

Respect other people’s hut by sharing space, stoves, and so on.

Avoid making new paths. Each new path you develop means more vegetation destruction.