Overview

Ziwa Rhino sanctuary is located 176 km from Kampala on the Gulu highway and sits on 70 square kilometers of land, this was formerly a private ranch.  The sanctuary is en route to Murchison falls national park and many visit it as part of an itinerary to the park. On this one day tour, we leave Kampala at 7 am right after an early breakfast for the 3 hour drive to Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary. The plan is to get to Ziwa before it is too hot and therefore Rhinos choose resting instead of feeding. The trip is through the countryside passing homesteads and various roadside vegetable and fruit markets. The plan is to re-introduce the Rhinos into the wild after the numbers increase.

Rhino trekking

Ziwa Rhino sanctuary is the only place to trek wild Rhinos in Uganda, the other Rhinos are found at Uganda wildlife education center (former Zoo) in Entebbe. On arrival at the sanctuary, you will be given a briefing from your ranger guide on how to behave while on this Rhino trek. It is very critical that you heed to the ranger’s instructions while on the trek because Rhinos can be aggressive if they sense a need to defend themselves. Depending on the location of the Rhinos, you may need to drive closer to their location before you start the trek to reduce on the distance. Your ranger guide will share different information on the behavior of Rhinos and how you ought to behave as you trek.

Once you locate the Rhinos, you can stay a maximum of one hour in their presence. Sometimes different families are within distance of each other, in this case you will get an opportunity to visit more than one group. You also have a chance of other animal sightings on this nature walk, they include Waterbucks, Bushbucks, Kobs, Leopard (rarely), duikers etc.