Katonga Wildlife Reserve

A small reserve on the Katonga river, between Kampala and the western parks, where the wildlife viewing is done from a canoe or on foot rather than from a vehicle. Sitatunga — the swamp antelope with splayed hooves — are the draw, and they are difficult to see anywhere else.

  • Canoe safaris through the papyrus wetlands
  • Sitatunga, the semi-aquatic antelope
  • Guided nature walks rather than game drives
  • Over 150 bird species in the swamps
  • A quiet stop on the long drive west
  • Best time to comeJune to August and December to February, when the trails are dry enough to walk.
  • Good forBirders, canoeing, breaking up a long transfer
  • Where it isUganda
Katonga Wildlife Reserve, Uganda

What you do in Katonga Wildlife Reserve

Every one of these is something we run here, not a stock list.

Going to Katonga Wildlife Reserve

We do not have a scheduled itinerary for Katonga Wildlife Reserve on the site right now, which does not mean we cannot take you. We build private trips to order across Uganda — tell us your dates and we will put a route and a price together.

Plan a trip to Katonga Wildlife Reserve

More about Katonga Wildlife Reserve

Katonga Wildlife Reserve, situated along the Katonga River, is perfect for canoe safaris and wildlife viewing. Visitors can spot antelope species, elephants, buffalo, and a variety of bird species.

Also in Uganda

Most safaris here combine two or three of these.

Bwindi Impenetrable National Park

Bwindi Impenetrable National Park

Bwindi holds roughly half the mountain gorillas left on earth. You walk into thick, steep, ancient forest with a ranger and a tracker, sometimes for an hour and sometimes for six, and then spend one hour with a habituated family at a few metres' distance. People who have done every safari there is still describe it as the best hour of their lives.

Murchison Falls National Park

Murchison Falls National Park

The Nile squeezes through a gap seven metres wide and drops forty-three metres, and the noise of it is the reason people come. Around the falls is Uganda's largest park: a boat trip to the base of them past hippo and crocodile, then game drives on the northern bank for lion, elephant and Rothschild's giraffe.

Kibale National Park

Kibale National Park

The best chimpanzee tracking in East Africa, in a forest holding thirteen primate species. Around 1,500 chimps live here and the habituated communities are relaxed enough that you watch them feed, groom and argue overhead rather than catching a glimpse and losing them.

Queen Elizabeth National Park

Queen Elizabeth National Park

Uganda's most visited park, and the one with the most variety: a boat cruise on the Kazinga Channel past hundreds of hippo, the Kasenyi plains for lion, and the Ishasha sector in the south where the lions lie in the fig trees. The Rwenzori mountains stand behind it on a clear day.

Thinking about Katonga Wildlife Reserve?

Tell us roughly when you can travel and how long you have. We will tell you honestly whether Katonga Wildlife Reserve is the right call for those dates — and what it costs.