Uganda Wildlife Authority has released a new Conservation Tariff which will be effective from 1st July 2022.
The good news is that there are very few price increases. The most notable change in Uganda Wildlife Authority’s new price list is the increased entry fee to Murchison Falls National Park, Uganda’s most popular safari destination.
You hardly need me to remind you how hard travel – and thus conservation revenue – has been hit during the pandemic. It’s therefore no surprise that the authorities are doing everything they can to raise money. Some might argue that we need discounts to encourage people to travel. However, given conservation’s dire finances recently, I say let’s be grateful how few price increases there are. Now let’s book that safari!
UWA’s summary price list (above) covers National Park and Wildlife Reserve entry fees, gorilla / chimpanzee / golden monkey tracking permits, primate habituation, mountain and volcano hiking, mountain biking, boat hire to watch the Shoebill on Lake Albert.
A few activities that the muzungu is looking forward to doing include:
- Hiring a boat in Toro Semliki wildlife reserve to view the Shoebill on Lake Albert.
- Kidepo Lonyilli summit hike
- Kapkwai sector of Murchison Falls National Park. (Did you know you can get free entry to Kapkwai?)
- Mount Elgon mountain biking. That must be awesome!
- Bushiyi trail extension, the shortest trail to Wagagai, the highest peak on Mount Elgon.
- Chimpanzee tracking at Ngogo (Kibale National Park) a few hundred metres from my home at Sunbird Hill
- Golden monkey habituation in Mgahinga Gorilla National Park. Golden monkeys are very pretty creatures!
Uganda park entry fees – Murchison Falls slight increase
From July 1st 2022, visitors to Murchison Falls National Park can expect to pay:
- Ugandan adults 25,000 Uganda shillings (was 20,000)
- Ugandan children 10,000 Uganda shillings (was 5,000)
- International tourists, adults $45 (was $40)
- International tourists, children $25 (was $20)
- Residents / expats $35 (was $30)
Stephen Masaba of Uganda Wildlife Authority explained to Diary of a Muzungu:
“For Murchison Falls, we observed high speeding and increased road kills (especially of baboons) but have also noted littering and high levels of plastic waste. Of the number of visitors to Murchison, over 10% of these people are just in transit (crossing through the park). The slight fee increase should help curb some of these effects.”
Stephen Sanyi Masaba, Director, Tourism and Business Development, Uganda Wildlife Authority
Although they don’t (yet) have the facilities that more established National Parks do, now might be a time to explore some of Uganda’s less visited protected areas such as Pian Upe and Katonga Wildlife Reserves.
For full details on activities not listed in the summary (game drives, nature walks, birdwatching and more) download Uganda Wildlife Authority’s full conservation tariff for July 2022 to June 2024 here.
Planning a Uganda safari?
Did you know I have a Travel Directory full of tour operators who would love to organise a trip of a lifetime for you? Alternatively, drop me a line and I will make some personal recommendations. Damn, writing this makes me miss the savannah…
