Travel advisory, last checked 23 September 2026: the US State Department rates Uganda Level 4, “Do Not Travel”, an advisory issued in May 2026 because of Ebola. WHO declared Uganda’s outbreak over on 27 August 2026; the outbreak in the neighbouring DRC continues. Read our dated safety guide before you decide.
On foot
Leave the vehicle, follow your ranger through the long grass and stop when a hand goes up: a white rhino mother and calf, grazing a safe distance ahead.
Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary is where Uganda is rebuilding its rhino population. Both of the country’s rhino species were wiped out by poaching and conflict by the early 1980s, and the sanctuary was established in 2005 in Nakasongola District, about 164 km north of Kampala, to breed them back. Its 70 km² of bush and swamp held 48 southern white rhinos as of July 2025, all descended from six founders brought from Kenya and the United States.
What makes a visit memorable is doing it on foot. Rangers monitor the rhinos around the clock, and once they have located a group, you walk in with them and watch the animals graze at a distance the rangers judge safe. Ziwa sits almost exactly on the road from Kampala to Murchison Falls, so it turns a long transfer into one of the highlights of the trip, as it does on day 2 of our 12-day complete Uganda safari.
Rhino Tracking at Ziwa Sanctuary
We schedule Ziwa on the drive between Entebbe and Murchison Falls, leaving early so the walk happens before the midday heat.
At the sanctuary headquarters you meet your ranger and hear the safety briefing: stay together, keep quiet and follow every instruction.
The ranger team radios the position of a group of rhinos, and you drive a short way before continuing on foot.
You approach through the bush and watch for as long as the rangers judge the animals relaxed, with time for photographs.
Back at the vehicle you continue north, or add a guided swamp walk to look for shoebill or some general birding first.
Rhino Tracking at Ziwa Sanctuary
Safaris
Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary · Murchison Falls · Kibale Forest · Queen Elizabeth NP · Ishasha · Buhoma · Lake Mburo
Travelers with close to two weeks who want primates, savanna and the Nile, and are happy with a few long road days
Good to know
The population grew from six founders: four southern white rhinos from Solio Ranch in Kenya and two from Disney’s Animal Kingdom in Florida. Every rhino born at Ziwa since descends from them, and the sanctuary’s long-term aim is to return rhinos to Uganda’s national parks.
It is carefully managed. Rangers know the individual animals, choose the approach and keep you at a distance they judge safe, and you must follow their instructions at all times. Southern white rhinos are generally calmer than black rhinos, but no wild animal is entirely predictable.
Plan on two to three hours at the sanctuary, which makes the whole drive from Entebbe to Murchison Falls about six to seven hours. Leaving early means you track in the cooler morning and still reach the Nile before dark.
Ziwa is the place to see them today. Reports in 2026 described white rhinos being introduced to Kidepo Valley National Park; we will share details once the Uganda Wildlife Authority confirms the move.
Experiences
Primates
Spend up to four hours with a gorilla family that is still learning to accept people, alongside the researchers and trackers doing the work, in Bwindi’s southern Rushaga sector.
Primates
Follow a chimpanzee community through Kibale’s forest, Kyambura’s sunken gorge or Budongo’s mahogany stands, then spend an hour among them once they are found.
On the water
Glide through papyrus channels on the Lake Victoria shore in a community-run canoe, looking for the shoebill within easy reach of Entebbe.
Tell us when you would like to travel, who is coming and how many gorilla days you want. We check permit availability first, then design a private Uganda journey around it, with nothing booked until you approve.
Plan My Uganda Safari
