Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary: Rhino Tracking on Foot

Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary is the only place in Uganda where you can see rhinos, and one of the few places in Africa where you track them on foot with rangers. It lies in Nakasongola district, on the road from Kampala to Murchison Falls, and most travellers stop there on the way north.

Why Ziwa exists

Uganda's native rhinos, the eastern black rhino and the northern white rhino, were wiped out by poaching by the early 1980s. Ziwa was set up in 2005 by the Rhino Fund Uganda with the Uganda Wildlife Authority as a protected breeding sanctuary, starting with southern white rhinos from Kenya and from a zoo in the United States. The first rhino born there, in 2009, was named Obama. The long-term aim is to return rhinos to Uganda's national parks, including Murchison Falls.

Tracking rhinos on foot

Rangers know where each rhino has been feeding and lead small groups on foot across the grassland and bush until you are close enough to watch them quietly. A tracking walk usually takes one to two hours. Rhinos are large and can be unpredictable, so you follow the rangers' instructions at all times.

Other activities

Ziwa also offers guided nature walks, birding and, in the nearby swamp, canoe trips that can find the shoebill. Night walks are sometimes available.

Fees and timing

The sanctuary charges its own fee, which includes rhino tracking; published rates for non-resident adults have ranged from about USD 50 to 60, so check the current price. Stopping at Ziwa adds about two hours to the drive between Kampala and Murchison Falls, and it makes a natural break on the five-to-six-hour journey.

Including Ziwa in your safari

Our three-day Murchison Falls safari and the four-day route with Budongo both stop at Ziwa on the first day. Read getting to Murchison Falls for the route.