Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary, tucked along the Kampala–Gulu Highway about three hours north of Kampala, holds a title no other place in Uganda can claim: it’s the only spot in the country where you can track rhinos on foot in the wild. The sanctuary is now home to over 40 southern white rhinos, a number that keeps climbing thanks to a conservation and breeding program that began in 2005 — after the species had been completely wiped out in Uganda by poaching in the early 1980s.

What makes it worth the stop:

• Rhino trekking on foot — armed rangers guide you to within meters of grazing rhinos, an up-close encounter you won’t find at Uganda’s other parks
• A genuine conservation comeback story — every visit supports a breeding program working toward eventually reintroducing rhinos into Uganda’s national parks
• More than just rhinos — the sanctuary shelters 40+ mammal species (waterbuck, oribi, hartebeest, colobus monkeys) and over 300 bird species, including the elusive shoebill stork
• An easy add-on — it sits directly on the route to Murchison Falls National Park, making it a natural half-day stop rather than a detour
• Extra activities — night walks, nature walks, and even canoe rides round out the experience beyond rhino tracking

Best visited during the dry seasons (December–February and June–October) when trekking conditions are easiest and animals cluster near water sources.