Game drives in Pian Upe wildlife Reserve – Game safaris in Uganda
Game drives in Pian Upe wildlife Reserve is one of Uganda’s best kept secret reserves. This beautiful, raw and less visited game reserve is the second largest conservation area and it covers an area of about 2,788km2 to the north of Mountain Elgon National Park and is managed by Mountain Elgon Conservation department. It is located in the North Eastern part of Uganda in Nakapiripiti and can easily be accessed by road from Kampala which takes about 8-9 hours and about 2-3 hours from Mbale town and 6 hours from Pian Upe to Kidepo Valley National Park. The beauty of this game reserve is the stunning landscape sceneries with surrounding mountains and most of the time you will have the whole game reserve to yourself. The southern part of the reserve was gazzatted as the Debasien Animal Sanctuary in 1958. In 1964 the area was expanded northward.
Guided wildlife safaris
Game drives in Pian Upe wildlife reserve – You can go for guided game drives in the plains of the reserve where you expect to see the Roan antelope. This is the only place you can see the roan antelope in Uganda. Other animals you should look out for on this Uganda safari are the cheetahs, the zebras, greater kudu, dik dik, buffalos, black backed and side stripped jackals, eland, and hart beasts. Enjoy your game drives in our 4 x 4 wheel customized safari vehicle on most of the tracks and discover the nature and the wildlife Pia Upe can offer.
Safari Game drives are no doubt one of the highlights of any Uganda safari or African safari at large and can be combined with other safari activities that include Gorilla tracking and Gorilla habituation, Chimpanzee tracking and habituation, Mountaineering and Bird watching safaris.
Safari game drives in Uganda involve going into the savannah plains of the different safari national parks, and can last from 2-3 hours to a full day’s excursion, sometimes wrapped up with a bush breakfast and a picnic lunch.
What does a safari game drive mean?
The word ‘game drive’ means two different words; Game and drive. Game is referred to the wild animals that live and move freely in their natural habitants in the savannah plains. Game includes elephants, giraffes, and African cape buffalos among others. Drive on the other side is referred to as driving with a vehicle in search for game. So a game drive basically means driving with a safari vehicle in national parks and wildlife reserves searching for especially big game
Sunrise safari game drives
Game drives are a typical safari activity. Great Adventure Safaris recommend going for a full day game drive for better game watching opportunities and sighting. Game drives normally start early in the morning at around 6:00 a.m. since this is when animals are most active.
You will always have early breakfast before you head out to the savannah plains for the game drives. Unless you are doing a bush walk or another activity, you will likely go on two game drives per day while on safari. You will spot lions and hyenas hunting, vultures feeding on leftovers of predators, watch elephants, giraffes, and lots of antelopes that include the Uganda Kobs among others.
After the sunrise game drive, you return to the lodge for real breakfast, and relaxing since the animals rest too during the afternoon heat. But in most National Parks in Uganda, in the afternoon you go for a boat safari, to watch animals and birds that come to Rivers and Lakes for drinking water or go for a sun downer in some of the best scenic places in the different National Parks.