Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary Day Trip from Kampala

A full-day Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary day trip from Kampala — track Southern White Rhinos on foot with UWA-trained rangers through 70 km² of savannah in Uganda’s only rhino sanctuary, where every individual rhino is known by name.

Overview

Uganda’s rhinos were hunted to complete extinction in the national parks during the political instability of the 1970s and 1980s. By the early 1980s, not a single wild rhino remained in the country. Ziwa Rhino and Wildlife Ranch is where that story is being reversed.

Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary was established in 2005 as a protected breeding and reintroduction project aimed at restoring rhinos to Uganda’s national parks. The sanctuary started its conservation journey with only 6 rhinos — 4 relocated from Solio Ranch in Kenya and 2 translocated from Disney’s Animal Kingdom in Florida — and now holds over 32 Southern White Rhinos. The sanctuary covers over 70 square kilometres of savannah and bushland, jointly managed by the Uganda Wildlife Authority and the Rhino Fund Uganda, with the ultimate goal of reintroducing rhinos back into Uganda’s national parks where they once thrived.

All the rhinos at Ziwa are free to move around the 27 square miles within the ranch. Well-trained rangers guide visitors through the bush to wherever the rhinos are at the time, entering the territory of the Southern White Rhinos on foot. Every individual rhino in the sanctuary is known to the rangers by name — a name given based on their personality, history, or the circumstances of their arrival. When you meet a rhino at close range on the savannah, your guide tells you its name, its family relationships, and its story. It is possible to get very close to these magnificent creatures — far closer than a vehicle-based game drive would allow — in what is genuinely one of Uganda’s most intimate wildlife encounters.

In addition to white rhinos, visitors may encounter Uganda kob, bushbuck, warthogs, vervet monkeys, and a wide variety of bird species including the shoebill stork. Over 300 bird species can be spotted here, including the rare Shoebill stork. The sanctuary’s position on the Kampala-Gulu highway makes it a natural stop for anyone travelling to or from Murchison Falls National Park.

Because of Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary, Uganda is one of the few African countries where all of the Big Five — lion, leopard, elephant, buffalo, and rhinoceros — can be seen. Lions and the other four are present in parks like Murchison Falls and Kidepo Valley. The rhino is found only here.

Trip Highlights

Track Southern White Rhinos on foot with UWA-trained rangers — getting closer to rhinos than any vehicle-based game drive allows
Learn each rhino's individual name, personality, and conservation story from your guide
Witness the living results of Uganda's rhino reintroduction programme — from 0 wild rhinos in 1983 to 32+ and growing
Spot the rare Shoebill stork, Uganda kob, bushbuck, warthogs, and over 300 bird species in the 70 km² sanctuary
Complete Uganda's Big Five — the rhino at Ziwa joins lions, leopards, elephants, and buffalos available in other parks
All sanctuary entry fees and rhino tracking fees included; private transport throughout

Your Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary Day Trip from Kampala

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This is a return day trip from Kampala or Entebbe to Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary in Nakasongola district. Located approximately 176 kilometres north of Kampala along the Kampala–Gulu Highway, the drive from Kampala or Entebbe typically takes about three hours under normal road conditions. Total day duration is approximately 9–10 hours including travel. Meals are not included — the sanctuary has a small café on site; bring your own packed lunch or purchase food at the café.

Day 01 :

Kampala to Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary and Back

Your private vehicle departs from your Kampala or Entebbe hotel in the early morning and drives north on the Kampala-Gulu highway through Kayunga and Kakooge. Arrive at Ziwa Rhino and Wildlife Ranch (approximately 3 hours from Kampala) and check in at reception for the safety briefing. Rhinos can weigh up to 350 stone and can run much faster than any human — the rangers are extremely well trained, and your safety is their first priority. It is important to listen to the safety briefing and obey the rules in order to remain safe.

Your UWA ranger leads the tracking on foot into the sanctuary’s 70 km² of open savannah. All rhinos at Ziwa are free to move around the ranch, so it is often necessary to drive to the areas where the rhinos are before continuing the trek on foot. Rangers communicate with colleagues across the sanctuary via radio — since every individual rhino is GPS-monitored and known by name, the team is aware of each animal’s position before the tracking begins. Once a rhino family is located, the group approaches on foot to a safe viewing distance of approximately 7–10 metres. Your guide explains each rhino’s name, its place in the family group, its origin story (from Solio Ranch Kenya, Disney’s Animal Kingdom, or born in the sanctuary), and the broader conservation significance of what you’re witnessing: the slow recovery of a species from total national extinction.

Tracking usually takes 1 to 2 hours depending on the location of the rhinos. Early morning and late afternoon are the best times when the weather is cool and rhinos are more active. After the tracking, you have free time to explore the sanctuary grounds, visit the Shoebill hide (the sanctuary is one of Uganda’s best spots for a Shoebill stork sighting), or take a guided birding walk. Warthogs, Uganda kob, bushbuck, and waterbuck are regularly seen in the sanctuary’s open savannah areas.

After the sanctuary visit, begin the return drive to Kampala or Entebbe, arriving in the mid-to-late afternoon.