Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary is situated just in Nakitoma Village, Nakasongola District, within the Kafu River Basin, along the Kampala-Gulu Highway, about 176 km by road from Kampala. Ziwa Rhino tracking offers other tourism activities such as bird watching, nature walks, and canoe rides. Click here to see mountain gorilla trekking safaris.

Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary has secured places where rhino populations can be taken in case of expansion by breeding, protecting rhinos from human and nonhuman predators, and eventually reintroducing these rhinos into Uganda’s national parks while allowing tourists to track these majestic animals as the Ziwa project moves forward. Click here to see our recommended mountain gorilla trekking tour.

Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary also protects 40 other mammal and reptilian species, including monkeys, antelopes, crocodiles, hippopotamuses, and an uncountable number of bird species. Besides African rhino tracking on foot, Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary offers bird watching, nature walks, and canoe rides.

 Functions and objectives of the Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary

• To promote and reintroduce rhinoceros in protected areas within Uganda;

• To promote breeding progress in order to ensure the long-term vision of reintroducing rhinoceros’   populations in Uganda.

• To establish programs that protect rhinos from poachers in conjunction with the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA).

• To conduct educational research about the endangered rhinoceros.

• To gain national support for the protection of the rhino population in Uganda.

• To set a fundraising campaign that generates money in support of translocation, management, protection, and reintroduced rhino populations in protected areas in Uganda.

Rhino tracking in Ziwa gives tourists an opportunity to enter the territory of the southern white rhinos on foot. Ziwa offers a well-trained ranger guide who will take you through the bush to where the rhinos are located at the time.

Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary adventure allows tourists to watch the endangered, magnificent rhino in their natural environment. All the white rhinos at Ziwa move freely around the 27 square miles within this beautiful ranch. Therefore, it is often wise to drive to the nearby areas where the rhinos are located at the moment before trekking on foot.

Ziwa has also added some exciting new wildlife species to the ranch! Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary recently welcomed the Rothschild giraffe, plains zebra, and Jackson’s hartebeest. These amazing animals boast of the ongoing commitment to wildlife conservation in Uganda.

Besides white rhinos, Ziwa is lucky enough to have many wildlife species, including over 300 bird species. Ziwa Wildlife Ranch is accompanied by woodlands, savannahs, and swamps that attract diverse species of birds. Ziwa offers four unique bird trekking trails on the ranch.

Nature walks 

If you love being near nature, Ziwa’s guided nature walks are ideal. Ziwa occupies over 27 square miles of swamps, woodland, and savannah where tourists can immerse themselves in natural wilderness. Ziwa Rhino and Wildlife Ranch protects many wild mammal species, birds, and primates.

Besides rhino tracking at Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary, the nature walks offer travelers an opportunity to experience other unique animals, including bushbuck, oribi, grey duiker, waterbuck, mongoose, reedbuck, hartebeest, vervet monkeys, ground squirrels, black and white Colobus, and reptiles such as huge monitor lizards, butterfly species, and interesting insects. Ziwa Rhino tracking gives you a greater opportunity to view many bird species.

The shoebill stork is among the most sought-after birds to be spotted in Uganda. And Ziwa is one of the thoughtful places where tourists are always guaranteed to view them. The record number of sightings was up to 11 shoebills storks in one trip.

Bird watching at Ziwa Sanctuary

Bird watching at Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary can either be done by guided walks or by boat, which take at least half a day or a full day in length due to the fact that Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary protects more than 350 bird species, which include the giant kingfisher, the white-crested turaco, the rare shoebill, and the speckled-breasted woodpecker.

The best time to track rhinos in Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary in Uganda is in the long dry season, which is from December to February and again from June to September. The best times of day to track are about 8–10 AM and again from 4–6 PM