Pian Upe Wildlife Reserve

Pian Upe wildlife reserve is a conservation area in the Karamoja sub region of northeastern Uganda and it’s regarded as the second largest conservation protected area in Uganda after Murchison Falls reserve. The reserve covers an area of about 2788 square kilometers to the north of mountain Elgon and it is now under the management of mountain Elgon conversation area, it lies in a semi arid county which usually receives rainfall in April and more considerable light rainfall from June to early September although in some years the rain fall is complete. Most of the Reserve is covered by undisturbed grassland and wooded grassland. The Pian Upe is a home of two pastoralist tribes from which the name suggest: the Pian being part of a sub group of the Karamoja, and the Upe being a Kalenjin speaking people more widely known as the Pakot within Kenya.

The reserve is a home to several species of wildlife which makes it attractive and often visited by tourists in the entire world, the wild animals such as giraffes, lions, leopard, zebras, buffaloes, Harte beast, greater kudu, topi, Orib, and Uganda’s last population of roam antelope. It is one of the few places to observe Rothschild’s giraffe; different species of birds can also be spotted out around the swamp terrains in the Loporokocho swamp, bird species like the Ostrich, Jackson’s Hornbill, Hartlaub’s Bustard, and the white-headed buffalo- weaver. In addition the vervet monkey, olive baboons can all be spotted out.

Pian Upe headquarters are located just right alongside the direct Mbale-Moroto road just approximately 90kms from Mbale and 11kms north of the reserve’s northern boundary.

Places to stay

There Four bandas exist in the park head quarters, and there are very many lodges located just kilometers from the reserve headquarters