Close encounters with white rhinos: Visiting Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary, Uganda

Picture this: You’re trekking through the East African savanna. Ducking under acacia branches, listening to the exotic bird calls while you try to keep up with your guide. You come to a clearing, and there — less than 50 meters away from you — is a 5,000 pound white rhino. He lifts his head and glances at you. Suddenly you’re very, very aware that there is nothing between you and his massive horn besides a couple small shrubs. This is what it’s like to go rhino tracking on foot at Uganda’s outstanding Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary.

Rhino tracking is one of the most thrilling wildlife activities in Uganda. It’s a chance to get closer to these incredible creatures than you ever could in a vehicle. Plus, when you see the rhinos at Ziwa, you support an important conservation program for this threatened species.

In this post, I’ll walk you through all the details of how to visit Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary — on your own, with a driver, or on a tour. Let’s get started!

Note: This post contains affiliate links. If you decide to purchase through these links, I receive a percentage of the sale at no additional cost to you, which helps me keep this site up and running.

What is Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary?

Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary is a large swath of protected land not far from Masindi in north-central Uganda. It contains a guesthouse, campground/hostel, restaurant, research and conservation center, and 7,000 hectares of undisturbed rhino habitat.

The sanctuary’s primary purpose is to breed white rhinos — who have been wiped out in the wild in Uganda, thanks largely to poaching campaigns during the Amin era.

It started as a risky project. Six rhinos moved from Kenya back in 2005. Then, in 2009, baby Obama was born — the first new calf Uganda had seen in decades (his name comes from the fact that his father is Kenyan and his mother is American).

Today, Ziwa has become one of East Africa’s most heartwarming conservation success stories. 22 white rhinos live in the sanctuary. Researchers believe they are less than a decade away from reintroducing some of them in Murchison Falls National Park.

Ziwa was chosen as the ideal breeding ground because the natural setting is perfectly calibrated to support rhinos. It has a sustainable volume of the grasses and shrubs they feed on. It’s safe from poaching areas. It has good water sources, even in dry season. The staff include researchers, guides, and rangers. They guard every single rhino in the sanctuary 24/7 to prevent poaching. And they have support from the community because they allow local livestock to graze on some of the lands.

The rhino tracking experience

The only way you can see Uganda’s rhinos is by taking a rhino tracking tour with the guides at the sanctuary. That’s right — your only option is to go on foot.

When you arrive at Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary, the guides will put you in a group of 4-8 people. You’ll get a short safety briefing and learn a few facts about the rhinos.

Then, they’ll call the rangers on their radios to find out where the nearest group of rhinos is. You’ll go on foot from the visitor’s center or hop in the car for a short drive before you start walking. Single file, following the guide, slowly, no loud noises. Luckily the terrain is flat and well-worn (rhinos do a nice job carving pathways through the bush). You just have to be careful for the occasional acacia thorn at eye-level.

The walk can take anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour. My group found four rhinos, all together, within 30 minutes.

When you reach the rhinos, the guide will whisper a few more safety instructions to you. Stay at least 10 meters back. Don’t use flash. Don’t make any loud noises. Adhere to his or her instructions at all times. It’s spine-tingling.

You’re free to walk around the area and take photos as long as you stay near the guide. Rhinos have horrible eyesight, so if you respect the proper distance, they probably won’t even notice you (unlike gorillas). If they do notice, it’ll just be for a moment before they go back to eating. Trust me, you’ll be relieved — if I haven’t said it yet, rhinos are huge. The guide will occasionally instruct you to move if the rhinos come closer.

You’ll get anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour with the rhinos before they start getting antsy. My group was able to hang around for about 45 minutes. At that point, you’ll walk back to your car and drive back to the visitor’s center.

Will you see any babies?

One of the most exciting things about the breeding program at Ziwa is that there are almost always young rhinos around. If you’re lucky, you might get the chance to see one with your own eyes!

Whether or not you see any babies is really just luck of the draw. If the mothers and their young are further from the visitor’s center when you arrive, you may not see them (I didn’t). If they’re close by and the mothers aren’t feeling too protective that day, the guides might take you to see them.

Even if you don’t see any babies yourself, it’s exciting to know they’re around. In fact, the day I visited Ziwa, a new calf had been born just a few hours before. Even the rangers hadn’t seen him yet — the mother was keeping him well-guarded and they couldn’t get close enough to see. Naturally they didn’t want any strangers anywhere near the hours-old calf out of fear that the mother would be very aggressive. (But you can see pictures here and he’s adorable.)

Other activities on offer at the rhino sanctuary

Ziwa isn’t only a rhino sanctuary. It’s also a popular destination for canoe safaris in search of the elusive shoebill stork (a rare, prehistoric-looking bird). Success rates are very high on the four-hour trip.

Additionally, you can do a nature walk or a more specialized bird-watching walk. A total of more than 300 bird species live in the sanctuary, so you’re guaranteed to spot at least a few new ones!

You are not permitted to walk around the grounds of the sanctuary on your own for any reason. All activities require a guide. Additionally, you can’t head into the park after 5:30 pm. The rhinos are more active in the evenings and it wouldn’t be safe to be around them.

How to get to Ziwa on a day trip from Kampala or Murchison Falls safari

It’s possible to visit Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary on a DIY day trip from Kampala. You’d just need to get a very early start.

The first step is to get to the Qualicell Bus Park in Kampala. Allow plenty of time to reach it — the area around the bus and taxi parks is a bit of a nightmare with traffic, even early in the morning. Ask for a bus to Masindi and let the driver know you want to get off at the turnoff for Ziwa.

It’s about a three-hour bus ride to the sanctuary. The bus will drop you on the main road, where you can easily find a boda driver to take you the remaining 8 km for 5,000 shillings.

When you’re done rhino tracking, the sanctuary staff can call a boda driver to take you back to the main road. Consider asking to be brought to Kalabega Diner, a few kilometers further and the best lunch stop in the country. From here you can easily flag a frequent bus or matatu back to Kampala.

Alternatively, consider tacking Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary onto a safari in Murchison Falls National Park. You’ll pass the turnoff on the way to your safari anyway. It makes a great supplement to the more traditional wildlife-watching within the park.

Most travelers in Uganda have private drivers, in which case tacking on a visit to Ziwa is simply a matter of asking. But if you’re backpacking Uganda independently, you can still do this trip. The excellent Red Chilli in Kampala offers three-day Murchison Falls budget safaris, including an add-on for Ziwa. This is how I visited the sanctuary and it couldn’t have been easier.

How much does rhino tracking cost?

As far as wildlife activities in Uganda go, tracking rhinos at Ziwa is pretty cheap. You’ll pay just $50 for the tour, plus a tip for your guide (20,000 shillings is appropriate).

If you want to tack on a shoebill canoe safari, you can do that for an additional $25. The canoe safari on its own costs $35. All other activities cost the same as the canoe safari, with discounts if you do multiple activities.

If you arrive at the park on public transport, you may get lucky and be able to walk to the start of the rhino trek. But if you have to drive, you’ll have to pay an additional $25 for the group to rent the sanctuary’s car, or $10 to get a motorbike ride to the start of the walk.

Additionally, there are a whole host of fees for arriving late or doing activities late in the day. To avoid these fees, make sure you get to the sanctuary by 3 pm — even if you’re staying overnight.

The Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary entry fee is $30, but it’s only charged if you stay overnight and don’t do any activities.

You can pay in dollars or shillings, but please do tip your guide in shillings. Otherwise you devalue your tip by making them change money before they can use it.

When should you do the Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary tour?

Ziwa is in one of the drier parts of Uganda. So if you’re wondering what time of year is best for rhino tracking, it matters less than for other wildlife activities in the country. But December-January and June-August are still the driest/best times.

More important than time of year, though, is time of day. Rhinos are at their most active early in the morning and late in the afternoon. So you want to time your trek with that (watching them sleep isn’t nearly as exciting).

Ideally, you should arrive at Ziwa by 8 am to do the trek, or plan to wait until after 2 pm. Some days the rhinos are active until 11 am or so, but other days they’re not. You can discuss with the rangers when you arrive to see if it’s worth doing the trek in the middle of the day. My group left for the walk at 10 am and still saw the rhinos grazing, but we were supposedly very lucky.

If you want to do the shoebill canoe safari, you must stay overnight at the sanctuary. The canoe trip can only be done with a departure between 6:30 and 7:30 am. This is also the best time for general birdwatching.

What should you bring for rhino tracking on foot?

Unlike gorilla tracking or chimpanzee tracking, dress code matters at least a little bit when you’re seeing the rhinos. You don’t want to stand out too much from the bush environment.

Ideally, you should wear neutral-colored clothing for the rhino tracking tour. That could mean khakis, but black and white are also fine. Avoid bright or vibrant colors like blue, pink, or orange. Long pants are best (the grass has thorns in some places). Closed toed shoes are required. Tuck your pants into your socks to protect from the nasty bites of safari ants.

Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary is at low elevation, so it’s warmer than Kampala. You’ll want a t-shirt, a hat, sunscreen, and sunglasses. Mosquito repellent is a good idea — this is a high-risk area for malaria.

Bring water and a few snacks, especially if traveling by public transport. There is a cafe on-site but the food isn’t great.

You’ll also want your camera, of course. A 300-mm zoom lens is best, but you’ll be close enough to get away with a more standard 55-mm lens if you have to. Learn how to use your manual focus for best results.

Staying safe around the rhinos

After reading all this, you might be wondering — is it really safe to get close to a 5,000-pound fully grown white rhino on foot?

The answer is, it depends.

As long as you follow your guide’s instructions to the T, it’s extremely unlikely that anything bad will happen on your rhino tracking expedition.

If you don’t, all bets are off. Remember, these are genuinely wild rhinos, even if they’re living in a fenced-in area.

The entire premise of tracking rhinos on foot is dependent on the fact that these giants have very poor eyesight. So the aim is to keep you out of their field of vision the entire time. They may still be able to hear you — but since most of these rhinos have no memories of being threatened by humans, that won’t alarm them. This is why it’s so important to stay at least 10 meters back and listen to your guide when they tell you to move away from the rhinos. Additionally, you must not make any sudden movements, speak above a whisper, or use flash on your camera.

White rhinos are less aggressive than their cousins, black rhinos. They only charge when spooked, and they tend to give up pretty easily. That being said, they will occasionally charge visitors. If that happens, you should climb a tree or hide behind a bush (they won’t charge through the bush, unlike black rhinos).

If you encounter a baby or a pregnant mother, be extra careful. Never get between a mother rhino and her calf.

The other thing to be conscious of is that your safety depends on the behavior of others in your group. If you’re all crouching behind a bush and one person stands up suddenly for a quick photo, you’ll all be at risk. So it’s very important to ask your fellow trekkers to mind the guide’s instructions as well. The guides do not mess around — if you’re behaving unsafely, they’ll pull the whole group out.

Your guide will give you an extensive safety briefing before you depart for the trek. And as I said above, as long as you listen to them, you’re unlikely to have any problems.

How you can support rhino conservation in Uganda

After seeing the white rhinos with your own eyes, you may want to know how you can help protect them. Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary does genuinely incredible work and is a great cause to support.

One easy way to support the rhino conservation efforts is by buyin something in their small on-site gift shop. They have everything from postcards to wood carvings and more. All the money goes directly back into conservation efforts.

Of course, you can always make a donation directly to the sanctuary. There are programs to adopt a rhino, and if you’re able and willing to make a large gift, you may even get the privilege of naming a future baby!

Note: I have no relationship with Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary or Rhino Fund Uganda. I paid for my rhino tracking trip just like you would, and at no point did I mention to the staff that I have a blog or that I would promote their work. I just found their work to be pretty incredible and inspiring, not just from a natural history perspective — but because they also involve the community in their conservation efforts. I’m recommending supporting them because I think they’re awesome and deserving of robust funding.

Finally: A few random and awesome facts about rhinos to inspire you to go see them

• Rhinos have a gestation period of about 18 months. Calves already weigh about 140 pounds when they’re born.
• Rhinos have to spend so much of their day eating because they can only eat grasses and shrubs that grow at ground level. It takes ages to get the required caloric intake from these small plants. So why don’t they just eat trees? Because their heads are too heavy to lift for more than a few seconds!
• White rhinos can spend as much as 12 hours a day eating and another several hours drinking. They don’t walk very much — only when they need to find more grass.
• White rhinos and black rhinos aren’t actually white or black. They’re all the same gray color. The white rhino got its name based on the shape of its mouth — “wide” in Dutch sounds a lot like “white,” and somehow the mistranslation stuck. The biggest distinguishing feature between the two species is that white rhinos are much larger.
• All of the white rhinos in Uganda are Southern White Rhinos. Tragically, the Northern White Rhino has been almost completely wiped out.
• The only land mammal larger than the white rhino is the elephant.
• White rhinos are social creatures. You’ll often see them hang out with family groups as adults.
• Rhinos are threatened largely because their horns are highly coveted as an aphrodisiac, for medicinal purposes, and as a symbol of wealth. In parks throughout east and southern Africa, rhinos are at huge risk of poaching due to the massive international market for their horns. If you want to be scarred/heartbroken for life, take a look at these photos of what happens when the rhinos are caught.
• White rhinos were almost completely extinct as little as 20 years ago, but today their population has recovered and they’re categorized as “near threatened”. Conservation is still incredibly important, but they’re one of the biggest success stories in Africa.

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