A cheetah on the open plains of Pian Upe
Visit Pian Upe · Karamoja, Uganda

Uganda's most untouched wildlife experience.

Space, silence, and the sense that you are somewhere most people have never been.

Plan your visit ↓ Where to stay
01
Pick your season

Dry season, December to March and June to September, is the best first window.

02
Get here

About 7 hours from Kampala by road, or fly into the HUXX airstrip.

03
Stay wild

Bandas, tourism huts, and camping run by the Uganda Wildlife Authority at Moruajore headquarters.

Pian Upe is not for everyone. It is not a polished, well-trodden safari destination. That is precisely its appeal.

This is a vast, largely wild landscape where roads are rough, infrastructure is basic, and the wildlife you encounter feels genuinely undisturbed. In an East Africa of increasingly crowded game drives and curated experiences, Pian Upe offers something rare.

This is frontier conservation tourism at its most authentic. Visiting requires a spirit of adventure and a tolerance for the unexpected, and everything you spend here, entrance fees, local guides, community enterprises, contributes directly to the reserve's restoration.

Your visit is not tourism alongside conservation. It is conservation.

1,700

people visit Pian Upe in a year. Uganda's best-known parks receive that many in a week. You will very likely have the plains to yourself.

Things to do

A place to explore slowly, on its own terms

Game drives across the open plains
Game drives

Self-driven with a 4WD or guided, across the open plains and the reserve's game-viewing tracks.

Plan a drive →
A shoebill stork at Lake Opeta
Birding

Among the finest in Uganda, anchored by Lake Opeta's shoebills, Fox's Weaver, and Karamoja Apalis.

The birds of Pian Upe →
Tracking wildlife on foot with rangers
Guided walks & tracking

On foot with the reserve's rangers, who know this landscape intimately.

Walk with a ranger →
Cultural encounters with Karamojong communities
Cultural encounters

With the Karamojong communities who live alongside the reserve, arranged respectfully and to their benefit.

Meet the communities →
What you can see

Encounters entirely your own

Wildlife viewing set against the backdrop of Mount Kadam, with exceptional visibility across open grassland and acacia woodland. Nubian giraffe, roan antelope, hartebeest, eland, oribi, and ostrich are regularly seen; cheetah and leopard are present; and Lake Opeta adds world-class wetland birding.

Giraffe gather around the Kopanek and Twin hills at the reserve's heart
Cheetah range the open plains near the Napedet hills, along the Mbale to Moroto road
Dry season concentrates wildlife around the remaining water, the easiest time to find it

Early mornings are unforgettable: vast light, cool air, and a landscape waking on its own terms.

Wildlife of Pian Upe
← 01 / 04 → A giraffe family near the Twin hills

When to visit

one short rainy season shapes everything

Dry season

Best for a first visit
Dec – Mar Jun – Sep

Wildlife concentrates around the remaining water, grass is shorter, visibility is good, and the tracks are passable.

Wet season

Richest birding
Mar / Apr – May

The landscape turns green and dramatic and birding is at its richest, but wildlife disperses and many tracks become muddy or impassable. A capable 4WD is essential.

30°C+warm to hot days
15–17°Ccool mornings and evenings
Pack for strong sun, dust, and the swing between midday heat and dawn chill.
Map showing Pian Upe within Karamoja and Uganda
Search "Pian Upe Wildlife Reserve Headquarters" or "Moruajore" in Google Maps
Getting there

Part of the adventure

From Kampala Roughly 400 km via Jinja and Mbale, a 7 to 8 hour drive. Head east to Mbale, then north on the Mbale to Moroto road. Most visitors break the journey at Sipi Falls or Mbale.
From Mbale About 90 km, 2 hours, north along the Mbale to Moroto road. The southern entry is at Chepsukunya Trading Centre; reserve headquarters at Moruajore sit just off the road.
From Moroto Enter the northern reserve via Namalu Trading Centre, roughly 1.5 hours from Moroto town.
From Kidepo Valley About 250 km, 5 hours south via Moroto, which makes Pian Upe a natural stop on a Karamoja circuit.
From Sipi Falls Around 2.5 hours, the shortest hop of any major attraction in the region.
By air Pian Upe Aerodrome (HUXX) opened in 2023: fully fenced with an arrivals building, suited to light aircraft, caravans, and charters. Amudat airstrip is the alternative.
Inside the reserve A growing network of game-viewing tracks, including the Eland and Giraffe tracks, opens the southern reserve. A 4WD is essential; tracks are rough and reward those who value wilderness over polish.

Where to stay

Uganda Wildlife Authority

Where visitors stay

Accommodation in the reserve is run by the Uganda Wildlife Authority: simple bandas and tourism huts at the headquarters at Moruajore, plus camping. Affordable, functional, and right at the operational heart of the reserve, a short drive from the game-viewing tracks. Book ahead, as capacity is limited.

Bookings and enquiries: www.ugandawildlife.org · info@ugandawildlife.org

Karimojong Overland Safaris

By arrangement only

The concession operator's camp hosts specialised clients only and is not open for general accommodation. Enquiries about specialised trips are handled directly by the operator.

Specialised enquiries: Karimojong Overland Safaris

Visitor fees · Reserve entrance (per day) Uganda Wildlife Authority Conservation Tariff, July 2024 to June 2026
Foreign non-residents
US$ 35 adult
US$ 5 child (5–15 yrs)
Foreign residents
US$ 25 adult
US$ 5 child (5–15 yrs)
Rest of Africa
US$ 20 adult
US$ 5 child (5–15 yrs)
East African citizens
UGX 15,000 adult
UGX 2,500 child · UGX 1,500 Ugandan pupil/student groups
View the full Uganda Wildlife Authority tariff (PDF) Children under 5 enter free; a ticket is valid for 24 hours. Fees are managed by the Uganda Wildlife Authority and contribute directly to the reserve's protection: www.ugandawildlife.org · info@ugandawildlife.org
Visiting responsibly

Help us protect what we are rebuilding

Pian Upe is a reserve in active restoration. The rules are few, and they matter.

01Stay on designated tracks and follow ranger guidance at all times
02Do not approach wildlife on foot without a ranger present
03Do not feed wildlife
04Support local guides, communities, and enterprises where possible
05Leave nothing behind: pack out all waste
06Respect the communities of Karamoja: ask before photographing people

Beyond Pian Upe.

Pian Upe rewards those who make a journey of it. Together these landscapes make Karamoja one of Uganda's most rewarding routes for travellers willing to go beyond the familiar.

Mount Kadam & Mount Napak

The afromontane forests that frame the reserve to east and north.

Mount Elgon National Park

Within reach to the south, on the road in from Mbale.

Kidepo Valley

One of Africa's great and least-visited parks, in the same wild region to the far north.

The invitation

Come while it is still a secret.

Every visit funds the recovery you came to see: visitor fees support the Uganda Wildlife Authority's management, and your spending creates direct benefit in local communities.

Contact Uganda Wildlife Authority to plan Get involved instead
Take it with you
The reserve

What you came for

Big skies, big space, and wildlife encountered without a queue of vehicles.
Mount Kadam rising over the Pian Upe savannah
Under Mount Kadam
Nubian giraffe on the open plains
Nubian giraffe
A herd of zebra on the Pian Upe plains
Zebra on the plains
Golden grassland beneath a stormy sky
Storm light
Ostrich on the open savannah
Ostrich country
The savannah from the air
The reserve from above