The “Big Five” are lion, leopard, elephant, buffalo and rhinoceros. The name comes from the old hunting days, when these were the most dangerous animals to track on foot. Today they’re the animals most visitors hope to photograph. Here’s where to find them.
Uganda: four easily, and now the fifth
Lion, leopard, elephant and buffalo all live in Queen Elizabeth, Murchison Falls and Kidepo Valley national parks. Queen Elizabeth is known for its tree-climbing lions in the Ishasha sector, and Murchison for the huge herds on the northern bank of the Nile.
Rhinos were wiped out in Uganda by poaching in the early 1980s. They’ve been bred back at Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary, on the road between Kampala and Murchison, where you can track southern white rhinos on foot with a ranger. In March 2026, the first four rhinos were moved to a protected sanctuary inside Kidepo Valley National Park, the first rhinos there since 1983, with more planned. In January 2026, four rhinos were also moved from Ziwa to Ajai Wildlife Reserve in the West Nile region, where rhino tracking is listed in the Uganda Wildlife Authority’s 2027 tariffs.
Kenya and Tanzania: the classic Big Five
- Maasai Mara (Kenya): outstanding for big cats, with rhinos in some areas.
- Ngorongoro Crater (Tanzania): one of the most reliable places in East Africa to see all five in a single day.
- Serengeti (Tanzania): big cats and the Great Migration, with rhinos in a few protected areas.
Which one is hardest?
Usually the leopard: solitary, mostly nocturnal and superbly camouflaged. Good guides, early starts and a few days in the right parks make a big difference.
A Uganda Big Five route
Kampala → Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary (rhinos on foot) → Murchison Falls (lion, leopard, elephant, buffalo, plus the falls and a Nile boat trip). It takes about four days, and adds easily to a gorilla and chimp trip.
