Travel Guide Réserve Sauvage De Pian Upe

Wedged between three mountain ranges (Debasien Range, Kamalinga Hills and Mount Elgon), the Pian Upe Wildlife Reserve consists of a vast plain of semi-arid savannah speckled here and there with swampy areas, such as the Loporokocho swamps, and dotted with a myriad of acacias. Established in 1965, it is now the largestprotected area in the country with 2,043 km² and, ifconservation areas are included, the second largest area dedicated to wildlife protection in Uganda after Murchison Falls Park. Hardly affected by poaching in the 1970s and early 1980s, the reserve has now recovered from the poaching crisis, with some 45 species of mammals now permanently or temporarily present: leopard, buffalo, roan antelope, cheetah, zebra, hyena, oribi and, more recently, impala (transplanted from Lake Mburo National Park) and Rothschild's giraffe (transplanted from Murchison Falls National Park). In addition, about 300 bird species have been recorded in the wildlife reserve, such as gonolek, weaver, ostrich, jabiru and francolin. With the very significant reduction, due in particular to the disarmament policies undertaken in the region during the 2000s and the first half of the 2010 decade, of tensions (linked to cattle rustling) between the Pian and Upe pastoral tribes, the sector is gradually opening up to tourism and the reserve should eventually acquire national park status.