Our 13 days safari takes you to the west and southwestern parts of the pearl of Africa which have the largest concentration of protected areas, beautiful landscapes and a rich diverse culture. The trip features savanna and forest parks that are habitats to different fauna and flora. The safari includes game drives, rhino, chimp and gorilla tracking and encounters with Africa’s big 5 including the tree climbing lions of the Ishasha plains.
Day 1 – Arrival and Pickup
Upon your arrival at Entebbe international airport, you will be welcomed by our Safari driver guide, who will brief you about the safari and after transfer you to your hotel for an overnight stay as you prepare for the expedition in the pearl of Africa.
Day 2 – Transfer to Murchison Falls with stopover at Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary
Wake up early in the morning, have breakfast and start on your journey to Murchison falls national park. The park is the largest conservation area and oldest in the country. The main feature in the park are the falls that go through a 7m gorge and plunge from 45m. You will have a stopover at Ziwa Rhino sanctuary for Rhino tracking. The sanctuary is about 170km from Kampala. Upon arrival you will briefed and led by a ranger guide for rhino tracking. After tracking you will have lunch and proceed to Murchison falls for overnight and dinner.
Day 3 – Morning game drive, afternoon boat cruise and hike to the top of the falls
Wake up early at around 6.00 am have breakfast and go for a game drive. Murchison Falls National Park is bisected by the Rive Nile and is composed of woodland, wetland, savannah as well as tropical forest. The game drives are done in the savanna plains on the northern bank up to the delta where the Nile pours its waters in Lake Albert up to lunch time. Among the mammals to look out for are: lions, Leopards, Cape buffalo, Jackson’s hartebeest, elephants and Rothschild’s giraffe.
After lunch you go for boat cruise on the Victoria Nile. A boat cruise to the bottom of Murchison Falls is another rewarding experience to view wildlife and birds. Hippos, waterbucks, crocodiles, buffaloes and elephants can be seen along the banks of the Nile. Birds usually seen during the cruise include: Cormorants, African fish Eagles, Spur-winged goose, African darter, Giant Kingfisher, Red-throated Bee-eater, Water thick knee among the many. At the bottom of the falls, you leave the boat and take 20-minute hike to the top of the falls. Your driver guide will meet you at the top of the falls and transfer you back to the lodge.
Day 4 – Transfer to Kibale Forest National Park
Have breakfast and transfer to Kibale Forest National Park. The journey takes you 7-8 hours, passing through the valley escarpment and you will have lunch en route. You will have a glance over the Albertine rift valley which is a result of tectonic cracking, faulting and uplift that happened about 15 million years ago to Fort portal town, then you will check in at your lodge for dinner and overnight.
Day 5 – Chimpanzee tracking and Bigodi wetland visit
Wake up early, have breakfast and drive for to Kibale Forest National Park visitors’ center at Kanyanchu for a pre- chimpanzee tracking briefing. At 8.00 am, enter the forest to track the chimpanzees and other primates. The Park is famous for Chimpanzee tracking. With 13 primate species, Kibale National Park is known as the Primates Capital of the world. The park hosts about 1500 chimpanzees out of the 5000 recorded in the country and has 375 and 250 bird and butterfly species respectively in addition to 70 mammal species.
After tracking and lunch in the afternoon, you drive to the nearby Bigodi Wetland Sanctuary for a nature walk and community visit. There is a craft center managed by the local women group. After the community tour, you return to your lodge.
Day 6 – Half day tour in Fort portal and transfer to Queen Elizabeth NP
Wake up early and have breakfast, after which you will embark on a tour in Fortportal tourism city. The city hosts the Tooro Kingdom palace which is sited on a hill overlooking the town. You will visit the palace after which you go the Karambi tombs where the former kings, princesses and princes are buried. From here you will visit Amabere ganyina mwiru, the stalactites and learn about the history behind it. After you will have lunch and transfer to Queen Elizabeth National park.
Day 7 – Morning game drive and afternoon boat cruise on the Kazinga Channel
Wake up very early in the morning have breakfast and go for an early morning game drive to the kob mating area in Kasenyi plains. Expect to see elephants, buffaloes, lions, warthogs, waterbucks, Uganda kobs, elands, leopards and many others summing to over 75 mammals that call the park home in their natural habitat.
In the afternoon, go for an exciting boat cruise along the Kazinga channel which 40 km long and 8m deep joining two lakes Edward and George. The channel is a meeting point for animals that come to drink, reptiles like the Nile crocs and monitor lizards. The channel joins Lake George to Lake Edward. The cruise gives you a chance to watch hundreds of enormous hippos, buffalo’s elephants along the shoreline.
Kazinga Channel is a haven for water birds that are easily seen during a boat cruise. Some of them are: Great and Long-tailed Cormorants, Common Squaco Heron, White-faced Whistling and Knob-billed Ducks, African Fish Eagle, Great-white and Pink-backed Pelicans, African open-billed Stork, Water Thick-knee, Malachite and Pied kingfishers, Swamp flycatchers and Yellow backed Weavers, Black Crake, African Jacana, Spur-winged and African Wattled Plovers.
Day 8 – Game drive in Ishasha and transfer to Bwindi
Wake up early in the morning, have breakfast, carry packed lunch and drive south to the Ishasha sector of Queen Elizabeth national park. The sector gives a classic game viewing experience under the rift valley skies. Expect to see buffaloes, elephants, topis, elands, warthogs, oribis and many more besides the chance of sighting tree climbing lions.
After the drive, you will have a picnic lunch and transfer to Bwindi Impenetrable national park. On reaching the park you check in at your lodge for dinner and overnight stay.
Day 9 – Gorilla tracking and Batwa community visit
Wake up early have breakfast and assemble for a briefing before 8:00am. At 8.30 you enter the forest to track the Mountain Gorillas. You will enter into the amazing rain forest walking through heavily forested and dense landscape interrupted by animal trails. Tracking takes about 4 -8 hours depending on how far the gorillas are and which gorilla family you track. After tracking you will return to the lodge, refresh and relax.
In the evening visit the Batwa communities around the park to learn about their culture and how they used to live in the forest before being moved for conservation purposes. Then after return to the lodge for dinner and overnight.
Day 10 – Transfer to Lake Bunyonyi
Wake up, have breakfast and drive to Lake Bunyonyi for a relaxed evening. You will check in at your lodge upon arrival and after lunch you will embark on a canoe ride on the lake to the punishment island on Uganda’s deepest and Africa’s second deepest lake. Expect to see several other islands because the lake is a beautiful one dotted with numerous islands. In the evening, you will return to the lodge for dinner and overnight.
Day 11 – Transfer to Lake Mburo and do an evening nature walk
Have breakfast and drive from L. Bunyonyi to Lake Mburo National park. This is the smallest savanna park in Uganda famous for its largest herds of Zebras. You will have lunch at Igongo Cultural centre, the country’s largest museum exhibiting almost all the western cultures. Then drive to the park for check in at your lodge. In the evening you do a guided nature walk in the park or bicycle safari.
Day 12 – Morning game drive and afternoon boat cruise on Lake Mburo
Have an early morning breakfast and start off the game drive through the Park for about three hours. This will give you an amazing glimpse of the savanna park, and its fauna and flora. Animals to watch out are: Zebras, impalas, buffalos, elands, waterbucks, warthogs, giraffes, topis and many others. The drive also gives you spectacular views of the amazing landscape of the park.
In the afternoon you will have a boat ride on Lake Mburo where you will have a great time having a chance to see different animals like the crocodiles, hippos, and birds like the African fish Eagle, Giant and Pied Kingfishers, African Fin foot, Bee eaters among others. Later return to the lodge for diner and an overnight.
Day 13 – Transfer back to Kampala and departure
Wake Up early in the morning have breakfast, and transfer to Kampala or Entebbe. You will have a stopover at the equator to photo moments and lunch. This day will mark the end of the 13 days Uganda safari.
