This 15 Days Uganda Safaris spots you to the famous tree lions in Queen Elizabeth National Park and also takes you through a number of activities in different travel destinations in Uganda. This trip involves Birding, Chimpanzee Tracking, Gorilla Tracking, Game driving, Cultural tours and Nature expeditions.
Day 1: Arrival at the airport.
Upon arrival at the Entebbe international airport, our guide will be there waiting for you, pick up and proceed to your hotel for overnight. If time allows you will be briefed about your next trip. Accommodation: Medium: Boma Guest House (BB).
Hotel No. 5 (BB)
Day 2. Transfer to Murchison Falls National Park
After an early breakfast at your hotel, you will transfer to Murchison Falls National Park via Masindi town. Before you reach Masindi Town, you will branch off to the Ziwa Rhino sanctuary to track the white rhinos in their sanctuary. You will later proceed to Murchison falls National Park for overnight. If time allows do animals viewing stops as you check in to your lodge. Accommodation: Medium: Pakuba Safari Lodge (FB). High Budget: Nile Safari Lodge/ Paraa Lodge Deluxe rooms (FB)
Day 3: Game drive and Boat cruise
Today you will wake up early in the morning leave the lodge after breakfast or go with packed picnic breakfast and go for game drive/ animals viewing in the Savannahs of Murchison falls where it’s clear landscape gives you chance to see as many animals as possible not forgetting the tallest land mammals in the world and the largest land mammal escorted by endless herds of Buffalos and Uganda Kobs.
Mid-morning return to the lodge for an early lunch after which you will be transferred to the starting point of the boat cruise to the bottom of the falls, this boat is a perfect platform and gives you all chances of birds, mammals, reptile spotting and photography. Expect to see animals like Hippos, crocodiles, Water bucks, and a wide variety of bird species. You will also reach the “Devils Cauldron” where you will be able to see clearly the majestic Murchison falls. Return for dinner and overnight stay at your desired Lodge. Accommodation: Medium: Pakuba Safari Lodge (FB). / High Budget: Nile Safari Lodge/ Paraa Lodge Deluxe rooms (FB)
Day 4: Transfer to Kibale Forest National Park
After breakfast, you will travel to Kibale Forest national park. This is a long drive of about 5 hours but it’s one of the most interesting and eye catching journeys as you will drive through places with breath taking views from the escarpments of the East African rift Valley, low lying lake Albert, tea and coffee plantations and the foothills of Rwenzori Mountains before you enter the thick and ever green Kabarole tea estates later the forest covered hills of Kibale will conclude your day and check its worthwhile. You will have your lunch box or hot lunch along the way to depending on the timing of the departure time from the previous Lodge. Dinner and overnight and your desired Lodge. Accommodation: Medium: Turaco treetops Lodge (FB). / High Budget: Primates Lodge (FB)
Day 5: Chimpanzee trek and Bigodi Swamp Walk
After breakfast, you will set out for the morning briefing of the Chimpanzee tracking activity at Kanyachu the Park Headquarters and later after this, you will enter the forest to search for the man’s closest DNA sharing ape “the chimps”Please take note that recommended age for this activity is minimum 14 years and Maximum age is your level of fitness and ability to walk in the jungle. The experience you will get when you are with these chimps, will enable you figure out the similarities between the Chimps and Man.
This forest is not only home to the chimpanzee but other 120 mammals including 14 other primate species live inside this dense equatorial forest including the grey cheeked mangbeys, Olive baboons, vervet monkeys, black and white colobus monkey, red-tailed monkey, Galagos and bush babies which are active at night not forgetting the 370 bird species with the highly searched “green breasted Pitta”and the aggressive African forest elephants. In the afternoon there is a possibility of doing another walk in the community conserved swamp for more animals and bird spotting. Overnight and dinner at the Lodge. Accommodation: Medium: Turaco treetops Lodge (FB). / High Budget: Primates Lodge (FB)
Day 6: Transfer to Queen Elizabeth National Park
After breakfast, you will transfer to Queen Elizabeth National Park. En route visit the crater regions for scenic viewing. If time allows in the afternoon or late evening do a game drive en route or after checking in to your lodge. This increases the chances for us to see the big cats in the Kasenyi plains if the evening is not rainy as it’s the perfect time for them to go hunting for dinner. Later drive back to the lodge for dinner and overnight with night calls from lion roars and other wildlife that find their home in this biosphere environment. Accommodation: Medium: Kasenyi Safari Camp (FB). / High Budget: Mweya Safari Lodge (Deluxe rooms)/ Elephant Plains Lodge (FB)
Day 7: Game drive and Boat cruise.
Early morning after breakfast, you will set out for the game drive in the Kasenyi plains for game viewing where you well be welcomed by Buffalo and Uganda Kob herds, Elephant, Warthogs, variety of savannah birds, on lucky day the big cats are present most notably the lion pride and on a very lucky day the Panthera Pardus “African leopard”. After this, return to the lodge for lunch and later a Boat cruise on the Kazinga channel will be another highlight of the day.
This Channel has the world’s concentration of Hippos and on a sunny day you see many elephants coming to quench their thirst on the fresh waters of the Lake George and Lake Edward joined by a natural channel. Relax at the lodge in the evening.
Accommodation: Medium: Kasenyi Safari Camp (FB). /High Budget: Mweya Safari Lodge (Deluxe rooms)/ Elephant Plains Lodge (FB)
Day 8: Chimp trek in Kyambura and forest walk.
Today, we have a number of optional activities, and you can select one depending on where your interest is please check for their additional costs in the optional activities: Predator tracking, chimpanzee tracking, Salt Lake visit (Lake katwe), nature walk and game drive. Later you will drive through the mixture of savannah plains, Savanah woodland, rainforest and later arrive in the southern sector of this park “Ishasaha Plains” which is famous for the tree climbing lions and big herds of African savannah elephants. Game drive on your way to the Lodge, this sector also harbors special Antelope specie “The Topi” and it can only be seen here in the whole park. Hot lunch at the lodge and later return for evening game drive. Dinner and overnight at your desired Lodge. Accommodation: Medium: Enjojo Lodge (FB). / High Budget: Ishasha Wilderness Tented Camp (FB)
Day 9: Transfer to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park
Early morning breakfast check in the park for a game drive or have a full morning at leisure, later we drive to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. On our way we pass through Villages that completely survive on small scale agriculture and few business trading centers, the main grown crops are coffee and tea with a few local animal farms, you can visit one of the tea processing factories to have a quick look of how green tea leaf is turned into aroma charming black tea in your cup. Later proceed to the lodge near the gorilla park where we spend the whole evening and overnight as we wait for Gorilla tracking the next day. Dinner and overnight at the lodge of your choice. Accommodation: Medium: Buhoma Gorilla Camp (FB). / High Budget: Mahogany Springs Lodge (FB)
Day 10: Gorilla Trekking in Bwindi.
Early breakfast, pick your packed lunch and extra drinking water, you will go for a short briefing at the park offices to orient you on the dos and don’ts’ while you go for this amazing and lifetime experience. You will meet the rangers and guides at the office in company of a group of community entertaining group which tells you the stories of their culture through songs and traditional dances. You will later be briefed, and the next thing is to start the walk to look for Gorillas, time spent in the forest is unpredictable, so we recommend some level of walking fitness for about 5 hours or more.
For those who feel they can’t make it alone there is a team of support staff who can be hired at a low fee, and this is a form of supporting them and encouraging conservation of these gentle giants which are at the verge of extinction and considered highly endangered by IUCN. When you meet them, you will spend an hour with them and come back to the lodge. Today’s highlight is Gorilla Tracking! Accommodation: Medium: Buhoma Gorilla Camp (FB). / High Budget: Mahogany Springs Lodge (FB)
Day 11: Transfer to Lake Bunyonyi.
Relaxed Morning, with the following optional activities, you can decided how to end this magical gorilla park visit with; Batwa/pygmy experience, waterfalls walk, coffee processing and roasting tour, Second gorilla tracking (To be booked in advance), birding walk, then after transfer to Africa’s second deepest lake “Lake Bunyonyi” through the Ruhija forest corridor through which on a good day you can spot the rare forest elephants and some monkeys, hot lunch at the lodge with breath taking views of the Lake. Evening sunset views, dinner and overnight at the lodge. Accommodation: Medium: Bunyonyi eco resort (FB). / High Budget: Birdnest Resort (FB)
Day 12: Lake Bunyonyi tour.
After breakfast, depending on your level of fitness this is one of the best places to do morning jogging and stretching as the breath is fresh and on this community run/walk, you get interaction with the local tribes, experience their ways of living. In the afternoon take motorized boat or tree dugout canoe to tour this, Lake. The Most famous island is the “Punishment Island” which was used by the local people to abandon pre-marriage pregnant teens to starve to death or drawn as a way of discouraging others from getting involved in sex before marriage, there is one survivor of this harsh punishment, and many people prefer to hear her story and so you can as well during this trip. Return back to the lodge for sunset viewing as you sip your coffee and or preferred drink at the lodge bar viewing the lake. Dinner and overnight at lodge either on the shores or on an Island. Accommodation: Medium: Bunyonyi eco resort (FB). /High Budget: Birdnest Resort (FB)
Day 13: Transfer to Lake Mburo National Park.
After an early morning breakfast, you will drive to Lake Mburo National Park. Hot lunch at the lodge, go for the game drive which will give you insights of animal species like the zebras, topes, elephants, elands, impalas, buffaloes, antelopes and so many others. Optional night game drives or spends the rest of the evening relaxing at the Lodge. Accommodation: Medium: Rwakobo Rock Lodge (FB)./ High Budget; Mihingo Lodge (FB)
Day 14: Full day at Lake Mburo National Park.
After breakfast, set out for the morning Nature walk and later a game drive to search for the early risers and the animals missed out in the previous game drive. Return back to your lodge for lunch and in the afternoon; participate in a 2-hour boat ride along Lake Mburo. There is another Optional possibility of doing a night game drive. This will get you close to the crocodiles and hippos. This is the only park where you are not entirely imprisoned in a vehicle, this means that you can get out and have some walk around the park with an armed ranger guide. Accommodation: Medium: Rwakobo Rock Lodge (FB). / High Budget; Mihingo Lodge (FB)
Day 15: Transfer to Kampala.
After breakfast, before transferring to Entebbe, you can participate in one of the following activities: Community experience and Milking, Bicycle tour inside the park or in the community, game drive, horseback riding and Nature walk. Later transfer back to Kampala with a brief stopover at the Equator for water experiment and photographs; also stop over at Mpigi (Mpambire drum village) where you can be able to watch the ceremonial drums made out of local materials. Reach Kampala in the afternoon. Proceed to Entebbe for your flight departure back home. End of service. (Enjoy your trip with us in Uganda)
Prices Include: All meals, gorilla permit, on house soft drinks, all transfers, Park entrance and activities mentioned, support staff to the gorillas, full-time English-speaking guide, Customized Safari Jeep / Land cruiser with fuel for the entire trip.
Price excludes; Tips, alcoholic drinks, international tickets, Travel insurance.