Highlights
- Gorilla trekking Uganda in Bwindi forest
- Chimpanzee Tracking in Kibale forest
- Track Rhinos on foot
- Spot the Big 5 & Big Cats
- Unlimited game drives
- Boat ride on kazinga Channel
- Boat cruise on the Nile River
- Visit Murchison Falls National Park
- Visit Queen Elizabeth National Park
- Search for tree-climbing lions
- Visit Lake Bunyonyi
Detailed Itinerary
Day 1: Arrival at Entebbe Airport – Transfer to your hotel
Upon arrival at Entebbe International Airport, you will be transferred to the booked accommodation (Entebbe).
Hotel: Lake Heights Hotel
Day 2: Entebbe to Murchison Falls National Park
After your early morning breakfast drive northwest to Murchison Falls National Park via the Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary where you will have an opportunity to trek Rhinos. There are 15 Rhinos which were reintroduced after their extinction in the 1970s through poaching.
A local ranger guide will lead you on foot to an up-close encounter with the rhinos and it may take about 1 and half hours. Proceed to Masindi Town for lunch and later continue to Murchison Falls National Park arriving at your lodge late afternoon.
Meal plan: Lunch & Dinner
Lodge: Twiga Safari Lodge
Day 3: Murchison Falls National Park – Game drive & Boat Cruise
Arise very early in the morning for your game drive on the northern bank of the River Nile in your open-roof vehicle which will give you an excellent opportunity to view and photograph the diverse wildlife. Your guide will help you spot elephant,lion, cape buffalo, Roth child’s giraffe, hartebeest, waterbuck, oribi, bushbuck, bohor reed buck, hyena and if you are lucky, the leopard.
After lunch, go for a boat cruise upstream the calm Victoria Nile to the base of the falls stopping just few of meters from the ‘Devil’s Cauldron’, marvel at the schools of hippos, crocodiles and over the 17km stretch you may see elephant, waterbuck and Uganda Kob.
This is also the zone of many birds, species like goliath heron, Egyptian goose, pelicanbee-eater, kingfisher, hornbill, cormorant and the rare shoebill stork. After taking shorts of the photogenic Murchison Falls, you may choose to continue to the top of the falls, where you will have the amazing view of the falls!
Meal plan: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Lodge: Twiga Safari Lodge
Day 4: Murchison Falls to Kibale Forest National Park
After your morning breakfast, begin your journey to Kibale Forest National Park. Drive south via Hoima to Fort Portal through verdant countryside passing through traditional homesteads, farms and Tea Estates. You will have a stopover for lunch en-route. You will arrive at you lodge in the late afternoon. Check in at your lodge for dinner and an overnight stay.
Meal plan: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Lodge: Turaco Treetops Lodge
Day 5: Chimp tracking Kibale Forest – Queen Elizabeth National Park
Have breakfast and head to the rangers’ post where you will receive some briefing on the dos and don’ts during chimp trekking. Thereafter, you will proceed to trek the chimps in the Kibale Forest. An experienced ranger guide will take you chimp tracking (Kibale Forest) and the presence of primates here will surely amaze you. Once you locate the chimpanzees, you will have a full hour in their presence.
Later transfer to Queen Elizabeth National Park for an evening game drive.
Meal plan: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Lodge: Bush Lodge
Day 6: Queen Elizabeth National Park – Game drive and Boat cruise
After a cup of coffee, begin the day with a game drive in the Kasenyi plains that may lead you to see bush buck, Uganda Kob, topi, Defassa waterbuck, and Cape buffaloes, Lions, elephants and many more.
You will later return at the lodge for a late breakfast, relax as you wait for lunch. In the afternoon, you will enjoy an afternoon boat ride along the Kazinga Channel for a wide view of yawning hippos, crocodiles, buffaloes, various bird species such as red chest, papyrus Gonolek, pink backed pelicans, malachite kingfishers, yellow crown, water thick-knee, yellow-billed stork, shoe bill stock among others. Return at the lodge for dinner and overnight stay at your booked lodge.
Meal plan: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Lodge: Bush Lodge
Day 7: Queen Elizabeth National Park to Bwindi impenetrable Forest
Have breakfast then set off for Bwindi NP through the Ishasha sector of Queen Elizabeth National Park – famously known for its resident tree – climbing lions. The chance of spotting these lions is about 70% though sometimes they are really hard to spot (most especially when they’re down in the grassland looking for prey).
Hoping you get the chance to spot them, the sight will be spectacular! Continue to Bwindi National Park. Bwindi is a big habitat for mountain gorillas in Uganda; harboring an estimated 400 mountain gorillas – roughly half of the world’s population, including several habituated groups, which can be tracked on 9 days Uganda gorilla trekking safari & primates.
Its mist-covered hillsides are blanketed by one of Uganda’s oldest and most biologically diverse rainforests, which dates back over 25,000 years and contains almost 400 species of plants. With a strenuous day ahead, you will do less on arrival but just check in your accommodation, relax as you prepare for the Bwindi gorilla trekking experience the following day.
Meal plan: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Lodge: Bakiga Lodge
Day 8 Bwindi Impenetrable National Park – Lake Bunyonyi
Gorilla Trekking Uganda – Bwindi National Park – Transfer to Lake Bunyonyi for relaxation: After breakfast you will transfer to the park headquarters for the briefing before you set off through the tracks to search for the humble giants. You will go with packed lunch because it’s hard to determine how long it will take you to meet these great apes. However, the time ranges between 2-9 hours depending on the movement of the giant primates. The activity is tedious, it entails walking along steep hilly tracks however encountering these great relatives of man erases all the poor memories/ hardships you went through in trying to find them.
Later take continue driving further south to Lake Bunyonyi. A very beautiful lake with 29 islands which might make you feel like you are out of Africa.
Lake bunyonyi is the second deepest lake in Africa after Lake Tanganyika.
Meal plan: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Lodge: Lake Bunyonyi Rock Resort
Day 9: Transfer from Lake Bunyonyi to Entebbe
After morning breakfast, park your bags and you will be driven back to Entebbe for your flight back home with a stopover at the Equator where you will have an opportunity to stand in 2 hemispheres at the same time and take some photos.
Meal plan: Breakfast & Lunch