Day 1: Start your Uganda Safari from Entebbe or Kampala, driving to Murchison Falls National Park & Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary (there' flights to Murchison Falls if you prefer not to drive)
Our guide meets you from your hotel in Kampala or Entebbe at 07:00AM (or airport but arriving before 10am). You will get a brief about the holiday experience ahead of you before starting the drive through the famous Luwero triangle.
Ziwa Rhino sanctuary is the only place to trek wild Rhinos in Uganda, the other Rhinos are found at Uganda wildlife education centre (former Zoo) in Entebbe. On arrival at the sanctuary, you will be given a briefing from your ranger guide on how to behave while on this Rhino trek. It is very critical that you heed to the ranger’s instructions while on the trek because Rhinos can be aggressive if they sense a need to defend themselves. Depending on the location of the Rhinos, you may need to drive closer to their location before you start the trek to reduce on the distance. Your ranger guide will share different information on the behavior of Rhinos and how you ought to behave while as you trek.
Once you locate the Rhinos, you can stay a maximum of one hour in their presence. Sometimes different families are within distance of each other, in which case you will get an opportunity to visit more than one group. You also have a chance of other animal sightings on this nature walk, they include Waterbucks, Bushbucks, Kobs, Leopard (rarely), duikers etc.
We will continue through the park stopping at the top of the falls which is a fantastic sight. Here the Nile, the longest river in the world, is forced through a narrow gap in the rock (only 7 meters wide), before ferociously plunging down 43 meters. From here we will continue onto our accommodation place along the Nile River
Murchison Falls National Park is the largest in Uganda at 3,840 square kilometres. Here is the awe-inspiring Murchison Falls where the River Nile hurls itself in convulsions through a narrow crevice and then plunges 40 metres in one breathtaking leap.
The park has a variety of vegetation ranging from riparian forests and swamplands to broad savannah and provides visitors the opportunity of seeing large concentrations of wildlife including lion, leopard, civet, hyena, elephant, giraffe, buffalo, hippo, crocodile, a host of smaller game, small primates and many bird species, including the rare shoebill stork. The park is especially famous for crocodiles and hippos.
Apart from game viewing, the launch trip to the bottom of the falls is another memorable adventure giving you the experience of the mighty Biblical Nile. On the launch you may see schools of crocodiles and hippos basking on the riverbanks as well as a variety of birds.
Accommodation Options (Full Board)
Up-market: Anywade House | Cottage at Murchison River Lodge | Deluxe room at Paraa Safari Lodge
Moderate: Pakuba Lodge
Budget: Fort Murchison Lodge (tents) | Murchison River Lodge (tents) | Red Chilli Rest Camp
Day 2: Safari in Murchison Falls National Park | Game Drive | Boat Trip
After breakfast head to the delta in search of birdlife and enjoy the game drive to look for lions, giraffes, herds of elephants, buffaloes, and many more. We will drive back to the lodge for lunch before taking an afternoon boat cruise to the foot of Murchison Falls.
This boat trip along the Nile is often cited as being the highlight of a trip to Murchison since it allows you to get up-close and personal with the animals. Along this stretch of the river, there are reported to be around 4,000 hippos in addition to some enormous Nile crocodiles. The birdlife is stunning with brightly colored kingfishers and bee-eaters darting along the riverbanks. If lucky, you may see the rare and prehistoric-looking shoebill, which is a cross between the dodo and a dinosaur. The boat takes you to the base of the falls which only adds to their impressiveness.
Accommodation Options (Full Board)
Up-market: Anywade House | Cottage at Murchison River Lodge | Deluxe room at Paraa Safari Lodge
Moderate: Pakuba Lodge
Budget: Fort Murchison Lodge (tents) | Murchison River Lodge (tents) | Red Chilly Rest Camp
Day 3: Kibale National Park; Guided Primate Walk in Bigodi Swamp (flights can be arranged if driving is a challenge for you)
Early morning after breakfast, we continue driving through the undulating highlands of southwestern Uganda on our way to the greener and beautiful Fort Portal area. The lush rolling hills of this region provide good "photo opportunities". As you approach Fort Portal in the foothills of the Rwenzori Mountains, you enter Uganda's famous tea plantation region. A carpet of green spreads before you, as far as the eye can see, and seems an unusual contrast to the countryside through which you have just passed.
In the afternoon we visit a nearby forest swamp that is excellent for viewing primates and other forest animals. At the Eastern edge of the Kibale forest is Bigodi Wetland sanctuary which is maintained by the local community. You will expect birds like the great blue turaco, blue monkeys, baboons, otters, mongoose, bushbucks, bush pigs, and others.
Driving time: 5.5 hrs.
Accommodation options available (all on full board basis)
Up-market: Kyaninga Lodge | Crater Safari Lodge Kibale | Ndali Lodge
Moderate: Isunga Lodge | Kibale Forest Camp | Turaco Treetops
Low Budget: Tents at Kibale Forest Camp | Chimpanzee Forest Guesthouse
Day 4: Chimpanzee Tracking in Kibale Forest National Park; Transfer to Bwindi NP for Gorilla Trek
Assemble at Kanyankyu River camp at 08:00 hours to go for the most popular activity in this park which is chimpanzee tracking.
Chimpanzees are man’s closest cousins though they are one of the most threatened primate species. More primates like black and white colobus monkeys, L’Hoest monkeys, grey-cheeked mangabey, red-tailed monkeys, bush babies, pottos, and many bird species like the yellow-spotted nicator, rumped tinker bird, little greenbul, green breasted pitta, the crowned eagle, black bee-eater, and mammals like elephants can be seen in this walk.
Kibale National Park, which averages about 3,300 feet in elevation, is an extension of the great rainforests of central Africa. It is inhabited by three large communities of chimps, each numbering more than 100 individuals. Each community has a complicated social structure. The big adult males dominate the group and defend the community territory against incursions by male outsiders; the females usually wander in small family groups.
Typically, we locate the chimps by listening for their pant-hooting calls, then hustle to the area from which they are calling. We get to observe them as they feed in fruiting trees, lounge, and socialize with each other, or even, occasionally, hunt.
We drive througha stunning volcanic landscape adorned with steep-sided hills covered from top to bottom in neatly terraced plantations of bananas, tea and thick montane forests to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park.
The Bwindi area is a highly fertile, mountainous region with steep-sided hills covered from top to bottom in neatly terraced rows of cultivation. You are really driving through the “Banana Republic” with banana plantations all around you, steep hills, small rivers……just amazing scenery.
Accommodation options available in Bwindi (all on full board basis)
Standard Luxury: Mahogany Springs Lodge | Buhoma Lodge |Chameleon Hill Lodge | Nkuringo Gorilla Lodge Bwindi
Moderate: Ichumbi Gorilla Lodge| Engagi Lodge | Gorilla Mist Camp | Four Gorillas Lodge
Low Budget: Gorilla Haven Lodge Rushaga | Ruhija Gorilla Friends Camp | Gorilla Conservation Camp
Day 5: Gorilla Trek in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park
After breakfast, proceed for the morning briefing before enjoying the highlight of the trip - gorilla trekking, which may last the entire day.
We trek through the rainforest and bamboo-covered slopes, accompanied by a guide and trackers, in search of a mountain gorilla family. The walking can sometimes be tough and long, but when you catch a glimpse of the magnificent silverback, any discomforts will be quickly forgotten. When sighted, visitors will be guided to within 6 meters from the gorillas, sit around them for a whole hour while gazing into their big round eyes.
Gorilla trekking is unpredictable. It's difficult to foresee how many hours you will hike. The gorilla excursion can take from 2 up to 8 hours. Expect to walk a long distance in steep and muddy conditions, sometimes with rain overhead, before you encounter any gorillas. A good physical condition is recommended. For conservation purposes, time spent with the gorillas is limited to one hour. A ranger will brief you on how to behave with the gorillas.
While most of today's forests are no more than 12,000 years old, Bwindi's vegetation has been weaving itself into tangles over at least 25,000 years, in the process accumulating a lengthy species list. This includes 310 species of butterfly, 51 reptiles, 200 trees, and an exceptional 120 types of mammals including 10 primates. The latter includes chimpanzee, L'Hoest's, red-tailed and blue monkey, black and white colobus, baboon, and Bwindi's most famous resident, the mountain gorilla.
Bwindi is a prime destination for birdwatchers. Its 350 species include seven which are IUCN red data listed and 90% of all Albertine rift endemics, species which are difficult or impossible to see in any other part of East Africa.
Accommodation Options (Full Board)
Standard Luxury: Mahogany Springs Lodge | Buhoma Lodge |Chameleon Hill Lodge | Nkuringo Gorilla Lodge Bwindi
Moderate: Ichumbi Gorilla Lodge| Engagi Lodge | Gorilla Mist Camp
Low Budget: Gorilla Haven Lodge Rushaga | Ruhija Gorilla Friends Camp | Gorilla Conservation Camp
Day 6: Return to Kampala / Entebbe
Early breakfast before embarking on our return to Kampala, driving down the grassed and terraced escarpments of southwestern Uganda while taking in the breathtaking sights of the hills of the region dubbed ‘the little Switzerland of Africa’. This area is a highly fertile, mountainous region with steep-sided hills covered from top to bottom in neatly terraced cultivated rows. Not to miss as we traverse Mbarara are the impressive longhorn Ankole cattle.
A remarkable highlight of this journey is the Equator line and surely you will cross it as we have a brief stop here.
We will be in Kampala/ Entebbe in the evening before for your flight back home.
