The tour starts and ends in Uganda and will take you to the most fantastic national parks. The parks include Lake Mburo National Park, Bwindi Impenetrable National Park for gorilla trekking, and Queen Elizabeth National Park for game drives and boat safaris. Proceed to Murchison Falls National Park to enjoy the wildlife and the waterfalls, visit Kibale National Park for chimp tracking, and tour the source of the Nile and many more attractions. A gorilla permit worth $600 per person is included.
Day 1: Pick up from Entebbe Airport
Upon your arrival at the airport, the guide will meet you and transfer you to your booked lodge in Kampala. Relax for the rest of the day as you prepare to start your safari the next day. You can opt for a short city tour depending on the time of arrival.
Day 2: Transfer to Lake Mburo National Park
After breakfast, transfer to Lake Mburo National Park (3-hour drive) with a stop at the equator for photographs. Expect en-route game viewing of animals such as zebra, impala, and eland. You will also see other savannah plains species and birds like the African finfoot, papyrus, bushshrike, etc. After lunch, take an afternoon boat trip on Lake Mburo to see hippos, crocodiles, buffaloes, and a variety of bird species, including the rare shoebill.
Day 3: Lake Mburo – Bwindi Impenetrable Forest: Home to 1000+ Mountain Gorillas
Wake up early for a morning game drive to catch up with the early risers and predators returning to their hideouts. Return to the lodge for a full breakfast and proceed to Bwindi Impenetrable National park with an en-route game drive. The journey takes you through beautiful views of Kigezi Hills, “the Switzerland of Africa”. Have a picnic lunch en-route and relax in the evening as we wait for dinner.
Day 4: Gorilla Trekking Adventure
After breakfast, transfer to the park headquarters (with a packed lunch and water) for a briefing, before setting off to the forest in search of the gorillas. The time taken searching for these humble giant apes is unpredictable. However, it ranges between 2-8 hours depending on their movement. The activity goes through steep rocks, winding up and down, making it tiresome. However, the thrill of encountering these giant primates far outweighs this drawback.
Day 5: Transfer to Queen Elizabeth National Park
Have an early breakfast, then depart for Queen Elizabeth National Park. Enjoy lots of game viewing en-route, including the tree-climbing lions in the Ishasha sector. Relax after lunch at Mweya Safari Lodge, and later go for an evening game drive to see animals like buffalo, lion, herds of elephant, bushbuck, bush pig, warthog, Deffassa waterbuck and many more.
Day 6: Morning Game Drive and Afternoon Boat Cruise on Kazinga Channel
After a cup of tea or coffee, go on a game drive and catch up with the early risers and predators heading back to their hideouts. Return for a full breakfast at the lodge, then relax as we wait for lunch. In the afternoon, go for a launch cruise on the Kazinga Channel. It is famous for the highest concentration of hippos in Africa, alongside other animals like buffaloes, and huge crocodiles basking on the shores, as well as 611 bird species.
Day 7: Transfer to Kibale Forest National Park
Have breakfast and transfer to Kibale Forest National Park through Fort Portal, amidst the great “Mountain of the Moon” (the Rwenzori mountains), offering you beautiful sceneries. Have your lunch en-route, then proceed for chimpanzee tracking. The park is home to 13 primate species, including mangabeys, colobus monkeys, red-tailed monkeys, bushbabies, baboons and many more.
Day 8: Transfer to Murchison Falls National Park
Have breakfast and then proceed to Murchison Falls National Park. You will arrive in the afternoon, in time for lunch. Drive directly to the top of the falls from where the park derives its name. Here, you will see the calm Nile forcing itself through a narrow gorge of 7 meters wide to fall a distance of about 150 ft down, producing a thunderous roar of whitewater – incredible scenery.
Day 9: Morning Game Drive and Afternoon Launch Cruise
Have a cup of tea or coffee, then go on a game drive before dawn to catch up with the predators and early risers. Expect to see animals such as jackals, lions, leopards, spotted hyenas, giraffes, antelopes, elephants, buffaloes, Uganda kobs and many more. You will return from the game drive for a late breakfast and lunch. In the afternoon, you will go for a boat ride on the Victoria Nile. The boat trip will take you to the bottom of the falls where you will view animals like buffaloes, hippos, crocodiles, elephants and plenty of waterbirds like fish eagles and rare shoebills, etc.
Day 10: Transfer to Jinja
Wake up early and enjoy breakfast before proceeding to Jinja. You will have a stopover at the Zziwa Rhino Sanctuary to view some of the rhinos. The Rhino Tracking experience takes from 1hour to 2hours depending on where you will find the Rhions. You will arrive in Jinja in time for lunch and to visit the source of the Nile.
Day 11: Visit Source of Nile and Transfer to Entebbe
After breakfast, you will drive back to Kampala. Depending on your departure time, the guide will either drop you off at the airport for your departure flight, or at the hotel for your stay.
