Overview
This safari exposes you to the wildlife and cultures of Uganda where you have high chances of spotting the big five animals. You will visit different national parks such as Murchison falls, Kibale, Queen Elizabeth, and Bwindi national parks, and Ziwa Rhino sanctuary enroute to Murchison falls national park.
You have a chance of spotting most of the Uganda animals at Entebbe Wildlife Education Centre - former zoo. The Batooro and Bakiga cultures will be explored when you visit Isunga Community at the edge of Kibale national park. This safari will create everlasting memories of trekking, game drives, optional balloon safaris, boat cruises and cultural encounters.
Detailed safari itinerary
Meet the driver / guide who will take you to the Uganda Wildlife Education Centre in Entebbe where you will summarize all the animals that will be met during this safari. Thereafter, you will spot animals like chimps, buffalos, warthogs, zebras, hippos, lions, cheetahs and rhinos, among others. Proceed to the booked hotel.
Have breakfast at the hotel and head to the biggest national park in Uganda and that is Murchison falls national park that hosts 4 of the big five animals of the wild. It hosts the might world's most powerful waterfall, and River Nile bisects the parks into two parks where the northern sector is covered by savannah vegetation whereas the southern sector is covered by the forest woodland.
While on your way, have 2 stopovers; one at a roadside market where you will taste the real fresh fruits grown in Uganda. Another one will be at Ziwa Rhino sanctuary where you will have a chance to start the big five wildlife safari by trekking Rhinos. This can take a maximum of 2 hours where other animals like antelopes will be discovered. Proceed with the road trip to the park to the booked accommodation.
On this day, you have 2 options of either taking a game drive or taking a balloon safari. The balloon safari rewards you with a great experience where you have an aerial view of the park plains with the animals like elephants, bushbucks, waterbucks, buffalos, warthogs, lions, leopards among others. In the afternoon, you will take a boat ride on the river Nile which will take you to the bottom of the falls, discover the beautiful waters as you watch over the Nile crocodiles and schools of hippos.
You have an option of hiking to top of the falls where you will enjoy a great view of the mighty magnificent world's most powerful waterfall that pass through a narrow point forming a rainbow. Return to the lodge for your dinner and prepare for the next day's departure.
Make a transfer to Kibale National Park the home of 13 primates including chimpanzees, vervet monkeys, colobus monkeys, L'Hoest's monkeys, grey cheeked mangabeys, olive baboons among others. For the case of bird species, the park boosts unique bird species like the great blue turacos, the green breasted Pitta among others.
On arrival, you will head to the Isunga community at the edge of Kibale forest where you will be entertained with cultural dances and music for Batooro and Bakiga aimed at the conservation of culture and the environment. You have an option of taking a community walk where you will explore different crater lakes includingLake Nyabikere, Rweteera, Ndali, etc. Head to the booked lodge where you will spend a night.
Visit the Kanyanchu visitor’s center after enjoying breakfast at the lodge where you will join other trekkers in a briefing session. Know about the rules and regulations while trekking the Chimpanzees such as do not mimic, do notlitter, no feeding animalsand no making noise while trekking among others.
Join other visitors and head for tracking where the guide rangers will be communicating with each other to easily allocate them. An hour will be allocated to you in their presence and then head back to the lodge for your lunch. Immediately, make a transfer to Queen Elizabeth national park where you will be welcomed with a good number of animals like the buffalos, elephants, Uganda kobs, warthogs among others. This destination will create everlasting memories while on your stay.
Meet the park rangers and engage in a morning game drive after a short cup of coffee where you will have higher chances of meeting different wildlife like jackals, lions, leopards, hyenas and others like elephants, buffalos, warthogs, antelopes like Uganda kobs, bushbucks among others. The game drive lasts for about 2 hours and then head back to the lodge for mid breakfast, as you take a leisure time up to lunchtime.
You will engage in a boat cruise taking you around the Kazinga channel where you will be able to spot different animals like the hippos, crocodiles, and water birds like the Kingfishers, pelicans, egrets, African mourning dove among others. Cruise for 2 hours and then head back to the lodge for dinner.
Make a transfer to Bwindi national park passing via Ishasha sector where you will be able to track the rare tree-climbing lions that can only be found in this sector and Lake Manyara National Park inTanzania.
Spot them relaxed after feeding or searching for the best prey and you proceed to the home of rare mountain gorillas that live in Kigezi highlands. This park has 19 habituated gorilla families with two set aside for habituation experience. The park has over 350 bird species including 23 rift valley endemics. Arrive and take a shower as you wait to be served with dinner while eagerly for the next day’s gorilla trekking experience.
Have a short briefing about the gorillas and forest at large to get conversant with these primates and the trekking activity. You will meet other fellow trekkers and the assigned ranger guide well-armed for protection. At this time, you can hire some potters to carry your luggage since there is a bit of difficulty in hiking due to the nature of gorilla habitats.
Trekking will take about 3 to 7 hours depending on the group trekked, speed and where the gorillas spent their night, but remember that an hour will be allocated to you to enjoy them while in their presence. You will head back to the lodge after being rewarded with a certificate to enjoy the evening relaxing.
Have breakfast at the lodge and immediately transfer to Kampala having a great view of the table-like structures of tea plantations. Make an en-route stopover in Mbarara town for snacks or local meal and then proceed to Kampala/Entebbe where you will be dropped at the hotel or airport and this will mark the end of your 9 dayssafari.