12-DAY UGANDA NATURE ONLY

Highlights

All highlights in 12 days
Mid-range & semi-luxury lodging
Gorilla & Chimp permit included!

Introduction
This trip will take you to Uganda’s most spectacular highlights: safaris on the savanna, chimpanzees in tropical forest, hippo viewing from the boat and, of course, tracking the rare mountain gorillas. Plus, in Lake Mburo N.P you can take a bush walk or even a horseback safari. You will overnight in the best mid-range accommodations Uganda has to offer.

Itinerary

Day 1: Arrival in Entebbe

Day 2: Travel to Murchison Falls National Park

Day 3: Game drive and boat safari to the waterfalls

Day 4: Travel to Kibale Forest National Park

Day 5: Chimpanzee tracking in Kibale Forest

Day 6: Travel to Queen Elizabeth National Park

Day 7: Game drive and boat safari

Day 8: Game drive in Ishasha area

Day 9: Travel to Lake Mutanda / Bwindi

Day 10: Gorilla tracking in Bwindi forest

Day 11: Travel to Lake Mburo National Park

Day 12: Bush Walk/ MTB safari and return to Kampala or Entebbe

Day 1: Welcome to Uganda!
Your driver/guide will pick you up from Entebbe airport and transfers you to Via Via Guesthouse, only a 10 minute drive. This is where your everlasting tour driver/ guide will find you tomorrow morning for the start of your tour after a good breakfast.

ViaVia Entebbe is a very cosy accommodation in Entebbe, only 10 minutes away from the airport. All the rooms are self-contained and have a private terrace overlooking the dazzling garden. Relax in one of the hammocks while the resident monkeys play around in the trees, you can bath in your hot-tub, enjoy a romantic sunset and sit aside the campfire at night. The restaurant serves you fresh and healthy food, spiced with world flavours for a well-balanced international and local menu. ViaVia will give you a truly heartwarming experience that’s very hard to beat!

Day 2: To Murchison Falls national park
Today you continue your journey to Murchison Falls National Park one of the oldest conservation areas in Uganda. This is a long but rewarding journey through various landscapes of Northern Uganda.

Murchison Falls National Park is Uganda’s best-known and biggest nature reserve. With the impressive and powerful Murchison waterfall and its remarkable animal populations, this is a must visit in the Pearl of Africa. There are superb activities on offer such as a boat safari or Delta safari on the Nile. The river divides the park between a Northern and Southern section as it makes its way through multiple rapids and waterfalls to Lake Albert. Unfortunately, during the war years poachers and troops wiped out the majority of wildlife. Except for the park’s rhino population, fortunately all other wildlife has recovered fast since. A game drive in the park allows you to be eye-to-eye with the African animal kingdom and you will be amazed by the amount of elephants. Also giraffes, lions, antelope, waterbucks, buffaloes, hippos and crocodiles can all be spotted. Game drives take place on the tracks in the northern section which you reach by taking a ferry across the river. This park guarantees adventure!

Your accommodation for the coming three nights is at Murchison River Lodge. This lodge has been built on the edge of the mighty River Nile overlooking pods of hippos and stunning Murchison Falls National Park. Here you can expect ultimate comfort and relaxation in en-suite safari tents in a beautiful bush-location. Enjoy the swimming pool and the great hospitality! If you have binoculars, bring them! The bird life is incredible. The main lodge area provides a bar and restaurant and sits on a raised bank providing magical panoramic views of the magical River Nile as well as the park. You know that you are really in the bush having a guide leading you back to your safari tent after dinner because of the active wildlife at night.

Day 3: Murchison Falls National Park
After an early breakfast, it is time to explore the park. On your Game Drives you of course need a fair share of luck and very good eyes to try and spot as many animals as possible. While driving through the park you can come eye-to-eye with the African animal kingdom. Hopefully you see them all; elephants, giraffes, buffaloes, lions, leopards, different species of antelope and many tropical birds. They are all there! A professional ranger with extensive knowledge on the park and its inhabitants will join you in your car. The park is especially known for its massive elephant population, huge array of bird species and big herds of buffalo. You will discover some of the parks ecosystems and different scenery with dense woodland, extensive savannahs and rolling grasslands. As this is a private game drive you can ask your guide to tailor your trip towards specific birdlife and/or wildlife if you like.

The afternoon boat safari towards the Murchison Falls is a very special activity, it takes approximately 3 hours and goes along the Victoria Nile to the base of the Falls. You can imagine; this boat safari will show you breathtaking scenery. Cold drinks are for sale on board for when you get thirsty for a local beer or a soda. Carefully watched by crocodiles, hundreds of hippos, buffaloes, water birds, monkeys and all the other (also thirsty) wildlife that the Nile attracts you go to the bottom of the powerful Murchison Falls. If you like hiking, the boat can drop you near the waterfalls and you can hike up to the top (this takes around 1 or 1,5 hours). The views are amazing!

Day 4: Travel to Kibale Forest
Today, you will undertake the journey to green Kibale Forest. The drive is incredibly scenic, passing through tea plantations and the lush green countryside which characterizes so much of Uganda. On arrival at the forest, you will enter a completely different world… some serious monkey business!

Kibale Forest National Park lies just outside the colonial town of Fort Portal and is made up of dense tropical rainforest. This park is considered one of the big highlights of Uganda due to some serious monkey business going on here. A big number of primates residing can be found here and particularly a visit to one of the habituated chimpanzee groups is a very memorable experience. The rare red colobus as well as the black and white colobus, red tailed monkey, olive baboon, the blue Monkey and l’hoest’s monkeys are also regularly seen here. Where would you find a better spot to experience encounters with nature; smelling the forest and listening to the many sounds. Your safari tent or cottage is surrounded by lush green diversity filled with countless bird species and butterflies.

This brand new Lodge offers you a unique jungle experience at the border of Kibale Forest National Park with the most stunning view over the forest canopy and the snow-capped Rwenzori Mountains. You will stay at a modern and comfortable cottage at quiet locations in the forest. This lodge is all about a relaxing atmosphere, family friendly and with a refreshing swimming pool. In the restaurant and lounge areas you’ll be welcome to try tasty meals meanwhile you have high chances of spotting the Red Colobus and Grey Cheeked Mangabey monkeys on the premises.

Day 5: Chimpanzee tracking and swamp walk
Chimpanzees share 98% of human genes making them our closest living relatives. They are found in 21 countries throughout Africa, but are most easily sighted in Uganda due to their dense populations. Today, in Uganda, there are approximately 5,000 chimpanzees left in the wild. The Chimpanzee Trekking experience here is done on several well maintained walking trails. There is also a wonderfully diverse concentration of other primates, more than any other forest in East Africa, in fact. Besides our delightful cousins, the chimpanzees, you can find red colobus, red-tailed guenon, white-nosed monkey, gray-cheeked mangabey, blue monkey, L’Hoest’s monkey, and the black and white colobus monkey. In addition, you may see olive baboons, bush babies and nocturnal pottos.

The aim for your trekking through the jungle under the care of professional guide, is 1 hour of eye to eye contact with the chimpanzees. We can however cannot guarantee 100% for you to see them as they are still wild animals, nevertheless your chances are very good.

Your next activity will take you to the Bigodi Wetlands Sanctuary which features 8 primate species, over 200 bird species and many reptiles. During the walk – which takes 2 to 3 hours – you have a chance to many animals but the highlight is catching a glimpse of a famous bird; the Great Blue Turaco. The sanctuary is operated by KAFRED, a registered community based organization. The income from the walk is used for community development projects such as schools and hospitals.

Day 6: Queen Elizabeth National Park
Scenic Queen Elizabeth National Park is located in south western Uganda and is most often included in visitors’ itineraries. It is the second largest park in the country and located at the base of the majestic Rwenzori Mountain range, next to Lake Edward and Lake George which are joined by the Kazinga channel. Few reserves in the world have such a high biodiversity with landscapes including savannah, bushland, wetlands and lush forests. On your first game drive, it is time to explore the Queen Elizabeth National Park with her 200 kilometers of well-maintained game viewing tracks. We advise for you to be alert and pro-active on your game drive to help the ranger spot as many animals as possible.

Marafiki Safari Lodge is set in a unique location and has been designed using local materials fitted by artisans from the local community. This lodge offers private safari tents on raised wooden floors with canvas walls, which can be rolled up. You can sit comfortably when watching the savannah plains with breath taking views across the park, the Rwenzori- and Virunga Mountains. With an en-suit open-air shower, you can experience an African sunrise properly or shower in the moonlight under the stars. Enjoy your delicious meals (made with fresh and local produce) on the restaurant veranda or next to the campfire. There is a new swimming pool which really invites for a refreshing dip in between game drives on a sunny day in this beautiful setting.

Day 7: Game drive & boat safari
After an early breakfast, you go for a long game drive in time to see the sun rise. The morning is the best time for a game drive as the African animal kingdom tends to me most active when during the golden hours of the first sunlight touching the savannah. You will continue the search for all the wildlife; elephant, buffalo, lion, waterbuck, leopard, Uganda kob, warthog and do not forget about the birds and the primates.

After lunch, you will take a boat safari along the Kazinga Channel. Here, you will see a lot of hippos (more than you can possibly imagine), as well as a variety of other animals which come to the waterhole to drink or bathe. You can expect to see: Buffalo, Crocodile, bathing Elephant, and a range of beautiful birds. This will undoubtedly be one of the highlights of your tour. After the boat-safari you game drive back to the lodge.

Day 8: Ishasha area and its tree-climbing lions
After the hike you will drive in about 2,5 hours to the southern part of Queen Elizabeth National Park. This part is famous for its’ tree-climbing lions. While lion cubs around the world frequently climb trees for fun, adults rarely do. However, these lionesses enjoy spending the hot afternoons snoozing in fig trees to get away from the tsetse flies and to enjoy a cool breeze. This is the most memorable sight in the park as you have never seen such photogenic lions posing for your camera before. During a game drive you will try your luck! Meanwhile don’t miss the stunning scenery and superb birdlife in this southern remote section of the park either.

Enjojo lodge is bordering the Ishasha sector of Queen Elisabeth National Park. Birdlife is amazing and herds of elephants, buffaloes and antelopes are regularly spotted. Vervet monkeys, baboons, black- and white colobus have become residents to the lodge. From the grass-thatched restaurant and bar you can enjoy the tasty homemade food and the view on a small scenic natural lake in front of you. The thatched cottages at have an en-suite bathroom and an outdoor shower. On the wide verandas you can really take a moment to enjoy the tranquil environment overlooking the surrounding bush and savanna.

Day 9: Lake Mutanda
Today you drive to Kisoro in the south-western part of Uganda; close to the borders with Rwanda and Congo. You cross a beautiful part of the country often referred to as ‘the Switzerland of Africa’. You will see a great country-side, bamboo forest and have great views over the Virunga Mountains. For lunch you will stop at a local restaurant on the road (lunch is not inclusive).