Safari Overview
This 12 Days Uganda Epic gorilla trekking and wildlife safari comes with an intention of exposing to Uganda’s best wild encounters Uganda has to offer. Expect to enjoy memorable encounters with Uganda’s wild mammals as you are set to visit national parks such as Murchison falls and Kidepo Valley National parks which are home to a myriad of these mammals such as 4 of Africa’s big five which include lions cape buffaloes, leopards and the African elephants. Further still you have will have a chance to enjoy a close encounter with chimpanzees as you are set to visit Kibale national park which is the primate capital of the world with 13 primate species calling this park their home. Meeting the gorillas of Bwindi is likely to be the highlight of this safari.
Safari Highlight
Day 1: Enjoy a Kampala city tour then drive to Jinja in the afternoon
Day 2: Engage in a quad biking experience, boat cruise to the source of the Nile and continue to Mbale
Day 3: Visit the Sipi falls and then drive to Kidepo Valley national park
Day 4: Full day game drive in Kidepo valley park
Day 5: Morning game drive in Kidepo and drive to Murchison Falls Park
Day 6: Engage in a morning game drive and an afternoon boat cruise with a hike to the top of the falls
Day 7: Transfer to Kibale National Park with a hot lunch in Hoima
Day 8: Chimpanzee trekking in Kibale and bigodi walk visit
Day 9: Transfer to Bwindi via Ishasha for possible sighting of the tree climbing lions
Day 10: Enjoy a nature walk as you follow the ivy trail
Day 11: Do gorilla trekking and transfer to Lake Bunyonyi
Day 12: Drive back to Entebbe airport in time for your outbound flight.
Detailed safari itinerary
Day 1: Engage in a Kampala city tour and drive to Jinja
The first day of this safari will have you drive from your hotel in Entebbe to Kampala and engage in a spectacular city tour which will have you visit cultural sites like the Bulange Mengo, Kasubi tombs and Mengo palace which will give you an insight into the Buganda kingdom and Uganda’s cultural and political dynamics. You will also visit other sites such as Nakasero and new taxi park which will expose you to Uganda’s major public transport support system. You will have lunch after which you will embark on an 80km or 2-3 hours’ drive to Jinja
Accommodation: Haven Lodge Jinja
Meal Plan: Lunch & Dinner
Day 2: Transfer to Jinja for a quad biking experience, source of the Nile boat cruise and continue to Mbale town.
Day 1 of this safari will have you picked up from your hotel in Entebbe at 6:00am and embark on a 120km or 2-3 hours drive depending on the traffic to Jinja. Upon your arrival here, you will engage in a thrilling quad biking experience as you get to ride through the pristine villages of Jinja following the dirt roads. Depending on your level of experience, you will experience the thrill of your life as you enjoy riding these dirt roads which will give you an African massage. After about 2 hours of thrill seeking, you will transfer to the source of the Nile river, here you get to enjoy you a boat ride to a point where the majestic river Nile the longest river in the world begins its spectacular journey to the Mediterranean Sea. You will have a lunch break after which you will continue with your journey to Mbale town where you will close off the day from.
Accommodation: Mbale Resort
Meal Plan: Lunch & Dinner
Day 3: Visit Sipi falls then transfer to Kidepo valley park
Today you will wake up at 7:00am have breakfast after which you will check out of the lodge and drive to Sipi falls that are located in Kapchorwa which lies about an 1 hours drive from the hotel. Upon arriving here, you will get to enjoy a rather spectacular hike through the villages along the path that will lead you to these falls. This walk will give you a front row seat and a sneak pick into the lives of the locals here as you get to meet many of them going about their daily routines such as tending to their coffee and banana plantations. As you get near these falls, you will be welcomed by their thunderous roar which will let you know how strong these falls are. These falls are in 3 distinct phases with you will be able to see with the largest of them having its water plunge a whole 90m below off a cliff. The water cascading down creates this kind of a beautiful space between itself and the cliff and if you are strong hearted you can get near this point and pose for those incredible photos that will immortalize your presence here. From here, you will drive forward towards Moroto town where you will have lunch break before you finally make your way to Kidepo Valley national park later in the evening.
Accommodation: Kidepo Savanna Lodge
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Day 4: Morning game drive in Kidepo’s Narus Valley and an afternoon cultural encounter with the Karimajongs
Day 4 will have wake up early in the morning to a wonderfully crafted breakfast which you will enjoy while listening to the sounds of Kidepo made up of several birds twittering to the dawn of a new day over the Karamoja plains that are routinely interjected by several mammal calls that are either readying themselves for the new day ahead or retreating into their homes after an eventful night. You will embark on a game drive here which will reveal to you several of the secrets of Kidepo. On a clear day, watching the sun rise over these savanna grasslands is something worth looking out for because its breath takingly beautiful. After your encounter with the wild mammals of Kidepo which include the African elephants, Cape buffaloes Rothchild giraffes, Burchell zebras as they roam these grasslands, you will return to the lodge and have a lunch and also get out of the rather scotching Kidepo heat. In the evening when the temperatures have cooled off you will set out and visit one of the local villages that are dotted on the peripherals of this park. A unique cultural experience here awaits you as you get to see first hand how these locals live here. You will visit their homesteads called the Manyatas which are constructed and designed beautifully using local materials such as reeds small sticks and cow dung to given them a rather unique style finish. You will listen to inspiration behind their designs and its meaning. Enjoy a truly spectacular cultural dance session with these animated locals as you follow their local rhythms and dance beats. Buy a souvenir or two to support this community and also add to your collection of travel memorabilia. You will return to the lodge for dinner.
Accommodation: Kidepo Savanna Lodge
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Day 5: Enjoy another morning game drive and transfer to Murchison Falls Park
Today will be your last day in Kidepo valley, you will wake up a bit a late but still in time for breakfast, you will check out of the lodge and do another round of a morning game drive as you get out of Kidepo valley park and embark on a 355km or 7-8 hours drive to Murchison Falls Park with a lunch break in Gulu town.
Accommodation: Murchison River Lodge
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Day 6: Enjoy a morning game drive and an afternoon boat cruise to the bottom of the falls
Today you will engage in a stunning morning game drive in Murchison falls National Park and this will give a face to face encounter with the dwellers of this park such as 4 of the Africa’s big five lions, African elephants, leopards and cape buffaloes among many others like giraffes and a multitude of birds. In the afternoon you will enjoy a mind-blowing boat cruise to the bottom of Murchison falls and the thunderous roar from these falls will surely let you know why they are referred to us the world’s strongest water falls. From here, you will hike to the top of these magnificent falls where you will be able to take numerous pictures in order to immortalize your visit forever.
Accommodation: Murchison River Lodge
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Day 7: Transfer to Kibale Park
This day will see you transfer to Kibale National park. Kibale Park lies about 310km or 6-7 hours’ drive through rural Uganda which makes this journey quite fascinating for a first-time traveler in this country. You will have a lunch stop in Hoima. Along the way to Kibale, look out for beautiful sightings of large tea plantations which cover the gentle hills of Fort portal and Kibale. You can take a moment to pose for photos here. If you visit coincides with the harvesting period, you will be mesmerized by the tea harvesting process which involves laborers carry large baskets over their backs which they fill with the tea leaves plucked at a lightning speed.
Accommodation: Isunga Lodge
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Day 8: Trek the Chimpanzees of Kibale and visit Bigodi community
On this day, you will have a chance to have an upclose encounter with the man’s closest wild cousin the chimpanzees as you engage in an exciting chimpanzee trekking experience as Kibale national park is home to these humbling primates. Visit Bigodi community and enjoy an exciting cultural experience as you get to see the locals here go about their daily routines
Accommodation: Isunga Lodge
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Day 9: Drive to Bwindi
This day is dedicated to have you transfer to Bwindi. You will wake up quite very early at 6:00am for breakfast the depart Kibale and head for Bwindi Park which lies about 230km or 5-6 hours drive away from Kibale Park. You will check into your lodge and have lunch and spend the rest of the afternoon relaxing at the lodge
Accommodation: Buhoma Haven Lodge
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Day 10: Engage in an Ivy trail to Southern Bwindi
This day will have you wake up to melodic sounds of Bwindi that consists of numerous birds twittering interjected by various animals calls that call Bwindi their home. you have a breakfast after which you will check out of the lodge and embark on a 14 km or 9miles Ivy nature walk from Buhoma which is the Western end of Bwindi all the way to Nkuringo which lies in the Southern end of the park. On this walk, you will follow the footpaths that are used by locals that live adjacent to this park as well as river Ivy which the trail generally follows. This serene walk will give you magical sightings of an array of the dwellers of this park which will range from monkeys, butterflies and many locals going about their day to day lives. This walk takes anywhere between 4-6 hours depending on the level of your physical fitness but it will be worth all your energy by the time you complete it.
Accommodation: Ichumbi Gorilla Lodge
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Day 11: Enjoy a gorilla trekking expedition and transfer to Lake Bunyonyi
This day you will get to actually meet the gorillas as you engage in a memorable gorilla trekking experience which will have you meet these gentle giants in their natural habitat. You will spend an hour observing these majestic creatures in order to have an understanding their habits which aren’t far from our own. After your gorilla expedition, you will transfer to Lake Bunyonyi and enjoy a relaxed boat cruise as you explore this lake which is dotted with numerous islands that make this lake like a place you could only find from utopia
Accommodation: Lake Bunyonyi rock resort / Birdnest @ Bunyonyi resort
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Day 12: transfer to Entebbe airport with enroute stop at Equator monument
On the last day of this safari, you will check out of the lodge in Bunyonyi after having breakfast after which you will then embark on a return drive back to Entebbe where your safari with us comes to an end.
Meal Plan: Breakfast & Lunch
Tour Inclusions
Safari Exclusions
