This 8 days Uganda safari offers a breathtaking gorilla trekking adventure in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park, thrilling Chimpanzee tracking in Kibale Forest National Park, and a unique Uganda wildlife safari in Murchison Falls and Queen Elizabeth National Parks, Rhino tracking at Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary, a visit to the Equator and a traditional cultural meal experience at Igongo Cultural Center, coupled with amazing game scenery that makes it a highlight of a true authentic African safari in Uganda.
Starting and ending in Kampala, this 8-day safari to Uganda takes us to Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary to track wild rhinos on foot before continuing to Murchison Falls NP, Uganda’s largest national park, blessed with the world’s most powerful waterfalls and the Nile River (the world’s longest river), plus a collection of classic African wildlife, including 76 Ugandan mammal species such as Lions, Leopards, Elephants, buffaloes, Giraffes and Hippos.
Here, you’ll enjoy game drives and a boat cruise along the Nile to the bottom of the falls, plus a hike to the top. We continue to Kibale National Park, possibly the best place in the world to track wild chimpanzees, before moving to Queen Elizabeth NP for the opportunity to see the rare tree-climbing lions, Leopards, Elephants, Buffalos, and much more as the checklist of mammals reaches 95 species.
Here you’ll also enjoy a boat on the Kazinga Channel that will take you close-up to the largest concentration of hippos in the world and several of the park’s 610 bird species.
Eventually, we travel onward to the wonderful Bwindi Impenetrable National Park for our gorilla trekking encounter. The untouched forest of Bwindi has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site because of its breathtaking natural beauty, unique ecological significance, and incredible biodiversity.
It is world-renowned for excellent opportunities to trek gorillas in Uganda, hosting almost half of the Mountain gorillas in Uganda on Earth, including 19 fully habituated families. Aside from the majestic Mountain Gorillas, there are other drawcards in Bwindi, including over 120 mammal species, over 350 species of birds in Uganda, and colorful butterflies.
After our adventurous, life-changing gorilla trekking encounter in Bwindi, we’ll go relax on the magically beautiful Lake Bunyonyi in Uganda, one of Africa’s deepest and most beautiful lakes, dotted with 29 emerald islands.
Days 1 & 2: Murchison Falls National Park & Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary
Day 3: Kibale National Park
Day 4 & 5: Queen Elizabeth National Park.
Day 6: Bwindi Impenetrable National Park
Day 7: Lake Bunyonyi
Day 8: Departure
Day 1: Transfer to Murchison Falls National Park, and visit Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary en route
Day 2: Morning Game Drive, Afternoon Nile Launch Cruise to the Bottom of the Falls with a Hike to the Top of the Falls.
Day 3: Transfer to Kibale National Park
Day 4: Chimpanzee tracking in Kibale and transfer to Queen Elizabeth NP.
Day 5: Morning game drive, afternoon Kazinga Channel boat cruise & evening game drive
Day 6: Transfer to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. Does the Ishasha game drive en route in search of tree-climbing lions?
Day 7: Gorilla trekking & transfer to Lake Bunyonyi, do an evening boat cruise & relaxation
Day 8: Drive back to Kampala with a stop at the Igongo Cultural Center for a traditional lunch and at the Equator for photoshoots and water experiments.
After breakfast at around 6.00 am in the hotel in Kampala City, we’ll embark on a 311km (5–6 hours) drive northwest to Murchison Falls National Park, Uganda’s largest national park, which covers 3,840 km².
The Park is blessed with various habitats, the world’s longest river, the world’s most powerful waterfalls, and a collection of classic African wildlife, including 76 mammal species and more than 450 bird species.
During our drive to Murchison, we’ll pass through impressive stretches of the Nakasongola district before branching off at Nakitooma for a 7 km drive to Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary, which is home to Uganda’s only wild rhinos. In Ziwa, we’ll enjoy a wonderful 2-hour rhino tracking adventure on foot.
The sanctuary hosts more than 22 reintroduced Southern white rhinos (Ceratotherium simum). Rhino tracking begins with a briefing from an excellent local ranger guide and thereafter, you proceed to track the Rhinos. This activity normally takes 1½ to 2½ hours, depending on where the Rhinos are located within the sanctuary.
During your rhino tracking encounter, you’ll also encounter a range of other wildlife species, including bushbucks, Uganda kobs, Oribis, Waterbucks, and many others, as well as several bird species. From Ziwa, the next stopover shall be at either Kabalega diner for lunch. We’ll then continue to Murchison, arriving in the evening for relaxation, dinner, and overnight.
The highlight of the day: tracking the Southern white rhinos on foot at Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary and the hike to the top of the falls.
Accommodation:
Upmarket/Luxury: Paraa Safari Lodge/Bakers’s Lodge
Moderate/Mid-range Pakuba Safari Lodge/Murchison River Lodge
Basic/Budget: Red Chilli Rest Camp/Hornbill Bush Lodge
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Drive distance & time: Approx. 375km or 7-8 hours
Activities and Services for the day:
Other optional activities you can choose to do on this day include
This morning after breakfast (at around 6:30 am), we’ll set off on our first real game drive of this 8-day Uganda safari trip. We’ll cross the river by ferry and then drive to the northern section of Murchison Falls Park, a very scenic sector of the park with rolling savanna grasslands dotted with impressive stands of Borassus palms, acacia trees, riverine woodlands, a variety of mammals, and unique birds.
On this 3- to 4-hour game drive, we’ll search for elephants, lions, buffaloes, leopards, giraffes, hyenas, oribis, warthogs, hartebeests, waterbucks, bushbucks, hippos, Uganda kobs, and patas monkeys, plus much more.
There are also various special bird species we’ll look out for on our game drive, including Abyssinian ground hornbills, Secretary birds, Shoebills, Goliath herons, Grey-crowned cranes, Saddle-bellied storks, Denham’s bustards, Squacco Heron, Black-headed gonoleks, piapiacs, Kingfishers and Red-throated Bee-eater, to name just a few.
We’ll retreat from the activity and return to the lodge for relaxation and lunch. After lunch, we’ll gather at Paraa Jetty for the afternoon boat cruise along the Nile River to the bottom of the fall, one of the highlights of this entire trip.
This 3-hour boat trip will depart at 2 pm. It is not only recreation but also offers a chance to cruise just meters from numerous Nile Crocodiles, hundreds of hippos, Elephants, and buffalo, along with impressive waterbirds such as Goliath herons, Saddle bellied storks, African jacanas, Squacco herons, African fish eagles, and the iconic shoebill storks.
Upon arriving at the bottom of the falls, you’ll embark on a 45-minute hike to the top of the Murchison Falls. These falls are arguably the world’s most powerful! They aren’t massive or wide, like some you may have seen before, but think of the world’s longest river, which is 50 meters wide, squeezing through a narrow cleft of up to 7 meters and falling 45 meters down.
After this incredibly exciting activity, we’ll return to the lodge for relaxation, dinner, and overnight.
The highlight of the day: the afternoon boat cruise on the Nile to the bottom of Murchison Falls.
Accommodation:
Upmarket/Luxury: Paraa Safari Lodge/Bakers’s Lodge
Moderate/Mid-range Murchison River Lodge/Pakuba Safari Lodge
Basic/Budget: Hornbill Bush Lodge/Red Chilli Rest Camp
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Activities and Services of the day:
Other optional activities you can choose to do on this day include
We’ll have an early morning breakfast at around 7.00 am and embark on a 441km (about 9 hours) drive to Kibale National Park. We’ll enjoy the wonderful scenery along the way. The scenery of the Albertine Rift Valley, which includes Lake Albert itself and the Butiaba escarpments, provides excellent views of rural landscapes, en route towns, and forests, both natural and plantation.
We’ll have a lunch stop in Hoima after which we’ll continue with our drive to Kibale, arriving in the evening for relaxation, dinner, and overnight
The 795 km2Kibale National Park is a natural habitat that boasts one of the highest densities and diversities of primates in Africa. It is a popular destination for those looking for a close encounter with our closest non-human relatives, Chimpanzees.
Besides Chimps, Kibale contains 12 other primate species: the rare L’Hoest’s monkeys, the acrobatic black-and-white colobus, grey-cheeked mangabeys, blue monkeys, olive baboons, red-tailed monkeys, Ugandan red colobus, pottos, and bushbabies.
There are 70 mammal species, 375 bird species, 250 species of butterflies, and 351 species of trees.
The highlight of the day: The very scenic drive from Murchison to Kibale National Park
Accommodation:
Luxury/Upmarket: Crater Safari Lodge/Kyaninga Lodge/Primate Lodge Kibale
Midrange/Standard: – Chimpanzee Forest Guesthouse/Kibale Forest Camp/Turaco Tree Tops
Budget/Basic: – Chimpanzee Forest Guesthouse/Kibale Forest Camp
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Drive distance & time: approx. 441km or 9 hours
Activities & services of the day:
Optional activities you can choose to do on this day:
After an early morning breakfast (at around 6:30 am), we’ll drive to Kanyanchu Visitor Centre, where you’ll meet the excellent local ranger guide who will lead you into the magnificent rainforest of Kibale on your unforgettable trek in search of the incredible wild Chimpanzees (our closest known relatives).
The experience of tracking chimpanzees in the morning starts at 8 am. In fact, an informative talk on tracking etiquette will precede your search for these intelligent great apes.
Since 1993, researchers have tracked Kibale’s chimps and have over a 95% chance of finding some of the 1500 chimpanzees. The trek to see these intelligent apes lasts between 2 and 5 hours.
Participants must be 12 years of age or older, and the maximum group size for chimpanzee contact is six.
As you track Chimpanzees, you’ll encounter a myriad of other primates and birds, such as Green-breasted Pitta, African pitta, African grey parrot, Afep pigeon, Crowned eagle, Black-bee-eater, Cassin’s spinetail, White-naped pigeon, Little greenbul, Purple-breasted sunbird and Blue-breasted kingfisher, to name a few.
Once the chimpanzees are located, we will watch them go about their daily routine in peace. Viewing them as they munch fruit, swing in trees, socialize, patrol, mate, and make hooting calls is an unforgettable experience that you will treasure forever. You are free to take photos but keep the flash off.
After utilizing your one hour, you’ll have a picnic lunch and return to the starting point for short relaxation and preparation for another activity. In the afternoon, you embark on a 157km (2-3 hours) drive to Queen Elizabeth National Park, enjoying the amazing views of the Rwenzori Mountains, dubbed the legendary Mountains of the Moon, rising to 5,109m above sea level.
The highlight of the day: Chimpanzees tracking in Kibale Forest National Park on foot.
Accommodation:
Upmarket/Luxury: Mweya Safari Lodge, Mazike Valley Lodge/Katara Lodge
Midrange/Standard: Enganzi Game Lodge/Bush Lodge/Kasenyi Safari Camp
Budget/Basic: Pumba Safari Cottages/Park View Safari Lodge
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Drive distance & time: 157km or 2-3 hours
Activities & services of the day:
Optional activities you can choose to do on this day:
After an early morning breakfast (at around 6:30 am), we’ll embark on a 3-4 hour game drive in the scenic savannah plains of the Kasenyi sector of Queen Elizabeth Park in search of wildlife, including Elephants, buffaloes, Lions, Leopards, Hyenas, Waterbucks, Bushbucks, Warthogs, Giant forest hogs, Uganda kobs, Hippos and various smaller creatures.
This park area is one of the most beautiful, especially in the morning’s golden light, in addition to its great wildlife.
Although the major attraction for us is, of course, the mammals, birding within the Queen Elizabeth National Park is superb, with over 600 species of birds recorded.
We will certainly spend some time enjoying birding in Uganda, ticking off a good number of special species, including the grey-crowned crane, red-throated spurfowl, yellow-throated longclaw, white-backed vulture, white-headed vulture, palm-nut vulture, hooded vulture, flappet lark, long-crested eagle, black-bellied bustard, sitting cisticola, African skimmer, and brown snake eagle, to name just a few.
After our game drive, we’ll return to the lodge for relaxation and lunch. In the afternoon, we drive to Mweya Jetty for another remarkable, unforgettable activity planned: the 2-hour boat trip on the 40 Kazinga channel, which is home to the largest concentration of Hippos in the world.
You’ll also be fascinated by the large numbers of crocodiles, elephants, and buffalo on the shore, along with numerous waterbirds, including African Open-billed, Yellow-billed, Saddle-billed, and Marabou Storks; pink-backed pelicans; African spoonbills; Water Thick-knees; Swamp Flycatchers; and Lesser Swamp Warblers, as well as several species of gulls and terns.
Retreat from the activity and do a game drive along the channel track as you connect to the lodge overnight.
The highlight of the day: an amazing wild boat cruise along the spectacular Kazinga Channel.
Accommodation:
Upmarket/Luxury: Mweya Safari Lodge, Mazike Valley Lodge/Katara Lodge
Midrange/Standard: Enganzi Game Lodge/Bush Lodge/Kasenyi Safari Camp
Budget/Basic: Pumba Safari Cottages/Park View Safari Lodge
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Activities and Services of the day:
Optional activities you can choose to do on this day include
This morning we will enjoy our breakfast (at around 8:30 am) at the lodge and then set off on a 4 to 7-hour drive to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park. Before leaving Queen, we’ll undertake a game drive in the southern Ishasha sector, searching for the legendary tree-climbing Lions that tend to lie on giant fig tree branches in this sector, overlooking their prey in the plains.
The chances of encountering them are around 70%. We’ll continue on the drive to Bwindi for relaxation, dinner, and overnight.
The untouched forest of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park has been declared a UNESCO Natural World Heritage Site because of its breathtaking natural beauty and unique ecological significance. Covering 321 km², it is a wonderful piece of land that survived the last Ice Age when most other forests in Africa disappeared.
The name Bwindi in the local language means a place of full darkness. The rugged landscape features dense jungle, cascading waterfalls, sparkling mountain streams, deep valleys and steep ridges
Bwindi is world-renowned for excellent gorilla trekking opportunities, harboring nearly half of the Mountain Gorillas on Earth. Aside from the majestic Mountain Gorillas, there are other drawcards, including over 120 mammal species, 10 species of primates, over 350 species of birds to spot, 1000 species of flowering plants, and various colorful butterflies.
The highlight of the day: Encountering the rare tree-climbing Lions in the Ishasha sector of Queen Elizabeth Park.
Accommodation:
Luxury/Upmarket: Gorilla Forest Camp/Buhoma Lodge/Clouds Mountain Gorilla Lodge
Mid-range/Moderate: Gorilla Valley Lodge/Bakiga Lodge/Silverback Lodge
Budget/Basic: Ichumbi Gorilla Lodge/Buhoma Community Rest Camp
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Drive Distance & time: Approx. 130-220km or 4-7 hours
Activities and Services of the day:
People from all over the world dream of experiencing a gorilla trek! We’ll wake up very early in the morning (at around 6.00 am) and have a hearty breakfast before embarking on a short drive to the Buhoma park headquarters to meet with the expert local ranger guides.
At around 8.00 am, the guides will provide an informative short briefing on the etiquette for trekking gorillas in Uganda and the experience. Top on the list: avoid getting too close. This precaution is crucial not only for your own safety, but also for theirs, as our shared DNA can easily transmit our colds, viruses, and diseases to them.
After the briefing, you’ll head into the forest in search of these magnificent apes. Gorilla trekking in Bwindi lasts between 2 and 8 hours; contact time with gorillas is limited to one hour, group size is limited to 6 visitors and participants must be aged 15 or over.
Owing to the nature of the terrain and the need to explore to find the gorillas, the trek doesn’t follow a path; instead, the guides will cut a route through the undergrowth. Therefore, it is essential to wear strong footwear and gloves during the trek. Seeing wild Mountain gorillas in their natural habitat is an experience you will never forget.
An adult male can weigh up to 220kg and reach 6 feet in height. Gorillas are gentle creatures and are not known to attack unless very severely provoked. You won’t be able to trek with gorillas if you’re ill with anything contagious, even a common cold.
After your one hour with the gorillas, return to the starting point to embark on a drive to the magical Lake Bunyonyi, driving through the fascinating Kigezi Highlands. You arrive at Bunyonyi in the afternoon and embark on a 2-hour boat trip to explore the second-deepest lake in Africa, with a count of 29 islands.
Retire for relaxation, dinner, and overnight
The highlight of the day: a face-to-face encounter with one of the surviving families of mountain gorillas who roam the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest.
Accommodation:
Luxury/Upmarket: Birdnest @Bunyonyi Resort
Mid-range/Moderate: Lake Bunyonyi Rock Resort/Lake Bunyonyi Eco Resort
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Activities & Services:
Optional activities you can choose to do on this day include
After breakfast, embark on the transfer back to Kampala, 437 km, about a 7-hour drive. You drive through the magical highlands of Kigezi covered with mist in the morning before continuing through the impressive southwestern Uganda landscapes of Ntungamo with extensive banana plantations and cattle farms.
A lunch stop will be made at the Igongo Cultural Center and another stop at the Uganda Equator Crossing Kayabwe, 77 km to Kampala, and you will have time to explore this significant geographical site—the Sun’s Way and the point of separation between the northern and southern hemispheres. We perform a well-interpreted water experiment to demonstrate the separation of these two poles.
The place also features rewarding photography opportunities where you take photos with one leg in the northern hemisphere and another in the southern hemisphere. It is also a wonderful place to buy memorabilia to take home.
The highlight of the day: The Uganda Equator crossing experience and a traditional lunch meal at Igongo Cultural Centre.
Meal Plan: Breakfast & Lunch
Drive distance & time: 477km or 8 hours
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Situated in the heart of East Africa, Uganda is a land of staggering contrasts. From the snow-capped peaks of the Rwenzori Mountains to the vast, wildlife-rich plains of the Great Rift Valley, the biodiversity here is unmatched.
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