16 Days Uganda Wildlife Safari Holiday

Day 1: Transfer to Murchison Falls National Park.

1. Murchison Falls National Park
   4h
   Early morning our gorilla safaris Uganda staff will pick you from the hotel or guesthouse of your choice and take you to Murchison Falls National Park. We will stop for lunch in Masindi and then drive for 90 kms through the park, aiming for Paraa. On the way we will visit the Top of the Falls, with a wonderful view over Murchison Falls and the Nile. We will reach Paraa late in the afternoon, and Luxury Tour participants will cross the Nile by ferry to reach Paraa Safari Lodge.
   
   For Budget Tour clients, we’ll stop at Ziwa Rhinos Sanctuary for tracking the Rhinos and also have Lunch here before continuing via Karuma Bridge to reach later in the afternoon at Fort Murchison just outside the park boundaries.”” The day will close with a cool drink and a fabulous view over the river Nile, and the evening coming with all the noise of an African night.

Day 2: Wildlife Safari in Murchison Falls National Park.

1. Murchison Falls National Park
   3h
   viewing game around the park and along the Nile. game drive from 8.00am to 12.00noon, seeing several animals including lions and giraffes. In the afternoon (2.00pm to 5.00 pm) we will go on the impressive launch trip on the Nile, up to the Falls, giving you a chance to see hippos, crocodiles, buffaloes, elephants and many many different birds!

Day 3: Game Drive In Murchison Falls National Park

1. Murchison Falls National Park
   5h
   Early in the morning the boat will take us downstream to the Delta, where the Nile enters Lake Albert. This trip of 5-6 hours will show us all the beauty of this national park especially the delta with all the different birds. This is a good chance to seethe elusive Shoebill Stork! In the afternoon you can relax, and if you are on the Luxury Tour you can swim at your respective Lodges.

Day 4: Transfer to Kibale Forest National Park.

1. Kibale National Park
   3h
   Early in the morning we will leave for Kibale Forest. We will pass close to Lake Albert: on a clear day the view from the top of the Albert rift is spectacular. In the afternoon we will arrive at Kibale Forest Camp, where we will stay sleeping with the noises of the tropical rain forest. Sometimes we stay at Chimpanzee Guesthouse, overlooking Nyabikere Crater Lake, where we will stay. The lake is famous for the frogs: at night they always give a beautiful concert.

Day 5: Chimp walk, Chimpanzee tracking Kibale Forest National Park

1. Kibale National Park
   3m
   At 8.00am we will start with the 4 hour chimp walk – during which you may also get to see 10 other primates! Kibale park is also known for all the butterflies and birds. In the afternoon we will walk through Bigodi Swamp (home to a community based project).

Day 6: Transfer to Queen Elizabeth National Park

1. Queen Elizabeth National Park
   6m
   Early morning we will leave for Queen Elizabeth NP. We will travel through Fort Portal and reach Mweya in Queen Elizabeth NP at midday, with a stunningly beautiful view over Kazinga Channel. You will check in at your accommodation and have lunch, and in the late afternoon (4.00-7.00pm) we will go on a game drive.

Day 7: Game Drive in Queen Elizabeth National Park

1. Queen Elizabeth National Park
   3m
   This day is for a game drive on the plains of Queen Elizabeth NP, with thousands of Ugandan kobs, lions, elephants etc. Also on the programme is a two hours launch trip on the Kazinga channel where we will see all the animals from the waterside.

Day 8: Queen Elizabeth National Park

1. Kyambura Game Reserve (Kyambura Gorge)
   4m · Admission ticket included
   Our second day in this beautiful park. Very early in the morning after breakfast we will go to Kyambura Gorge. Here people can go for a 3-4 hour walk into the Gorge to meet the chimpanzees. After Lunch at Jacana Safari Lodge, we will drive for 2 hours to the Southern sector of Queen Elizabeth called Ishasha Sector, famous for its tree climbing lions. Game drive in the afternoon to search for the tree climbing lions.

Day 9: Transfer to Bwindi Forest National Park

1. Queen Elizabeth National Park
   3h
   In the morning we will go on a game drive looking for the unique tree climbing lions in the Ishasha sector of Queen Elizabeth National Park, and in the afternoon we will continue to Bwindi. On the trip we will pass Kihihi and journey through mountains, hills and lakes with cultivated terraces and tropical rain forests

Day 10: Mountain gorilla Gorilla Tracking Bwindi Impenetrable Forest

1. Bwindi Impenetrable Forest
   6h · Admission ticket included
   Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park, where at 7.45am you will receive a pre-briefing and at 8.30am you will start the gorilla trek. Once you have found the mountain gorillas, you will be able to spend up to one hour with them! You will be expected back to the starting point by 7.00pm at the latest.

Day 11: To Lake Bunyonyi.

1. 4m
   we will drive to Lake Bunyonyi, a beautiful place surrounded by the hills of Western Uganda. Lake Bunyonyi is famous for birds, otters and delicious crayfish. We will spend the rest of the day here, have a swim if you want, try a canoe, or simply relax looking at the over 300 birds species you can sometimes see from the veranda (bring your binoculars)!

Day 12: To Kisoro.

1. Kasese
   3m
   arly in the morning we will leave for Kisoro, travelling through a beautiful landscape also defined as the “Switzerland of Africa”: mountains, lakes, hills with cultivated terraces, tropical rain forest and bamboo forest. On the last hill the landscape unfolds beneath us, taking in the vast planes between Uganda, Rwanda and Congo, with the Virunga volcanoes dominating the view. At the bottom of the valley is Kisoro, where we will stay at the famous Travellers Rest Hotel.
   
   In the sixties the famous American ‘gorilla-woman’ Dian Fossey visited the Travellers Rest Hotel many, many times to do paperwork, relax or meet people. Fossey said about the hotel: “It was my second home”. Travellers Rest Hotel is just outside Kisoro and offers a cozy stay for the tourists coming to see the endangered mountain gorilla. The hotel, built in a somewhat colonial style, and entirely renovated in 1999, has a comfortable ambiance.

Day 13: Kisoro, with Travellers Rest Hotel as the home base.

1. Rwenzori Moutains National Park
   5h · Admission ticket not included
   ultural village walk (with a local guide walking through the land of the Bufumbira tribe)
   Walk to Lake Mutanda. Visit Python island and go canoeing on this beautiful lake.
   Batwa Trail: It starts at the base of Mt Muhavura at 8.00 am and finishes by 3-4 pm. You’ll need walking shoes, hat, and raingear, and a packed lunch with sufficient drinks.

Day 14: Kisoro, with Travellers Rest Hotel as the home base.

1. Mgahinga Gorilla National Park
   6m · Admission ticket not included
   Climbing Muhavura Volcano (± 8 hrs; distance 12km; height 4127m; elevation gain 1700m).
   Climbing Gahinga Volcano (± 6 hrs; distance 8km; height 3474m; elevation gain 1100m).
   Visit to Sabinyo Gorge (± 4 hrs; distance 6km, no elevation gain).
   Climbing Sabinyo Volcano (Sabinyo has three peaks, you can climb all three in the same walk, but you need to be fit!! ± 8 hrs; distance 14 km; height 3669m, elevation gain 1300 m).
   Hiking in Mgahinga to the viewpoint and Garama Cave (pygmy cave) (± 4 hrs; distance 1 and 4 km).

Day 15: To Lake Mburo National Park for wildlife game safari.

1. Lake Mburo National Park
   5h
   Early in the morning we will leave for Lake Mburo National Park. You will have lunch in Mbarara before you continue to Lake Mburo, a smaller but unique park, and the only one in the Western part of Uganda with impalas and zebras. In the park we will go on an evening game-viewing drive

Day 16: Drive back To Kampala

1. Green Equator Masaka Rd
   3m
   First thing in the morning we will go for a game drive/walk, and after a late breakfast the last part of the journey will bring us back to Kampala. On the way back you will have lunch in Mbarara town, and after Masaka there will be an opportunity to a stop at the Equator for photo shoots and buying souvenirs and have tea or coffee.

• Not recommended for travelers with spinal injuries
• Not recommended for pregnant travelers
• Not recommended for travelers with poor cardiovascular health
• Travelers should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness