On this 8 Days Uganda Wildlife Safari, we take you on adventure that encompasses Uganda’s star attractions.
There is trekking in mist-shrouded rainforest to see rare mountain gorillas, chimpanzees and going on classic game drives and boating safaris in Queen Elizabeth and Lake Mburo National Parks to see elephants, buffalos, leopards, hippos, lions, giraffes, zebras, crocodiles, antelopes, monkeys, and a variety of unique Uganda birds.
You might even get the chance to see agile, tree-climbing lions while at Queen Elizabeth National Park. And you will have a variety of opportunities to learn about the culture in Uganda. The variety, beauty and adventure of it all will gift you with lifetime memories.
Highlights
- Gorilla Trekking in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest
- Game Drive in Lake Mburo National Park
- Boat Cruise on Lake Mburo
- Game Drive at Queen Elizabeth National Park
- Boat Cruise on Kazinga Channel
- Searching for tree-climbing lions
- Katwe Salt Lake Community
- Chimpanzee tracking in Kibale Forest
- Bigodi Village Walk
- Equator Experience
- Visit Toro Kingdom
Summary
Day 1: Visit the Equator; Transfer to Lake Mburo NP for A Boat Cruise
Day 2: Morning Game Drive in Mburo. Travel to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest
Day 3: Morning Trek to See Endangered Mountain Gorillas. Optional Evening Batwa Pygmies Cultural Experience
Day 4: Visit Queen Elizabeth National Park for A Game Drive in Search of Tree-Climbing Lions and Other Wildlife.
Day 5: Game Drive in Kasenyi Sector and Boat Cruise on Kazinga Channel in Queen Elizabeth National Park.
Day 6: Morning Game Drive Up to Katwe Salt Lake Community & Transfer Kibale Forest National Park
Day 7: Chimpanzee Trekking in Kibale Forest & Afternoon Bigodi Village Walk
Day 8: Tour Toro Kingdom & Transfer Back to Kampala.
Detailed Itinerary
Day 1: Transfer to Lake Mburo
Your short 8 Days Uganda Wildlife, Primates, And Cultural Safari begins today.
Our Tulambule Uganda safaris guide shall pick you up in the morning from your place of stay in Entebbe or Kampala. After short tour briefing, you will begin your drive of about 3 hours south to Lake Mburo National Park, the most accessible and smallest game park in Uganda.
On the way, you will see the local people working in their gardens or doing business in the roadside market places. Your guide shall make a brief stop at the Equator monument in Kayabwe to allow you stretch your legs.
Uganda is one of the few countries on Earth where you can cross this imaginary geographical line on land. Observe how water swirls in opposite directions on either side of the equator and take some photos. From there, the drive will continue to Lake Mburo National Park and look out for the herds of the beautiful long-horned Ankole cattle on the way to the entrance.
Upon arrival, you will check into your pre-booked accommodation, youÔÇÖll have time to rest and have lunch. In afternoon, you will go for a 2 hour boat cruise on Lake Mburo that will expose a variety of wildlife and amazing scenery!
Optional Activity:
After the sun has set, you can go out for a night game drive safari in Lake Mburo National Park to see the nocturnal species like leopards and hyenas. Although rare, Mburo is the best place in Uganda to see the leopard.
Accommodation Options:
Budget: Eagles Nest Mburo
Midrange: Rwakobo Rock
Luxury: Mihingo lodge
Meal Plan: Lunch & Dinner
Day 2: Game Drive & Travel to Bwindi
On day three of the 8 Days Uganda Wildlife, Primates, And Cultural Safari, you will wake up for morning game drive in Lake Mburo National Park.
Although small (260km2), Mburo is home to five lakes, 350 bird species, and 68 species of mammals including, Zebra, Giraffe, Buffalo, Impala, Eland, Oribi, Defassa Waterbuck, Bushbuck, Warthog, Leopard, Hippo, Hyena, Topi, Reedbuck, and Banded, Slender and Dwarf Mongoose.
After a game drive, you continue your journey southwest to Bwindi Forest National Park with your packed lunch.
The scenic drive to Bwindi takes around 5 hours through a verdant countryside, small villages, coffee and banana plantations and rolling hills. In late afternoon, you will arrive at Bwindi – home to half of the world’s population of the endangered mountain gorillas.
Optional Activities
- Cycling Tour in Lake Mburo National Park
- Horseback Safari in Lake Mburo National Park
- Game walk in Lake Mburo National Park
- Ankole cultural experience
Accommodation Options:
Luxury: Buhoma Lodge/Sanctuary Gorilla Forest Camp
Midrange: Haven Lodge/Gorilla Mist Camp
Budget: Buhoma Community Restcamp/CTPH Gorilla Conservation Camp
Meal Plan: Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner
Day 3: Gorilla Trekking
On the third day of your 8 Days Uganda Wildlife, Primates, And Cultural Safari, you will wake up to an early morning breakfast as you will be spending 3 to 7 hours in the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest for your Gorilla Tracking adventure.
You’ll hike through the dense misty rainforest jungle accompanied by local ranger guides, in search of family of endangered mountain gorillas.
Uganda is a custodian of these Great Apes and is dedicated to protecting them, making your encounters matter in vital conservation initiatives. When sighted, you’ll be guided within a few metres of them and spend up an hour with them.
Gorilla Trekking in Uganda is a captivating and an unforgettable experience which more than repays the effort needed to reach Bwindi National Park and to trek through the forest.
Looking deep into the expressive brown eyes of the Gentle Giants of the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest surely is the most exciting and poignant wildlife encounter that Africa has to offer.
Optional Activity:
In the evening, you can meet members of the Batwa tribe, who are thought to be the longest-standing inhabitants of the Great Lakes region.
Their history can be traced back at least 4000 years and they are renowned as dancers and storytellers. You learn more about their hunting and gathering techniques, their goddess and their musical performances.
Accommodation Options:
Luxury: Buhoma Lodge/Sanctuary Gorilla Forest Camp
Midrange: Haven Lodge/Gorilla Mist Camp
Budget: Buhoma Community Restcamp/CTPH Gorilla Conservation Camp
Meal Plan: Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner
Day 4: Visit Queen Elizabeth National Park
Your fourth day of the 8 Days Uganda Wildlife, Primates, And Cultural Safari will start with a delicious breakfast. After breakfast, you will Bwindi and travel (2.5-3 hours) to Queen Elizabeth National Park southern sector (Ishasha).
Queen is known for its rich biodiversity, wildlife and history. And this southern part of the park is famous primarily for its incredible and unusual tree-climbing lions that spend long lazy days dozing in the pretty fig trees.
Watching these mighty predators fast asleep up a fig tree, with their bellies hanging over the branches is a truly magnificent sight! It is said they do this in order to get better viewpoints, and for protection from the winds.
However, Ishasha sector provides plenty more to see. This untouched area of savannah and rivers, decorated with acacia, fig, and cactus trees, is a wonderful place to enjoy game drives and nature walks. It is one of the best spot for bird watching tours in Uganda and is also home to huge herds of buffalo, elephant, topi, waterbuck, and Uganda kob.
After a game drive in Ishasha, you will continue toward the Mweya Peninsular in the Northern sector of the park. Here, you’ll find vast numbers of Uganda’s unique and strange Euphorbia, or candelabra tree.
The many nearby crater lakes and the snowcapped Rwenzori Mountains or the Mountains of the Moon provide a beautiful backdrop for your journey.
Accommodation Options:
Luxury: Kyambura Gorge Lodge/Mweya Safari Lodge/Elephant Plains Camp
Midrange: Enganzi Game Lodge/Bush Lodge/Park View Lodge
Budget: Pumba Safari Cottages
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch, & Dinner
Day 5: Game Drive and Boat Cruise
Covering just 1978km2, Queen Elizabeth National Park is home to almost 100 species of mammals and over 600 bird species! On day five of your 8 Days Uganda Wildlife, Primates, And Cultural Safari, you will wake up to an early breakfast and set out for sunrise game drive.
A sunrise game drive offers the best game viewing opportunities as animals tend to be the most active during the golden hours of the day when the first rays of the sun come to rest on the African savannah.
You will traverse savannah plains of the Kasenyi, one of the most beautiful areas of the park. You look out for lions, elephants, buffalos, leopards, waterbucks, bushbucks, hyenas, jackals, giant forest hogs (Africa’s largest pig), warthogs, and other animals in their natural habitat before returning for lunch.
In the afternoon, you will take a leisurely two boat cruise along the Kazinga Channel, a 32km natural channel between Lake Edward and Lake George. One of the continent’s densest concentrations of hippo live here, as well as number of elephants, buffalos crocodiles and countless waterbirds like African fish eagles and pelicans. This cruise will surely be one of the highlights of your tour.
After the boat cruise, you take a short game drive along the channel track as you head back to the lodge for relaxation, dinner, and overnight.
Accommodation Options:
Luxury: Kyambura Gorge Lodge/Mweya Safari Lodge/Elephant Plains Camp
Midrange: Enganzi Game Lodge/Bush Lodge/Park View Lodge
Budget: Pumba Safari Cottages
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch, & Dinner
Day 6: Game Drive & Travel Kibale Forest
After a breakfast today, you will on a Crater Drive. You’ll explore the volcanic explosion craters that remind us of the Albertine Rift’s violent tectonic history. You’ll follow scenic route around the rims of extinct craters filled, variously, with lakes, forests, and grassland.
You will drive up to Katwe Salt Lake where the local community has been extracting salt for over 600 years! Here, you will meet a local guide from the community to take you for a tour around the salt mines while explaining how salt mining is done, the challenges faced as well as the opportunities available.
Lake Katwe salt extraction project is one of the living examples of man and biosphere reserves or conservation areas in the whole world where man harmoniously co-exists with wildlife. Because of the salty condition of this Crater Lake, it can’t support any animals within it. However, you will be able to view elephants, buffaloes, and flamingos at the baboon cliff.
After the crater drive, you will set off on a 3 hour drive north to Kibale Forest National Park – Uganda’s premier chimpanzee trekking destination that adjoins the northern edge of Queen Elizabeth National Park.
This 776km2 (77,600ha) patch of evergreen rainforest marks a transition from typical high-altitude Afromontane to lowland forest and protects a diverse array of fauna and flora in addition to more than 1,500 chimps.
Beneath the thick canopy, the winding paths are widely acknowledged as some of the most picturesque on the continent, lined with a thick layer of shrubby undergrowth. The tracts of forest are interspersed with patches of grassland and swamp. On the park’s fringes, the community-run Bigodi Wetland is a popular attraction for primate enthusiasts and birders
Accommodation Options:
Luxury: Crater Safari Lodge/Primate Lodge/Kyaninga Lodge
Midrange: Chimpanzee Forest Lodge -Cottage/Kibale Forest Camp
Budget: Chimpanzee Forest Lodge -Main House/Kibale Forest Camp
Meal Plan: Breakfast/Lunch & Dinner
Day 7: Chimpanzee Trekking & Bigodi Village Walk
The 776km2 Kibale National Park has the highest concentration and variety of primates in East Africa with often reliable sightings (over 95% chance) of chimps. In total, there are 70 mammal species and 375 species of birds.
Today, we will have an early breakfast and then transfer to the Kanyanchu Visitor Centre in Kibale Forest to do our Chimpanzee tracking adventure which begins at 8.00 am. The encounter starts with a briefing at 7.00 am from the expert local park rangers who will be your guides for the activity. Then, we head to the forest in search of Chimpanzees -our closest relatives.
This incredible opportunity sees you embarking on a hike through this lush rainforest jungle, led by an expert guide, in search of a habituated community of chimpanzees.
You’ll track these remarkable creatures deep into the forest and spend an hour with the chimps, learning about their lifestyle and behaviour as they interact with one another.
Chimps are the most sought after primate by visitors, but you should look out for red-tailed monkey, blue monkey, Vervet monkey, olive baboon, L’Hoest’s monkey, and black and white colobus. After our amazing Chimpanzee trek you will return to the starting point where you will enjoy your packed picnic lunch and catch your breaths after all the excitement.
After lunch the fun doesn’t stop, as you go for a cultural tour of Bigodi Village. Accompanied by a guide who can tell you everything about the traditional customs and lifestyle of the inhabitants, you’ll follow the village path and visit a primary school, Catholic Church, traditional homesteads, learn about the crops and listen to the story telling of a Mzee (elderly man).
Alternatively, you may decide to a guided Swamp Walk through the Wetland Sanctuary, which is famous for the many birds and primates that live in this area. Alternatively, you may decide to go for a Village Walk. Both activities are an initiative of the inhabitants of Bigodi Village and the revenues are shared by the local community (you can choose which activity to join locally).
Accommodation Options:
Luxury: Crater Safari Lodge/Primate Lodge/Kyaninga Lodge
Midrange: Chimpanzee Forest Lodge-Cottage/Kibale Forest Camp
Budget: Chimpanzee Forest Lodge -Main House/Kibale Forest Camp
Meal Plan: Breakfast/Lunch, & Dinner
Day 8: Tour Toro Kingdom & Transfer Back To Kampala.
Today, your 8 Days Uganda Wildlife, Primates, And Cultural Safari comes to an end. You have a relaxed breakfast at the lodge. You will have the option Toro Palace for a cultural experience.
Looking down at town from its highest hill, the palace is worth a visit purely for its 360-degree panoramic views. It’s the residence of King Oyo, who ascended the throne in 1995 at the age of three.
A guide relates the history of the kingdom and explains the ceremonies that take place here, but you can’t go inside. You will have lunch in Fort Portal and set off for Kampala/Entebbe arriving in late afternoon/evening.
Accommodation: Not Included
Meal Plan: Breakfast & Lunch
End of 8 Days Uganda Safari
Included
- Park fees
- Chimpanzee trekking permit
- Gorilla trekking permit
- All activities (Unless labeled as optional)
- All accommodation
- A professional driver/guide
- All transportation
- All Taxes/VAT
- Meals (As specified in the day-by-day section)
- Drinking water (On all days)
Excluded
- International flights (From/to home)
- Additional accommodation before and at the end of the tour
- Tips (No tip expected)
- Personal items (Souvenirs, travel insurance, visa fees, etc.)
- Government imposed increase of taxes and/or park fees
