Day 1 Transfer to Murchison Falls National park.
This Uganda Safari starts from Murchison falls park and the guide will come pick you up from your hotel in Kampala. Then you will start your journey to Murchison falls National Park which takes about 6-7hours before you cab get to Uganda’s largest national park as well as the home to a high population of wildlife like the lion, Buffaloes, Elephants, the Uganda Kob as well as the localized Rothschild giraffe , monkeys, among others. You will have lunch en route and then drive to the top of the falls and then later in the evening you will check in at the lodge of your choice depending on your budget which will either be;
Budget – Red Chilli/ Sambiya bandas
Moderate – Sambiya River lodge/ Fort Murchison lodge/ Murchison River lodge
Luxury –Pakuba safari lodge/ Paraa Lodge/Nile Safari camp / Chobe safari lodge
Day 2; Game drive and Launch cruise
You will wake up early, have your breakfast and then go for the early morning game drive at the Northern bank of the Victoria Nile from where you will have the opportunity to see the Lions, Leopards, be sure to see the Giraffes, Buffaloes, Elephants, you might also be lucky and see the African Python, among so many other savannah wildlife. You will return to the lodge by mid morning, relax till lunch and in the afternoon after your lunch, you will go for a launch cruise which takes you to the Bottom of the falls and while on the boat, you will see lots of hippos, so many Crocodiles and many other wildlife as they graze along the river banks and others taking some water. You can also go for hiking to the top of the falls from the bottom where the boat ride ends but this is optional and at an extra fee however those that are not interested in hiking, you will ride back on the boat and then drive back to your hotel.
Day 3; To Kibale National park / Fort portal.
After having your breakfast, then drive to Kibale national park in Fort portal. Kibale national park is known for it huge population of chimpanzees which are man’s closest cousin since they are more like man and the park’s major tourists’ activity being chimpanzee trekking which starts from Kanyankyu. You will have lunch break and then proceed to Kibale. You will be there late in the evening and head straight to your hotel where you will spend the night and have your dinner too;
Budget; Rwenzori view guest house/ chimpanzee guest house/ Ataco country resort/ Primates cottages
Moderate- Mountains of the moon/ Chimps nest
Luxury – Ndali lodge/ Primates lodge / Kyaninga lodge
Day 4; Queen Elizabeth National park Uganda
You will have your breakfast in the morning and then your guide will take you for briefing before you start your chimpanzee trekking adventure. The trek takes between 1-3 hours and during the trekking, expect to see other types of primates like the most grey-cheeked mangabey and red-tailed monkey. There will be plenty of bird and you will hear them singing the forest although it may be very hard to spot them and its better looking out for them in the rest of the camp and along the road. After trekking, you will walk out of the forest, have lunch and head for Queen Elizabeth National Park via the foothills of foot hills of mountain Rwenzori. You will have an evening game drive before you go to your lodge for dinner and sleep.
Budget – Albertine River camp/ samba safari lodge/ Mweya hostel
Moderate –Hippo hill camp/ Ihamba safari lodge/ Marafiki safari lodge
Up market- Mweya safari lodge/ Jacana safari lodge/ Kingfisher/ Ishasha wilderness camp
Day 5; Game drive and launch cruise
You will have your full breakfast and then go for a game drive along Kasenyi track to see the herds of Buffalo, Elephant, Warthog and Lions can easily be spotted from this part of the park as they are normally there waiting for their prey. At mid morning, you will go back to the lodge to relax as you wait for your lunch to be served in the afternoon. After lunch, you head out for a two-hour launch cruise along the Kazinga channel that connects Lake Edward and Lake George and this offer the visitors a chance to encounter a large population of hippos as the swim in the water , crocodiles and various bird species common to the park since there are over 550 resident bird species. After the boat ride, you will go back to the lodge for dinner and overnight.
Day 6; Transfer to Bwindi forest
On this day, you will drive to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park immediately after your breakfast and you will through the Ishasha sector and there, you will search for the tree climbing lions. Chances of seeing the lions form this section of the park is also high, so you will take pictures when you see them and then later, you will have your lunch and then head to Bwindi impenetrable park. You will arrive in the evening, check in your lodge which may be at;
Budget –Nkuringo campsite/ Buhoma Rest camp/ Bwindi View Bandas
Moderate – Mahogany springs/ Gorilla mist lodge/ gorilla safari lodge/Lake Kitandara lodge/Chameleon hills.
Up market -Gorilla Resort Camp/Gorilla Forest camp/ Clouds lodge/clouds lodge/ Silver back lodge
Day 7; Gorilla Trekking
After breakfast, you will go for briefing and registration at the headquarters before 8 am. You will get Uganda Wildlife Authority a ranger guide who will guide you through the jungle and help you spot the gorillas as he will know where they were the day before. He will provide you with all the information that you may need about the animals and the vegetation. You will need to carry your lunch because tracking will take hours between 1-10 hours and the one that they will give you to spend with them and watch them play with each other, feed their young ones and care for each other which will give you the best memories of your trip. After Gorilla trekking, you will walk back to your lodge and if you have some time, you will go for a community visit(the Batwa community) but this will be at an extra cost.
Day 8; Bwindi to Lake Mburo Park.
You will have breakfast and then drive to Lake Mburo National Park. You will have your lunch when you get to Mbarara before you enter the park. In the afternoon, you will then go for a game drive in the park to enable you see the zebras, topes, elephants, elands, impalas, buffaloes antelopes, etc. Lake Mburo has noticeably different fauna to other reserves. It is the best place in the country to see the enormous eland antelope, topi, as well as zebra, impala, and several acacia-associated birds. Dinner and overnight at
Budget – Rwonyo Bandas
Moderate- Arcadia Cottages/ Rwakobo rock
Up market – Mantana Tented Camp / Mihingo lodge/ Lake Mburo safari lodge
Day 9:Lake Mburo to Jinja
After breakfast, go for a boat ride on Lake Mburo. There are five lakes enclosed with in this park which are a home to lots of hippos, crocodiles and a variety of water birds, the fringing swamps hide secretive papyrus specialists like the sitatunga antelope and red, black and yellow papyrus gonolek. After the boat ride, you will go have lunch and then drive to Kampala, head straight to Jinja where you will visit the Source of the River Nile or the Bujagali Falls. You will spend a night at;
Luxury; Jinja Nile resort
Midrange; Gately inn
Budget; King Fisher
Day 10: Jinja – Kampala.
Breakfast will be at your hotel and then go for white water rafting and enjoy half day water rafting and then later after rafting, you will go have your lunch. After lunch, you will transfer back to Kampala, have a stop over in Mabira Forest for a short forest walk and this is at an extra cost. After the walk, you will head to Kampala or to Entebbe if you have a flight to catch. End of Best of Uganda Gorilla Safaris.