Day 1: Arrival in Uganda
You arrive at Entebbe International Airport, located on a peninsula that juts out into Lake Victoria, where a representative from Uzuri Uganda Safaris will welcome you to the Pearl of Africa and transfer you to your booked accommodation in Entebbe town for overnight stay.
Meal Plan: No meals inclusive
Day 2: Visit to Source of the Nile Jinja, Quad biking
This morning, after your breakfast, you will start your journey to Jinja (80 kilometres east of Kampala). As you drive to Jinja, you can make a stop at the Namawojolo open-market where if breakfast was not enough, people can supplement with a roadside snack (options include roasted plantain, chicken, chicken gizzards). From Namawojolo, you will continue your journey through sugarcane and tea plantations around the Lugazi area. You will continue through the Mabira Forest, one of the few last remaining natural forests in central Uganda and East Africa. You arrive in Jinja and head straight to the Bujjagali area for your 1-hour Quad bike safari along trails that run near or beside the Nile. After your Quad bike safari, you return and check into your booked accommodation. You have lunch and then head to the Source of the Nile. At the source of the Nile, you head out on a boat to the exact spot where water bubbles up from below – where the Nile starts its 6000+ slalom to the Mediterranean. Later return to your hotel for dinner and overnight stay.
Optional: Jinja is also famed for white water rafting for those who love adrenaline-raising sports. Price for white water rafting is not included, however if you are interested, we can add it to the costing and send an amended quote.
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 3: Transfer to Murchison Falls via Zziwa Rhino Sanctuary
This morning, after your breakfast, you depart Jinja headed for Murchison Falls National Park via the Zziwa rhino sanctuary. On your way, you will encounter the sometimes intense Kampala traffic but no need to worry, sit through it and before you know it, the mayhem will be behind you. You will have a bathroom break at Migyera along the Kampala-Gulu road. After the break, you will continue to Zziwa Rhino Sanctuary where rhinos that got wiped out in the Ugandan wild are being bred before they are re-introduced back into the national parks. When you arrive at the Zziwa Rhino Sanctuary, a guide and armed rangers will take you on a walking safari to look for the rhinos. If you don’t fancy the walk, you can still track the rhinos in your vehicle. Once you have spotted the rhinos, you will stay in their presence for a while and then you will have a picnic lunch at the place. After your lunch, you will continue to Murchison Falls National Park. On arrival, you will check-in at your booked accommodation for dinner and overnight stay.
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 4: Game Drive & boat safari to bottom of Murchison falls
This morning, before your breakfast, you will wake up early and head out for a game drive for a chance to view the glorious day-break from across the open savannah, birds and dotted woodland as well as riverine vegetation along the Nile. You will also be able to see game ranging from lion, buffalo, elephant, giraffes, antelope and a lot more. At between 10-11am, you will return to the lodge for relaxation and lunch. After your lunch at 2.00pm, you will head out for the boat launch to the bottom of the powerful Murchison Falls. This three-hour boat cruise climaxes at the edge of the rift valley escarpment at which point you will get off the boat and trek to the top of the falls (wear sports shoes while on the boat for ease of trekking to the top). Having worked up a sweat, once at the top, get bathed in the misty spray that the Nile create as it forces itself into the 7-metre cleft to create the famous Murchison Falls. Your guides will be waiting up top to transfer you back to the lodge for dinner and overnight stay.
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 5: Transfer to Kibale Forest National Park
This morning, wake up early and have breakfast at 6.30am. After breakfast, check-out of the hotel and depart Murchison Falls headed to Fort Portal. However, because of the long distance on a poor dirt road that should give you the ‘African massage’, you will not complete the transfer to Fort Portal. You will spend the night in Hoima town, which is half-way the distance between Murchison Falls and Fort Portal. From Murchison Falls, you will have your carry-on lunch so enjoy it at your leisure. You arrive in Hoima in the middle of the afternoon and check-in at your booked hotel in Hoima. Relax and enjoy what is the left of the day.
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Continue to Fort Portal
This morning, re-start your journey to Fort Portal. Along the way, you will traverse traditional homesteads surrounded by crop plantations in a very leafy and green area – arriving in Fort Portal in the mid-afternoon. You will spend the night at your booked accommodation either in Fort Portal town or at a lodge inside the park or on the park’s boundary.
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 6: Chimp trekking in Kibale Forest & Bigodi community walk
Today you are in for some real monkey business! After breakfast, your guides will drive you to Kibale Forest National Park headquarters at Kanyanchu for a briefing before you commence your chimp trek. Kibale Forest is reputed for having the greatest variety and highest concentration of primates in East Africa. You will go on a guided nature walk in the tropical rain forest in search of the wild chimpanzees, red-tailed monkeys, black and white colobus monkeys and many others. Once you locate the chimpanzees, you will have a full hour with them at close quarters. After the mandatory 1 hour is finished, your guides/rangers will lead you back to the park headquarters. You will grab lunch at one of the lodges within the park.
In the afternoon after your lunch, head for your Bigodi swamp walk (2-3 hours). This walk will take you through grassland, small communities and beautiful scenery. It is usual to spot three to four different primate species during this walk, though the highlight can be catching a glimpse of the great blue Turaco. After your walk, you will return to your lodge for dinner and overnight stay.
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 7: Transfer to Queen Elizabeth National Park with boat along Kazinga channel
Wake up at leisure and relax at your lodge having your breakfast at leisure. We are not in a hurry and so we will depart for Queen Elizabeth National Park at leisure. You will transfer to Kasese with the Rwenzori Mountains in the backdrop as you lose altitude to arrive in or around the Queen Elizabeth National Park. On arrival and after check-in, you can relax and have the rest of the day to yourself. Dinner and overnight at your booked accommodation.
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 8: Morning game drive and relaxation with evening game drive
Up at 6.00am, enjoy your breakfast and we are off for a day-break game drive on the park’s plans. We head straight for the mating grounds of the Uganda Kobs. We search for lions in their natural habitat, elephants, and buffalo and then we return to the lodge. Relax around the lodge and then lunch. At either 2.00pm or 3.00pm, we go on a boat cruise along the Kazinga Channel, a natural channel that connects lakes Edward and George – one of the major highlights of your safari. On the cruise abundant bird life is sighted and perhaps the highest concentration of hippopotamus in Africa lives on this stretch of the channel. The boat launch – lasting 3 hours climaxes with you looking at stunning scenery in the distance. You return to the lodge for dinner and overnight stay.
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 9: Drive to Bwindi via Ishasha sector
After breakfast and at leisure, drive south to the Ishasha sector of the park. The drive, which will serve as our morning game drive will last between 2-3 hours. Have your eyes peeled for more game. On arrival in the Ishasha area, we search for the famous and unique tree-climbing lions. If it is a hot day, be sure to find them atop the sycamore fig trees or the acacia trees that dominate this part of the park. There are about 4 Prides of lions in the area numbering more than 40 in total. Look out for the males with their black mane, which is a notable attribute. Also, there are about 1000+ elephants present in the area and you normally see large numbers. There are Topi and Uganda Kob antelopes in large numbers. The drive is a fantastic opportunity to take lots of pictures. You exit the park and continue on to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. You check-in at your booked accommodation for overnight stay.
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 10: Gorilla tracking
Have an early breakfast preferably at 6.00am and transfer to the starting point of the Gorilla family that you will be tracking. With packed lunch in your carry-on, your guide will deliver you to the tracking/trekking start point before 8:00 am for registration and a briefing from the rangers on what to expect before commencing your tracking/trek. The guides will then take you through the bush, pushing your way through the undergrowth, parting thick creepers, looking for where thee family of gorillas you are tracking spent the night. (Tracking/trekking can take from half an hour to 5 hours – a reasonable degree of fitness is required as well as a sturdy pair of walking shoes). When you finally locate the family that you are tracking, sit in the forest among the gorillas, listening to them grumble to each other, and marvel at the sheer size of the dominant male; the Silverback. It is an extraordinary feeling sitting in the dense rainforest in the knowledge that you are in the presence of the few remaining Mountain Gorillas in the wild. After the mandatory 1 hour is up, the rangers and guides will lead you back to the starting point where your guide will be waiting for you to take you back to your lodge for relaxation and dinner later.
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 11: Transfer to Lake Mburo National Park
This morning, depart Bwindi and head to Lake Mburo National Park. On arrival, check-in at your booked accommodation and enjoy lunch. You can relax and have the rest of the day to yourself or go for a game drive in the late evening.
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 12: Walking Safari in Lake Mburo
Visitors can choose two optional activities including a mountain-bike safari ($15 p.p extra) or a horseback safari ($60 p.p etra) for 2 hours. Otherwise, you can choose to go on a game walk – accompanied with an armed ranger while you spot buffalo, zebra, gazelles etc. Should you choose to ride on horseback or cycle, you will equally enjoy the wonderful scenery along the way. After this morning’s activity, you will return to the lodge for lunch. For those who love to bird, you can choose to go for a boat ride on the lake to see some of the major birds of the park. Otherwise, relax and have the rest of the day to yourself or you can head out in the vehicle for an evening game drive. Return later for dinner and overnight stay.
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 13: Depart for Kampala with stop at the Equator
This morning, after your breakfast, you commence your transfer to Kampala with a stop at the Equator Crossing. At the Equator crossing at Kayabwe along the Kampala-Masaka road, you can take some fun pictures and purchase souvenirs and crafts from your Uganda safari. After your lunch, you will continue onto Kampala where you will be taken to your booked accommodation for dinner and overnight stay.
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch
Day 14: Visit Nakasero Market, transfer to Entebbe & Departure
This morning, you wake up at leisure at your hotel and enjoy your breakfast. After breakfast, check-out of the hotel and your guides will be ready to drive you into town. You will head to Nakasero (a Luganda word that connotes a basket) Market – a fresh produce market. The market is Kampala’s most famous. It is divided into two areas, one partially covered, where produce is sold and another located in an attractive old building where hardware, electronics, clothes, and a few tourist items are on sale. Traders sell a wide-range of products including fruits (yellow bananas, mangoes, passion fruits, water melons, oranges etc), vegetables, spices, matooke (plantain), cassava roots and a lot other food items.
From Nakasero market, you will head to the Uganda Crafts village along Buganda road. Also, look out for 1000 Cups – a coffee shop that is opposite the crafts village. You can buy Uganda Arabica coffee beans (either roasted or raw) at the shop. After your shopping trip, your guides will transfer you to Entebbe. In Entebbe, you will do a quick tour of the town – visiting the Botanical Gardens/beach where you can have a quick lunch of a whole Tilapia fish with chips at one of the beaches. Later you will rest at Faze 3 restaurant close to the airport ahead of your check-in before departure home.
Meal Plan: Breakfast
Package Includes
- Accommodation in standard rooms as described above (or similar) according to the option chosen
- On the ground transport in non-air conditioned 7-seater safari minivans with pop-up roofs
- Game drives, excursions and sight-seeing activities (if any) as described above
- Activities (if any) as outlined in detailed itinerary
- Transfers as indicated in the itinerary
- Meals as indicated in the itinerary
- Services of an English-speaking driver guide
- Gorilla Permits (if you are opting for Gorilla tracking)
- Bottled water whilst on safari (2 half-litre bottles per person per day)
Not included
- Personal expenses such travel and medical insurance, excess baggage fee, communication charges that include, emails, faxes and phone calls beverages including water, soft drinks, luxury champagne, spirits or meals not included in the itinerary
- Gratuity for porterage/ waiters at hotels, camps and airports
- Gratuity for your professional driver guide
- Cost of obtaining Uganda entry Visas ($100 per person)
- Any optional tours and excursions not mentioned in the itinerary
- Travel Insurance
- International + Airfare
