8 Days Fly-in Uganda Safari

Day 1: Arrival in Uganda

You arrive at Entebbe airport, located on a peninsula that juts out into the largest fresh-water lake in Africa, where a representative/guide from Uzuri Uganda Safaris will welcome you and transfer you to the Boma Hotel in Entebbe.

Meal Plan: No meals included

Having arrived the day before, this morning, have your breakfast at 6.00am and be ready to transfer to the airport at 6.30 am. A hotel shuttle will transfer you to the airport in time for you to check-in for your morning flight to Kihihi, which is scheduled to depart at 6.45 am. The flight arrives at Kihihi/Kisoro airstrip in the vicinity of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park – the home of the Mountain Gorillas at 8.45am. At Kihihi, your driver/guide from Uzuri Uganda Safaris will pick you up and transfer you to Buhoma Lodge. The drive over a good dirt road with a few bumps to the lodge should last some 45 minutes. On arrival at the lodge, you will check-in with the help of the guide and the lodge staff. After check-in, you have the rest of the day to yourself.

Afternoon (Optional): After lunch, you can choose to go on a guided nature walk to meet the Ugandans who neighbour the park. You get to learn a thing or two about the culture of the people, so depending on which nature trail you take, you will have a chance to meet the traditional healer and learn how the Bwindi forest (a UNESCO heritage site) is used as a pharmacy where herbs and tree back is used to treat people for various ailments. You could also visit a local school if the school term is in session.

Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Up early, have a quick breakfast preferably at 6.00am. After your breakfast, your guide will transfer you to the Buhoma gate of the park and lead you to the briefing point where park staff will brief you about what to expect before you are allocated the specific Gorilla family you will be tracking. With packed lunch in your carry-on, water and other personal effects that are allowed, the rangers/guides will then take you through the bush, pushing your way through the undergrowth, parting thick creepers, looking for where the 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 rain-forest 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 transfer you back to the lodge for relaxation. Overnight at Buhoma Lodge.

What to bring for gorilla tracking/trekking: light but sturdy hiking shoes, light rain jacket, a daypack, 2 litres of water, gardening gloves, binoculars, a camera, long trousers either jeans/khakis, long-sleeved shirt/blouse, wide-brimmed hat, sun glasses, insect repellent and an energy bar.  

 Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

This morning, have breakfast at leisure and check-out of the lodge. You will then commence your transfer to Queen Elizabeth National Park (3 hours) this time by road. You should arrive in the Ishasha sector in the afternoon sun. The tree-climbing lions of Ishasha usually hide out in the fig trees that populate this part of the park to shelter from the hot sun. On arrival in the Ishasha sector, spend some time exploring this part of the park. Enjoy lunch at one of the lodges in the area, after which you will continue to explore the area, which also has a lot of elephants. Should you be in luck, you will be able to view the famous residents of this part of the park. Later, you will continue to Mweya – completing your transfer to Queen Elizabeth National Park in time for your boat safari along the Kazinga channel (a natural water channel that links lakes Albert and George) for a chance to discover game that congregate at the water’s edge for a drink. After the 3-hour boat launch, return to the lodge for dinner and overnight stay.

Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

This morning, enjoy your breakfast at leisure. A lodge vehicle/shuttle (lodge staff will make arrangements for you to be dropped off at the airstrip or you could walk given its very close to the lodge) will transfer you to the Mweya airstrip in time for your Entebbe flight, which departs at 10.20 am. Your scheduled flight to Entebbe arrives at 11.20am. Back in Entebbe, you will then get onto an Aerolink scheduled flight to Pakuba in Murchison Falls National Park, which departs at 12.30 pm. On arrival at Pakuba at 1.30 pm, your guide will be on hand to pick you and transfer you to Paara Safari Lodge. You arrive in time for lunch. After lunch, have the rest of the day to yourself relaxing in and around the lodge. Dinner and overnight at Paara Safari Lodge.

Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Up at 6.00am, enjoy breakfast 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. As you explore the park, you will also be able to see game ranging from lion, buffalo, elephant, giraffes, antelope and a lot more. At between 10 -11 am, you will return to the lodge for relaxation. After 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 where you get to see huge numbers of Nile crocodiles, hippos, birds and other animals that come to the river for a drink climaxes at the edge of the rift valley escarpment at which point you will get off the boat and trek (there are steps that lead up to the top) 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. Patrick will be waiting up top to transfer you back to the lodge for dinner and overnight stay at Paara Safari Lodge.

Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

After your breakfast this morning, head to Budongo Forest, part of the Murchison Falls National Park conservation area, for chimpanzee tracking. Wear your light hiking shoes/boots and long trousers/shirts/blouses. You will be taken on a guided walk in search of the habituated chimpanzee family. Carry your binoculars and also look out for some birds as Budongo is a critical birding place for the Uganda birding safaris. After your chimpanzee trek, you will return to the lodge for lunch and relaxation. Dinner and overnight at Paara Safari Lodge.

Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

This morning enjoy breakfast at leisure. At 10.00am, you will check-out and begin your transfer to Kampala by road with a stop for lunch in Masindi and then you will arrive in Kampala in the mid-afternoon. You can pass via the African Crafts Village for a chance to buy your Uganda souvenir as well as some of our best coffee. After, your guide will drop you off at Entebbe airport in time for you to check-in for your departure home.

Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch

We hope you have enjoyed your Uganda safari and are looking forward to seeing you again next time.

 Package Includes

• Accommodation in Standard and Deluxe Rooms as described above (or similar) according to the option chosen
• On the ground transport in air conditioned 7-seater safari minivan with pop-up roofs for game viewing.
• 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
• 4 Gorilla Permits
• 4 Budongo Permits for Chimpanzees
• Bottled water whilst on safari (2 half-litre bottles per person per day)

Package Excludes

• 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 passport and Visas
• Any optional tours and excursions not mentioned in the itinerary
• Travel Insurance
• International + Airfare