10 Days Uganda Wildlife & Great Apes Luxury Fly-in Safari 

Upon arrival in Uganda at Entebbe International Airport, located on a peninsula that juts out into Lake Victoria, Africa’s biggest fresh water lake, you will be welcomed and greeted by your driver/guide. He will be standing at the Arrivals Hall holding a placard with your name so you cannot miss him. You will then be transferred to the hotel/ guest house you have chosen and check-in for dinner and overnight stay. Your driver/ guide will brief you about your safari at some stage (either before dinner or first thing after breakfast the next day).

For those that arrive early in the day – there are optional activities around Entebbe especially if you intend to stay active and not rest after long overseas flights. You can visit the Entebbe Botanical Gardens or head out to trawl Mabamba bay for a chance to see the prehistoric and mythical shoebill. Or, your guide will be on hand to take you to the local markets or one of the malls to shop for some essentials.

After breakfast, commence a 6-hour drive to Murchison Falls National Park via the Zziwa Rhino Sanctuary where a conservation project to revive white rhinoceros is underway. Murchison Falls National Park is a nature reserve teeming with diverse wildlife and natural wonders. Before arriving at Murchison Falls N.P, you make a de-tour to Zziwa Rhino Sanctuary. The rhino sanctuary is not part of Murchison Falls National Park but can easily be visited on the way to or from Murchison.

You witness the remarkable efforts of conservationists to protect and rehabilitate these majestic creatures. Once abundant in Uganda’s wild places, white rhinos faced a dire threat from poaching and were wiped out. The sanctuary is a project aimed at their rebirth and so far it is a success. At Zziwa you will stretch your legs on a nature walk to go find the rhinos in the company of a guide and armed ranger. Once you encounter these endangered White rhinos, view them at close quarters (as close as the rangers will allow) and can take photos and videos to your fill. You are able to walk from one group of rhinos to the next in the open spaces of the sanctuary. When you spot the rhinos, you will stay in their presence experiencing them. After an enlightening encounter with rhinos, enjoy lunch somewhere en-route and continue to the crown jewel of Murchison Falls National Park. Prepare to be awe-struck as you stand atop the magnificent Murchison Falls, where the mighty Nile River plunges through a narrow gorge, creating a spectacle of nature’s power and beauty. Conclude your day by checking-in a lodge you have chosen, where you can unwind, refresh, and relish the serenity of the surroundings.

Game in Murchison Falls National Park is among the best in Uganda, garnished with wonderful birdlife that makes the park a wildlife and birders’ paradise. The park is home to 76 mammal species including herds of buffalo, elephants that are scattered in the savannah woodland areas. The park is also home to a good number of camouflage leopards as well as a good number of lion prides. The park is also known for the endangered Rothschild’s Giraffe. On the Nile’s banks and in the pools, you find hippos and crocodiles. Today, rise as the African sun rises and head out for a game drive – view the glorious day-break from across the open savannah, birds and dotted woodland as well as riverine vegetation along the Nile. You explore the area and are in search for game ranging from lion, leopard, buffalo, elephant, giraffes and marvel at the graceful grazers like oribi, Jackson’s hartebeest, bushbuck and a lot of antelopes. Back at the lodge, enjoy lunch and then head out for one of Uganda’s under-stated adventures – a 3-hour boat trip on the Nile to the bottom of the powerful Murchison Falls. On the banks of the Nile, be on the look-out for hundreds of hippos, sunbathing crocodiles and prolific birdlife dotting the shore and atop the trees. At the climax, see and experience the mighty River Nile explode through a narrow gorge, plunging 40 metres below in a thunderous cascade. The climax is 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 guide will be waiting up top to transfer you back to the lodge for dinner and night stay.

Optional Activities: Night Game Drive, Boat trip to the Delta

Today, you are up at leisure. Your flight out to Kasese will depart Murchison Falls National Park at 14.15Hrs so you can use the opportunity to visit both the top and bottom of Murchison Falls to experience the Nile as it falls over a cliff to create the most powerful falls in the world. After return to the lodge and enjoy an early lunch. At 13.00Hrs, you will be driven to the Bugungu airstrip where you check-in for your flight to Kasese airstrip. Your flight will depart at 14.15Hrs and is expected to land at Kasese at 15.30Hrs. From here, you will be transferred to Kibale Forest National Park – a 2 and half hour drive through very picturesque landscapes. On arrival, you check-in at Kyaninga Lodge. Later, dinner and overnight stay at this beautiful lodge.

Today you are in for some real monkey business! After breakfast, you head to Kanyachu, the headquarters for Kibale Forest National Park.  Reputed for having the greatest variety and highest concentration of primates in East Africa, Kibale Forest National park teems with wildlife and is also home to 13 other primate species. After a comprehensive briefing, venture into the wilderness in search of these fascinating creatures, known for their intelligence and social behaviors. Given the diversity of the place, keep your senses attuned as you might spot the rare L’Hoest monkey, red-tailed colobus monkeys, black and white colobus monkeys and many others. Perhaps you will hear rare bird calls or the playful cries of olive baboons. The guides and rangers will provide detailed explanations, not only on primates, but also on all the forest fauna and flora and will ensure that your walk is both informative and enjoyable. However, what you are roaming the forest for are the chimpanzees. Once you locate the chimpanzees, you will have a full 1-hour in their presence. You watch them go about their day, see the young ones play and the mature ones grooming each other or looking for food. You either find them atop the big fruit trees or on the ground. It is a most exhilarating experience if you are lucky to find them on the ground.  After the mandatory 1-hour is finished, your guides/rangers will lead you back to the trail-head from where you come back to the park HQ. You receive your tracking certificates and it’s a wonderful Instagram moment so indulge, take the pictures and you can post later. From here, return to the lodge for a hot lunch.

Afternoon: After lunch, set out for a guided nature walk through the Bigodi Wetland Sanctuary – a community project. The swamp offers visitors a platform to see more primates, swamp and forest birds, all the while supporting local conservation efforts. On your tour, you will likely see several kinds of monkeys including black and white colobus, red colobus etc. Other wetlands mammals include baboons, Sitatunga (an increasingly endangered swamp antelope), bush pigs, civet cats, mongooses, bush bucks and an occasional chimpanzee appearance. The walk is 4.5 kilometres in length and lasts 3 hours and should not be missed by avid birders. Money generated from the activities in Bigodi is used to fund community projects including a school and a clinic. Later, return to the lodge for dinner and overnight stay.

Optional Activity: Chimpanzee Habituation

You wake up at leisure and enjoy your breakfast. You are not in a hurry and so you will depart Kibale Forest National Park for Queen Elizabeth National Park at leisure. You will transfer through the beautiful crater lakes region where the views and scenery are to die for! After seeing some of the many craters in the region, back on the road, you continue to Queen Elizabeth National Park with the Rwenzori Mountains in the backdrop. On a clear day, you can see the snow-capped Magherita peak of the Rwenzori Mountains. On arrival to your destination, you check-in at lodge you have chosen, enjoy lunch and can relax.

In the late afternoon, head to the Katwe Crater Lake where locals have mined salt through the ages. This lake – situated just north of the impressive Mweya peninsula, is far too salty to support any wildlife. However, since the 16th Century, it has ensured the survival of the Katwe residents, who spend their days under the equatorial sun, harvesting salt from its milky waters. Enjoy the spectacular drive to Katwe as you look out for wildlife including buffaloes and elephants. Once you arrive at the salt mines, marvel at the network of paths and huts that have been built across the lake to support hundreds of workers. The salt is sold to traders from across Uganda, and as far as Congo and Rwanda. This excursion gives visitors a unique insight into the fascinating yet tough process of salt mining and meeting and interacting with the locals. During the tour of the lake you will see community members at work and you get to talk to them. Later, return to your lodge for dinner and overnight stay.

You are up at 6.00am to prepare for today. Your driver/guide will head towards the Kasenyi gate of the park to meet staff from the Uganda Carnivore Project as well as a research team from the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA). Rangers from UWA will brief you about the experience you are about to undertake – tracking lions in Queen Elizabeth National Park. Lion Tracking Research at Queen Elizabeth is another way to see the Lions in Queen Elizabeth Park.  The Uganda Carnivore Project does research on Lions and other predators in the northern sector of Queen Elizabeth National Park. You are with them on today’s research outing for 3-hours. This activity is limited in terms of the number of participants that can take part and a rare opportunity for those that can! It has to be booked in advance. You get to help in monitoring, tracking, researching the King of the beasts in Queen Elizabeth Park which is certainly an out of the ordinary time for visitors to Uganda and another unique wildlife experience offered to visitors by Uganda Wildlife Authority.  Normally this is done using locator devices as researchers monitor the weather, the lion’s behavior as well as their surroundings. The findings are added to the databases of the researchers, hence contributing very important data to the general understanding of Africa’s wildlife ecology in particular that in Queen Elizabeth National Park, and assisting to conserve this amazing ecosystem. Queen Elizabeth Park is the only Park in Uganda where Lion Tracking research is offered. This is not just an activity created for visitors, it is scientific research that is recorded and gives the researchers a better understanding of the habits of the lions found in Queen Elizabeth Park. At the end of this experience, return to your lodge for a hot lunch. After, you will embark on a boat cruise along the Kazinga channel – a major highlight of the safari to Queen Elizabeth National Park. The channel is a natural waterway, linking lakes Edward and George. It boasts one of Africa’s highest concentrations of hippos (there are 1,500 hippos found along the channel), providing a mesmerizing spectacle of these aquatic giants. Glide along the tranquil waters, accompanied by the symphony of birdcalls and the occasional splash of a crocodile, as you soak in the serene beauty of the surroundings. On the boat cruise, hippos frolic and yawn wide, elephants and buffalo drink their fill at the channel’s banks. The boat trip is a front-row seat to nature’s spectacle. The boat cruise promises to be a highlight of your journey, offering unparalleled opportunities for wildlife viewing and birdwatching. From the boat cruise, if time allows continue on an evening game drive culminating into a return to the lodge for dinner and overnight stay.

This drive to Bwindi via the Ishasha sector of Queen Elizabeth National Park will also serve as a game drive. As you journey through Ishasha – the southern sector of Queen Elizabeth National Park, bring out binoculars and keep your gaze trained on the horizon as you search for the iconic tree-climbing lions that inhabit this unique region. If you are lucky to find them, marvel at the sight of these majestic predators perched atop ancient sycamore fig trees or acacia trees, surveying their kingdom with regal poise.

There are about four 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 herds. There are Topi (savannah relatives of the world-famous Wildebeest) and Uganda Kob antelopes in large numbers. The drive is a fantastic opportunity to take pictures. You continue to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, a realm of mist-shrouded mountains and dense vegetation. Along the way, feast your eyes on the scenic beauty of the landscape, from vast banana plantations to lush valleys and towering forests. As the day draws to a close, arrive at the lodge you have chosen in Bwindi, where you can unwind amidst the tranquil surroundings and prepare for the extraordinary adventure that awaits tomorrow.

After breakfast, with your packed lunch, lots of water in your rucksack, your guide will take you to the Buhoma sector HQ before 8:00am for registration and briefing by Uganda Wildlife Authority staff. Once the formalities of what to do and not to do while tracking the gentle giants are communicated, you will head to the trail-head of the gorilla family you have been allocated. At the trail-head, you will commence the trek, pushing your way through the undergrowth, to track the gorillas. (the trek can last from half an hour to 8 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, take in everything as you watch the gorillas go about their day – feeding on the green leaves, bamboo shoots, wild celery, stinging nettle and wild fruit. If there are juvenile gorillas, enjoy them play about and take it all in. Take lots of pictures (and a selfie if you happen to have a gorilla in your selfie frame) and video as the one-hour will be over before you know it. It is an extraordinary feeling being in the presence of these majestic apes, sitting/standing in the dense rainforest with the knowledge that you are in the presence of the few remaining wild mountain gorillas. After the mandatory one hour is up, the rangers will lead you back to the starting point/trail-head where you will find your driver/guide. Once back at the trail-head, your driver/guide will be waiting to take you back to the park HQ where you receive your tracking certificates (evidence of your contribution to the conservation of the majestic gorillas). From here, you will be taken back to your lodge for a hot lunch. After lunch, relax and you have the rest of the day to yourselves. Now is a good time to look back on your awe-inspiring encounter with the gorillas through the lens of your camera. Later, dinner and overnight at the lodge.

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

Optional Activities: Meet the Batwa pygmies in a cultural experience

After breakfast, depart for the Kihihi airstrip from where you will fly back to Entebbe Airport on an 8.25am (there are flights that depart Kihihi for Entebbe later in the day so you can advise us if a later flight is a better fit) flight – arriving back at Entebbe in the mid-morning (11.25am). At Entebbe, connect to your onward international flight home. If your flight out of Uganda is late this evening, you spend your day in the quiet Entebbe town (we will include a day room for you at one of our partner guest houses in Entebbe). Later, you are dropped off at the airport in time for you to check-in for your onward flight home to bring to an end what we believe will have been an awe-inspiring Uganda gorilla safari whose memories will stay with you for a long time.