9 Day Uganda Wildlife and Great Apes 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, head to Mabamba Bay. The word ‘Mabamba’ is a Luganda word translated as “a place of Lung Fish” in the local dialect. Declared a Ramsar Site in 2007, Mabamba Bay is a birding hotspot that stretches into Lake Victoria. It is one of the best places to see the rare Shoebill Stork! On this visit, you employ a motorized canoe and navigate the narrow waterways in the swamp in search for the prolific birdlife that the marshes have become very famous for.

After your sighting of the pre-historic shoebill, continue to Lake Mburo National Park. You travel across Uganda’s central plains – characterized by a lot of green vegetation, vast cultivated tracts of land, banana plantations (the staple food for people from Central and Western Uganda) and animal farms. You will make a stop at the Equator point for some Instagram moments, an opportunity to see the Earth’s magnetism at the Equator line, to stretch your legs and the opportunity to buy some crafts, a souvenir from your Uganda trip and then you will continue to Lake Mburo. On arrival, head to the lodge you have chosen and check-in. You will then pick your packed lunch and head out for a guided game drive. This small park, which sometimes packs a punch with its surprise sightings is the only park in Uganda with Eland, Impala antelopes and Burchell’s Zebra. The scenery of rolling hills, lakes, swamps make Africa real, and it is in Lake Mburo where the Tanzanian Savannah meets Uganda in a most scenic fashion. Other game you will likely see on the game drive include warthogs, bushbuck, Rothschild’s giraffe and more. You can also take a 1-hour boat trip to find crocodiles, hippos and plenty of water birds or you can pre-book a horseback safari (optional & not covered in the price) to see game from a totally different perspective. At about 6.30pm, you will report to the park HQ from where you will get a game ranger on board, a spotlight and then continue on a night game drive. At night, there is a whole variety of animals that you would not see in the day including bush pigs, genet cat, white-tailed mongoose to mention but a few. Night game drives also give you the best chance of finding leopards, spotted hyena. It is an interesting experience out at night with a spotlight, an unusual twist on your regular game drives. Lasting for between 2 to 3 hours, after you will find your back to the lodge for dinner and overnight stay.

Lake Mburo National Park is one of two game parks in Uganda where visitors are allowed to go for a bush nature walk in the company of an experienced armed ranger. On a morning guided walk, you often encounter hyenas that are returning to their dens after a night of being on the prowl – at the same time you can often see hippos returning from grazing during the night and returning to the lake to keep cool during the day and protect their sensitive skin from the sun. You will also see Zebras, Giraffes, Eland, Topi and other antelopes, buffaloes, birds, butterflies. After your walk, return to the lodge, take a shower and check-out – ready for the drive to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. You will carry packed lunch from the lodge so there will only be brief bathroom stops. The Buhoma sector of Bwindi where you are headed is located in the far south-western reaches of Uganda across rolling hills, commercial tea estates, pineapple plantations and a lot other crops. The landscape changes before your eyes every few hours. Closer to your destination, the gorilla highlands loom ever larger where views in some places are really to-die-for. As the day draws to a close, arrive at the lodge you have chosen, check-in and unwind amidst the tranquil surroundings. To prepare best for the thrilling gorilla trekking experience tomorrow, it’s advisable to have an early dinner and rest.

After breakfast, with your packed lunch, lots of water in your rucksack, your guide will take you to the park 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 commence the short drive to the Ishasha sector of Queen Elizabeth National Park. On arrival in the Ishasha sector, go on a game drive in the evening to explore the area. On the drive, 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 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 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 lots of pictures. At sunset, you will go find your lodge and check-in for dinner and overnight stay.

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.

Enjoy an early breakfast and head out again on the Ishasha plains for a morning game drive. At about 8.00am, continue to Mweya – the northern sector of Queen Elizabeth National Park. You will enjoy a hot lunch in Katunguru town and then continue to Mweya for the boat trip along the Kazinga channel. This boat trip is 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 check-in at the lodge/ camp you have chosen. After check-in, enjoy 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, you will go back, buy packed lunch at the lodge and commence the 3-hour drive to Kibale Forest National Park.

On arrival in Kibale, 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.

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 or a 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 certificates and can take pictures to capture the moment. From here, pass via the lodge and pick-up a pack of lunch and continue the drive to Murchison Falls National Park. You arrive late in the evening and check-in at Bamboo Village for dinner and overnight stay.

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 hertebeest, bushbuck and a lot of antelopes. At about 10.00am, exit the park and head to Budongo Forest – part of the Murchison Falls National Park conservation area for an afternoon chimpanzee trek. You will enjoy a hot lunch at the Budongo Eco Lodge. After lunch, you go in search of the habituated chimpanzee family that calls this forest home. It is a large family and you will encounter them either atop trees or on the ground. Your guide will explain to you more about the animals and plant species that you encounter on your way. Also, look out for other primates like the Black and White Colobus Monkeys, Red-tailed Monkeys, different types of birds etc. Chimp tracking can be experienced daily with two viewing times per day – so you will take the afternoon slot. The walk in search of the chimps takes 2 to 4 hours, depending on their movement. Once you find the chimps, you will stay in their presence for one hour as you watch them feed, play and groom one another. Once the hour is up, you will come back to the starting point where your driver/guide will be waiting to return to Paraa where you check-in at Paraa Safari Lodge. At the lodge, refresh and enjoy an early dinner. After dinner, head out for a night game drive – lasting 3-hours. When night falls on the savannah plains, it’s a whole other wild affair as a whole new set of animals take over the action. Big cat action is in overdrive at this time. Also, experience the sounds of the African bush after dark as crickets chirp, strange noises come out of thickets and night howlers make their calls. This drive packs a punch most of the times as the park really comes alive with Lions, leopards, civets, genet, hyenas all stalk prey. Other animals out on a night include bush babies, porcupines, hippos (they tend to feed at night), night jar. For the night game rive in Murchison Falls, you see incredible moonlight views on the Albert-Nile among other night wonders. After what we believe will have been an experience that will live with you for a long time, you will return to Paraa Safari Lodge for overnight stay.

After breakfast this morning, check-out at the lodge and visit the top of Murchison Falls where the Nile creates a misty spray and rainbows as it falls over an escarpment/ gorge – forcing itself into a 7-metre cleft to create the famous falls. Take your time by taking lots of Instagram moments as the views are incredible. At the appropriate time, you will start for Zziwa Rhino Sanctuary where you will track the endangered white rhinoceros. The rhino sanctuary is not part of Murchison Falls National Park but can easily be visited on the way to or from Murchison Falls National Park.

You witness the remarkable efforts of conservationists to protect and rehabilitate these majestic creatures. Once abundant in Uganda’s wild places, 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 Entebbe. You should be in Entebbe by 16.00Hrs. If you are checking-in for your international flight home right away, you are dropped off at the airport in time for you to check-in. If your flight is later this evening, a Day Room will have been arranged for you at one of our partner Guest Houses in Entebbe for you to refresh and repack ahead of your check-in. At the appropriate time, you will be 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 a wonderful game and apes safari in Uganda – whose memories will live with you for a long time.