15 Days Best of Uganda Safari : This 15 days Best of Uganda Safari brings you gorilla trekking, bird viewing, a wildlife game drive, chimpanzee trekking, and a city tour.
Tour Highlights
- Visit source of the Nile in Jinja
- Visit Ziwa Rhino sanctuary
- Boat cruise along Victoria Nile where the Nile forces itself in the narrow gorge
- Game drives in Queen Elizabeth and Murchison Falls National parks
- Search for tree climbing lions in Ishasha sector- South of Queen Elizabeth National park
- Boat trip on Kazinga channel connecting Lake Edward and Lake George
- Community walk-in Bigodi – Kibale
- Enjoy serenity at the beautiful Lake Bunyonyi
- Chimpanzee tracking in Kibale Forest
- Gorilla trekking in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest
- Ankole cultural tour
Detailed Itinerary
Day 1: Travel to Sipi Falls and Coffee Tour
Pick up from Kampala and start your trip to eastern Uganda for adventure tourism. Check in to your hotel upon arrival in Mbale.
After lunch, transfer to Mbale town where you will trek to Sipi waterfalls, make a coffee tour, and interact with local people as they transform coffee grounds into beverages.
In the evening, it is possible to experience the nightlife in Mbale town. Transfer to your hotel for dinner and overnight.
Day 2: Transfer to Jinja and visit the source of the Nile
After breakfast, check out and begin your trip to the adventure capital of East Africa.
Visit the source of the Nile, have lunch and thereafter, embark on a guided tour to several monuments, watch and film a traditional dance troupe entertaining tourists before the sunset cruise on Africa’s longest river. Later transfer to the actual source of the Nile for photography. Here you can also purchase souvenirs.
Check into the hotel for dinner and your overnight.
Day 3: Visit Griffin and Sezibwa waterfalls and transfer to Kampala
After breakfast, drive to Mabira forest for a guided nature trek to Griffin Falls. Whilst in Mabira forest, experience a canopy zip line on the six cables in the rain forest before driving to Lugazi town for lunch.
Proceed to Sezibwa Falls, where you will take a 30-minute walk with a knowledgeable guide, learning about the history of this destination and its connection to Buganda, the central region of Uganda’s largest tribe.
Drive back to Kampala and drop off at your accommodation in Kampala.
Day 4: Transfer to Murchison Falls National Park (travel time 6 hours)
Pick up from your location and drive to Murchison Falls through Luweero triangle. Visit the Ziwa Rhino sanctuary for Rhino tracking and Lunch. Ziwa is the only destination in Uganda where you can see the endangered white Rhinos, thereafter, you will proceed to Murchison Falls National Park, check in into your hotel. You can later go on an evening game drive.
Murchison Falls is one of Uganda’s beautiful National Parks with abundant wildlife. Expect to see elephants, giraffes, lions, hippos, crocodiles, buffaloes, and a variety of birds. The Victoria Nile and the magnificent Murchison Falls, where water is forced through a narrow gorge, are two of the country’s primary attractions.
Day 5: Nile boat cruise and transfer to Budongo forest reserve
After breakfast, check out and enjoy a game drive in this beautiful National Park on your way to the river bank. Then, take an hour-long longboat ride along the tranquil Victoria Nile to the bottom of the falls and later hike to the top falls, where you will be fascinated by the beauty of this attraction. You will be transported to Budongo forest reserve and lunch will be served at the Boomu Women’s Bandas.
Here you can enjoy dinner and an overnight accommodation.
Day 6: Budongo Forest Reserve
After breakfast, you will be guided on a nature walk to view wildlife and primates, visit the Boomu Women’s project center and meet traditional storytellers, and purchase souvenirs to support the organized group in this destination.
Budongo forest is a reserve within Murchison Falls National Park that is home to a wide variety of primates and birds, including chimpanzees, blue monkeys, olive baboons, and blue monkeys.
In the afternoon, drive to Kibale Forest, where you will dine and spend the night.
Day 7: Kibale Forest National Park – Chimpanzee Trekking
After breakfast, transfer to the park headquarters for a briefing by your allocated guide for the day. You will then be guided into the forest to track chimpanzees. It may take you a few hours before you finally meet these wonderful creatures. Kibale forest is the primate capital in Uganda with a magnificent ecosystem. The park is home to numerous primate species, including chimpanzees, baboons, red colobus, and L’Hoest monkey, among others, and other species.
Dinner and overnight at your lodge in Kibale, where you spent the previous night.
Day 8: Bigodi Community walk and transfer to Fort Portal
After breakfast, you will be led to the Bigodi community for a walk, where you will interact with the residents and experience their local way of living, you will have an encounter with local women weaving baskets and can also purchase souvenirs to take home.
As you explore the swamp – Bigodi wetland sanctuary, you will see different bird species including butterfly species.
Return to the Lodge in Fort Portal for dinner and overnight.
Day 9: Visit Amabere caves, Crater lakes, Royal tombs and Kings Palace
After breakfast, you will be guided to the caverns where you get to learn about the history of this mystical beauty. You will then trek to an overlook from which you can view the crater lakes and the mountains of the moon beyond the horizon.
After your lunch break in Fort Portal, you will visit the residence of the King (omukama) of Toro Kingdom and take photographs of the magnificent hilly landscape. You can also visit the royal burial grounds of Karambi, where you will be amazed by the unique traditions of the Toro people.
Return to your hotel for dinner and overnight.
Day 10: Transfer to Queen Elizabeth National Park (3 hours drive)
After breakfast, you will be transferred to Queen Elizabeth National Park, make a stopover at the equator monument in Kasese to take photos, before checking into your lodge for lunch.
Queen Elizabeth National Park is one of the most popular destinations in Uganda, with a variety of wildlife, including lions, buffaloes, hippos, elephants, and antelopes, among others.
Take an afternoon boat excursion on the Kazinga channel after lunch. The Kazinga channel connects Lake George and Lake Edward. It has the highest concentration of hippos and many species of water birds.
Later, return to the lodge for dinner and overnight.
Day 11: Game drive to Ishasha sector – South of Queen Elizabeth National Park
Drive through Queen Elizabeth National Park to the Ishasha sector in search of the tree-climbing lions, a very unique experience! Topis are an additional attraction in this park.
Thereafter, drive to Kabale. Meals and overnight at your accommodation in Kabale.
Day 12: Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park
After early morning breakfast, drive to the park headquarters of Bwindi Impenetrable Forest with lunch boxes. On our journey, we will pass through villages with magnificent views of distant mountains.
You will be briefed before being led deep into the jungle to track the gorillas, once you find the gentle giants, you will be allowed maximum of 1 hour to be with them. You will be awarded a Gorilla trekking certificate after the excursion.
Bwindi Impenetrable is a unique jungle that is home to the endangered mountain gorillas, as well as a World Heritage Site. Return to your accommodation for dinner and overnight.
Day 13: Transfer to Lake Bunyonyi (about 3 hours’ drive)
Drive to Bunyonyi for a different type of untamed excursion. After checking into your lodge, you will have lunch. Possible activities include nature walk, birding walk, canoeing, swim or visiting the local community (all activities optional).
Lake Bunyonyi is the most beautiful lake and the deepest in Uganda and second deepest in Africa.
Dinner and overnight at one of the Islands on Lake Bunyonyi.
DAY 14: Community visit to pygmy community and Island tour
After breakfast, drive to the shores of Lake Bunyonyi for a two-hour boat excursion with knowledgeable guides who share the history of this area.
You can participate in one of the optional activities, such as a forest trek or a community experience with the remarkable Batwa people. After lunch, travel to Mbarara for dinner and overnight at countryside lodge.
Day 15: Ankole tour and transfer to Kampala (travel time 5 hours)
Visit the museum to discover the history of the Ankole people, then hike to the Biharwe eclipse monument before returning to the lodge for lunch.
After lunch, drive back to Kampala with a photographic stop at Mpambire, the royal drum makers’ site, and the equator monument.
You will arrive in the evening and be dropped at your place of residence or transferred to Entebbe airport for your outbound flight.
End of Safari
Safari includes:
Full board accommodation
Adventure activities mentioned in the itinerary
Transportation
Game drives
English speaking driver / guide
Park fees
Bottled drinking water on safari
Safari excludes:
Airfares
Visa fees
Tips
Beverages
Personal insurance
Laundry and other items of personal expenses
Extra/optional activities outside the itinerary