Get the most out of each day of your vacation in a place that nature has blessed with beauty during this 7-day safari in Uganda. According to Winston Churchill, the British wartime prime minister, you will have a calm stay, pleasant weather, warm people and tasty food in the “pearl of Africa.”
Go on a boat
cruise and game drive in Murchison Falls National Park, chimpanzee trek in
Kibale Forest National Park, a walk-through Bigodi Swamp, boat cruise and game
drive in Queen Elizabeth National Park, and a gorilla trek in Bwindi
Impenetrable National Park. Additionally, there are activities like Bigodi
community tours and rhino tracking at the Ziwah Rhino Sanctuary. The journey
begins and ends in Uganda’s Kampala.
Detailed
Trip.
Day 1: Pickup
and transfer to Murchison Falls National Park – night game drive.
Meet and
greet our driving guide at the airport, and he or she will welcome you on the
seven-day excursion. You will receive a tour briefing before setting out on the
five to six-hour drive to Uganda’s largest national park, Murchison Falls
National Park with a one-hour halt at Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary along the way to
observe endangered rhinos.
Thereafter, a
drive to the park for an evening game drive in the northern sector will be
scheduled. The animals will be resting after the day’s adventure, while others,
including lions, leopards, and hyenas, will be out on adventures when dusk
falls. Before completing the day with dinner and an overnight stay at the
resort, you will cross off any who come your way.
Day 2:
Morning boat cruise and transfer to Kibale forest National Park.
Enjoy a
leisurely breakfast at the lodge before embarking on a boat tour to the base of
majestic Murchison falls, one of the most powerful waterfalls in the world. The
camera, eyes and ears will have been put to use in two hours as you observe
Nile crocodiles, hippos, water birds and other wildlife along the riverbanks.
Don’t forget to take in the sounds of roaring waterfalls as it rushes through
the tight 7-meter gorge to the Nile.
After the
boat tour, then embark on a 7–8 hours’ journey to Kibale National Park through
tea plantations, bustling cities and more. At dusk, after arrival, you will
check into your lodge for dinner and night sleep.
Day 3: Chimpanzee
trekking and Bigodi swamp walk.
You will go
to the park headquarters after an early breakfast at the resort, with a packed
lunch and in trekking gear, for a worthwhile pre-trek briefing by the
knowledgeable ranger guides. Since chimpanzees share 98% of human DNA, they are
closely related to humans. Three to four hours are needed for the trek, plus an
hour for photography and seeing the apes’ distinctive habits in their natural
environment.
After
spending time with the chimpanzees, you will return to the forest, where there
is a good possibility you may see a variety of other primate species, including
red-tailed monkeys, white and black Columbus monkeys, and more.
After lunch,
continue on a walk through Bigodi wetland, one of the nation’s Ramsar areas,
where you’ll see lots of primates and birds. The locals will be happy to help
you since returning to the lodge for dinner and an overnight stay means the sun
is setting.
Day 4:
Transfer to Queen Elizabeth National Park – boat cruise along Kazinga channel.
Breakfast is
first thing in the morning, followed by a 3-hour drive with views of
plantations, beautiful hills and mountain backdrops before checking out of the
lodge and head to Queen Elizabeth National Park. Upon arrival at the park, you
will register before going to lunch.
After that,
you’ll enjoy an evening boat trip around the Kazinga Channel. The experience
lasts for around two hours, during which time you can take in the pleasant lake
wind, view hippos and crocodiles and more. The day is done after dinner and
before bed.
Day 5: Tree
climbing lions in Ishasha sector and transfer to Bwindi Impenetrable National
Park.
Your game
drive will take place in Ishasha sector, home to lions that climb trees after
breakfast. It’s pure chance that you’ll see lions or leopards mating. Lion
tracking will take place in the Ishasha region with the aim of spotting one or
more lions lounging contentedly with in the tree branches. There aren’t many of
these lions on earth. Have late lunch in the same sector after which you will
drive to one of the park’s sectors to check in for dinner and night stay.
Day 6:
Gorilla trekking.
Wake up to a
hearty breakfast at the lodge before heading to the park headquarters for
briefing and registration by the ranger guides before your gorilla trek. You
will be allocated to a gorilla family to track, accompanied and given detailed
explanation of the trekking dos and don’ts during the thirty-minute session.
Because of
steep hills, gorilla trekking can be difficult, but well worth it because you
might see the gigantic silverback with his group as well as other primates,
birds and plants that live in the area’s beautiful tropical jungle. Following
the broken tree branches, sounds and instincts will lead you to where you will
discover man’s relatives as you explore deep gorilla jungles. The first
location to look out for is where the apes were last seen.
This can take
anything from two to eight hours, plus an extra hour for pictures, research and
observing the mothers nurse the babies. All hiking regulations must be followed
because these are wild creatures, even though habituated gorillas are
gregarious and accustomed to humans. After the activities are finished, you
will return to the lodge for lunch, some rest, and an optional cultural performance
by the Batwa pygmies. At nightfall, enjoy Lunch at the lodge, and then followed
by dinner and overnight.
Day 7: Return
to Kampala.
After a wonderful breakfast at the lodge, check out and be driven back to Kampala or Entebbe international airport. Stop for lunch at the equator along the way, take in the expert demonstrations, and shop for trinkets. Continue on the gorgeous drive to the prearranged drop-off location, where the trip will comfortably come to an end.