16 days Gorilla trekking & River Nile Uganda safaris
16 days Gorilla trekking & River Nile Uganda safaris overview
16 days Gorilla trekking & River Nile Uganda safaris get you to Uganda’s most outstanding wildlife and natural features from the giant apes, mountain Rwenzori, Africa’s big 5, source of the river Nile, endemic bird species, culture, coffee tasting tours, lakes and rivers among others that will have you enjoy the Pearl of Africa and engage into the roots of this meaning.
16 days Gorilla trekking & River Nile Uganda safaris highlights
Arrival and departure: Entebbe
Day 1- arrival, rest & city tour
Day 2- transfer to Mburo and walking safari
Day 3- Golden monkey tracking and lake Bunyonyi
Day 4- gorilla trekking and game drive at Ishasha sector
Day 5- game drives and boat cruise at Kazinga channel
Day 6- chimpanzee tracking, primates & birds at Kibale forest N.P
Day 7- Semuliki hot springs & nature walks
Day 8- transfer to Murchison, trek to top of falls & game drive
Day 9- game drives, boat cruise on the Nile
Day 10- transfer to Sipi falls
Day 11- Sipi falls & hiking
Day 12- mt. Elgon NP trekking
Day 13- transfer to the source of the Nile and night life
Day 14- water rafting, bungee jumping at the source
Day 15- Ngamba island chimpanzee sanctuary
Day 16- l. Victoria shores and departure
Detailed 16 days Gorilla trekking & River Nile Uganda safaris itinerary
Day 1 Kampala city
This tour will get you to various historical administrative, economic and cultural sites and centers in the city have affected the development of Uganda as a country such as the Kasubi tombs where 3 ancient kings are buried, the Rubaga cathedral; headquarters of the Catholics’ faith, namirembe cathedral; headquarters of the protestant faith, Kaddafi mosque; headquarters of the Muslim faith, Baha’i temple of the Baha’i faith, fort Laggard the first administrator of Kampala city, the parliament building of Uganda among others. Food and commodity markets around Kampala are so interesting and have a great reflection of how the county’s population survives; these will get you have some taste on fresh fruits, vegetables grown in the country and street food delicacies like the rolex (an egg omelet rolled in chapatti). Later on in the evening, you will have a nightlife experience in the bars and lounges of Kampala city till resting time as you wait for the next day.
Accommodation: Lake Victoria Serena hotel (or a similar one)
Meals: Breakfast| Lunch| Dinner
Day 2 Lake Mburo N.P
On this day you will be at lake Mburo national park commonly known for its high zebra population. The park offers a wide range of touring options from board rides, horseback riding safaris, walking safaris, game drives, biking/cycling safaris and community walks. The park has 70 mammals and 332 recorded bird species and is richly gifted with various acacia and papyrus endemics such as the papyrus gonelek, papyrus yellow warbler, white-winged warbler and shoebill; as the acacia species are wide spread elsewhere in the park. Mammals include burchell’s zebras, Nubian giraffes, hippos, leopards, buffaloes, topi, elands, antelopes, warthogs, bushbucks, stripped jackals, reedbucks, olive baboons, sitatungas, bush pigs, hyenas, impalas, crocodiles, reptiles among others.
Accommodation: Mgahinga lodge (or a similar one)
Meals: Breakfast | Lunch| Dinner
Day 3 Mgahinga N.P
Early in the morning after breakfast and a briefing, you will hike the volcanic mountains of the Mgahinga to a height of 2,500 meters above sea level in the bamboo forests of the montane region where these unique primates reside. These have orange-yellow like hair color that give them that distinguished golden look. When you reach their residence, you will be allowed to stay around them for one hour. These live in families of hundreds and have a very playful character, they will keep you so entertained. Looking at them critically, you will notice their facial appearance that the golden monkeys have a nose so different from that of many other primate species. along the hike, you will also observe other primates like the red tailed monkeys, white and black colobus monkeys, reptiles, Albertine rift endemics and many more bird species. this will be accompanied by nature walks on a given route in the forest of the park.
Accommodation: Buhoma lodge (or a similar one)
Meals: Breakfast | Lunch| Dinner
Day 4 Bwindi Impenetrable & Ishasha sector
Getting to find the mountain gorillas on a trek in Uganda is a 99% chance backed up by the gorilla population in this region. After the trek, you will have an experience with the Batwa people who have for all their life time co-existed with the forest and its species. During this nature walk you will experience numerous bird species with particularly 23 albertine endemics that are habitats to only the albertine region. you will set out to the Ishasha sector of the Queen Elizabeth national park best known for its tree climbing lions and one of the only 2 destinations in Africa with lions have having this behavior. These along with many other wild game like; elephants, buffaloes, leopards, kobs, antelopes, wild dogs, hyenas, ostriches, waterbucks and glamour at some of the world’s most unique bird species as the park is the second best birding haven having more than 660 recorded bird species as their home. The vast grassland and its plains will keep you amazed at the wonderful wild game and set up along with beautiful scenes of the Rwenzori mountains.
Accommodation: Mweya safari lodge (or a similar one)
Meals: Breakfast | Lunch| Dinner
Day 5 Kazinga Channel- Queen Elizabeth N.P
Early in the morning after breakfast, you will head out to the Kazinga channel (a river connecting lakes Edward and George) for a morning boat cruise through queen Elizabeth national park. At this experience you will have a glance at the world’s largest concentration of hippos which are numbered above 5,000 at the Kazinga channel, Nile crocodiles, buffaloes, water birds and other land birds coming in to quench their thirst, elephants, lions and other land wild game like water bucks, giraffes, kobs, kudus among others also coming in onto the banks of the Kazinga channel to quench their thirst. After the boat cruise, you will embark on a game drive around this channel and beyond into the vast savannah grassland to enjoy more game viewing at more lion and elephant families, ostriches, cheetahs, leopards, raptors and vultures, reptiles, monkeys, wild dogs among other creatures, scenery views of the ice capped mountain Rwenzori and its slopes. On this day, you will also once again come across the equator landmark as it crosses through queen Elizabeth national game park.
Accommodation: Mweya safari lodge (or a similar one)
Meals: Breakfast | Lunch| Dinner
Day 6 Kibale N.P
On this day, you will head to Kibale national park known for chimpanzee tracking and for having the highest population & concentration of chimpanzees in world numbering above 1,500 individuals in the park. The afternoon tracking session starts at 14:00 and takes 2-5 hours with a more than 90% chance of meeting the chimpanzees; a forest walk that will come along with numerous sceneries of more than 370 bird species of grassland, forest, swamp and Albertine rift region endemics, 350 tree species and 71 mammal species. other primates in the park include the L’hoest monkeys, colobus monkeys, blue monkey, olive baboon, red tailed monkey, vervet monkeys. Mammal species include leopards, lions, elephants, water bucks, warthogs, giant forest hog, sitatungas, hippos, buffaloes, hyenas, jackals, and other nocturnal species. after the evening tracking you will head out of the park.
Accommodation: Kibale forest lodge (or a similar one)
Meals: Breakfast| Lunch| Dinner
Day 7 Semuliki N.P
Semuliki national park has hot springs that were a result of geological actions dating thousands of years back; these produce water of over 100°C producing white mist and smoke in the forests. It’s a common for visitors to buy raw eggs and boil them at the hot water point. Locals in the area also believe that the hot springs are a blessing and of supernatural healing as this hot water comes up from the ground among different rock layers filled with various minerals such as sulphate, zinc among that heal fungal and many other skin diseases. The park is also an intersection of the east African grasslands and the central African tropical forests thus harboring numerous tree species of the west and central African forests and bird species. the park has 435 bird species, 11 primate species and 53 mammal species. some of these include Albertine Rift Endemics such as the dwarf honey guide and purple-breasted sunbirds; 35 Congo-Guinea biome species found nowhere else in East Africa.
Accommodation: Pakuba safari lodge (or a similar one)
Meals: Breakfast| Lunch| Dinner
Day 8 Murchison falls & River Nile
Today you will drive towards the Murchison falls and embark on a walking trek up to view the magnificent Murchison falls from above and watch the strongest falls on the planet, gashing 3,000 cubic litres of water per second through an eight-meter corridor cascading down a 43-meter height into the “the devil’s caldron” forming a white mist and a signature rainbow producing a loud sound from the powerful force of the water of the river Nile. Later on you head out to other sections of the park to continue exploring this vast grassland and its remarkable wild game. You will be amazed with many elephant families and their playful young ones, lion families, rothschild’s giraffes, waterbucks, buffaloes, numerous bird species among others while heading out for Kampala.
Accommodation: Pakuba safari lodge (or a similar one)
Meals: Breakfast| Lunch| Dinner
Day 9 Murchison falls N.P
This day, you will wake up very early in the morning and drive to Murchison falls national where you will set off with a game drive till afternoon when you reach your booked lodge for lunch break. The park has the strongest water falls in the world and the highest number of rothschild’s giraffes in the world, more than three- quarter of the total world population and numerous elephant and lion families, waterbucks, impalas, kobs, warthogs, hippos, buffaloes, crocodiles, leopards, hyenas, jackals among other mammals and more than 450 bird species recorded in the park. After lunch you will then head to the banks of the river Nile for a boat cruise towards the face of the Murchison falls. While on the boat cruise, you will have scene of various water birds like the shoebills, raptors, geese among others, hippos and a great number of huge nile crocodiles and many more mammals that approach the river banks to quench their thirst like buffaloes, elephants and the scenes are endless.
Accommodation: Pakuba safari lodge (or a similar one)
Meals: Breakfast| Lunch| Dinner
Day 10 transfer to Sipi falls
On this morning you will take a 6hrs & 30 minutes’ drive from Murchison to Sipi falls a journey that will give you another glance of Uganda’s geological and cultural potent such many volcanic plugs and massive rocks, and rocky hills standing above the savannah grasslands, lakes and rivers the northeastern flat plains of Uganda. You will have a stop to tour the caves of the Nyero rock paintings in Kumi; paintings first discovered in 1913, were made by the homogenous tradition and depict a lot to our modern day civilization. These paints were made by the ancient cave men, who were also hunters and gatherers and they mark our journey to civilization times. These along pastoralism and farming will continually send into your way numerous bird species that are part of Uganda’s hundreds of lowlands, highland and rift valley endemics and some migrants from Europe and the north pole especially during the summer times that is between June and September. This area is also an ideal destination for mountain biking, camping and forest/ nature walks.
Accommodation: Mount Elgon hotel (or a similar one)
Meals: Breakfast| Lunch| Dinner
Day 11 Sipi falls
on this day you will continue with the 3 different water falls (Sipi, Simba, Ngasire) that pour from cliffs as high as 95 meters and are separated by steep hillsides. The falls are found outside mountain Elgon national park. During the hike you get across numerous other unnamed water falls across the steep slopes, a number of bird species as you hike along, can engage in fly fishing, biking among others. Later on you will visit the surrounding community for an agro-tour more so of the special indigenous Arabica coffee and coffee tasting sessions.
Accommodation: Mount Elgon hotel (or a similar one)
Meals: Breakfast| Lunch| Dinner
Day 12 Mount Elgon N.P
Starting with a transfer from Sipi falls to mount Elgon national park while enjoying sights of the Elgon peaks, numerous water falls flowing from the mountain caldera, montane vegetation that cascades on the slopes of the mountain, volcanic plugs, basalt cliffs and many others volcanic features and rocks. You will then go through the park and its forests enjoying its wild game such as blue monkeys, black and white colobus monkeys, vervet monkeys, de brazza’s monkey, leopards, elephant and cape buffaloes. Later you will have a tour on cultural sites and know about the Bagisu/ Masaba people that are custodians of that place most interesting their cultural dance, tunes and embalu adulthood initiation ceremonies, coffee tasting tours of the Arabica coffee- the world’s top aromatic coffee.
Accommodation: Mount Elgon hotel (or a similar one)
Meals: Breakfast| Lunch| Dinner
Day 13-14 Source of the River Nile
This day after breakfast, you will embark on a 2:30-hour journey to Jinja (commonly known as the adventure capital of East Africa) where the source of the river Nile is located as it finds way out of Lake Victoria (Africa’s largest lake). This point has numerous water falls that have become common water sport points to tourists and adventurers from all corners of the world. Some of the falls include Owen falls, Bujagali falls, Ripon falls, Itanda falls, Busowoko falls among others. The clean and white waters of the River Nile at this point are the most entertaining of the river course throughout Africa offering the best bungee jumping point, water rafting, horse riding at the river banks, water surfing, swimming, canoeing, river boarding, quad biking around the river banks among others. The river banks also host numerous bird species that can be experienced on nature walks thus being some of the best birders’ destinations in the region. You will have a boat cruise to the source of the nile at its mouth on Lake Victoria.
Accommodation: Whispers of the Nile (or a similar one)
Meals: Breakfast| Lunch| Dinner
Day 15 Ngamba Island
Early in the morning, you will embark on a journey to Ngamba island chimpanzee sanctuary also known as “chimp island” which has more than 50 individuals and located in Lake Victoria near Entebbe town. The island is covered with about 100 acres of forest which provide a natural environment and food for chimpanzees. The island attracts many primate researchers and institutions from around the world. The island was sanctioned to protect orphaned chimpanzees due to various human activities like poaching and encroachment into the wild places that may claim the lives of parents of these chimpanzees. The visit will come along with bird watching, reptiles like monitor lizards, forest walks and sport fishing activities.
Accommodation: Lake Victoria Serena hotel (or a similar one)
Meals: Breakfast| Lunch| Dinner
Day 16 Entebbe for departure
This day will find you at the shores of Lake Victoria in Entebbe and early in the morning after your breakfast you have a tour around Entebbe town and there after a walking tour at the cool 40.7 hectare botanical gardens along the shore of Lake Victoria. The gardens are also common for biking/ cycling safari, monkey feeding, birding safari; the Pink-backed Pelican, Yellow-billed Stork, Eastern Grey Plantain-eater, Yellow White-eye, Purple-banded Sunbird, African Jacana, Lesser Jacana, Yellow-billed Duck, Glossy Ibis among others and 500 plant species including both exotic and indigenous. These plants are categorized into indigenous and exotic fruits, medicinal, beverage, spices, ornamentals, timber, oils and important crop wild relatives, several of these threatened in the wild and agro-ecosystems. After this tour, you will head to the airport for departure.
Accommodation: N/A
Meals: Breakfast | Lunch| Dinner
Inclusions
- Gorilla trekking permits
- Chimpanzee tracking permits
- Golden monkey tracking permits
- Park entry fees
- Laundry
- Airport transfers
- Bottled drinking water
- Driver and guide
- Government taxes
- Transport 4×4 safari landcruiser
- All excursions indicated in the itinerary
Exclusions
- Travel insurance
- International flights
- Visa fees & processing
- Extra activities, meals, alcohol/ liquor
- Tipping & gratitude
- Any changes to the itinerary
- Accommodation after end of the of the trip
- Anything not mentioned in itinerary