Guided explore Uganda safari on gorilla trekking & wildlife tours
Explore Uganda safari overview
This 3 weeks explore Uganda safari package getting you to Africa’s big 5 game, source of the Nile, gorilla trekking, chimpanzees, birds, golden monkeys on the 21 days Uganda safari starting from Kigali, Rwanda that will see you enjoy your last day in Kigali city of Rwanda ending with a two country experience. Explore Uganda safari will see you get all Uganda’s major game parks from Bwindi Impenetrable gorillas park, Queen Elizabeth national park a lion sanctuary, Murchison falls national park, Kidepo valley national park among others.
A safari to the Pearl of Africa (named by Winston Churchill) will leave you satisfied with its sightings from the highest snow capped Rwenzori peaks, its source of the river Nile, wildlife sanctuary parks, near experiences with shoebills, giraffes, southern white rhinos, coffee tasting tours etc.
Arrival & departure: Entebbe
- Day 1- arrival and rest on l. Victoria shores
- Day 2- mabamba swamp, botanical tour and night life
- Day 3- source of the River Nile
- Day 4- Mbale city tour, culture, coffee tasting and agro tour
- Day 5- mt. Elgon N.P and hiking
- Day 6- Sipi falls, hiking and Pian Upe
- Day 7- transfer to Kidepo via Karamojong homesteads
- Day 8- game drives & hiking at Kidepo N.P
- Day 9- game drives at Kidepo
- Day 10- Murchison falls N.P game drives
- Day 11- game drive & hike to top of the Murchison water falls
- Day 12- game drive & boat cruise on the Nile
- Day 13- Zziwa rhino sanctuary
- Day 14- chimpanzee tracking at Kibale N.P
- Day 15- hot springs & forest species & birds at Semuliki N.P
- Day 16- game drives at Queen Elizabeth
- Day 17- boat cruise at Kazinga channel & game drive through Ishasha
- Day 18- gorilla trekking, Batwa experience at Bwindi
- Day 19- golden monkeys at Mgahinga
- Day 20- transfer to Kigali- Rwanda- night life
- Day 21- city tour and departure
Detailed explore Uganda safari itinerary
Day 1 Lake Victoria shores
You will start the 3 weeks/ 21 days explore Uganda safari, you will be picked from the airport by our guide and taken to your booked accommodation at the shores of Lake Victoria; Africa’s largest lake for a rest as you chill in the cool lake breeze, scenic endless water horizons and numerous green islands to overcome travel exhaustion as you prepare also to embark on a long awaited tour to Uganda’s game parks for a lot of exciting adventures.
Accommodation: Imperial resort hotel (or a similar one)
Meals: Breakfast| Lunch| Dinner
Lake Victoria shores into the narrow water stretches of the swamp; a tour lasting for 3 hours with an opportunity to watch many other swamp endemics and water birds. Following the shoebill tracking, you will head to the botanical gardens still along the shores of the lake. Walking tours at the cool 40.7 hectare botanical gardens along the shore of Lake Victoria. Bortanical gardens are also common for biking/ cycling safari, monkey feeding, birding safari and 500 plant species including both foreign and indigenous. Later in the evening, you will embark on a nightlife experience either in Entebbe at Lake Victoria shores or in Kampala that will take till late.
Accommodation: Lake Victoria Serena hotel (or a similar one)
Meals: Breakfast| Lunch| Dinner
Early in the morning, you will travel for 2-hours to Jinja at the source of the river Nile. This section of the river Nile has numerous water falls that have become common water sport points to tourists and adventurers from all corners of the world such as Owen falls, Bujagali falls, Ripon falls, Itanda falls, Busowoko falls among others. With clean white waters of the Nile falls, this point is the most entertaining of the all river course throughout Africa offering the best bungee jumping point, water rafting, horse riding at the river banks, water surfing, swimming, canoeing, Kayaking, river boarding, quad biking around the river banks among others. You will also take a boat to reach the source of the Nile where 30% of the water emanates from underground streams and 70% from Lake Victoria.
Accommodation: Whispers of the Nile lodge (or a similar one)
Meals: Breakfast| Lunch| Dinner
Different from other parts of Uganda growing colonal and robusta coffee, Mbale specifically grows Arabica coffee from the ancient times and is one of the few places in the world that grow this type of coffee more so because of the fertile volcanic soils on the slopes of the mountain Elgon which the Masaba people occupy. Welcoming people of Mbale will make you feel at home and get you enjoying their local dishes such as matooke (bananas), cassava, millet, maleewa (a famous delicacy and soup prepared from soft bamboo shoots), ground nuts etc. Later in the evening hours you will set off for Jinja town a journey that will continually grant you more volcanic features such as rocks, volcanic plugs etc.
Accommodation: Mount Elgon resort hotel (or a similar one)
Meals: Breakfast| Lunch| Dinner
On this day you will start your journey from Sipi falls to mountain 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. Hiking through the park and its forests, you’ll enjoy its wild game such as blue monkeys, black and white colobus monkeys, vervet monkeys, de brazza’s monkey, leopards, elephant and cape buffaloes.
Accommodation: Mount Elgon resort hotel (or a similar one)
Meals: Breakfast| Lunch| Dinner
Day 6 Sipi falls & Pian Upe
Still on the 21 days explore Uganda safari, 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. Sipi 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: Rafiki safari lodge (or a similar one)
Meals: Breakfast| Lunch| Dinner
Day 7 transfer to Kidepo valley N.P
On this you will set off on a 9-hour journey to the Kidepo valley national park in north eastern part of Uganda at the border of Uganda and South Sudan. Still while on the 21 days explore Uganda safari, you will make a stopover at the Karamojong community residences called Manyattas which are huts constructed of mud, cow dung and grass thatching as one main hut is surrounded by numerous huts of extended members of the family, fenced with thorny logs and sharing one compound. On reaching Kidepo you will get to your booked accommodation and rest for the next days’ activities.
Accommodation: Apoka safari lodge (or a similar one)
Meals: Breakfast| Lunch| Dinner
Kidepo national park is one of the most typical of an African wilderness so vast and untampered with having savannah grasslands that tend to dry when it’s hot and all green when rains set in. Kidepo game park has the second highest number of bird species in Uganda recorded at 475 species in the park such ostriches, secretary bird, raptors and vultures, among others along with 83 mammal species such as elephants, zebras, buffaloes, rothschild’s giraffes, kobs, hartebeests, blue monkey, hyenas, leopards, cheetahs, lions, wild dogs, jackals among others. Expect to enjoy views of big buffalo and elephant herds, nature walks and hike on higher altitudes of the park to have a vast scene of the park. You will wind up the day while driving out of the park head to Murchison falls national park.
Accommodation: Apoka safari lodge (or a similar one)
Meals: Breakfast| Lunch| Dinner
Today you will head out to sections of the Murchison falls national park to continue exploring this vast grassland and its remarkable wild game. You will trek up to view the magnificent Murchison water falls from above and watch the strongest falls on the planet, gashing 3,000 cubic liters of water per second through an eight-meter corridor cascading down a 43-meter height forming white mist and a signature rainbow producing a loud sound from the powerful force of the water of the river Nile. Murchison falls game park also has the highest number of rothschild’s giraffes in the world, elephant herds, lion prides, waterbucks, impalas, kobs, warthogs, hippos, buffaloes, crocodiles, leopards, hyenas, jackals etc. with 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.
Accommodation: Pakuba safari lodge (or a similar one)
Meals: Breakfast| Lunch| Dinner
On this day early in the morning, you will start off with a walking safaris watching out for rhinos and towards the swamp areas. Ziwa rhino sanctuary has more than 45 white southern rhinos, rothschild’s giraffes, kobs, leopards, swamps with papyrus endemics like the shoebills, African wild cats, warthogs, reptiles among other species. the sanctuary not having big predators, allows you to easily make nature walks to come to nearby engagement with the park’s wild game. In the late afternoon you will continue with your trip to Kibale national park
Accommodation: Primates safari lodge (or a similar one)
Meals: Breakfast| Lunch| Dinner
On this day, at Kibale national park for chimpanzee tracking and forest walk as the park is known for chimpanzee tracking and for having the highest population & concentration of chimpanzees in world numbering above 1,500 individuals in the park. Tracking sessions start at 08:00, 11:00 & 14:00 and takes 2-5 hours with a more than 99% 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.
Accommodation: Primates lodge (or a similar one)
Meals: Breakfast| Lunch| Dinner
Semuliki national 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. Semuliki game 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, including black dwarf hornbill, Nkulengu rail, Congo serpent eagle, Gabon, woodpecker; and other species with very limited ranges such as white-tailed hornbill, capuchin babbler, blue-headed crested flycatcher and the orange weaver. Mammal and primate species include; chimpanzee, blue monkey, black and white colobus, red colobus, olive baboons, vervet monkey, de brazza’s monkey, Mangabeys.
Accommodation: Semuliki safari lodge (or a similar one)
Meals: Breakfast| Lunch| Dinner
This day you will have morning and evening game drives to various parts of the park for a lot of wonderful scenic view of the Rwenzori mountains and its slopes, the African big 5; elephant herds, lion families, leopards, hippo herds, hyenas, wild dogs, kobs, water bucks, antelopes, baboons, monkeys, crocodiles, crater lakes, reptiles, raptors, sun birds and many more awaiting your memorable tour in this game park.
Accommodation: Mweya safari lodge (or a similar one)
Meals: Breakfast| Lunch| Dinner
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 explore Uganda safari 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 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 drives, scenic views of ice capped mountain Rwenzori peaks as you head to the Ishasha sector of the park that is famously known for tree climbing lions.
Accommodation: Mweya safari lodge (or a similar one)
Meals: Breakfast| Lunch| Dinner
Very early in the morning you will embark on a four-hour journey to Bwindi impenetrable forest in Uganda for a morning gorilla trekking tour. On arrival you will have a briefing on the gorilla behaviors, livelihoods and how to handle their reactions to the human presence. Gorilla treks into the tropical montane forests will last between 30 to 1 hour before meeting the gorilla family you are assigned to and you will be allowed to follow and spend an hour with that gorilla family. Getting to find the mountain gorillas on a trek in Uganda is a 99% chance backed up by the gorilla population in this region. During this nature walk you will experience numerous bird species with particularly 23 Albertine endemics that are habitats to only the Albertine region.
Accommodation: Buhoma lodge (or a similar one)
Meals: Breakfast| Lunch| Dinner
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 golden monkeys reside. 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. later you will head to lake Bunyonyi, a lake decorated with 29 green islands in its waters and are all accessible by canoe. Lake Bunyonyi and its islands have special bird species such as the grey crowned cranes and many more that are worth watching.
Accommodation: Bird’s nest @ Bunyonyi resort (or a similar one)
Meals: Breakfast| Lunch| Dinner
Day 20 transfer to Kigali & Nightlife
On this day you will get to relax in the heart of Kigali city in the chilling city’s cafes or restaurants. You will then have a city tour around Kigali’s eco parks, art and craft shops, malls and treks to Kigali hill to have a glance at the full city view that cascade to a thousand hills that harbor beautiful golf courses and hotels. A visit to the genocide memorial site, museum and various traditional and historical sites which also have several souvenirs that you can buy and live on with beautiful memories. Later in the evening, you will have a night life experience in Kigali till late when you will back to your hotel for rest.
Accommodation: The Manor hotel (or a similar one)
Meals: Breakfast| Lunch| Dinner
Day 21 Kigali city & departure
On your last day of the trip, you will continue enjoying Kigali city walks, shopping and relaxing as you wait on your departure flight to conclude your 21 days explore Uganda safari beautiful Africa tour.
Accommodation: N/A
Meals: Breakfast| Lunch| Dinner
When is the best safari time to Explore Uganda?
The best time to Explore Uganda on safari is during the country’s summer/ dry months of June to August and December to February which will give you a great coverage in all popular game parks. Exploring Uganda on the long 21 days safari is swift during this time as the roads and trekking paths are dry and maneuverable. Also this time sees grasses of the savannah short and dried up making animal sightings easy with some usually found at water bodies seeking water to quench their thirst.
Inclusions
- Gorilla trekking permits
- Chimpanzee tracking permits
- Golden monkey tracking permits
- Park entry fees
- Airport transfers
- All excursions indicated in itinerary
- Transport 4×4 safari landcruiser
- Government taxes
- Laundry
- Border crossing fees
- Bottled drinking refreshments
- Driver & guide
Exclusions
- Travel insurance
- International flights
- Visa fees & processing
- Extra activities, meals, alcohol/liquor
- Tipping & gratitude
- Souvenirs & snacks
- Any changes to the itinerary
- Accommodation after the end of the trip
- Anything not mentioned
Your safari route map
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