Ultimate Uganda wildlife safari itinerary on a planned 22 days tour
Uganda wildlife safari itinerary overview
A slow 22 days/ 3 weeks’ Uganda wildlife safari itinerary travel is a perfect safari experience show casing Uganda’s best and top tourist attractions that have partly contributed to its being the pearl of Africa. This safari itinerary features gorilla trekking, golden monkeys, chimpanzee tracking, the river Nile, Queen Elizabeth national park, birding, Africa’s wilderness game drives, Murchison water falls, source of the River Nile, Rwenzori mountain scenes, Kampala city and traditions of Ugandans among other scenic wild drama. Uganda national parks facilitate more activities such as photography & scenery watching, lodges & honey moon holidays, bungee jumping, boat cruises, water rafting, hiking, trekking among others
Arrival and departure: Entebbe
- Day 1- arrival and rest
- Day 2- mabamba swamp and botanical tour
- Day 3- rhino tracking at Ziwa sanctuary
- Day 4- game drives at Murchison falls N.P
- Day 5- game drives and hike to the top of Murchison water falls
- Day 6- game drives and boat cruise on the Nile
- Day 7- chimpanzee tracking & nature walks at Kibale N.P
- Day 8- hot springs, birding & forest species at Semuliki N.P
- Day 9- Rwenzori sceneries & game drives at Queen Elizabeth N.P
- Day 10- game drives & boat cruise at Kazinga channel
- Day 11- game drives at Ishasha sector
- Day 12- gorilla trekking & Batwa experience at Bwindi
- Day 13- golden monkey tracking & forest walks at Mgahinga
- Day 14- Lake Bunyonyi, birding & scenery watch
- Day 15- transfer to Mburo & night walking safari
- Day 16- walking safari to Kampala
- Day 17- Kampala city tour and night life
- Day 18- city tour to Jinja
- Day 19- water rafting/boat cruise at the source of the Nile
- Day 20- Bungee jumping at the source of the Nile & nature walks
- Day 21- Ngamba chimpanzee sanctuary
- Day 22- departure
Detailed Uganda wildlife safari itinerary
Day 1 Lake Victoria shores
On arrival, 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 that can also be visited by boat cruises, speed boats or canoes 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
Early in the morning after, you will set out to the mabamba swamp which is also Ramsar site to see the endangered shoebill into the narrow water stretches of the swamp; a tour lasting for 3 hours. Following the shoebill tracking, you will head to the botanical gardens still along the shores of the lake. Botanical gardens are also common for biking/ cycling safari, monkey feeding, birding safari and 500 plant species including both non-native 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
In the morning, you will start off with a wildlife walking safari watching out for rhinos and towards the swamp areas in Uganda’s only Ziwa rhino sanctuary which has more than 40 white southern rhinos, rothschild’s giraffes, kobs, leopards, swamps with papyrus endemics like the shoebill, 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 Murchison falls national park
Accommodation: Pakuba safari lodge (or a similar one)
Meals: Breakfast| Lunch| Dinner
On this Uganda wildlife safari itinerary you will also have a trek up to view the magnificent Murchison 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 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. Expect sightings of the largest Rothchild’s giraffe herds, elephant herds, lion prides, waterbucks, impalas, kobs, warthogs, buffaloes, leopards, hyenas, jackals among other mammals and more than 450 bird species recorded in the park.
Boat cruises on the River Nile
Following a hot lunch, you will then head to the banks of the river Nile for a boat cruise towards the face of the Murchison water 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. You will also have another boat cruise to the Nile delta as it flows back to the albertine peninsular, an experience that obviously unmatchable as you watch the waters of the river Nile anchor the wild and its species.
Accommodation: Pakuba 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. Chimpanzee 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. Other primates in the park include the L’hoest monkeys, colobus monkeys, blue monkey, olive baboon, red tailed monkey, vervet monkeys.
Accommodation: Kibale forest lodge (or a similar one)
Meals: Breakfast| Lunch| Dinner
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. Semuliki game park is also an intersection of the East Africa savannah grasslands and central African tropical forests thus harboring 435 bird species, 11 primate species and 53 mammal species. Some of these include Albertine Rift Endemics like the dwarf honey guide and purple-breasted sunbirds; 35 Congo-Guinea biome species like black dwarf hornbill, Nkulengu rail, Congo serpent eagle, Gabon, woodpecker; and other species such as white-tailed hornbill, capuchin babbler, blue-headed crested flycatcher, the orange weaver etc.
Accommodation: Semuliki safari lodge (or a similar one)
Meals: Breakfast| Lunch| Dinner
Queen Elizabeth game park’s morning and evening game drives to various parts of the park guarantee a lot of wonderful scenic view of the Rwenzori mountains, African big 5; elephant herds, lion prides, 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.
Kazinga channel and Ishasha sector
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 Uganda wildlife safari itinerary, you will have a glance at the world’s largest concentration of hippo pods numbered above 5,000 at the Kazinga channel, Nile crocodiles, buffaloes, elephants, lions, water bucks, giraffes, kobs, kudus etc. also coming onto the banks of the Kazinga channel to quench their thirst. Following the boat cruise, you will embark on a game drives around this channel and beyond into the vast savannah grassland to enjoy more game viewing as you head to the Ishasha sector of the park that is famous for tree climbing lions.
Accommodation: Mweya safari lodge (or a similar one)
Meals: Breakfast| Lunch| Dinner
On arrival you will have a briefing on the gorilla behaviors, livelihoods and how to handle their reactions to the human presence. Trekking gorillas in the tropical montane forests will last between 30 to 3 hours 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. Following 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.
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 these unique primates reside. Golden monkeys have orange-yellow like hair color that give them that distinguished golden look thus the name golden monkeys. When you reach their residence, you will be allowed to stay around them for one hour.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. later you will head to lake Bunyonyi; Africa’s deepest crater lake and one of the most gorgeous lakes on the continent.
Accommodation: Bird’s nest @ Bunyonyi resort (or a similar one)
Meals: Breakfast| Lunch| Dinner
On this day you will wake up to the sound of birds and a glance at the mist waters, hills and valleys at lake Bunyonyi. Some of the most amazing attributes of the lake are being the deepest crater lake in Africa, the 29 islands located in its waters which toured by use of a boat/canoe and safe waters with no crocodiles and hippos. Lake Bunyonyi harbors over 200 bird species with the gray crowned crane being one of the most remarkable birds, breathtaking sceneries of the volcano mountains ad slopes of Muhavura will leave you stunned at this beautiful lake and its surrounding.
Accommodation: Mihingo lodge (or a similar one)
Meals: Breakfast| Lunch| Dinner
Commonly known for its high zebra population, Lake Mburo national park offers a wide range of touring options from board rides, horseback riding safaris, walking safaris, game drives, biking/cycling safaris and community walks. Lake Mburo game 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. Later you will embark on a 4 hours journey to Kampala.
Accommodation: Lake Victoria Serena hotel (or a similar one)
Meals: Breakfast| Lunch| Dinner
A Kampala tour and its streets 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 like Kasubi tombs, Rubaga cathedral, Namirembe cathedral, Qaddafi mosque, Baha’i temple etc. 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. 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 18 Jinja city tour
Jinja city known as the “adventure capital” of East Africa, has many other interesting features within it beyond the source of the Nile and water falls. For long since days of colonialism, it’s been one of Uganda’s most industrialized and commercial centers harboring both production and transaction hubs and centers and thus has always attracted many traders, business men and holiday makers. You will get to see different fish sizes and types that are caught from the lake, how they are preserved and various dishes made out of them. You will also have a night life experience either in town or at a camping resort.
Accommodation: Nile safari lodge (or a similar one)
Meals: Breakfast| Lunch| Dinner
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. Some of the water falls include Owen falls, Bujagali falls, Ripon falls, Itanda falls & Busowoko falls with their clean white waters are the most entertaining on the river course throughout Africa offering the best bungee jumping point, water rafting, horse riding at the river banks, kayaking, water surfing, swimming, canoeing, river boarding & quad biking. 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 (or a similar one)
Meals: Breakfast| Lunch| Dinner
Day 21 Ngamba chimpanzee sanctuary
Early in the morning, you will embark on a journey by ferry or a boat to Ngamba island chimpanzee sanctuary also known as “chimp island” which has more than 50 individuals and located in Lake Victoria covering about 100 acres of forest which provide a natural environment and food for chimpanzees. Ngamba island attracts many primate researchers and institutions from around the world as it was sanctioned to protect orphaned chimpanzees due to various human activities like poaching. The visit will come along with bird watching, reptiles like monitor lizards and forest walks.
Accommodation: Lake Victoria Serena hotel (or a similar one)
Meals: Breakfast| Lunch| Dinner
Day 22 Entebbe & departure
On this day you will head to Entebbe on the shores of Lake Victoria resort or hotel for a chilling and relaxing moments from your Uganda wildlife safari itinerary as you wait for the time of your departure flight.
Accommodation: N/A
Meal: Breakfast| Lunch| Dinner
When is the best time to book a 22 days Uganda wildlife safari itinerary?
A 22 days slow travel Uganda wildlife safari is best done during the summer time/ dry seasons of the year during months of June to August and December to February. In summer times, a 22 days safari is slow but swift given the maneuverable dry trekking path and roads in the game parks. Start planning your safari with travel experts and book your tickets in advance with Travitude safari tours.
Inclusions
- Gorilla trekking permits
- Golden monkey tracking permits
- Chimpanzee tracking permits
- Park entry fees
- All activities in the itinerary
- Laundry
- Government taxes
- Transport 4×4 safari landcruiser
- Airport transfers
- Bottled drinking water
- Driver & guide
Exclusions
- Travel insurance
- International flights
- Visa fees & processing
- Extra activities, meals, alcohol/ liquor off the itinerary
- 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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