21 days Uganda – Tanzania safari
Safari Overview
Arrival & departure: Kigali/Entebbe- Dar-es-salaam
Day 1- arrive and travel to Mgahinga
Day 2- golden monkey tracking and craters
Day 3- gorilla trekking and nature walk
Day 4-5- queen
Day 6- chimp track
Day 7- Semuliki
Day 8-9- Murchison
Day 10- Kampala city tour and night life
Day 11- source of the nile
Day 12- transfer to serengeti
Day 13-14- serengeti
Day 15-16 Ngorongoro
Day 17- l. Manyara
Day 18- Kilimanjaro
Day 19-21- Zanzibar to depart
Detailed itinerary
Day 1
Destination: Mgahinga NP
On arrival at Kigali international airport, you will be picked by our guide and drive for 4 hours to either Bwindi or Mgahinga national parks which are homes to 53% of the world’s population of mountain gorillas on the planet and highest population of golden monkeys. An earlier arrival will allow us take you around Kigali city; one of the cleanest cities in Africa with its malls, eco parks, resorts, golf courses, restaurants and lounges, art and craft shops, museums among others (the duration of this tour will depend on time of arrival). You will also have a stop-over at lake Bunyonyi, one of the most beautiful and deepest crater lake in Africa. On arrival at these mountain gorilla parks you will rest and if time permits have a nature walk on some tracking routes of the park while having the best views and photography of over 350 bird species, 310 butterfly species, 88 moth species, monkeys, elephants, kobs, 51 reptile species among others.
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Day 2
Destination: golden monkey tracking and forest walks
Early in the morning after breakfast and a briefing, you will hike the volcanic mountains of the Bwindi 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.
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Day 3
Destination: gorilla trekking, Batwa experience and Ishasha
Very early in the morning you will embark on a four-hour journey to Bwindi impenetrable forest in Uganda for a morning gorilla trekking. On arrival you will have a briefing on the gorilla behaviors, livelihoods and how to handle their reactions to the human presence. The trek 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. 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. later in the evening, 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.
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Day 4-5
Destination: Queen Elizabeth NP
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, Uganda kobs, water bucks, antelopes, baboons, monkeys, crocodiles, crater lakes, reptiles, raptors, sun birds and many more awaiting your memorable tour in this game park. 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.
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Day 6
Destination: Kibale NP
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.
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Day 7
Destination: Semuliki NP
On this day you will head to one of the most gorgeous places in this East African region for its remarkable features and as a landmark position between East and Central Africa thus having vegetation and forests of characteristics of both regions. 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, 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, stripped jackal, leopards, elephants, hippos, cape buffaloes, Uganda kobs, sitatungas, warthogs, nile crocodiles.
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Day 8-9
Destination: Murchison falls NP
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 be amazed with many elephant families and their playful young ones, lion families, rothschild’s giraffes, waterbucks, buffaloes, baboons, reptiles, numerous bird species among others. Later on you will have a 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. 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. You will also have a 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.
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Day 10
Destination: kampala city tour & nightlife
On this day, you will embark on a city tour around the hills of Kampala and its streets. This tour will get you to various historical administrative, economic and cultural sites and centres 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.
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Day 11
Destination: 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. 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 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. The green sparsely forested areas will provide a chilling breeze for nature walks and relaxations that will grant you a memorable time at the source of the river Nile.
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Day 12
Destination: transfer too serengeti
This day will get you embark on a road trip from Uganda across the border to Tanzania all the way to the serengeti national park in northern Tanzania.
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Day 13-14
Destination: serengeti NP
On this day, you will head out to serengeti national park, the home of the great migration. Never disappointing right from the time of entry till exit, this park is one of the largest parks in Africa and in the world and one of those with the highest concentration of wild game per square km in the world ranging from the Africa’s big 5 to the ugly 5 and more than 500 bird species. don’t miss watching numerous lion families, elephant herds, wildebeests, zebras, buffaloes, giraffes, hippos, hyenas, leopards, cheetahs, waterbucks, gazelles, kobs, reptiles, wild dogs, foxes, vultures, eagles, turacos, secretary birds a few but to mention this endless list. The tour around this park will leave you satisfied by its nature and habitats.
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Day 15-16
Destination: Ngorongoro
This day will find you at the world’s largest crater and its vegetation that gets look like the “garden of Eden” will leave you amazed with the large number of wildebeests, zebras, buffaloes, elephants, lions, leopards, cheetahs, hyenas, hippos, elands, kobs, bush bucks, waterbucks, rhinos among others and numerous bird species such as turaco, great kingfisher, abdim’s stork, white-backed vulture among others; along with various features such as Ndutu plains, Gol mountain, Endoro waterfalls, Olduvai gorge, shifting sands among others.
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Day 17
Destination: lake Manyara
Today you will be at lake Manyara national park known for its tree climbing lions a behavior not common for lions and huge elephant herds. Lake Manyara that anchors the park’s ecosystem is a soda ash lake and attracts thousands of flamingos for food and residence making it a perfect biding haven. Other wild life in the park include leopards, cheetahs, hippos, buffaloes, giraffes, oribis, hyenas, gazelles, kobs, waterbucks, zebras, and many more numerous bird species.
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Day 18
Destination: Kilimanjaro NP
On this day you will head to Kilimanjaro national park for some a whole new adventure. The park offers several safari experience such as wild game drives, hiking, picnics and camping. You will have the best sceneries of Africa’s highest snow-capped mountain and its biodiversity that harbors the largest herds of the African elephants along with lions, leopards, buffaloes, giraffes, hippos, hyenas, gazelles, kobs, waterbucks and numerous bird species. the combination of both montane and savannah grassland will give you the best environmental sceneries.
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Day 19
Destination: transfer to Zanzibar
On this day you will have another road trip from Kilimanjaro to Zanzibar to get to the shiny white sand beaches of the Indian ocean.
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Day 20-21
Destination: Zanzibar
On this day you will be woken up by a beautiful sunrise from the horizon of the Indian ocean and set out onto the shiny white sands of Zanzibar. You will be able to engage in various activities during your stay there such as; scuba diving, swimming, kite rafting, horse riding, nature walks, sea creature viewing like sea turtles, dolphins, corals among others, spot fishing, enjoying sea food cuisines and coconut cocktails, beach sports, camp fires among others, have a view rare species such as servaline genet, red colobus and bird species such as; african barred owlet, malachite kingfisher, house crow, mosque swallow, pied kingfisher, gray heron, great egret, striated heron, african jacana, african darter, little grebe, african pygmy goose, african pied wagtail among others. You will have a tour around the ancient slave trade and coastal traditions that have gone through several civilizations like the Arabic, Portuguese and British occupation in the past such as stone town along with activities that have remained unique to the island such as spice manufacturing and trade. This is one of the best ways to end an African safari. On the third day you will head back to Dar es salaam for your departure.
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