11 Days Uganda Safari Adventure

Tour details

Duration: 11 days

Best for: Travellers who want the broadest sweep of Uganda in one trip, and who are happy with long driving days

Group size: Private tour, your group and your guide

Travel style: Safari, Big Five, Gorilla trekking, Chimpanzee tracking, Walking safaris

Introduction

Five national parks. Eleven days. One hour with mountain gorillas.

This trip takes you through Murchison Falls, Kibale Forest, Queen Elizabeth, Bwindi Impenetrable, and Lake Mburo. You'll track rhinos on foot at Ziwa Sanctuary, watch the Nile force itself through a 7-meter gorge at Murchison Falls, sit face to face with a gorilla family in Bwindi, and cruise the Kazinga Channel past one of Africa's largest hippo populations.

It's a full itinerary. Some days start before sunrise. Some drives run 7 to 8 hours. You get five parks in eleven days because Uganda packs its wildlife close together, not because the trip is rushed.

On this journey, you will explore the following highlights:

Murchison Falls National Park – Uganda’s Largest Safari Park

Chimpanzee Tracking

Kibale Forest National Park – The Primate Capital

Queen Elizabeth National Park

Ishasha (Queen Elizabeth National Park)

Bwindi Impenetrable National Park – Home of the Mountain Gorillas

Gorilla Tracking - The Ultimate Wildlife Encounter

Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary – Rhino Conservation in Action

Boat Trips on the Nile and Kazinga Channel – Wildlife from the Water

Lake Mburo National Park

Walking Safaris – Step Into the Wild

Day to day programme

Day 1: Entebbe Airport to Entebbe Hotel (10 to 30 minutes)

Your driver guide meets you at the airport and briefs you on the days ahead. Overnight in Entebbe, bed and breakfast.

Budget: Papyrus Guest House. Midrange: Boma Guest House, 2 Friends Guest House, or Best Western Hotel. Upmarket: Hotel No. 5 or Lake Victoria Serena Resort.

Day 2: Entebbe to Murchison Falls National Park (5 to 6 hours)

You'll pass through the Luweero Triangle and stop at Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary for a 1 to 2 hour walking track. This is the only place in Uganda to see rhinos outside a zoo. After lunch, the drive continues through Masindi town with a stop at the top of the falls, where the Nile drops 43 meters through a 7-meter gorge. Full board.

Budget: Pakuba Safari Lodge. Midrange: Pakuba Safari Lodge or Twiga Safari Lodge. Upmarket: Nile Safari Lodge, Paraa Safari Lodge, or Baker's Lodge.

Day 3: Game drive and launch cruise to the base of the falls

An early morning game drive covers 3 to 4 hours. Murchison Falls is Uganda's largest park, and you'll look for lions, leopards, buffalo, elephants, giraffes, and a long list of bird species. After a late breakfast and lunch, an afternoon launch cruise runs 3 hours along the Victoria Nile to the base of the falls, past hippos, crocodiles, and birds including kingfishers, cormorants, and pelicans. Full board.

Day 4: Murchison Falls to Kibale Forest National Park (7 to 8 hours)

The route runs through the Western Rift Valley's Albertine Escarpment and past traditional homesteads in the Bunyoro and Toro Kingdoms. On a clear day, Fort Portal gives you a view of the Rwenzori Mountains. Kibale is home to 13 primate species, including chimpanzees, and over 325 bird species. Full board.

Budget: Kibale Guest Cottages. Midrange: Turaco Tree Tops. Upmarket: Crater Safari Lodge, Chimpundu Safari Lodge, or Primates Lodge.

Day 5: Chimpanzee trekking and Bigodi Swamp walk

A briefing at Kanyanchu park headquarters runs 30 to 40 minutes, then you head into the forest to find the chimps. Once you spot them, you get one hour with the group. Along the way, look for L'Hoest's monkeys, red-tailed monkeys, blue vervet monkeys, and black and white colobus. After lunch back at the lodge, an afternoon nature walk through Bigodi Swamp, a community-run wetland project, adds more birds and primates to the list. Full board.

Day 6: Crater lakes and transfer to Queen Elizabeth National Park (4 hours)

A short hike takes you to the Top of the World viewpoint above the Kasenda crater lakes, followed by a stop at Lake Nyinambuga, the lake pictured on the 20,000 Uganda shilling note. Queen Elizabeth National Park holds 600 bird species and mammals including lions, leopards, elephants, and buffalo. Full board.

Budget: Baboon Safari Resort, Elephant Hub Lodge, or Twin Lakes Safari Lodge. Midrange: Park View Safari Lodge or Buffalo Safari Lodge. Upmarket: Elephant Plains, Mweya Lodge, Katara Lodge, or Kyambura Gorge.

Day 7: Game drive and Kazinga Channel cruise

A morning game drive in the Kasenyi area covers lions, leopards, buffalo, elephants, and antelope. After lunch, a 3-hour launch cruise runs along the Kazinga Channel, the link between Lake Edward and Lake George and home to one of Africa's largest hippo populations. Full board.

Day 8: Ishasha sector to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park (5 hours)

A mid-morning game drive in Ishasha searches for the region's tree-climbing lions, then the route continues to Bwindi, home to the endangered mountain gorilla. Full board.

Budget: Ride 4 A Woman, Bakiga Lodge, or Ichumbi Gorilla Lodge. Midrange: Buhoma Haven Lodge, Gorilla Safari Lodge, or Engagi Lodge. Upmarket: Mahogany Springs Lodge, Bwindi Lodge, or Nkuringo Gorilla Lodge.

Day 9: Gorilla trekking in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park

This is the day the whole trip builds toward. After breakfast, you're briefed at the park headquarters closest to your lodge; Bwindi runs trekking from four sectors: Buhoma, Ruhija, Rushaga, and Nkuringo. The search for the gorillas takes 2 to 5 hours depending on where the family was last seen. Once you find them, you get one hour with the group, plus time to ask your ranger and guide questions. The full day runs 5 to 9 hours. Pack a lunch and hire a porter. If time allows, a visit to the Ride 4 A Woman project in Buhoma lets you meet local women running basket weaving and craft cooperatives. Full board.

Day 10: Bwindi to Lake Mburo National Park (5 hours)

The drive passes through Ankole Kingdom cattle country and crop farms. After lunch at your lodge, an afternoon boat cruise on Lake Mburo turns up hippos, buffalo, and birdlife. Lake Mburo holds Uganda's largest zebra population, plus impala, oribi, and giraffes relocated from Murchison Falls. Full board.

Budget: Rwakobo Rock. Midrange: Kigambira Safari Lodge. Upmarket: Mihingo Lodge.

Day 11: Lake Mburo to Entebbe (5 hours)

A final game drive on your way out of the park covers impala, zebra, oribi, topi, and eland. Lake Mburo is one of the few Uganda parks where a walking safari puts you this close to the animals. The drive back to Entebbe includes lunch en route and a stop at the equator for photos, before your transfer to the airport. Breakfast and lunch included.

What makes this itinerary different?

Most Uganda safaris pick two or three parks. This one covers five, and it links them so the drives double as sightseeing: the Luweero Triangle, the Western Rift Valley's Albertine Escarpment, the Ankole Kingdom's cattle country, and a stop at the equator itself.

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What's included

Includes

• Accommodation and full board
• One gorilla permit per person
• Park entrance fees
• Internal local flights
• A private guide for every activity on the itinerary
• All transfers listed above

Excludes

• Drinks
• Gratuities
• International flights
• Travel insurance
• Visa fees

Accommodations

During the trip, you will stay at:

Entebbe: Papyrus Guest House, Boma Guest House, 2 Friends Guest House, Best Western Hotel, Hotel No. 5 or Lake Victoria Serena Resort, bed and breakfast.

Murchison Falls: Pakuba Safari Lodge, Twiga Safari Lodge, Nile Safari Lodge, Paraa Safari Lodge or Baker's Lodge, full board.

Kibale Forest: Kibale Guest Cottages, Turaco Tree Tops, Crater Safari Lodge, Chimpundu Safari Lodge or Primates Lodge, full board.

Queen Elizabeth National Park: Baboon Safari Resort, Elephant Hub Lodge, Twin Lakes Safari Lodge, Park View Safari Lodge, Buffalo Safari Lodge, Elephant Plains, Mweya Lodge, Katara Lodge or Kyambura Gorge, full board.

Bwindi: Ride 4 A Woman, Bakiga Lodge, Ichumbi Gorilla Lodge, Buhoma Haven Lodge, Gorilla Safari Lodge, Engagi Lodge, Mahogany Springs Lodge, Bwindi Lodge or Nkuringo Gorilla Lodge, full board.

Lake Mburo: Rwakobo Rock, Kigambira Safari Lodge or Mihingo Lodge, full board.

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