10 Days Gorillas and Game Safari

Today after your breakfast, your guide shall give you a detailed brief about your 12 Days Uganda Safari. You shall discuss the itinerary and thereafter set off for your transfer to Jinja, the city across the bridge also popularly referred to as The Adventure Capital of East Africa.

The drive shall take you through the suburbs of Kampala towards the east, driving on the countryside through small villages dotted with tea plantations and sugarcane estates, a tropical rainforest and roadside markets with vendors selling roasted plantain, roadside chicken and meat a delicacy for most travelers visiting Jinja.

You shall reach Jinja just in time for lunch. Jinja is a cosmopolitan town with residents from all walks of life and culture, depicted in its architecture that’s mostly Indian dominated and cuisines both local and international.

After your lunch in a local restaurant, you shall go for a visit to the Source of the Nile, the World’s longest river. From there, you shall then transfer to your booked hotel for check-in and dinner. Have dinner and overnight at your hotel.

You shall wake up early today and prepare for your transfer to Bujagaali for your white water rafting adventure. A team of experienced rafting guides shall accompany you on your rafting trip on the Nile. This grade 5 adventure takes you across bands of rapids and waterfalls on the Nile. It’s a half day activity that takes you to meet with the Nile up-close.

After your tour, you shall go for lunch and thereafter transfer back to your hotel. Relax in the evening or choose to go for a Jinja City walking experience, to experience raw Africa in an authentic way. Have dinner at your hotel and overnight. You can however choose to go to one of the local nars for Jinja Night Life.

Today, you shall wake up early for your morning breakfast, prepare to check out and start your transfer journey to Murchison Falls National Park. En-route, you shall have a stopover at the Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary for a walking safari to see the endangered White Rhinos. At the sanctuary, look out for other animals like the bush back, Uganda kobs and several birds. From here you shall set off for Murchison Falls with en-route lunch at Kabalega Dinners, reaching the park in the early evenings with a visit to the top of Murchison Falls for aerial views and a short game drive en-route to your lodge for dinner and overnight.

Murchison Falls lies on the northern end of the albertine rift valley and is Uganda’s largest national park. The park is home to 76 mammals, 451 bird species and is bisected by the Victoria Nile which plunges down 15 meters through an 8 meter wide gorge to form the world’s most powerful water falls that is Murchison Falls, the main attraction of the park.

You shall wake up early and head out to the plains for your morning game drive carrying with you packed breakfast. Early mornings are superb times to catch up with the predators on their hunt for prey, a time to see the wild unfold its natural beauty to you. As the sun raises, the lions roar, birds sing, hippos gulp in the Nile, all these unfold in your eyes. Look out for animals like lions, elephants, giraffes, antelopes, jackals among others.

You shall have lunch at your lodge and there after transfer to Paraa for your launch cruise to the bottom of the falls. This 3 hours boat cruise on the Nile is prime for views of wildlife on the banks including elephants, antelopes, buffalos that come to the river to quench on the waters of the Nile. The Nile crocodile can as well be sighted, don’t mind it if you aren’t fan of reptiles. On lucky days, the big boys including the Lions, Leopards and Hyenas can as well be sighted along the river.The cruise ends at the point where you have a full view of the waterfalls, seeing thousands of tons of water squeeze through a 7 meter wide gorge to plunge 30 meters down forming the world’s strongest waterfall. Later on, return to your lodge for dinner and overnight.

You shall wake up for your morning breakfast, checkout of the lodge and start your transfer journey to Kibale National Park driving towards Kibale with en-route picnic before extending to Fort Portal; Uganda’s Tourism City, the only city with an English name in Uganda. Fort Portal is set on the foothills of the Rwenzori, the tallest block of mountains in Uganda and third tallest in Africa. The jagged hills give the city an amazing wallpaper look that will leave you wondering about its creation story. After lunch, drive to Kibale Forest, checking in at your lodge that is set on the boundary with the forest. Enjoy the natural views as you settle in for dinner and overnight. Prepare for another ultimate adventure tomorrow.

You shall wake up early in the morning for your breakfast and thereafter set off for the transfer to Kanyanchu Visitor Information center at Kibale National Park. You will be briefed about the chimp tracking experience by the rangers and thereafter head out into the forest in small groups led by a ranger. The tracking experience can take between 1 to 3 hours depending on the location of the chimp community. You will be allowed to spend up to an hour in the company of the chimps, take photos and videos as much as you can. You shall thereafter go for your community experience at Bigodi Village.

The community experience takes you through the daily life of the local people; you will meet local herbs men, blacksmith and local crafts women. The  Bigodi wetland is a project being run by local communities and is much known for its rich diversity of bird species and other primates. It also provides employment and job opportunities to the local youth through tour guiding. You shall have your lunch after the community experience and there after set off for a 2 hours transfer to Queen Elizabeth National Park. Enjoy a game drive until the sun sets; look out for grazers and some predators spotting for their prey.

After an early morning breakfast, depart for your morning game drive in the Kasenyi savannah plains. Look out for grazers and predators such as Lions, Leopards, Buffalos, Elephants, Antelopes, Warthogs, Waterbucks, Bush bucks and so on. You shall go for a mid-morning boat cruise on the Kazinga Channel after your game drive; the channel connects Lake Edward and Lake George. It is home to one of Africa’s largest hippo populations and bird species. This 3hrs boat cruise will enrich you with views of the water loving animals such as Hippos, Elephants, Buffalos, Crocodiles and other antelopes as well as bird species. Return to your lodge for lunch and relax. Later in the evening go for a sundowner experience before returning to the lodge for dinner and Overnight.

After breakfast this morning, embark on your journey to the famous Bwindi Impenetrable forest National Park. The park is well known for being a habitat to the endangered species of Mountain Gorillas. The drive shall take you through the Kigezi Highlands popularly referred to as The Switzerland of Africa, marvel at the beauty of the rolling hills dotted with banana and tea plantations before checking in at your Lodge.

Wake up very early to prepare for the supposed most significant highlight of your safari, the remarkable meet with the Gentle Giants! After breakfast, we take a drive to the park offices where you will be briefed about the dos and don’ts of the jungle and then you will be off for a forever-memorable adventure of your life. Trekking through the steep, densely forested hills of the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest and then finally coming across the gorillas cloaked in the foliage is an amazing experience, and indescribable because of the difficulty to paint a verbal picture of the vegetation, terrain, smells, colors and the animated entertainment from the gorillas and other residents of the jungle. After your tracking, you will return to your lodge for dinner and overnight.

Do not leave these items behind; sunscreen, insect repellent, your passport, camera, hiking boots, long safari pants and long sleeved shirts or T-shirts plus a light rain jacket. Please avoid very bright and hot colored clothes- These not only attract insects to you but also can be offensive to the residents of the jungle. These items will come in handy as you go through the thick forest and encounter the unpredictable weather of Bwindi: Expect rain or sunshine anytime.

After breakfast today, you shall check out of the lodge and set off for the transfer to Lake Mburo National Park with lunch en-route at Igongo Country Hotel. You will have a simple game drive through the park as you make way to your lodge for check in. After some relaxation, you will go on an evening walking safari through the park amidst zebras, giraffe, lots of antelope, buffalo among others. Return to the lodge for dinner and overnight.

This morning after your breakfast, you shall head out into the park for your game drive that shall be combined with a walking safari in the park. Lake Mburo National Park is the only park in Uganda where you can walk in close proximity with wildlife. Animals like zebras, elands, giraffe, buffalo, and lots of antelope call this small savannah park home. After your game drive, you shall check out of the lodge and get ready for the transfer journey to Entebbe with a stop-over at the Equator for lunch and buying some souvenirs. You shall be dropped off at the airport for your outbound flight. Note: Please book flights that leave not earlier than 21:00hrs