The obvious highlights of this Best Uganda Safari include chimpanzee tracking in Kibale Forest National Parks with enormous big game encounters in the other savannah parks of Uganda,

much as the Uganda is under-rated and relatively little-visited as compared to other African countries and those in its neighborhood, it has almost all habitats that favor wildlife different from other countries, and all the parks we have featured on this trip, each will have something different from the other. Along the western side of the Uganda, the volcanic landscapes which form the western arm of the rift valley are simply awesome, with dramatic mountain peaks, lush tropical and afro-montane forests, flooded calderas, punctuated with numerous crater lakes, open savanna and verdant farmlands make Uganda Indeed the Pearl of Africa. On this trip, we are not telling you, but taking you there, enjoy the beauty with us and share it with other!!

Day 1: Arrival and transfer to Cassia or The Lodge for dinner an overnight stay. BB

Day 2: Early morning Briefing and transfer to Murchisonfalls National Park via the Rhino Sanctuary

We start driving northwest to Murchison Falls National Park with a short visit to the Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary. The drive takes us through the famous Luwero triangle to the sanctuary in Nakasongola which is privately owned but was established with a major purpose of breeding Rhinos then restore them in Uganda’s protected areas. This mammal among the largest on land and the big 5 got extinct in the 70s from Uganda and we are proud that they are back, so tracking them adds great value to their restoration and your big contribution to the conservation efforts of Uganda. Time allowing we shall have another breath taking stop over at the top of the falls which is a fantastic sight then later continue to our respective lodge is staying at Nile Safari Camp.
As we drive to the lodge, you will realize that this park has a variety of vegetation ranging from riparian and tropical rain forests, swamp lands to broad savannahs which are both wooded and grassland, all of which harbor different wildlife including lion, leopard, Genet cat, Jackal, civet, hyena, elephant, crocodile, giraffe, buffalo, hippo, not leaving out the primates that mostly live in the southern sector of the park and the great birds. We shall later spend our night at Nile Safari Camp or Sambiya River Lodge

Day 3: Game safari and launch cruise

Murchison Falls National Park is very famous for the its game and produces one of the best and longest enjoyable drives almost of all the parks in Uganda. Many drives focus on Cape Buffaloes, giraffes, elephants, lions, leopard, hippos, crocodiles, antelopes like the Uganda Kob, Water, Bohor Reed, and Bushbuck, Heartbeast, Oribi, Warthog among others, however, on a morning game drive here, we can do without birds interrupting the game viewing like the colossal Abyssinian Ground Hornbill, Piapiacs, Yellow-billed Woodpeckers and cattle leaving symbiotically or parasitically with the buffaloes, giraffes and elephants.

The drive hear mostly lead to the Delta point as many ungulates and herbivores cannot survive for long without water and by doing that, they are always trailed by the predators and together they make the focus and meaning of most African Wildlife safaris. Our founders being extensive game explorers and finders, there are always added advantages of picnic lunches as there is no hurry to find a meal, we shall find a best spot and enjoy this as we time the afternoon boat cruise to the nethermost of Murchison Falls which is at times the highlight of the day given the luck on this cruise, there are always larger schools of hippos sighted with bonuses of Nile crocodiles and other mammals that come down the river to quench thirst. When it gets to birding, lots of breeding kingfisher and bee-eater colonies are in plenty.

Day 4: Drive to Kibale Forest National Park – Fortportal

The drive to Kibale forest is very enjoyable through the winding unpaved but graded roads showing traditional Uganda as we go through traditional many Villages where you see people at work tending their traditional crops like yams, tobacco, sorghum, beans, cassava, sweet potatoes and maize with later foreign green tea plantations as we get close to Fort Portal town.

Fort Portal is a small and attractive small town well planned by colonialists and deriving its name from a fort was built between 1891 and 1893 by Sir Gerald Portal, thus the name ‘Fort Portal’ we stay at Mountains Of The Moon or Ataco Country Resort. BLD

Day 5: Chimpanzee tracking and other primate viewing

After a morning breakfast, we drive to Kanyanchu for registration and a short briefing before the start of our day’s major activity. Chimpanzees are the closest to man of all the apes, and it is fun watching man in the wild, much as they are a large community of over 1000, about 120 are habituated and regularly visited by tourist, which activity takes one hour after finding them. Much as they are the main focus, other primates in this forest of interest include Black and white Columbus monkeys, L’Hoest Monkeys, Red tailed monkeys, Blue Monkey, Grey Cheecked Mangabey, bush babies, pottos, lots of birds will be heard and seen on this trek like the Greenbuls, Tinkerbirds, Illadopsis, Robins and many more.

Depending on the success of the chimp trek, we shall have lunch then later have an optional swamp walk that provides more chances of observing and understanding primates and seeing more birds. And presumably a wonderful day, we shall drive back to our lodge for dinner and overnight stay.

Day 6: Transfer to Queen Elizabeth National Park,

This day, we start at leisure and our best of Uganda Safari takes us through Uganda’s beautiful scenic areas with a clear view of the Mountains of the Moon depending on the cloud cover.

We shall reach in the late morning or early afternoon and a game drive enroute is always rewarding queen Elizabeth in the second largest national park in Uganda. In terms of diversity this park is having the biggest birding checklist in Uganda and perhaps the whole world with so far 612 species with over 90 mammals recorded after we check-in for a late lunch, we embark on and late evening game drive in the northern part of the park, this drive is always product nd can yield close encounters of nocturnal cats like the Leopard, Serval cat, Hyeana, Genet Cat not leaving out Owls and Nightjars.   We later drive back to our respective lodge for dinner and overnight stay – Jacana Safari Lodge or Musafiri Safari Lodge for 2 nights.

Day 7: Safari to Ishasha closer to Bwindi Gorilla Park.

Today we have breakfast at ease then start our drive further south of Uganda to the magic of this safari about to happen in the Impenetrable Bwindi Forest National Park. Ishasha is a remote and beautiful part of Africa with a wonderful scenery as always said that remote destinations still harbor the best wildlife and definitely produces great encounters, here is proof of that, this part of Queen Elizabeth National Park, the second largest in Uganda is host to wildlife which our ardent safari guides will bring to your appreciation among which on lucky days they spot lions decorating figs, acacia or Albysia  trees and nowhere in Africa do you stand a better chance of seeing this than in this Ishasha sector.

We shall find a spot for lunch then check in at our respective place of stay as we await a rewarding late game drive which will produce close encounters of more wildlife in this section of the park. Dinner and overnight stay at Savannah Resort or Ishasha Wilderness Camp.

Day 8: Transfer to Bwindi Gorilla National Park

After breakfast, we start with a game drive which will give us more chances of seeing the tree climbing lions and bigger opportunities of seeing the leopard this morning before setting off to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. On the drive we will find game coupled with stopovers to look out for interesting savannah birds; These may include Black Lored and Arrow-marked Babbler, ovambo Sparrow Hawk, African Cuckoo Hawk, Stout, Wing snapping, Zitting, and Trilling Cisticolas, Violet-backed Starling, Brown and Banded Snake Eagle, Holub’s Golden Weaver, Lesser and Greater Honeyguide, Grassland and Plain Backed Pipit, Fork-tailed Drongo, Blue-naped Mousebird and many more, after this we shall continue and drive to Bwindi where we stay at Gorilla Mist Camp or Buhoma Community Bandas for two nights.

Day 9: Gorilla Trekking

Early morning breakfast and proceed to the briefing point. Enjoy the highlight of your trip- Gorilla trekking, depending on the luck of the day, tracking may take a few minutes to reach the gorillas or most of the day, u will trek through the rainforest in company of an experienced Uganda Wildlife Authority ranger guide and other trackers, in search of a mountain gorillas. The gorilla hike needs composure, calmness  and patience, always be vigilant and keep in mind that much as these gorillas are habituated, but nature cannot be tamed, embrace it! And finally when you get to the gorilla the days hike will be will be very rewarding.

The gorillas move to a new location daily and never stay in the same place, the movements are determined by the silverback and availability of food, this is their home and can be very fast while moving through the woods, fitness is expected and being fast once they are found on the move, be prepared for this gorilla adventure. When sighted, your expected to be within 7 metres from the gorillas, however, many a time, gorillas have moved  closer to our clients and even touched them, be calm if this happens and follow the instructions of the ranger guide, you are expected to be around them for not more than one hour while gawking into their brown eyes – an incredible experience to be told to generations. On the track, 8 visitors are allowed per gorilla family per day per hour. After this entire trek, we shall retreat to our Lodge for dinner and overnight stay.

Day 10 – Transfer to Lake Mburo National Park:

After a morning breakfast we head North West to Lake Mburo National Park. The best stopover between the gorillas and Entebbe Airport, the scenery is indeed beautiful here and looking at the lovely Kigezi highlands, wonderful cultural stories by our safari guide can be told about the people and the farming systems together with the crops grown.

Today we can choose to start with a picnic lunch or we arrive our hotel in the afternoon for a hot lunch as we await our afternoon boat cruise around the lake. There is much wildlife to be seen from schools of hippos to crocs, different bird spp and large mammals like the Cape Buffaloes, Butchell’s Zebras, Topi, Impala, Water and Bussbuck, Oribi the Eland, among others, this is a good spot for the Leopard and Hyeanas, later we can embark on a late drive in search of some nocturnal spp. Dinner and overnight stay at Arcadia Cottages or Mihingo Lodge.

Day 11: Transfer to Jinja

After an early morning breakfast, we transfer to Kampala, then to Jinja, depending on the energy level and the time we get there, we could visit the Source of the River Nile and other places of interest as deemed by you safari guide or else we rest and have them done the following day. Dinner and overnight at Nile Resort Jinja or Gately ON The Nile.

Day 12: Transfer to Entebbe via Kampala Enroute

Depending on your flight time and departure, we have a couple of optional activities including white water rafting, Bungee Jumping, Source of The Nile visit and many more which will be all done after breakfast, then later transfer to Kampala for partial city tour and shopping. You are later taken to the airport for your return flight back home. End of our Best Uganda Safari