12 Days Uganda Primates and Wildlife Safari : Get lost in Uganda’s natural wonders and you will enjoy every moment as you find yourself during the remarkable 12 Days Uganda Safari. From the rolling savannah plains to the pristine rain forests, and to the alluring lake Bunyonyi, the destinations chosen for this tour are fine gems. The exploration experience allows you to see savannah wild animals, gorillas, chimpanzees and magical sites including the mighty Murchison Falls.
Safari highlights
- Scenic drives
- Game drives
- Gorilla and chimp tracking
- Canoe ride
- Scenic viewing
- Boat cruise on the Victoria Nile in Murchison Falls National Park
- Boat cruise on Kazinga channel
Safari schedule
- Day 1: Arrival at the airport and transfer to the hotel
- Day 2: Transfer to Murchison Falls National Park
- Day 3: Explore Murchison Falls National Park
- Day 4: Transfer to Kibale National Park
- Day 5: Chimp tracking and Bigodi Wetland Community Walk
- Day 6: Crater exploration and transfer to Queen Elizabeth National Park
- Day 7: Game drive and boat cruise
- Day 8: Bat cave in Maramagambo Forest
- Day 9: Transfer to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park
- DAY 10: Gorilla tracking
- Day 11: Transfer to Lake Bunyonyi, canoe ride
- Day 12: Back to Entebbe or Kampala
Detailed Itinerary
Day 1: Arrival and transfer to the hotel
Your arrival at the airport and reception by our safari driver marks the beginning of your 12 Day Uganda expedition. He will transfer you to your booked hotel in Entebbe or Kampala, give a briefing of the tour with more focus on the program for Day 2, and thereafter leave. You will have dinner and relax.
Overnight at the hotel.
Meal plan: Dinner
Day 2: Transfer to Murchison Falls National Park
You will wake up to a sumptuous morning breakfast at your hotel in Kampala or Entebbe, meet your safari guide, and check out. Set off to Murchison Falls National Park (abbreviated as MFNP) which is located about 6 hours from Kampala. You will break for enroute lunch in Masindi and proceed to the park expecting to arrive in the late afternoon with a visit to Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary for rhino tracking.
You will later head to your booked lodge, check in, and relax as you wait for dinner to be served. Overnight at the lodge.
Optional activity: Rhino tracking at Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary
Meal plan: Full board
Day 3: Explore Murchison Falls National Park
This wildlife morning is scheduled for a game drive to go and look out for the wild animals in Murchison Falls National Park. It will require you to be up before 6 a.m. and get ready for an early morning breakfast which you will have before heading out for the game drive. This gives a wonderful opportunity to see lions, hippos returning to the water after grazing in the night, giraffes, buffaloes, leopards and several bird species.
After about 4 hours of the drive, you will return to the lodge, freshen up and relax. Later, have lunch and head out for the afternoon boat cruise. The approximately 3 hours launch cruise provides impressive sightings of crocodiles and many water birds. Hippos are in plenty and will be seen almost throughout the trip. At the point where you will make a U-turn, you are allowed to stay there for a while to watch the fascinating Murchison Waterfalls. This is the River Nile penetrating through a 7m gorge and proceeding to Lake Albert.
The trip takes you back to Paraa and return to the lodge for an evening relaxation. Overnight at the lodge.
Meal plan: Full board
Day 4: Transfer to Kibale
With a lovely sunrise and wildlife teeming in the plains of MFNP, checking out is never enjoyable. However, you have got to explore the rest of Uganda. You will leave the lodge, visit the top of Murchison Falls and then exit this destination for Kibale National Park. Enjoy a scenic drive that features viewing the Rift Valley escarpment. You will arrive at your lodge in Kibale in the evening and relax.
Dinner and overnight at the lodge
Meal plan: Full board
Day 5: Chimp tracking and community walk
A chilly morning with an early morning breakfast and then a transfer to Kanyanchu Visitors Centre where chimpanzee tracking starts. This is where you will meet your guide, go through a briefing and enter the forest to track chimpanzees. Enjoy the walk through the forest with an opportunity to encounter other primate species like monkeys plus several bird species.
Once the chimps are found, you will have an hour with them to watch their lifestyle in the forest, take photos and learn some facts about them. From here, you will walk back to the park offices and connect to your lodge.
Afternoon: Bigodi Wetland Community Walk
Later in the afternoon, head out for the Bigodi Wetland Community Walk which is located 6 kilometers from the park. The intention for starting this activity was to support the community so that they are encouraged to conserve wildlife in Kibale National Park and the nearby areas.
Some of the experiences you will have during this evening activity include the local way of food preparation, visiting women who weave baskets and seeing how banana beer is brewed. Return to the lodge for dinner and overnight.
Meal plan: Full board
Day 6: Crater exploration and transfer to Queen Elizabeth National Park
At dawn, you will check out of your lodge and go exploring the Ndali – Kasenda crater lakes. This adventure includes short walks to sites that reward you with breathtaking views of this region’s landscape.
Have enroute lunch and proceed to Queen Elizabeth National Park where you will arrive in the afternoon, check in to your lodge, and relax. Dinner and overnight at the lodge.
Meal plan: Full board
Day 7: Game drive and boat cruise
On a sunny day, the morning comes with a lovely sunrise which you can capture as you head to Kasenyi for the game drive. During the 4-5 hours game drive, look forward to seeing many buffaloes, waterbucks, Uganda kobs, and savannah birds. A lucky day in this wilderness will come with sightings of lions, a leopard, and/or a hyena.
Back to the lodge for lunch and transfer to Mweya for the afternoon boat cruise along the Kazinga channel. This is where fresh waters from the Rwenzori Mountains and several mammal species of Queen Elizabeth National Park meet, an exceptional place of natural wonders. Expect to see lots of hippos, crocodiles and water birds including pied kingfishers, African spoonbill, long-tailed cormorants and egrets among others.
Day 8: Nature walk in Maramagambo Forest
You will wake up to an early morning breakfast and drive to Maramagambo Forest in the south of Queen Elizabeth National Park. Go for a nature walk with a chance to have a glimpse at the bat cave which sometimes attracts pythons. You will have lunch at your lodge or any nearby restaurant and go for a community and coffee tasting tour.
Back to the lodge for an evening relaxation.
Meal plan: Full board
Day 9: Transfer to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park
You check out of the lodge and set off to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. You will drive via Ishasha and have a short game drive for a chance to spot tree-climbing lions.
Expect to arrive at your lodge in the evening. Dinner and overnight at the lodge.
Meal plan: Full board
Day 10: Gorilla tracking
A gorilla trekking day starts earlier than 6 a.m. to allow you to prepare for the activity; starting with breakfast and a transfer to the park offices of the sector where your permit allows you to go for the adventure. You will meet other trekkers at the starting point, be briefed, and thereafter start to hike through the tropical rainforest in search of the mountain gorillas. When you spot these apes, you will have an hour with them and return to the park offices for your trekking certificates.
Drive back to the lodge for an evening relaxation. Dinner and overnight at the lodge.
Optional evening activity: Batwa Community visit
Meal plan: Full board
Day 11: Transfer to Lake Bunyonyi and a canoe ride
As you come closer to the end of the 12 Days Uganda Safari, you will need to relax and rejuvenate. Check out of the lodge in Bwindi and head to Lake Bunyonyi. You will arrive at your booked lodge, check-in, have lunch, relax and simply enjoy the breathtaking views of the surroundings.
Later in the afternoon, go for a canoe ride and explore the lake, get up-close the beautiful islands, plus learn about their interesting history and capture the scenic views of the Virunga Volcanoes. After 2 hours of the adventure, you will return to the lodge for dinner and the overnight.
Meal plan: Full board
Day 12: Back to Entebbe
You will check out of the lodge after having breakfast and embark on the journey to Entebbe. It is a scenic and fun journey with a stopover at the equator to straddle the monument. The safari driver will drop you off at the airport for your flight back home.
End of safari
The tour package includes;
- Transport in a standard safari vehicle
- Professional local safari guide
- Park entrance fees
- Gorilla permit
- Chimp permit
- Activities mentioned on the itinerary
- Accommodation
- Meals as per the itinerary
- Bottled drinking water during travel
The tour package excludes
- Visa and air ticket
- Tips and gratuity
- Optional activities
- Extra meals
- Alcoholic drinks and cigar
- Other items of personal nature
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