15-Day Uganda Gorilla and Chimp Safari with Big 5 and Lake Bunyonyi

• Upon arrival at Entebbe International Airport you will be met by a representative who will welcome you to Uganda – the Pearl of Africa. Thereafter, you will be transferred to your booked accommodation.
• In case you have had an early landing in Uganda, you may opt to go out for a late afternoon ride around Kampala City. Otherwise, just relax at the accommodation and later enjoy your dinner plus the overnight stay.

Destination: Kampala (City)

Accommodation options:

Luxury: Kaazi Beach Resort or Similar

Mid-Range: Casia Lodge or Similar

Budget: Acactus Hotel or Similar
Meals Plan:

Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Drinking Water, Fruits and Wi-Fi throughout the journey

• After breakfast, embark on a journey to Murchison Falls National Park. The highlights of this park include the roaring rapids of the Murchison and the rolling plains of Uganda’s largest National Park, where you will have the chance to view lions, giraffes, hartebeest, buffalo, and elephants. Then surely you will be fascinated by the concentration of hippos and Nile crocodiles here. For birders, Murchison Falls boasts 450 bird species, including the elusive shoebill stork, dwarf king fisher, the white-thigh hornbill, and the Goliath heron, among others.
• Enroute, make a visit to Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary for your first Big 5 experience, where you will have an hour of rhino tracking. Another stop will be in Masindi in order to enjoy your lunch. Continue to the park and check in to your accommodation to relax for the evening.

Destination: Murchison Falls National Park

Accommodation options:

Luxury: Paraa Safari Lodge or Similar

Mid-Range: Fort Murchison Lodge or Similar

Budget: Hornbill Bush Lodge or Similar
Meals Plan:

Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Drinking Water, Fruits and Wi-Fi throughout the journey

• Have your breakfast, and depart for an early morning game drive across the rolling plains of Uganda’s largest National Park, where you will have the opportunity to view lions, giraffes, hartebeest, buffalo and elephants, among others. For any birder, this area supports the secretary bird and black-chested snake eagle, to name a few. Return to your accommodation for some rest time and lunch. After lunch, you will head out for the boat trip to the base of Murchison Falls, where you will also be able to catch sight of more animals, including Hippos and Crocodiles and several water birds.
• Continue hiking (if you like) to the top of the falls. The hike may be a strenuous one, but the thrill of reaching the top is unforgettable. Miss it only if you must. Return to your accommodation and have a relaxed evening.

Destination: Murchison Falls National Park

Accommodation options:

Luxury: Paraa Safari Lodge or Similar

Mid-Range: Fort Murchison Lodge or Similar

Budget: Hornbill Bush Lodge or Similar

Meals Plan:

Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Drinking Water, Fruits and Wi-Fi throughout the journey

• After breakfast at your accommodation, drive to the top of the falls (if you didn’t hike), where you will have a spectacular view of the falls before departing for Kibale National Park. Otherwise, depart immediately (after breakfast) for Kibale Forest National Park. The drive is incredibly scenic, passing through villages, lush green countryside and hills dotted with tea plantations, which characterize this part of Uganda. Kibale National Park is popular for its primates like the chimpanzees, colobus monkeys, grey-cheeked Mangabeys and red-tailed monkeys. On your chimpanzee trails, these are regularly seen swinging in the forest trees and others feeding on the wild fruits. You will reach and do little but check into your accommodation, where you will have dinner and the overnight rest.
  Destination: Kibale Forest National Park

Accommodation options:

Luxury: Primate  Lodge or Similar

Mid-Range: Kibale Forest Camp or Similar

Budget: Chimpanzee Forest Guesthouse or Similar

Meals Plan:

Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Drinking Water, Fruits and Wi-Fi throughout the journey

• Be up early, have your breakfast and proceed for the breathtaking “Top of the World Hike”. The hike is a popular activity with visitors to nearby Kibale Forest and Fort Portal. The most rewarding time to take this hiking trail is early in the morning when the day is still cool. There are two trails that you can take to the top of the world viewpoint (i.e. the easy and the more challenging trail that most take). The hike may be a strenuous one, but you will surely be amazed by the spectacular and unforgettable view on reaching the “Top of the World Hike”.
• Return to the accommodation for rest time and lunch.
• Later, you may opt to go out for a ride around Fort Portal town and visit places like Tooro Palace and the local market, among others.

Destination: Kibale Forest National Park

Accommodation options:

Luxury: Primate  Lodge or Similar

Mid-Range: Kibale Forest Camp or Similar

Budget: Chimpanzee Forest Guesthouse or Similar

Meals Plan:

Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Drinking Water, Fruits and Wi-Fi throughout the journey

• Have breakfast and head to the trekking point, where you will receive some briefing on the dos and don’ts during chimp trekking. Thereafter, you will proceed to trek the chimps in the Kibale Forest. An experienced ranger guide will take you chimp tracking, and you will be marvelled at the sights of primates here. Once you locate the chimpanzees, you will have a full hour with them. Return to your accommodation for some rest time and lunch. Later go out for the Bigodi swamp walk. The Bigodi Wetland Sanctuary is a fascinating area located in the Magombe swamp.
• This area is recognized for its extensive array of biodiversity, among which are several primate species like the baboons, black & white colobus monkeys, vervet monkeys and the L’Hoest monkey. The Bigodi is also a paradise for bird watchers. Among the major bird species within the sanctuary is the grand Blue Turaco.

Destination: Kibale Forest National Park

Accommodation options:

Luxury: Primate  Lodge or Similar

Mid-Range: Kibale Forest Camp or Similar

Budget: Chimpanzee Forest Guesthouse or Similar

Meals Plan:

Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Drinking Water, Fruits and Wi-Fi throughout the journey

• After breakfast, you will Exit Kibale National Park and continue your journey to Queen Elizabeth National Park. Queen is Uganda’s second largest park, located at the base of the majestic Rwenzori Mountain range, adjacent to Lake Edward and Lake George. The park’s diverse ecosystem, which includes sprawling savannah, makes it the ideal habitat for classic big game, ten primate species, including chimpanzees and over 600 species of birds.
• You will reach Queen early enough to rest, have lunch and later go for a boat safari along the Kazinga Channel, which joins Lake George to Lake Edward. While here, you will surely be fascinated by the concentrations of giant hippos, elephants and crocodiles, among others. Additionally, you will also see many varieties of birds on the water shores. Return to the accommodation for dinner and later overnight rest.

Destination: Queen Elizabeth National Park
Accommodation options:

Luxury: Elephant Plains or Similar

Mid-Range: Buffalo Safari or Similar

Budget: Kyangabi Safari Lodge or Similar

Meals Plan:

Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Drinking Water, Fruits and Wi-Fi throughout the journey

• Be up early and have your breakfast. Proceed for a morning game drive in the park, along the Kasenyi plains and be on the look for Lions, Elephants, Leopards (though hard to spot), Bushbucks, Cape Buffaloes, Waterbucks, Giant Forest Hogs, Uganda Kob among others. Return to your accommodation for some rest time and lunch.
  In the afternoon, you will go for the explosion crater drive. The drive is basically sightseeing with a very spectacular view of the breathtaking scenery in and around Queen. There is also plenty of wildlife to see along the drive, although the commonest are sights of Cape Buffaloes plus Elephants.
• Return to the accommodation for relaxation, dinner and the overnight stay.

Destination: Queen Elizabeth National Park

Accommodation options:

Luxury: Elephant Plains or Similar

Mid-Range: Buffalo Safari or Similar

Budget: Kyangabi Safari Lodge or Similar
Meals Plan:

Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Drinking Water, Fruits and Wi-Fi throughout the journey

• Have breakfast, then set off for a breathtaking game-viewing experience in the Ishasha area of Queen Elizabeth National Park – famously known for its resident tree-climbing lions. The chance of spotting these lions is about 70%, though sometimes they are really hard to spot (most especially when they’re down in the grassland looking for prey). Hoping you get the chance to spot them; the sight will be spectacular.
• You will also be able to see other wildlife, such as the Uganda Kob, Cape buffalos, elephants and warthogs, and tree-climbing lions.
• Thereafter, head to the accommodation for relaxation, dinner and later, overnight.

Destination: Ishasha Sector Queen Elizabeth National Park.

Accommodation options:

Luxury: Enjojo Lodge or Similar

Mid-Range: Ishasha Jungle Lodge or Similar

Budget: Topi Lodge or Similar

Meals Plan:

Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Drinking Water, Fruits and Wi-Fi throughout the journey

• Be up and have your breakfast served. Go for more tree-climbing lions sightings and thereafter transfer to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. Bwindi is a big habitat for mountain gorillas in Uganda (harbouring an estimated 400 mountain gorillas – roughly half of the world’s population), including several habituated groups which can be tracked. With a strenuous day ahead, you will do less on arrival, but just check in your accommodation and relax as you prepare for the Bwindi gorilla trekking experience the following day.

Destination: Bwindi Impenetrable National Park

Accommodation options:

Luxury: Ichumbi Gorilla Lodge or Similar

Mid-Range: Rushaga Gorilla Camp or Similar

Budget: Bweza Safari Lodge or Similar
Meals Plan:

Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Drinking Water, Fruits and Wi-Fi throughout the journey

• After an early breakfast and a briefing by a ranger guide, you will enter the gorilla sanctuary for your adventure. The beauty of this rainforest is spectacular. The area offers a dramatic, steeply forested landscape and is incredibly dense but crisscrossed by numerous animal trails, allowing access to tourists. The time taken and the terrain vary with the movements of these great primates.
• Once you locate a gorilla group, you will be allowed an hour in their presence. The thrill of spending time observing these gentle and endangered giants is an awesome, exciting experience to be long-savoured.
• Return to your lodge for some rest time and lunch, dinner and overnight stay.

Destination: Bwindi Impenetrable National Park

Accommodation options:

Luxury: Ichumbi Gorilla Lodge or Similar

Mid-Range: Rushaga Gorilla Camp or Similar

Budget: Bweza Safari Lodge or Similar

Meals Plan:

Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Drinking Water, Fruits and Wi-Fi throughout the journey

• Have breakfast and proceed out for the Batwa trail experience. After breakfast, we shall start our journey to Lake Bunyonyi in Kabaale District. Lake Bunyonyi is framed by lush, green-terraced hills that reach a height of (2,200 – 2,478m) with 29 islands of various shapes and sizes scattered across the water that make it most magical — you could admire them all day. You shall have an exciting boat ride on Lake Bunyonyi.
• In the afternoon, you may have optional activities: a Canoe boat ride, a swim in the Bilharzia free lake, you may also explore a nearby village. Residents are happy for your visit and are open to explaining their daily lives.

Destination: Lake Bunyonyi

Accommodation options:

Luxury: Arcadia  Lodge or Similar

Mid-Range: Heritage Lodge (Habuharo Island) or Similar

Budget: Itambira Island Resort or Similar

Meals Plan:

Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Drinking Water, Fruits and Wi-Fi throughout the journey

• After breakfast, you will have the option of visiting the Orugano Rain Forest, which has diverse plants and animals or spending some time interacting with the Batwa (pygmies) community who inhabit parts of the forest and its surrounding areas. Birders will treat themselves to well over 300 bird species recorded.
• Alternatively, you could opt for a canoe trek on Lake Bunyonyi, which will introduce you to the major islands and their rich history, but also, there will be some great time spent in traditional dugout canoe. Return to your accommodation for lunch and relaxation, probably reflecting on your trip so far.

Destination: Lake Bunyonyi

Accommodation options:

Luxury: Arcadia  Lodge or Similar

Mid-Range: Heritage Lodge (Habuharo Island) or Similar

Budget: Itambira Island Resort or Similar

Meals Plan:

Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Drinking Water, Fruits and Wi-Fi throughout the journey

• Have breakfast and set off to Lake Mburo National Park. Drive past the intensely terraced Kigezi hill slopes into Mbarara town and finally Lake Mburo National Park.
• Arrive in the park in the early afternoon and take some rest before proceeding out for the late afternoon (evening) game viewing.
• On the game drive, expect to see the gigantic eland antelopes, zebras in big numbers, Topis, impalas, warthogs, Uganda Kob and Cape buffalos, among others.
• Later, relax at the accommodation where you will spend the night.

Destination: Lake Mburo National Park
Accommodation options:

Luxury: Mihingo Safari  Lodge or Similar

Mid-Range: Kigambira Safari Lodge or Similar

Budget: Lake Mburo Camp or Similar
Meals Plan:

• Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
• Drinking Water, Fruits and Wi-Fi throughout the journey

• Enjoy your early breakfast and proceed for the Mburo morning park/nature walk with an armed Uganda Wildlife Authority ranger/guide.
• On this early morning guided walk, you often encounter hyenas that are returning to their dens after a night of being on the prowl. Also, you will have the opportunity to encounter (at close range): Zebras, Giraffes and Eland, Topi and other antelopes, and Cape buffaloes, among others.
• Take the Trail to the top of the hills and see Lake Mburo and beyond. From this vantage point, you will have a great view of 9 of the twelve lakes surrounding Lake Mburo National Park.
• Thereafter, return to the accommodation for checkout and then hit the road to Entebbe airport for your flight out.

Destination: Kampala (Entebbe International Airport)

Accommodation Option: No (Unless on request)

Meals Plan:

Breakfast and Lunch

Drinking Water, Fruits and Wi-Fi throughout the journey