25 Days Best of Uganda Adventure Safari

On this day you will visit the orphaned chimpanzees at Ngamba Chimpanzee Sanctuary. These chimpanzees are rescued from all over East Africa and are taken care of at this sanctuary. You will either be picked up from your hotel in Entebbe/Kampala or from the Entebbe international Airport depending on the time you arrive. You will then be transferred to the pier on Lake Victoria for a boat trip to Ngamba Chimpanzee Sanctuary, once you are there you will have a chance to see them, feed them and to learn about their stay in the sanctuary, thereafter you will return back to Entebbe for dinner and an overnight stay.

Overnight stay at 2 Friends Beach Hotel

Meal Plan: Full board

On this day, after breakfast at your lodge you will meet your safari driver guide who will drive you to Lake Mburo National Park with stopovers at the Equator another for an en-lunch, you will then proceed and arrive at the Lodge in time for an afternoon boat cruise after which you will do an evening game drive and later have dinner and an overnight stay. Lake Mburo National Park is home to several animal species including topi, eland, klipspringer, zebra, buffalo, oribi, sitatunga, leopard and a variety of water and acacia savannah bird species such as the marabou stork, bronze tailed starling, and Uganda’s national bird, the beautiful grey crowned crane. Your stay at Lake Mburo will provide opportunities to experience the park’s vast wildlife in a variety of settings including morning and afternoon game drives, guided walks, and boat rides around the lake.

Drive time: Approximately 4-5 hours

Accommodation: Kigarama Safari Lodge or Rwakobo Rock Lodge

After breakfast at your lodge you will check-out and go for a morning sunrise game drive after which you will drive to Lake Bunyonyi for an evening relaxing sightseeing at the lake, dinner and an overnight stay at Bird nest Resort Cottages or Bunyonyi Eco Resort.

Lake Bunyonyi is located in south-western Uganda and is believed to be one of the deepest lakes in Africa, probably even the most beautiful lake in Africa as well, dotted with numerous islands and surrounded by terraced hills. With its scenic environment, cool weather and numerous little islands, the place has been well marked as a great spot to relax and chill out. It also offers visitors a number of choices when it comes to things to see and do.

After breakfast at the lodge, you will go for a boat cruise on Lake Bunyonyi to visit the historical islands after which you will drive south to Mgahinga Gorilla National Park where you will arrive in the afternoon at the Lodge for check-in, later have dinner and an overnight stay.

Accommodation: Ichumbi Hotel Kisoro

After breakfast at the lodge, you will go for golden monkey tracking experience, thereafter you will drive south to Bwindi impenetrable national park where you will arrive in the afternoon at the Lodge for check-in, later have dinner and an overnight stay.

Drive time: 2-3 hours drive

Lodging: Buhoma Community Havens Lodge/Buhoma Community Rest Camp

After breakfast at the lodge, you will drive to the park headquarters for a briefing from the Uganda wildlife Authority ranger guides who will allocate you a gorilla family group you will trek with that day. Once you have your 8 people group confirmed, the 2 ranger guides will lead you into the thick impenetrable forest to start your search for the endangered rare species of Mountain Gorillas. The gorilla search always continues from the place where they were last seen the previous day. Upon reaching the area where these famous species are, you will only be allowed to interact with them for a maximum of one hour and you are advised to always keep maximum silence while with these Gorillas. You are allowed to take photographs and so on.

Gorilla tracking can sometimes be strenuous depending on the trek that day which is normally determined by weather and the movement of the gorillas in the forest but given the fact that it is very a well-organized activity you have 99% chances of seeing the gorillas on your trek. The trek is guided by advanced trackers who monitor the mountain gorilla movements all day in the forest and so they will know where they nested for the last night and that’s where you will start looking for them from. The 2 ranger guides will lead you all through the trek clearing trails, creating new trails and sharing with you information about the mountain gorillas and Bwindi impenetrable forest as a whole. After the trek you will retrieve back to the starting point to pick your certificates as a sign of successful tracking of mountain gorillas in this park.

Lodging: Buhoma Community Havens Lodge/Buhoma Community Rest Camp

After breakfast you will drive to Queen Elizabeth National Park where you will arrive in the afternoon. You will have an en-route game drive and stopovers along the way for sightseeing. On arrival at the hotel, you will be warmly welcomed and checked-in for relaxing, later you will go for an evening game drive in search for late grazers after that you will return to the Lodge for an overnight stay.

Overnight at Enjojo Lodge or Ishasha Jungle Lodge

After breakfast you will go for game drives in the Ishasha wildernesses to search for tree climbing lions and other wildlife although spotting them depends on your luck and the weather of that day as we cannot make any appointments with nature.

Overnight stay at Enjojo Lodge or Ishasha Jungle Lodge.

On that day you will head to the north of the park arriving at midday for Lunch and afternoon game drive. Queen Elizabeth National Park is the most popular and diverse conservation area with a variety of habitats ranging from grassland, acacia woodland, forests, wetlands and open water which sustains a wide range of mammals with the major ones being the Big 4 animals and a remarkable tally of bird life boosting to over 604 bird species.

Lodging: Elephant Hab Lodge/Buffalo Safari Lodge

After your breakfast you will drive to Kasenyi plains for a morning game drive to search for early bird wildlife. Some of the animals you will see include the elephants, large herds of buffalos, leopards, lions, bushbucks, kobs, antelopes, bushbucks and so much more.

The morning game drive will take you approximately 2-3 hours and then after you will drive to Mweya peninsula for hot lunch, relax and go for an afternoon boat cruise safari on Kazinga channel. This boat ride is something worth it and is considered as a highlight of your safari in Queen Elizabeth National Park. You will also have a chance to see various wildlife as they enjoy the shores of the channel, hippos enjoying the swim and various bird species. After the cruise you will return to the lodge for relaxation, dinner and an overnight stay.

Lodging: Elephant Hab Lodge/Buffalo Safari Lodge

On this day after breakfast, you will go for chimpanzee tracking in Kyambura Gorge. In the gorge you will have a chance to see other primates and bird species as well as learn more about the gorge then after come back to your lodge for lunch and freshening up. Later you will go for a community visit including schools where you will have a chance to donate various scholastic materials to the young ones, then you will do an en-route game drive and sundowner back to your lodge for dinner and an overnight stay.

Lodging: Elephant Hab Lodge/Buffalo Safari Lodge

After breakfast you will first visit Katwe Salt Lakes, then after drive to Kibale National Park while enjoying a stopover for lunch en-route to the park. On influx you will have a nature walk through the Bigodi Swamp enjoying the awesome sightseeing of the resident monkeys and birds.

Kibale Forest National park is home to 13 species of primates and over 335 bird species making it a popular destination for birders and primates lovers.

Drive time: 3hours

Dinner and an overnight stay at Chimpanzee guest house/Turaco tree tops

After breakfast at your lodge you will drive to Kibale National Park Headquarters to meet your guides for the day and begin your chimpanzee tracking experience. Experienced guides, researchers and trackers will accompany your party on an early morning trek into the forest to view wild chimpanzees as well as several other species of primates in their natural habitat.  You will have an opportunity to be within meters of these amusing and very social apes for four hours, sharing in their daily lives and experiencing their day-to-day activities and they will undoubtedly take you through the whole tracking process.  Chimpanzees, our closest cousins, are extremely endangered with only an estimated 5000 remaining in Uganda. 

Please note: tracking may be fairly strenuous as the chimpanzees are highly mobile in search for food throughout the forest. Also, chimpanzees are wild animals and as such sightings cannot be guaranteed.

Dinner and an overnight stay at Chimpanzee guest house/Turaco tree tops

On this day after breakfast you will drive to Budongo Forest with stopovers along the way for sightseeing and photographs, also lunch will be en-route and arrival will be late in the afternoon at the lodge for check-in, later have dinner and an overnight stay. Budongo Forest is located at the edge of Murchison Falls National park, it is a home of primates including chimpanzees, baboons (which will welcome you on arrival) and monkeys, various bird species and other wildlife.

Dinner and an overnight stay at Budongo Eco lodge

On this day you will go for Chimpanzee tracking, along the trek you will have a chance to spot various bird species, after you come back to your lodge for check-out, have lunch and drive to Murchison Falls National Park for an overnight stay at Pakuba Safari lodge. You will have an en-route visit to the top of the falls and an evening game drive to search for late grazers before proceeding to your lodge for dinner and an overnight stay.

Murchison falls National Park is the largest National Park and conservation area in Uganda with an area of 3840 kms. The River Nile divides the park into the north and south sectors and forms fall where it flows over the western rift valley escarpment.  Here, the river is forced through a 6-metre gap in the rocks and cascades into a boiling pot 40 meters below. A boat cruise up-stream to the falls provides an unforgettable experience! Visitors are able to watch a variety of animals. These include elephant, buffalo, giraffe, lion, hippo, crocodile, several antelope species and many species of bird life along the Nile as the boat travels along. 

Overnight stay: Pakuba Safari Lodge or Paraa Lodge

Meal Plan: Full board

After breakfast , you will go for your morning game drive that will provide you an opportunity of spotting wild game that includes, giraffes, buffaloes, antelopes, hippos and if lucky cats such as lions and leopards. Then you will return to the lodge for a lunch break before proceeding to the pier for your two-hour boat cruise to the bottom of the falls to witness how river Nile squeezes itself in a narrow gorge before exploding out producing an experience of a lifetime. During your cruise you will as well encounter various wild animals e.g., elephants, hippos as they enjoy the banks of river Nile, reptiles and birds.

Overnight stay: Pakuba Safari Lodge or paraa safari Lodge

Meal Plan: Full board

On this morning, you will embark on a cruise downstream with breakfast on-board on the cool, calm morning water. Home to a wide variety of wetland and papyrus endemic bird species, including the elusive shoebill stork, this three to five hour cruise offers a unique opportunity to spot rarely found birds and animals such as hippo, elephants and large crocodiles. While travelling through the center of Murchison Falls National Park, guests can experience the constantly changing scenery of the Nile River as it winds its way to Lake Albert. You will have a second game drive – North Bank after lunch or if you wish in the late afternoon, head out for one more game drive to try and spot any species you missed the first time around.

Overnight stay: Pakuba Safari Lodge /Paraa safari Lodge

Meal Plan: Full board

On this day you will connect to the largest park in Uganda, Kidepo National Park. And you may find some seasonal springs and rivers often crossed by bridges and you might also start seeing Karamojong people arriving in Kidepo. In the evening you could relax at the Lodge or go for a mini evening game drive.

Kidepo Valley National Park lies in the rugged, semi-arid valleys between Uganda’s borders with Sudan and Kenya some 800km from Kampala. Gazetted as a national park in 1962, it has a profusion of big game and hosts over 77 mammal species as well as around 475 bird species. Kidepo is Uganda’s most isolated national park, but the few who make the long journey north through the wild frontier region of Karamoja would agree that it is also the most magnificent, also Kidepo ranks among Africa’s finest wildernesses. From Apoka in the heart of the park, a savannah landscape extends far beyond the gazetted area towards horizons outlined by distant mountain ranges. During the dry season, the only permanent water in the park is found in wetlands and remnant pools in the broad Narus Valley near Apoka. These seasonal oases combined with the open savannah terrain make the Narus Valley the park’s prime game viewing location.

Overnight at Kidepo savannah Lodge

Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

On this day you will have game drives in the valleys of Narus and Kidepo since they have difference in the animals they inhabit them. Narus Valley is a rolling grassland plain enclosed by distant mountains. The valley has permanent water and for much of the year the park’s wildlife congregates here. Thus, the area is well provided with game tracks with four loop circuits exploring the valley around Apoka. Many creatures such as lions, Jackson’s hartebeest, buffaloes, giraffes, oribis and reedbucks can be seen in the valley. Less commonly seen are cheetahs and leopards. The Narus dam and the water hole near the Tourism Centre are perfect observation points for game especially during the dry season. At the southern end of the Katurum loop, Katurum kopje (the site of a derelict lodge) is an attractive destination with superb views north across the valley towards the Morungule mountain range. Kidepo Valley for most of the year lacks of surface water meaning that little wildlife is found in there though it is still worth the drive to visit the dry Kidepo river to stroll along its 50m wide bed of white sand between banks covered with borassus palms.

Overnight stay at Kidepo savannah Lodge

Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

You will go for your second day game drives in Kidepo valley national park. You will have a chance to search for animals you missed the previous day.

Overnight stay at Kidepo savannah Lodge

Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

After an early morning breakfast, you will drive back to Narus valley to enjoy a morning game drive. You will try to look out for the same animals and may be able to meet other species as you continue with the drives. You will proceed to Kidepo river as you have your way to the Karamojong community. The valley is surrounded by hills which makes the scenery very stunning. The Karamojong people are very famous as cattle keepers who love their cattle. You will visit their home steads known as the Manyatas, they will dance for you and explain their culture. You will end the day with a drive to Gulu for dinner and an overnight stay.

Overnight stay at African roots Gulu

Meal plan: Full board.

On this day you will drive to Ziwa Rhino sanctuary for on foot rhino tracking and hot lunch. You may have an optional community visit including a school which you can donate various materials to and then later have dinner and an overnight stay.

Overnight at Amuka Safari Lodge

Meal Plan: Full board

Ziwa rhino sanctuary is a popular destination and most of the safari travelers travelling from Murchison towards Kampala/Entebbe include a stopover at the sanctuary as a permanent part of their itineraries. Feedback from visitors is extremely positive and our visitor numbers are expected to continue to grow.

A security force of 80 Rangers of which many are armed, patrols the fence, guard the gates, and monitor the rhinos 24 hours each day. The sanctuary is not only home to the rhinos but also to approximately 20 other species of wildlife as well as 300 different bird species highlighting Uganda’s unique biodiversity and emphasizing the importance of conserving it. The conservation effort is proving successful as we see the numbers of wildlife growing within the sanctuary.  While here you will also go in search of the elusive shoe bill which is one of the Great birds and one not to miss while on safari in Uganda.

After breakfast you will drive to Jinja, Jinja is a town in Central Uganda on the shore of Lake Victoria. The source of the Nile, at Coronation Park, is marked by a garden and a monument honoring British explorer John Hanning Speke. River Nile is well known to be the longest river in the world. Its source starts right from Jinja, Uganda.

Overnight : Haven lodge Jinja

Jinja is tagged as East Africa's Adventure Capital; it is a home to some of the world's finest grade 5 white water rafting and other adventure activities. Whether you are a first-timer, family or high adventure enthusiast, you’ll find your perfect white water adventure here. Get wet! Get wild! Get rafting! Enjoy the Adventure! With a commitment to safety, quality and value for money you will enjoy your raft on the strong white waters.

A horse-riding safari provides a fantastic way to explore the banks of the Nile, see a traditional Ugandan village and view the stunning panorama from the hills overlooking the Nile River valley. After you will come back to your lodge for dinner and later may be have optional Jinja tour and night life.

Overnight: Haven lodge Jinja

On the final day, you will drive back and drop off either at your lodge in Entebbe/Kampala or Entebbe International Airport depending on your flight time for your departure flight out to end your 25 Days Best of Uganda Adventure Safari. Book Now