This safari takes you to the hidden pearl of Uganda! Explore the amazing wildlife, nature and culture of this unknown African country. Experience the real Africa, camping in the bush, meeting the primates and raft the Source of the Nile
Cultural Tours, Game Drives, Game Viewing, Gorilla Watching, Hiking, Lake Cruise, Quad Biking, Rafting, Rainforest Tours, River Cruise, Wildlife Viewing
Day 1 : Arrival Warm welcome at Entebbe International Airport and transfer to your hotel. Overnight at Airport Guesthouse.
Day 2 : Ngamba Island A visit to the island of the chimpanzees! You will depart from Entebbe for a close encounter with our relatives. After a pleasant boat ride you reach Ngamba Island, where you will be directed to the visitors centre to learn more about the chimps and their lifestyle. You will be able to view and photograph these fascinating apes in their natural environment from only a few metres away! Later you will take a boat ride back to Entebbe and be transferred to your hotel. Overnight at Airport Guesthouse.
Day 3 : Entebbe – Murchison Falls National Park Today we will depart for the most beautiful protected area in Uganda: Murchison Falls National Park. Enjoy a lunch stop before we enter the park. We will visit the magnificent falls where you will enjoy and marvel at the mighty Nile. The famous waterfall is being forced into a seven meter crevice, to thunder 45 meters below in a series of cascades. This spectacular scenery can be viewed from different points up at the baler\'s summit. Dinner and overnight at Red Chilli Rest Camp.
Day 4 : Murchison Falls National Park After an early morning breakfast you will enjoy a half-day game drive on the northern bank of the Nile, escorted by a ranger. Game in this part includes the elephant, Rothschild giraffe, Jackson hartebeest, lions, oribis, waterbucks and a variety of savannah woodland birds. After lunch embark on the Madi Gras boat that will take you to a hidden world with abundant wildlife, while drifting quietly downstream. Late in the afternoon arrival at Bush Camp where your tent will be pitched. As night falls you will enjoy a delicious barbecue meal, surrounded by the sounds of Africa at night. Overnight at Bush Camp.
Day 5 : Murchison Falls National Park Early in the morning you will go with a ranger for a safari walk in the surrounding area. Return to the boat and enjoy breakfast while we slowly return to Paraa. The rest of the afternoon you have the opportunity to relax and enjoy the beautiful nature. Dinner and overnight at Red Chilli Rest Camp.
Day 6 : Murchison Falls National Park – Kibale Forest We depart Murchison Falls and head towards Fort Portal. The drive is almost eight hours but will provide you with some stunning views as you pass small African villages and banana plantations. The lovely town of Fort Portal rests in the shadow of the fabled Mountains of the Moon and is famous for the many tea plantations. From Fort Portal we continue directly to the dense jungle of Kibale Forest National Park. Dinner and overnight at the cottages of Primate Lodge Kibale.
Day 7 : Kibale Forest – Queen Elizabeth National Park Early in the morning visit to Kibale Forest National Park, reputable of having the greatest variety and highest concentration of primates in East Africa. Enjoy a guided nature walk in the tropical rainforest in search of the wild chimpanzees, red-tailed monkeys, black-and-white colobus monkeys and many others. After lunch we will transfer to Queen Elizabeth National Park. Dinner and overnight at Simba Safari Camp.
Day 8 : Queen Elizabeth National Park The day begins early as we take on a morning game drive and head for the mating ground of the Uganda Kobs. We search for lions, elephants, buffaloes and other wild animals in their natural habitat before returning for lunch. In the afternoon we will go for a boat cruise along the Kazinga Channel, a natural channel between Lake Edward and Lake George. Thanks to the abundant bird life that is sighted, and the elephants, buffaloes and hundreds of hippos that are cooling off at the shores, this cruise will definitely be one of the highlights of your safari. Dinner and overnight at Simba Safari Camp.
Day 9 : Queen Elizabeth – Bwindi National Park After breakfast you may choose for the optional activity of exploring Kyambura Wildlife Reserve (not included). Driving through a grassland area, all of a sudden we come across an amazing gorge of one hundred meters deep, covered with tropical rainforest. You will hike into the gorge of the Kyambura River in search of the wild chimpanzees. It is a beautiful walk through the river valley, home to many birds and butterfly species. Later we will leave Queen Elizabeth National Park and head towards Bwindi National Park. The scenic route runs through a verdant countryside while you pass traditional homesteads and farms. Dinner and overnight at Buhoma Community Bandas.
Day 10 : Gorilla Tracking Another highlight of your safari: a meeting with the gentle giants of Bwindi! Especially hikers will love the tracking in the beautiful ecosystem of the park. It is difficult to foresee how many hours you will hike, it may take two to eight hours. Expect to walk a long distance in steep and muddy conditions, sometimes with rain overhead, before you encounter any gorillas. But it will definitely be worthwhile as you observe them closely while they eat, play and rest. A unique and unforgettable experience! Dinner and overnight at Buhoma Community Bandas.
Day 11 : Bwindi National Park – Lake Bunyonyi After breakfast we depart to Lake Bunyonyi, the deepest lake in Uganda. This area is often called \"Little Switzerland of Uganda\" and boosts one of the most beautiful parts of the country. Relax or go for a canoe trip while you watch the beautiful sunset. Dinner and overnight at Bunyonyi Overland Camp.
Day 12 : Lake Bunyonyi – Nshenyi Village Departure for Mbarara where you will have lunch before continuing to Nshenyi Village. A beautiful route will take you to this hidden, rural farm where you can experience the traditional way of living. Dinner and overnight at the farm Nshenyi Village.
Day 13 : Nshenyi Village The morning starts early as you will go to the field to milk the long horned Ankole cows. Return to the farm for breakfast, before we take a short walk to the village of a Bahima tribe. In the afternoon you may want to go for a nature walk along the River Kagera, the natural border with Tanzania. A non-professional local group will entertain you in the evening with traditional dances and songs. Dinner and overnight at the farm Nshenyi Village.
Day 14 : Nshenyi Village – Jinja After breakfast we depart Nshenyi Village. Enjoy the magnificent views one more time as we head back to the capital city. On our way we will pass Lake Mburo National Park and cross the Ugandan Equator. From Kampala we continue directly to Jinja, the Source of the Nile. Dinner and overnight at Adrift Nile High Camp.
Day 15 : Jinja A full day to relax and unwind at the origin of the Nile! We will visit the true Source of the Nile, where the famous river starts its long journey through Africa. Also the spectacular waterfalls of the Bujagali Falls will be visited and and you will have the opportunity to take a stroll in the calm centre of Jinja. Real adventurers can decide to go rafting on the challenging rapids of the Nile or explore the surroundings by a quad bike safari (not included). Dinner at overnight at Adrift Nile High Camp.
Day 16 : Departure Time to say goodbye to the Pearl of Africa. Take some extra moments to enjoy the peace and beautiful nature at the origin of the Nile, before we head back to Entebbe. In time you will be dropped off at the airport for you flight back home. We are looking forward to seeing you again!
Included in the price: - Ground transport per comfortable 4WD safari vehicle - English speaking driver/guide - Overnight in the budget accommodation as mentioned in the itinerary, based on a double room - All meals except for your stay in Entebbe and Kampala (B&B) - Bottled mineral water throughout the safari - Park entrance fees and ranger fees - Activities as described in the program - Permit for chimp tracking in Kibale Forest National Park
Exclusions: - International flight - Visa - Gorilla permit (USD $500 per person) - Chimp tracking in Kyambura Gorge (USD $50 per person) - Meals and drinks not mentioned above - Laundry and tips - Items of personal nature
Note: Optional is a chimp walk at Ngamba Island. Together with the caregivers you will accompany a group of juvenile chimpanzees on their walk through the forest. The forest walks are offered twice a day and require overnight at the Island. A unique opportunity to enter the world of the chimps and get in close contact!
Please note that demand is very high and only 8 persons per day are allowed to see the gorillas. Therefore we advise you to book permits at least 4 months in advance.
If you wish to stay in luxury accommodation please notify so we can inform you about the upgrade fees. Rwanda!
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I was very impressed with the website when I was looking for a company to plan our trip to Murchison Falls. My friend and I were going to Uganda to visit my daughter and her friend who were working as volunteers with an NGO in Jinja. The four of us wanted to visit Murchison Falls.
We were pleased that the operator was able to make arrangements to suit our budget. They also accommodated our wish to be picked up in Jinja instead of Kampala.
Our driver, Beki was wonderful. Not only was he a very competent driver, but he was full of good humour and knowledge about the culture of Uganda and its animals and plants. He answered all of our questions about everything we saw on our trip to Murchison Falls and we had many as this was our first trip to Africa. He pointed out many things of interest to us and made us feel so comfortable on our trip. Beki helped to make our safri a most enjoyable and memorable experience.
The company sent us an information package and a complete itinerary before we went on our safari. I thought this was very helpful. I have only praise for their staff. If Beki is representative of all their drivers, then you are ensured of an amazing safari experience.
We thought they did a very good job of meeting our needs during our trip to Uganda. They were responsive when we asked to modify the standard itinerary - visiting a local hospital, the Kampala marketplace, and the veterinary school at the University.
At our request, they substituted an extra game drive for the scheduled activity, and accommodated our request for a different hotel in Kampala on our last days.
Our guide/driver was named David, and he answered all of our questions, maintaining his composure despite some unforeseen circumstances (car broke down, and he had to get a different driver to bring us back to Kampala).
We took the luxury option except for Travellers Rest, which we chose when the Nkuringo Lodge was not able to honor our reservations. It was an unexpected pleasure to stay at Travellers Rest -- wonderful food and friendly service at a very reasonable price. The Primate Luxury Tented Camp, where we stayed when we tracked chimps in Kibale, seems like it's not quite ready for prime time but shows promise for the future.
Overall, we were very pleased, and if we were going to make the trip again, we'd call them.
We would be delighted to provide you with information about our holiday. We have nothing but praise for this operator, both for their helpfulness throughout and their flexibility in planning our itinerary.
We had a rather unusual plan for our holiday, in that, as well as touring the game parks, we wished to seeand meet Ugandans on the ground as much as possible,and also we wished to end our holiday by being taken to Gulu, where our daughter is working as an NGO.
They responded to this by including a 2-day visit to a farm in the far south-west, near the Tanzanian and Rwandan borders, and by agreeing to drop us off in Gulu, rather than returning us to Kampala.
We visited Lake Mburo, Queen Elizabth, Kibale and Murchison Falls National Parks, in addition to Nshenyi village referred to above. All this was achieved in an 11-day itinerary, at a very reasonable cost. Our driver was fantastic. He was not only one of the best drivers I've ever come across either inside or outside of Uganda, but he was also very friendly, and most knowledgeable about all the wildlife, including the rich variety of birds we saw. He also had phenomenal eyesight; even when the road he was negotiating was particularly pitted and rough, he still managed to catch sight of birds and game a long way of, which we would have missed.
Altogether a most positive, enjoyable and educational trip. I'd recommend anyone to go; Uganda is a truly beautiful country. We look forward to returning.
I found the safari operator to be very accommodating with any special requests we had regarding the itinerary.
The Safari Lodge pool made for a perfect setting for a sunset swim, overlooking the channel filled with hippos. The lodge also provided the unique experience of waking up to a hippo grazing outside our door.
