Go off the beaten track and experience the real Africa in the Rwenzoris! Enjoy the mountainous areas of natural beauty while experiencing the fascinating culture of the local communities.
"Follow the green trail to life in the Rwenzoris..." Have a relaxed holiday in the lush green region of the exotic Rwenzori Mountain Region of Africa, where you will be able to enjoy the environment with its wildlife, discover how people live, and freely walk around in healthy, friendly environs.
Day 1 : Arrival You will be welcomed at Entebbe International Airport and transferred to your hotel in Kampala. Overnight at King's Holiday Inn.
Day 2 : Transfer to the Rwenzori Mountain Region (4 hours) After breakfast we leave the bustling capital city and drive toward the peaceful, calm town of Fort Portal. Check in at your homely accommodation with a view of the Mountains of the Moon. Here you will enjoy lunch before you visit the Tooro Botanical Gardens, at a walking distance of your guesthouse. Enjoy a guided walk through the garden full of colourful, tropical flowers and medicinal plants, while you admire the rich bird life. Later in the afternoon return for dinner and overnight at Rwenzori View Guesthouse.
Day 3 : Kasunga Tea Estate The Rwenzori region is famous for the widespread tea plantations and therefore your experience can’t go without a visit to a tea estate. Visit the tea plantation, touch the fresh tea leaves and watch the workers tipping, plucking and weeding. Of course you are invited to participate! Have a break in the afternoon and enjoy lunch before you visit the tea factory. Here you will see the progress of transforming the leaves to black (made) tea. Your guide will give you a detailed explanation about the entire progress. And what would be a visit without the actual tasting of the final product?! If you wish you can visit Kihingami on the way back where you can enjoy a short walk through the wetland. Dinner and overnight at Rwenzori View Guesthouse.
Day 4 : Cultural interaction Today you will visit the Mugusu Market which is the biggest market in the Rwenzori region. Note that it is only held on a Wednesday; on other days we will visit the busy Fort Portal market. Stroll around, have a look at the merchandise and try your expertise in bargaining with the salesmen. From the market we will continue to a honey co-operative and organic farming of bees in Rubona. Watch how honey is collected and learn about the different honey products. We will end this day full of cultural interaction with a visit to a basket weavers association. The women’s group would be delighted to show you how they weave a basket, which materials are used and how the bright earth tone natural colours are made. Don’t hesitate and participate in this craftsmanship! Dinner and overnight at Rwenzori View Guesthouse.
Day 5 : Crater Lakes Expedition A full day to enjoy the natural beauty of the Crater Lakes area! Explore the numerous clear lakes, surrounded by gentle hills, and hike to the Top of the World. Enjoy the breathtaking view of the green surroundings, the majestic mountains and even the wide savannah plains of Queen Elizabeth National Park. Walk to the hidden Mahoma Falls while you experience the daily life from firsthand. Take time to meet the inhabitants as you pass their small villages and learn about the local crops that are cultivated here. Dinner and overnight at Rwenzori View Guesthouse.
Day 6 : Foothills of the Rwenzori’s Today you will be able to enjoy the beauty of the Mountains of the Moon in its full glory. Have a guided nature walk at the foothills and learn about the local culture. Enjoy the scenic views, have a glimpse of the village life and visit a traditional witchdoctor at his home. We will make a stop at the Amabere Caves, where you can discover the small hidden waterfall as we enter the cave and admire the stalagmites, stalactites and pillars. Adventurous hikers can even hike over the Rwenzori mountains to Bundibugyo but this requests a good physical condition. Dinner and overnight at Rwenzori View Guesthouse. ***On one of these nights a cultural evening is awaiting you, with traditional dances and songs from different tribes.***
Day 7 : Tropical rain forest and swamps We will leave Fort Portal and head to Kibale Forest. Stop at the charming village of Bigodi for a traditional lunch of a local family. In the afternoon enjoy the Bigodi Swamp Walk. This is an initiative of the local community and supports the local community projects. The swamp is often referred to as the “Home of the Great Blue Turaco” and is known for its rich diversity of birds and primates. In the evening return to your accommodation. You can either choose for a homestay at a local family living in Bigodi. Come face to face with the Kitooro traditions as you eat the same food and sleep under the same roof. Or you might want to spend the night in the comforts of the African jungle at Primate Lodge Kibale.
Day 8 : Chimp walk & villages Today the forest opens it doors for a sensational chimp tracking. Kibale Forest is 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 chimpanzee, red-tailed monkey, black-and-white colobus monkey and many others. After a hearty lunch we transfer to Bigodi Swamp for another, totally different walk. Follow the village trail for a closer meeting with Bigodi Village and its inhabitants. Visit a local school, a Catholic church where they produce peanut butter, different homesteads and listen to the traditional storytelling from the Mzee (elderly). Dinner and overnight at either a local family in Bigodi or Primate Lodge Kibale.
Day 9 : Transfer to Queen Elizabeth National Park (3 hours) After breakfast we will depart the dense forest of Kibale and transfer to Queen Elizabeth National Park. Enjoy the view at the impressive Rwenzori Mountains while you observe the green valley and the typical African countryside. Upon arrival in Queen Elizabeth National Park it is likely that you will spot the first wildlife before checking in at the accommodation in the middle of the park. Dinner and overnight at Simba Safari Camp.
Day 10 : Queen Elizabeth National Park The day begins early as we 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 take on a boat cruise along the Kazinga Channel, a natural channel between Lake Edward and Lake George. Thanks to the elephants, buffaloes and hundreds of hippos, this cruise will definitely be one of the highlights of your safari. Dinner and overnight at Simba Safari Camp.
Day 11 : Return to Kampala (7 hours) In the morning we say goodbye to one of the most beautiful regions in Uganda and we start our journey back to Kampala with lunch en route. Arrival in the evening for dinner and overnight at King's Holiday Inn.
Day 12 : Departure Depending on your time of departure you might want to explore Kampala or Entebbe by a city tour and visit some interesting and historical sites. We will transfer you to the airport for your flight back home. We are looking forward to seeing you again!
Included in the price: - Airport transfer - Ground transport per private vehicle - English speaking driver/guide - Overnight at the mentioned accommodations, based on a double room - Full board (breakfast, lunch, dinner) apart from your stay in Kampala (B&B) - Park entrance fees - All described activities in Fort Portal - Game drive and boat launch in Queen Elizabeth NP - Chimp tracking in Kibale Forest
Exclusions: - International flight - Visa - Meals and drinks not mentioned above - Laundry and tips - Items of personal nature
Note: Other activities such as walking up the slopes, or even over the top of the Rwenzori Mountains; visiting the natural Spa; experiencing farmers working on their land; or travelling to the Semliki jungle with its hot springs, can be arranged as well.
If you wish to stay in luxury accommodation please notify so we can inform you about the upgrade fees. Please complete the enquiry form below for more details and tailor-made safaris in Uganda and Rwanda!
Our unique relationship with our tour operators ensures only people who have participated in a trip after making an enquiry for it at The Africa Guide can leave a review.
The email we send you when you make an enquiry has full instructions for registering a booking and leaving a review - both are free services.
Feel free to read through the reviews for any trip you like the look of.
Trips with no reviews are usually new to the The Africa Guide but are normally operated by a tour operator who is established here. Most tour operators listing here will usually have gained reviews about other trips they have listed here.
Thanks for visiting, happy travels and don't forget to send us your reviews...
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.
