This small group wildlife-watching tour has been specially designed to maximise opportunities to enjoy the astonishing diversity of Uganda’s remarkable fauna, with options to track gorillas in Bwindi and chimpanzees at Kibale.
The landlocked country of Uganda has almost everything you could ever want in a wildlife destination. The habitats vary considerably between the extremes of the misty, undulating montane forest and the wide open plains of the savannah, resulting in an incredible diversity and abundance of wildlife. From the tree-climbing lions at Ishasha and the white rhino of Ziwa to the chimpanzees at Kibale and the mountain gorillas of Bwindi, what more could a wildlife enthusiast want?
Wildlife Travel Consultant Helen Cox has visited Uganda, and shares her experience in our blog.
Typical Itinerary
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Day 1:
Depart UK & Arrive Entebbe
Depart the UK on a flight to Entebbe, normally via Dubai. On arrival in Uganda, we meet our local leader at Entebbe Airport and transfer the short distance to our hotel.
Please note, depending on flight schedules, the outbound flights to Uganda can be overnight. If this is the case, you depart the UK a day earlier and the itinerary is 14 days rather than 13. Please keep this in mind when planning your holiday and speak to our team for further details.
Accommodation: Protea Hotel Entebbe, 1-night
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Days 2-3
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Murchison Falls National Park
Today we depart for one of the most beautiful protected areas in Uganda – Murchison Falls National Park. The drive from Entebbe to the park will take the majority of the day, however there will be stops en-route to break the journey, including a visit to Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary, home to the only wild southern white rhinos in Uganda.
After enjoying lunch at the rhino sanctuary, we continue our drive to Murchison Falls National Park.
On our full day in the park we start the day with an early breakfast before setting out on a vehicle safari on the northern bank of the River Nile. During our drive we will be on the lookout for Rothschild giraffe, elephant, lion, Jackson hartebeest, oribi, and waterbuck, alongside a variety of bird species, including such highlights as black scimitarbill, martial eagle and dark chanting goshawk. If we are very lucky we may even see an elusive leopard.
Later this afternoon we enjoy a Nile boat cruise to the base of the waterfalls for further wildlife viewing at close quarters. After the cruise, we disembark the boat at the bottom of the falls and hike to the top where we are rewarded with incredible views of the Nile.
Accommodation: Twiga Safari Lodge, 2-nights
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Days 4-5
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Kibale Forest National Park
We spend much of the day travelling as we drive south towards Fort Portal, continuing onto Kibale Forest National Park, arriving at our lodge in time for dinner.
Our first morning in the park provides an opportunity for a sensational chimpanzee tracking experience. Note: this is an optional activity; if you would like to track the chimps, please let us know at the time of booking and we can organise your permit.
Starting with a pre-tracking briefing, we head to the trailhead for the start of an unforgettable adventure – hiking in the footsteps of a habituated family of chimpanzees. Once we sight the chimpanzees, we have an hour to spend with them observing their daily life – feeding, grooming, nursing their young, howling and screeching, all within their natural habitat.
We return to the lodge for lunch before enjoying a guided nature walk through Bigodi wetland. The ‘Bigodi Swamp Walk’ is an initiative of the local community and is known for its rich diversity of birds and primates.
Accommodation: Primate Lodge, 2-nights.
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Days 6-7
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Queen Elizabeth National Park
After an early breakfast, we set off on our drive to Queen Elizabeth National Park, during which we will be rewarded with scenic views of crater lakes and the surrounding rolling hills. We arrive at the park in time to enjoy an afternoon safari drive.
The next day we spend the morning searching both the Mweya and Kasenyi Plains areas for lions and the elusive leopard. In the afternoon, we enjoy a scenic boat cruise along the Kazinga Channel, which links Lake Edward and Lake George. The two-hour cruise from Mweya provides us with an excellent opportunity for wildlife sightings including large herds of hippo, Nile crocodile, African buffalo, African elephant and a multitude of birds as well as numerous other plains wildlife that come to drink at the water's edge during the day. After our cruise, we return to our lodge for dinner.
Accommodation: Elephant Plains Lodge, 2-nights
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Day 8:
Ishasha
Today we remain in Queen Elizabeth National Park, but to maximise our experience of the national park we drive southwards to the Ishasha area, aiming to arrive in time for an afternoon drive in search of lions, possibly resting in the fig trees.
Accommodation: Ishasha Wilderness Camp, 1-night
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Days 9-10
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Bwindi Impenetrable National Park
This morning we have time to enjoy more of the Ishasha area of Queen Elizabeth National Park, starting our day with a morning safari drive. We will exit the park to start our journey to Bwindi by continuing through Ishasha for a final look for the tree climbing lions, before continuing southwards to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park.
Our full day in Bwindi provides an opportunity for an unforgettable gorilla trekking experience. Note: this is an optional activity; if you would like to trek to see the gorilla, please let us know at the time of booking and we can organise your permit.
After breakfast we transfer to the park offices for a briefing with our trekking guide before driving to the trailhead for the start of our thrilling adventure. Depending on the whereabouts of the gorilla family that we have been assigned to visit, the trek can involve walking long distances in steep and sometimes muddy conditions. Upon sighting the gorillas, we spend one hour with them as they go about their daily life; feeding, moving, and generally playing around with the juveniles sometimes wrestling with one another. It is a truly unique and unforgettable experience.
After hiking back to base, we transfer back to the lodge and the rest of the day is left at leisure.
Accommodation: Buhoma Lodge, 2-nights
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Day 11:
Lake Mburo National Park
Leaving Bwindi, we drive eastwards to our final national park of the tour – Lake Mburo. Despite it being Uganda’s smallest national park, Lake Mburo offers amazing scenery with five lakes surrounded by forested hills, open savannah, acacia woodland and papyrus swamps.
As we enter the national park, we enjoy a safari drive to our accommodation looking out for impala, zebra, and Africa’s largest antelope species, the eland. Later this afternoon we join a boat cruise along the lake, this provides us with an excellent opportunity to watch for the 300+ species of birds that have been recorded in the national park, whilst also scanning for any wildlife coming to drink at the lake’s edge.
Accommodation: Mihingo Lodge, 1-night
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Day 12:
Return to Entebbe & depart
Our final day in Uganda sees us rise early as we embark on a bush walk guided by a local ranger. A safari on foot allows you to notice the smaller, often overlooked details and can bring you much closer to the wildlife than being in a vehicle.
Next, we visit Mabamba Swamp and our best chance of spotting the elusive shoebill stork. This species is named after its uniquely-shaped bill which allows this bird to catch relatively large prey, such as lungfish, young crocodiles and turtles. Shoebill storks can be secretive birds so we will spend time at Mabamba to try and spot these curious avian creatures. We then continue to Entebbe for our overnight flight back to the UK.
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Day 13:
Arrive UK
Please note: This itinerary is flexible and may change due to weather, wildlife sightings and travel advisories from the FCDO.
Chimpanzee tracking permits and gorilla trekking permits are not included in the cost of the trip. These permits are priced separately as the prices are subject to change. Please contact a member of our team so that we can organise the permits for you as soon as possible.
