Tour overview
Your 12 days Uganda comprehensive safari covers a large scope of activities in the Pearl of Africa including a trip around Uganda’s capital visiting major historical, religious, cultural and natural heritage sites. The country’s major National Parks will be covered such as Murchison National Park renowned for housing the world’s strongest water falls, Kibale National Park which is the primate capital of the world, Queen Elizabeth National Park renowned for its abundant wildlife, Bwindi Impenetrable National Park that harbors half of the world’s remaining gorilla population and Lake Mburo National Park the only place to spot elands and renowned for its largest concentration of zebras and leopards.
Detailed itinerary
Day 1: Arrival & Kampala city tour
Your driver guide from Omangwa Safaris will be waiting at the airport and immediately transfer you to your reserved hotel in Kampala. You will check in and then proceed with your packed lunch for a city tour visiting places such as the Kabaka’s palace, Gadhafi mosque where you will be able to spot all the seven hills that make up Kampala, Uganda museum, craft shops and many more if time allows. Just before dusk, you will be driven back to your hotel for dinner and an overnight stay well prepared to hit the road to the country’s oldest and largest National Park in the far northwestern.
Day 2: Transfer to Murchison Falls National Park
Today have your breakfast served, checkout and embark on a drive to Murchison Falls National Park with an en-route at Ziwa rhino sanctuary in Nakasongola. Ziwa rhino sanctuary is the only place in Uganda where rhinos can be encountered in their natural habitat. You will spend an hour just meters away from the rhinos as you learn more about their social life and behaviors after which you will proceed to Masindi for your lunch. Having had lunch, proceed to the Park where you will check-in at your pre-arranged lodge and later on report to the Park’s plains for an evening game drive. Several grazers will be seen grabbing their last meal of the day for example giraffes, elephants, reedbucks, Uganda kobs, Jackson’s hartebeests and vast birds. Return to your lodge for dinner and an overnight.
Day 3: Morning Game drive & afternoon boat cruise
Wake up very early for your morning breakfast and return to the northern section of the Park for more game viewing as you lookout for nocturnal animals that you could have missed out in the previous drive. Animals to be sported include hyenas, lions, herds of elephants and buffaloes, giraffes, leopards, antelopes, warthogs and many more. Game-viewing lasts for about 3 to 5 hours after which you will get back to your lodge or a restaurant within the Park for your lunch before you embark on a boat cruise to the bottom of the falls. The cruise will take you through schools of hippopotamuses, colonies of water birds as you capture a glimpse of several animals along the river banks. This cruise along the Nile River lasts for approximately 3 hours after which you will be driven back to your lodge to have dinner and an overnight.
Day 4: Transfer to Kibale National Park
Have your breakfast served and checkout to be driven to Kibale National Park via Kyenjojo-Hoima road arriving in Fort Portal in the early afternoon for your lunch. After your lunch, you will head off for a tour around this region’s crater lakes such as Lake Nyabikere, Lake Nyinambuga, Lake Nkuruba and many more where you will be able to spot several bird species and different plant types. Later in the evening you will proceed to your reserved lodge for dinner and an overnight.
Day 5: Chimpanzee trekking & Bigodi wetland visit
Wake up to your breakfast and report to Kanyanchu visitors’ center to catch up with a briefing about chimpanzee trekking. Searching for a habituated troop of chimpanzees lasts for about 30 minutes to four hours depending how far they could have moved while you encounter other primates like the red tailed monkeys, black and white colobus, blue monkeys, olive baboons and many more. An hour is allowed with the chimpanzees as you closely watch them go about their routine activities. Return to the lodge for your lunch after which you will head off for a guided nature walk in the Bigodi wetland and a renowned home to the great blue turaco. Several bird species will be spotted as well as primates and mammals like sitatunga antelopes, bushbucks, otters, bush pigs, mongoose and many more will be encountered. Get back to your lodge to have dinner and an overnight.
Day 6: Transfer to Queen Elizabeth National Park & evening game drive
Have your morning breakfast and checkout to be driven to Queen Elizabeth National Park with a stopover at Kikorongo equator monument to have an experience of the equator line where the earth is bisected into two equal parts. Endeavor to be entertained by the Kikorongo dancers’ troop before you proceed to check-in at your reserved lodge and later have lunch. After lunch you will head off for an evening game drive to spot several animals as they grab themselves a last feast of the day. Animals to lookout for include kobs, buffaloes, elephants, warthogs, waterbucks and many more as well as several bird species. Return back to your lodge to have dinner and an overnight.
Day 7: Morning game drive & afternoon boat cruise
This beautiful day kicks off with an early breakfast before you meet your driver guide to driven back to the Park’s golden plains for game viewing where you will be able to spot several animals that you could have missed out in the previous game drive. Early risers of the jungle will as well be spotted while predators patiently stalk them up for a meal. Animals to be encountered include lions, hyenas, herds of elephants and buffaloes, warthogs, bushbucks, hippopotamuses, mongoose, impalas and many more. Get back to your lodge for lunch before you report for a boat cruise along Kazinga water channel where you will get up-close views of schools of hippopotamuses, crocodiles as well as herds of buffaloes, elephants, bushbucks quench their thirst along the shores of the water channel. Retire off the cruise to be driven back to your lodge for dinner and an overnight.
Day 8: Depart for Bwindi Impenetrable N/P via Ishasha sector
Wake up to a scrumptious breakfast and checkout of your lodge to embark on a drive through the Ishasha sector to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. You will have enough time close to the tree climbing lions as they relax and laze between huge fig tree and cactus tree branches. You will have an insight into their unusual behavior and later proceed with your drive to the renowned home of Uganda’s gorillas. Arrival at your lodge will be in the afternoon to have lunch and later gaze around your lodge as you wait to have dinner and an overnight relaxed enough to encounter the gentle giants in their natural habitat the next morning.
Day 9: Gorilla trekking & Batwa cultural experience
Have an early morning breakfast and report with parked lunch to the Park headquarters for a briefing about what is expected of you during gorilla trekking. You will be divided into groups of eight and a gorilla family allocated that you will go searching after in the Park’s misty forests with the guidance of ranger guides. The gorilla search may last for about 1 to 6 hours depending on how far the gorilla family could have moved. An hour is allowed with gorillas which is truly the highlight of your entire safari. Ranger guides will allocate a safe place for you to have lunch after which you will proceed to encounter the former keepers of the Bwindi forests. You will learn about they survived in the forests for example their hunting techniques, herbal medicines, lighting fire with sticks and many more. Mingle with the Batwa in their local communities and later return to your lodge for dinner and an overnight.
Day 10: Depart for Lake Mburo National Park
Wakeup so early for your breakfast and checkout to meet your driver guide who will transfer you to Lake Mburo National Park arriving in time for lunch. After lunch you will head off for an evening game drive guaranteed to spot several animals like herds of buffaloes, elands, impalas, zebras, waterbucks and many more. Several bird species will as well be spotted after which you will return to your lodge to have dinner and an overnight.
Day 11: Morning walking safari & afternoon boat cruise
You will have your breakfast and then report to the Park headquarters for a briefing and head off for a walking safari with the guidance of UWA guides. You will have the opportunity to spot several wildlife on foot as you take several pictures with animals in the background like giraffes, elands, impalas, zebras and many more. Return to your lodge for lunch after which you will head off for a boat cruise along Lake Mburo. For bird enthusiasts, this is an opportunity for you to see several bird types on your safari. Get back to your lodge to have dinner and an overnight stay.
Day 12: Return to Kampala & departure
Today, have your last safari breakfast and checkout to embark on your journey back to Kampala with an en-route game drive to have your last glaze at the Park’s animals. Along your drive, you will make a stopover at the Equator line in Kayabwe to have an experience where the earth is divided into two equal parts. Proceed with your drive to the city center arriving in the afternoon to be dropped off at your preferred hotel or direct to the airport according to the time of your flight back home.
