Safari Overview
20 days Uganda gorillas and other wildlife safari is a long trip that focuses on Uganda gorillas and other wildlife that Uganda boasts about. This safari is mainly for travelers who have time and want to explore the beauty of Uganda national parks but with the main highlight being gorilla trekking in Bwindi impenetrable national park. You will visit 7 national parks in the period of 20 days and surprisingly each national park has a unique experience and this is already mind blowing. You will visit Lake Bunyonyi as well and Mabamba Bay for shoebill watching.
Day by day Program
Day 1: Arrival and Transfer to Sipi Falls
Upon arrival, our drive guide will pick you from the airport, he will greet you, brief you about the trip and then embark on your adventure to Sipi falls. You will drive through Kampala-Jinja highway, with stopover at Ssezibwa falls in Mukono, you will proceed to Jinja to visit source of the Nile, you will have lunch in Jinja and then embark on the journey to Sipi falls, one of the iconic attractions in Uganda and in Eastern Uganda this time around. You will drive through farm lands to visit the 3 waterfall levels that is 65m, 85m and 100m and you will be thrilled to see these waterfalls, you will engage in coffee tours, if you are adrenaline master, you will do abseiling and rock climbing which is about 100m cliff near the main waterfalls. You will later retire to the booked lodge in Sipi, check in, have dinner and wait for the adventure in the next day.
Day 2: Transfer to Kidepo Valley National Park
You will arise in the morning, enjoy a scrumptious breakfast, check out of the lodge, meet your driver guide and transfer to Kidepo Valley National Park one of the most isolated national park in Uganda. You will drive for about 7hours, you will drive via Kaabong, have an en-route lunch and then embark on your journey, and you will arrive in the evening, connect to your lodge, check in, and have dinner and overnight stay.
Day 3: Game Drive and Cultural Tour
Arise in the morning, greet your intestines with a scrumptious breakfast, meet your driver guide and head to the park for a morning game drive in Kidepo valley national park. You will encounter buffaloes, elephants, rhinos, lions and leopards and these are Africa’s big 5 animals, you will encounter other wildlife for example oribis, kobs among others. You will visit different kopjes for animal sightings, you will enjoy the Narus valley in Kidepo national park, and head back to the lodge in the midmorning for relaxation. You will have lunch and then in the afternoon, you will engage in Karamajong cultural tour. You will enter their Manyatta homes where you will be entertained, you will listen to their stories, learn about cultural differences and then retire to the lodge in the evening with memories. You will have dinner and a peaceful night in the jungle.
Day 4: Check out and Transfer to Murchison Falls National Park
Another day for adventure is here, you will wake up in the morning, have a delicious breakfast, check out of the lodge, meet your drive guide and head to Murchison falls national park which is Uganda’s largest national park and a natural wonder which harbors the strongest waterfalls in the world. You will have lunch en-route in Gulu city and proceed to the park where you will connect through Tangi gate,
proceed to the booked lodge, check in, have dinner and overnight.
Day 5: Game Drive and Boat Cruise in Murchison Falls National Park
Unfold your day with a scrumptious breakfast, meet your driver guide and head to the wilderness to catch the animals when they are still active. You will be welcomed by herds of elephants, buffaloes, lions, leopards, giraffes, kobs, bushbucks, waterbucks, hartebeests, birds among others, thereafter, you will return to the lodge for relaxation and lunch. Game drives in Murchison falls national park lasts between 2 to 4 hours. After lunch relaxation, in the evening you will go for a boat cruise to the bottom of the falls to see the world’s strongest waterfalls. You will cruise through a school of hippos, Nile crocodiles, buffaloes and elephants will be swimming at the shores as well, this will be one of the rewarding evenings while on a boat cruise in Murchison falls national park. You will visit top of the falls to have an aerial view of the falls from the above, where you will take the pictures while you are above the falls, you will enjoy the moment and then retire to the lodge in the late evening for dinner and overnight stay.
Day 6: Check out and Transfer to Semuliki National Park
Another day to roll and win is here. Start your day with a delicious breakfast, check out of the lodge, meet your driver guide and head to Semuliki national park located in Bundibugyo district. This is the only lowland tropical rainforest, it is on the western side of Mountain Rwenzori and the park is associated with the Ituri forest of the Congo Basin which is Africa’s most diverse and ancient forest that has existed since 18000 years ago. You will have lunch in Hoima Oil city, proceed to the park, connect to your accommodation, check in, have dinner and overnight.
Day 7: Explore Semuliki National Park
This is another day of exploring the beauty of Uganda. You will wake up in the morning, enjoy a scrumptious breakfast, meet your driver guide and head to the park, you will have a guided nature walk through the thick forest to visit the Sempaya hot springs where you will see Bitende the male hot springs and Nyasimbi the female hot springs. You will be advised to carry eggs or bananas for steaming in water whose temperatures boil up to 1000 C. The guided nature walk will last for about 4hours, have picnic lunch and then in the afternoon, you have an option of either hiking 11km Red Monkey Trail to have an encounter with different primates and have an amazing scenery of Semuliki River, second option you will visit Batwa community third option is to do birding looking for rare bird species like Congo serpent Eagle, White-throated Blue swallow, Yellow-throated Nicator among others and then retire to the lodge for dinner and relaxation.
Day 8: Check out and Transfer to Kibale Forest National Park
On this day, you will have a very short drive between the destinations where you will wake up on a lazy breakfast, check out of the lodge and head to Kibale national park which is also known as the World’s Primate Capital you will drive for about 2hours. On your journey to Kibale forest national park, you expect to encounter dramatic sceneries of Crater Valley Kibale (CVK), tea plantations, you will also visit Amabere Ga’nyinamwiru caves, visit crater lakes and enjoy the beautiful scenery of Rwenzori Mountains. You will have lunch en-route and embark on your journey to the park. Depending on which lodge you have booked, if you booked Chimpundu lodge in Kibale forest national park, you will check in, relax, and have dinner and overnight stay.
Day 9: Chimpanzee trekking and Visit Bigodi Wetland
Arise in the morning, grab a scrumptious breakfast, meet your driver guide and head to Kanyanchu guest center and this is where you get to know about chimpanzee trekking in Uganda. You will be assigned a ranger guide who will direct you to have an encounter with the troupes in the jungle. Spending 1hour in the presence of the chimps is so amazing, you will take videos, you will be enjoying melodies from the bids and thereafter, you will return to the park headquarter to receive a tracking certificate, you will meet your driver guide and then head to the lodge to freshen up. You will later visit Bigodi wetland for yet another experience that is so soothing. You will spot birds for example shoebill storks, turacos, and then head to the community where you will taste on the local brew. You will later retire to the lodge for dinner and overnight.
Day 10: Check Out and Transfer to Queen Elizabeth National Park
Another beautiful day is here where you will arise in the morning, have a fantastic breakfast, check out of the lodge, meet your driver guide and hit the road to Queen Elizabeth national park which is the second largest national park in Uganda and it is the largest savanna national park in Uganda. You will drive for about 2hours from Kibale to Queen Elizabeth national park and upon arrival, you will connect to your booked lodge, check in, and do the swimming if you want or read a book.
Day 11: Game Drive and Boat Cruise in Queen Elizabeth National Park
Arise in the morning, grab a scrumptious breakfast, and meet your driver guide and go to the park headquarter where you will get a ranger guide who will escort you to the jungle to catch the animals when they are still very active. Expect to encounter lions, leopards, buffaloes, elephants, kobs, bushbucks, hyenas, the beautiful sceneries and lyrical birds will be singing for you and this game drive will last for about 2 hours, return to the lodge for relaxation, have lunch and in the evening you will head out for a boat cruise on Kazinga channel one of the exceptional activities in Queen Elizabeth national park. You will engage in an amazing launch cruise on Kazinga channel which is a home to hippos, crocodiles, other wildlife you will encounter while on a launch cruise on Kazinga channel are; buffaloes, elephants, and kobs they will have come to drink water. You will enjoy taking pictures while on the boat cruise, you will also be enjoying listening to stories, and thereafter you will visit the Equator at Kikorongo in Queen Elizabeth national park, take pictures, engage in the experience and thereafter retire to the lodge for a soothing overnight.
Day 12: Visit Ishasha and Transfer to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park
Another day of adventure is here. Arise in the morning, take breakfast, check out of the lodge, meet your driver guide and head to Ishasha sector in Queen Elizabeth to spot tree climbing lions. You will see tree climbing lions, elephants, buffaloes, antelopes and then exit the park and head to Bwindi impenetrable national park. You will roll to one of Uganda’s most visited national parks in the far south of Uganda. Bwindi impenetrable forest national is famous for hosting mountain gorillas in the four gorilla sectors. You will have lunch en-route, proceed to the lodge, and relax in the lodge under the thick canopies where forest magic meets cozy accommodation. You will check in the lodge, have dinner and overnight stay.
Day 13: Gorilla trekking in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park
The long awaited day is here, where you will wake up as early as 6:30am, greet your intestines with a scrumptious breakfast, and meet your driver guide who will transfer you to the briefing center. It is at this briefing center where you will be assigned a gorilla family to track, you will be assigned a ranger guide who will help you to locate the gorilla family, and thereafter, you will head to the off-the beaten paths to find the mountain gorillas in their nests. You will spend 1hour in the presence of mountain gorillas as you see them do their chores, you will be entertained by the babies who will be playing in the tree branches and your camera will be doing its job. Enjoy the moment, return to the park headquarters for a gorilla trekking certificate, meet your driver guide who will transfer you back to the lodge to freshen up and relaxation. You will have dinner and overnight stay.
Day 14: Transfer to Lake Bunyonyi and Canoeing
On this day, you will start your day with a mouthwatering breakfast, check out, meet your driver guide and transfer to Lake Bunyonyi the deepest lake in Uganda and second deepest in Africa after Lake Tanganyika. Lake Bunyonyi is famous for hosting 29 Islands and each Island has a unique history attached to it. Lake Bunyonyi is the only bilharzia free lake in Uganda and you will enjoy swimming if you are interested. You will arrive at the booked lodge at Lake Bunyonyi, check in, have lunch and then engage in canoeing on Lake Bunyonyi. You will enjoy a cool ambiance, relax at the lodge, and have an overnight stay.
Day 15: Transfer to Lake Mburo National Park
You will wake up on a lazy breakfast, check out of the lodge, meet your driver guide and head to Lake Mburo national park. You will have lunch en-route in Mbarara city at Igongo country hotel and proceed to the lodge, check in the lodge, relax at the lodge, have dinner and overnight stay.
Day 16: Game Drive and Guided Nature Walk in Lake Mburo National Park
Another beautiful day here, where you will unfold your day with a delicious breakfast, meet your driver guide and go to the wilderness to see wildlife. Lake Mburo national park is Uganda’s 4th largest national park and it is the closest national park to Kampala the capital city of Uganda. You will encounter buffaloes, zebras, giraffes, leopards, hyenas, impalas and Lake Mburo is known for having the highest concentration of Impalas, you will visit different animal viewpoints, take pictures of wildlife and the sceneries. You will later return to the lodge for relaxation as you wait for lunch and an evening guided nature walk. You will enjoy being close to the animals especially the giraffes and zebras, birds, trees and then return to the lodge for dinner and overnight stay.
Day 17: Ankole Cattle Experience and Transfer to Mabamba Bay
You will wake up in the early morning, have an early breakfast or get your breakfast packed, check out of the lodge and head to Emburara farm for Ankole cattle experience. You engage in milking, you will hear the names Ankole cattle and these names in most cases depend on the color of the cow. You will later exit the farm and head to Mabamba Bay, one of the bird sanctuaries on the shore of Lake Victoria. You will have lunch in Masaka city, and then after lunch, you will head to Entebbe, catch a ferry to Mabamba Bay. You will arrive in the evening, check in the lodge, have dinner and overnight stay.
Day 18: Shoebill Stork Viewing and Transfer to Entebbe
Another day of adventure is here. Wake up in the morning, enjoy a delicious breakfast and head out to the swamp to track the rare shoebill storks and other bird species. Mabamba bay is home to over 300 bird species including Blue Swallow, white-winged warbler, other wildlife to encounter are; sitatungas, butterflies among other, you will also engage in guided nature walk or visit local community and then head back to the lodge to freshen up and check out. Lunch will be in Entebbe at your hotel.
Day 19: Kampala City Tour
Another beautiful day is here, where you will wake up on a lazy breakfast, meet your driver guide and head out to explore Kampala the capital city of Uganda. The city is famous for tremendous day and night life. You will visit different places including markets, religious sites like Bahai temple, Gaddafi mosque, you will visit Nakasero market also known as Kampala fresh fruit market, you will visit different artisans among others. Lunch will be in the in the local restaurant, you will return to the lodge in the evening and if you want to experience Kampala night life, your driver guide will take you around the catchy places of Kampala, retire to the lodge for an overnight.
Day 20: Check Out and Departure
On the last leg of your safari, you will wake up at leisure, enjoy a delicious breakfast, do some shopping in case you have something you forgot, have an early lunch, check out, meet your driver guide, breath in and out and bid a farewell to Uganda. The driver guide will transfer you to the Airport to catch your flight back home and this will mark the end of your 20 days Uganda gorillas and other wildlife safari.
