The 18 Day Best of Uganda Wildlife, primate, and cultural safari is a magical journey into the isolated jungles of East Africa where you should expect an experience like no other; the journey starts and ends in Kampala/ Entebbe on this safari you will be able to trek gorillas, Golden Monkeys, chimpanzees, enjoy boat cruises, game drives, and cultural experiences. This 18-day Safari is a mid-luxury safari that is designed to allow every traveler to have a chance to spend time in the wilderness. If you’re a luxury traveler, don’t be bounced off yet. This Uganda safari can be tailor-made to suit your style too.

 

Itinerary

Day 1: pick up and transfer to Lake Mburo National Park for an evening game drive

Day 2: Morning game drive and afternoon boat cruise

Day 3: Morning walk and transfer to Bwindi impenetrable national park

Day 4: Gorilla trekking

Day 5: Morning cultural experience and transfer to Mgahinga National Park

Day 6: Golden Monkey tracking

Day 7: Transfer to Queen Elizabeth National Park Ishasha sector and afternoon game drive

Day 8: Morning game drive and afternoon cultural experience

Day 9: Transfer to the Northern part of Queen Elizabeth National Park for an afternoon game drive

Day 10: Morning game drive and afternoon boat cruise

Day 11: Morning Katwe salt mine visit and Drive to Kibale National Park

Day 15: Chimpanzee trekking and Bigodi wetland walk

Day 13: Transfer to Murchison Falls National Park and visit the top of the falls

Day 14: Morning game drive and afternoon boat cruise at the bottom of the falls

Day 15: Transfer to Kidepo Valley National Park

Day 16: Full day game drives in Kidepo Valley National Park

Day 17: Visiting Karamajong villages to explore the local cultures and transfer to Gulu overnight to break the journey for the next day.

Day 18: Transfer to Entebbe for drop-off to end the tour

 

Detailed Itinerary

Day 1: Pick up and transfer to Lake Mburo National Park for an evening game drive

After breakfast our professional driver guide will pick you from the hotel and transfer you to Lake Mburo National Park well Known as the “Whispers of the Wild”, you will have a stop in Kayabwe at the equator crossing for equator experience and photography and later proceed and reach in time for lunch, you will check in at the lodge have lunch and rest, you will later have an afternoon game drive to have a chance of spotting wildlife such as zebras, Uganda Kobs, mention but a few and later return to the lodge for dinner and overnight.

 

Day 2: Morning game drive and afternoon boat cruise

After breakfast you will have a morning game drive for chances of spotting early morning raisers and return to the lodge for lunch in the afternoon you will have a boat cruise activity where you will be able to sight different animal species such as crocodiles, hippos, and also bird species while enjoying your boat cruise, you will later return to the lodge for relaxation, dinner and overnight.

 

Day 3: Morning walk and transfer to Bwindi impenetrable national park

In the morning you will have a morning walk in the park to have a chance to spot animals in a closer range such as zebras, kobs mention but a few, you will be accompanied by an armed ranger guide for security and later you will embark on your vehicle to southwestern Uganda in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park passing in the rolling hills, tea and banana plantations which gives a scenic view. You will reach in the evening and check in at the lodge have dinner and overnight.

 

Day 4: Gorilla trekking in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park

After your early morning breakfast, you will be transferred to the park headquarters with your packed lunch to join other trackers for registration and briefing about Dos and don’ts during your trekking activity, you will be welcomed by the local community entertainment as they perform cultural dances. Later, you will start your trekking activity escorted by the armed ranger, this trek may take half an hour or three-quarters of the day depending on the movements of the mountain gorillas, once you find them you will be allowed to spend one hour interacting with them, taking pictures and you will later return to the headquarters to be awarded certificates and you will be driven back to the lodge for relaxation and overnight.

 

Day 5: Morning Batwa cultural experience and drive to Mgahinga National Park

After your early morning breakfast, you will have a community walk where you will have a cultural experience as they entertain you through cultural performances, you will later return to the lodge, check out, and transfer to Mgahinga National Park for relaxation and overnight.

 

Day 6: Morning golden monkey tracking in Mgahinga National Park

After your breakfast, you will drive to Mgahinga National Park for a briefing and then go for your golden monkey trekking. This golden monkey walk will expose you to other attractions in the park before returning to your lodge for relaxation and overnight.

 

Day 7: Transfer to Queen Elizabeth National Park Ishasha sector and afternoon game drive

After breakfast you check out and set off for Queen Elizabeth National Park the Medley of Wonders upon reaching, you will check in at the lodge, have lunch and rest later on you will have an afternoon game drive to have a chance of spotting tree climbing lions and a wide number of wildlife such as Buffaloes, elephants, warthogs mention but a few not forgetting a variety of bird species, you will have a chance of having a sunset view while on a game drive, later you will return at the lodge for dinner and overnight.

 

Day 8: Morning game drive and afternoon cultural experience

In the morning you will embark on your vehicle for the morning game drive to have a second chance of spotting tree-climbing lions in the Ishasha sector and other animals can be sighted while on the game drive, you will later return to the lodge for lunch, and have an afternoon cultural experiences as you enjoy their cultural dances, drama, ways of life and later return to the lodge for dinner and overnight.

 

Day 9: Transfer to the Northern part of Queen Elizabeth National Park for an afternoon game drive

After breakfast, you will transfer to the northern part of Queen Elizabeth National Park, upon reaching, you will have an evening game drive to have a chance to spot a wide variety of animal species since the park is well known for the big 4 animals, you will later return to the lodge for dinner and overnight.

 

Day 10: Morning game drive and afternoon boat cruise

You will have an early morning game drive to have a chance to spot various animals such as elephants, warthogs, waterbucks, Buffaloes, Topis, and some wild cats such as Lions and leopards on a lucky day and also different bird species, you will have an afternoon boat cruise at Kazinga channel that connects Lake Edward to Lake George as you have a chance of spotting wildlife such as hippos, Crocodiles, Buffaloes along the banks and a variety of bird species while on the cruise, you will later return at the lodge for dinner and overnight.

 

Day 11: Morning Katwe salt mine visit and Drive to Kibale National Park

After breakfast, you will drive to Lake Katwe salt mining area where you will have a chance to get to know how this salt is mined from the lake, you will later drive to Kibale National Park arriving at your lodge in the evening for dinner, and overnight.

 

Day 15: Morning Chimpanzee trekking and Bigodi wetland walk

In the morning you will be transferred to the park headquarters located in Kanyanchu and join other trekkers for briefing later start the chimpanzee trekking activity, this activity will take approximately half a day as you enter into the forest escorted by an armed ranger as you look for habituated chimpanzees, Kibale is also known for other 13 primate species which you may encounter while on your way, the moment you find these chimps you will be allowed to spend one hour with them and you will later return and prepare for an afternoon Bigodi wetland walk. You will have a chance to encounter Primates such as black and white colobus monkeys, red-tailed monkeys, L’Hoest’s monkey, and baboons and birds such as the Great Blue Turaco, and shoebill stork among others while on the walk, you will also appreciate the role of the local community towards conservation of this wetland, you can choose to support them through donations.

 

Day 13: Transfer to Murchison Falls National Park and visit the top of the falls

After breakfast you will check out and transfer to Murchison Falls National Park via small towns, villages, and greater views of escarpments, you will visit the top of the falls and later return to the lodge to have dinner and overnight.

 

Day 14: Morning game drive and afternoon boat cruise at the bottom of the falls

After breakfast, you will set off for an early morning game drive across the rolling plains of Uganda’s largest National Park you will have chances to spot various wildlife including Giraffes, antelopes, buffaloes, and wild cats such as lions, leopards on a lucky day. For any birder, there are quite a number of bird species to sight too while on the drive. you will return to the lodge after your morning drive for lunch and later head out for a boat cruise to Pier for a 2-hour boat cruise at the base of splendid Murchison Falls where you will also be able to catch sight of more animals including school of Hippos and Crocodiles and several water birds as well as witnessing how the River Nile water squeezes itself in a narrow gorge only to later explode out giving you an experience of a lifetime.

 

Day 15: Transfer to Kidepo National Park

After breakfast you will embark on your vehicle and drive to Kidepo Valley National Park True Africa’s wilderness, you will have lunch enroute and reach in the evening to relax, have dinner, and overnight

 

Day 16: Full day game drives in Kidepo Valley National Park

Today, you will spend both morning and afternoon doing game drives in the savannah plains of Kidepo Valley National Park. This park hosts a great variety of animal species in comparison to any other Ugandan park. Of the Eighty species recorded in 1971, Twenty-eight weren’t known to exist in any other park within Uganda. Carnivore species distinctive to Kidepo are: The Hunting dog, Bat-eared Fox, Cheetah, Striped Hyena, Caracal, and aard Wolf. The more uncommon ungulates are: the greater & Lesser Kudu, roan antelope, Chandler’s Mountain Reedbuck, beisa oryx, Klipspringer, and Bright’s Gazelle, which have been greatly decreased by poachers within the past few years. Among the other big ungulates are: elephants, oribi, Burchell’s zebras, Jackson’s hartebeests, bush pigs, bohor reed buck, warthogs, Rothschild giraffes, defassa water bucks, cape buffaloes, elands, bush duskiers and bush bucks. Five primate species are found within the park of which the most endemic is the Kavirondo bush baby. Carnivores existing include lions, side-striped jackals, leopards, black-backed jackals, various small cats as well as spotted hyenas.

 

Day 17: Visiting Karamajong villages to explore the local cultures and transfer to Gulu overnight to break the journey for the next day.

After an early morning breakfast, you will drive back to Narus Valley to enjoy a morning game drive and proceed to Kidepo River as pave way to the Karamojong community, the valley is surrounded by hills which make the scenery exciting, and you will visit the homesteads of these cattle keepers well termed as Manyatas, you will have entertainment from them as they showcase different dances later enlighten about their culture. You will later drive to Gulu city for dinner and overnight

 

Day 18: Transfer to Entebbe for drop-off to end the tour

After breakfast, you will check out at the lodge and drive back to Entebbe/Kampala via Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary for rhino-tracking activity

 

Cost Includes:

Airport transfers on the first and last day,

Chimpanzee trekking Permit

Gorilla trekking Permit

Golden Monkey trekking

Game drive and boat cruise

Transport in a 4×4 safari vehicle

Services of an English-speaking driver guide

Fuel for the whole trip

Accommodation and meal plan as per the itinerary

All park entrance fees

Drinking water while in the vehicle

 

Cost Excludes:

Pre- and post-tour accommodation in Entebbe or Kampala

International airfares

Uganda Visa (USD50.00

Items of a personal nature such as tips, drinks, and laundry