14-Day Uganda Wildlife and Gorilla Trekking Safari

Upon arrival at Entebbe International Airport, you will be met by our company driver guide, who will warmly welcome you, brief you, and transfer you to your hotel for relaxation, dinner, and an overnight stay at your booked hotel in Entebbe as you truly relax from the jet lag and prepare for the next day’s adventure.

Accommodation: Protea Hotel (luxury), 2 Friends Beach Hotel (mid-range), and Papyrus Guest House (budget)

Meal Plan: Dinner

After your breakfast, you will drive to visit the Sipi Falls in Eastern Uganda and meet your local guide at Sipi, who will take you through the history of Sipi Falls, thereby starting this exciting and eye-catching activity with a guided hike to the top of the Sipi Falls. Later, you will have a tour through the coffee plantations, giving you a chance to learn the vital knowledge on how coffee is processed with coffee tasting. Later in the evening, you will drive to the lodge for dinner and an overnight stay.

Accommodation: Sipi Heritage (mid-range), Lacam Lodge (budget)

Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner

After your hearty breakfast, you will check out of the lodge and embark on your journey to Kidepo Valley National Park. This wilderness park is located in the far northeastern part of Uganda near the Kenya and South Sudan border, taking about a 5-6 hour drive. The journey is spectacular, with breathtaking countryside views as you approach the Karamoja region. After being cleared at the entry, you will proceed to your booked accommodation for check-in, have lunch, and relax. After that, you will have an evening game drive, which will offer you great chances of exploring the scenic and spectacular views of the hills and mountains of Kidepo National Park.

Accommodation: Apoka Safari Lodge (luxury), Savannah Lodge (mid-range), Karatunga Safari Camp (budget)

Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner

Have your breakfast; after, you will drive to the wild for your morning game drive and explore the park’s uniqueness in the Narus Valley with sightings of various wildlife species such as leopards, elephants, cheetahs, zebras, lions, Rothschild giraffes, and large herds of buffalo. After lunch, you will go for a game drive in Kidepo Valley in anticipation of seeing some of the rare species, such as the ostriches and a few wildlife species. You will also visit the hot springs of Kanangorok before you return to your lodge. After, you will spend the rest of the evening interacting with community members of the Karamojong.

Accommodation: Apoka Safari Lodge (luxury), Savannah Lodge (mid-range), Karatunga Safari Camp (budget)

Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner

After breakfast in the morning, you will embark on your journey to Murchison Falls National Park, which is located in the northwestern part of the country. It’s quite a long drive from Kidepo National Park, about 7 hours. En route, you will have a stopover in Gulu town for lunch and proceed with the journey to Murchison Falls National Park. Upon arrival, you will check in at the lodge, refresh, and spend the rest of the day at leisure. Have dinner and stay overnight at the lodge.

Accommodation: Paraa Safari Lodge (luxury), Pakuba Safari Lodge (mid-range), Hornbill Safari Lodge (budget)

Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner

Today, you will enjoy an early morning breakfast at the lodge and head out for a morning game drive in Uganda’s largest park. The park has several wildlife species, such as lions, buffalo, elephants, jackals, warthogs, waterbucks, Rothschild’s giraffes, spotted hyenas, topis, leopards, hippos, lions, and several birds. After the game drive, you will return to the lodge for lunch and some relaxation. In the afternoon, you will have a 3-hour boat cruise on the River Nile, where you will spot several wildlife species along the banks, such as African elephants, hippos, Nile crocodiles, antelopes, monkeys, and waterbird species. You will ride towards the bottom of the falls, where you will hike to the top of the falls for about 1 hour and 30 minutes. After, retire to your lodge for dinner and an overnight stay.

Accommodation: Paraa Safari Lodge (luxury), Pakuba Safari Lodge (mid-range), Hornbill Safari Lodge (budget)

Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner

Wake up early in the morning for breakfast. Then, you will check out from the lodge and drive through the park to Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary in Nakasongola District. Here, you will trek into the savannah for a close view of the white rhinos’ tracking experience in their natural setting. During rhino tracking, you will have a chance to see them close to their feet, assisted by the ranger guides. You will spend an hour with them, and after that, have lunch and proceed to Hoima town for dinner and an overnight stay.

Accommodation: Kabalega Resort (mid-range), Hoima Cultural Lodge (budget)

Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner

Wake up for your breakfast, and after, embark on a road trip to Kibale National Park. You will arrive there in the afternoon for lunch and some relaxation at the lodge. In the evening, you will go for a swamp nature walk through the Bigodi wetland, where you will spot a variety of bird species and several primates, such as black and white colobus monkeys, olive baboons, red-tailed monkeys, bush babies, and antelopes.

Accommodation: Primate Lodge (luxury), Kibale Forest Lodge (mid-range lodge), and Kibale Forest Camp (budget)

Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner

After breakfast, you will head to the park offices for a briefing and then set out for chimpanzee trekking through the lush forest. Visitors spend an hour with these intelligent chimps upon seeing them in their natural habitat. Apart from chimpanzees, other primate species can be spotted, like the red-tailed monkeys, grey-cheeked mangabey, blue monkeys, black bush babies, L’Hoest’s monkeys, and white colobus monkeys. Expect to encounter other wildlife species such as forest elephants, buffalo, antelopes, and Cape buffalo. From there, you will return to the lodge for lunch and some relaxation. After the transfer to Queen Elizabeth National Park.

Accommodation: Mweya Safari Lodge (luxury), Buffalo Safari Lodge (mid-range), and Pumba Safari Cottages

Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner

Today, after your breakfast, you will set out for an early morning game drive in the Kasenyi plains of Queen Elizabeth Park. This will offer you the chance of spotting various wildlife species like lions, leopards, waterbucks, buffaloes, hartebeests, antelopes, warthogs, Uganda kobs, and also see different crater lakes. After the 3-hour drive, you will transfer back for lunch. Then, you will prepare for the afternoon 2-hour launch cruise along the Kazinga Channel, home to the highest concentration of hippos in the world. This comes along with several bird species and animals like hippos, Nile crocodiles, African elephants, and antelopes, among others.

Accommodation: Mweya Safari Lodge (luxury), Buffalo Safari Lodge (mid-range), and Pumba Safari Cottages

Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner

On this day, wake up early in the morning, have your breakfast, and head out for another morning game drive. This will give you a chance to see animals in their families, distinctive clans, and groups. This game drive is done through the Ishasha plains as you search for the spectacular tree-climbing lions, buffalo, elephants, waterbucks, leopards, cape buffaloes, and various striking birds. Retire and have lunch. Later, you will transfer to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, home of the mountain gorillas.

Accommodation: Bwindi Lodge (luxury), Buhoma Community (mid-range), Ride 4 A Woman (budget)

Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner

Research about these gentle giants claims that 98% of their DNA is close to that of the human race. Bwindi is home to half of the world’s total population of mountain gorillas and other species like primates, mammals, and reptiles, among others. After the briefing at the headquarters, you will be led by the ranger guide into the jungle to search for the mountain gorillas. This experience usually takes 2 to 8 hours, being that gorillas move differently, and only 1 hour is granted to visitors to have a glimpse of the gorillas. In case you are not interested in mountain gorilla trekking, you can have a short-guided forest walk or a community walk to the Batwa community. After the adventure, you will embark on the drive towards Lake Bunyonyi, which is Africa’s second-deepest lake and a birder’s destination. You’ll enjoy the beautiful views of the landscapes, like the locally terraced interlocking hills where most locals carry out their crop cultivation.

Accommodation: Birdnest Resort (luxury), Bunyonyi Rock Resort (mid-range), and Itambira Seeds of Hope (budget)

Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner

After your breakfast, you will embark on the 4-hour and 30-minute road trip to Lake Mburo National Park, known for being one of the smallest parks in Uganda but rich with unique wildlife species. You will have a stopover for lunch at Ishanyi Food Center in Mbarara town. The road trip will take you through stunning scenery, markets, farms, and plantations. The park is a habitat for a large number of zebras, oribis, buffaloes, impalas, warthogs, and waterbucks, with over 332 bird species. Upon arrival at the park in the afternoon, you will head for an evening game drive or a boat launch along Lake Mburo.

Accommodation: Mihingo Safari Lodge (luxury), Rwakobo Rock (mid-range), and Eagles Nest (budget)

Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner

After an early breakfast, you will head for a morning walking safari in Lake Mburo National Park. This park is famous for zebras, elands, impalas, giraffes, Cape buffalos, and many savannah- and acacia-related bird species. After, you will check out of the lodge and transfer to Entebbe International Airport as you say farewell to the “pearl of Africa.” Along the way, you will make a stopover at the Equator line to have an authentic feel of standing at Latitude 0, where the earth is divided into two hemispheres with an imaginary line. After that, you proceed with your journey to Entebbe International Airport.

Meal Plan: Breakfast and Lunch

Inclusions:

•        All airport transfers (pickup and drop-off)
•        Professional English-speaking guide
•        1 gorilla trekking permit per person
•        1 chimpanzee trekking per person
•        All accommodation for the entire safari and meal plans
•        Drinking water throughout the safari
•        All park entrance fees and government taxes.
•        Fuel for 14 days
•        All activities mentioned in the itinerary
•        All ground transport using a 4×4 safari vehicle
•        All en route meals included
•        Drinking water (other drinks not included)

Exclusions:

•        Travel insurance
•        Alcoholic drinks and all soft drinks such as sodas, juice, and wines in lodges
•        Visa Ticket
•        Extra activities not included in the itinerary
•        Personal items such as telephone charges, laundry, tips, souvenirs, etc.