13-Day Wildlife Adventure Trip to the Pearl of Africa

Upon arrival at Entebbe International Airport you will be received by a Home to Africa assigned driver/guide who will welcome you to Uganda – the Pearl of Africa. Thereafter, you will be transferred to the booked accommodation in Kampala. In case you have had an early landing into Uganda, you may opt for a late afternoon ride around the city of Kampala. Else, check-in and have enough rest awaiting dinner and overnight stay.

Your driver/guide will pick you from the accommodation and you will head out for Murchison Falls NP. The highlights of this park include: the roaring rapids of the Murchison Falls, the rolling plains of Uganda’s largest National Park where you will have the chance of viewing lions, giraffes, hartebeest, buffalo, and elephants. Then surely you will be fascinated by the concentration of hippos and the Nile crocodiles here. En route, make a visit to Zziwa Rhino sanctuary. You will have at least one hour of rhino tracking while here. Another stop will be in Masindi in order to enjoy your lunch. Continue to the park and check into your accommodation to relax for the Evening.

Have your breakfast, depart for an early morning game drive across the rolling plains of Uganda’s largest National Park where you will have the opportunity of viewing lions, giraffes, hartebeest, buffalo and elephants among others. For any birder, this area supports the secretary bird and black chested snake eagle to name a few. Return to your accommodation for some rest time and lunch. After lunch you will head out for the boat trip to the base of Murchison Falls where you will also be able to catch sight of more animals including Hippos and Crocodiles and several water birds. Continue with a hike (if you like) to the top of the falls. The hike may be a strenuous one but the thrill on reaching the top is unforgettable. Miss it only if you must. Return to your accommodation and have a relaxed evening.

After breakfast at your accommodation, depart right away for Kibale Forest National Park. The drive is incredibly scenic, passing through villages, lush green countryside and hills dotted with tea plantations which characterize this part of Uganda. Kibale NP is popular for its primates like the chimpanzees, colobus monkeys, grey cheeked mangabeys and red tailed monkeys. On your chimpanzee trails, these are regularly seen swinging in the forest trees and others feeding on the wild fruits. You will reach and do little but check into your accommodation where you will have dinner and the overnight rest.

Have breakfast at the accommodation and proceed out for a lifetime experience of chimp habituation in Kibale Forest. The activity allows you to accompany Kibale’s research and habituation team on their daily activities. You will spend a greater part of the day in the presence of these amazing human closest relation with the wild and witness them nesting, de-nesting, feeding, playing etc. while getting first hand explanation of the experts on the ground. Later, return to the accommodation for relaxation with spectacular view of Kibale features right in front of you.

Have a relaxed breakfast at the accommodation and drive off to Queen Elizabeth NP. You will reach Queen early enough to relax, have lunch and in the afternoon proceed out for game viewing. During the game drive, look out for wild animals like: reedbuck, bushbuck, kob, warthogs, elephants, lions and buffaloes to mention but a few. Alternatively, you could choose to go for the Queen’s breathtaking explosion crater drive (instead). The drive is basically sightseeing with very spectacular view of the breathtaking scenery in and around Queen. There is also plenty of wildlife to see along the drive although commonest are sights of Cape Buffaloes plus Elephants. Return to the accommodation for relaxation, dinner and the overnight stay.

Have breakfast and proceed out for the early morning lion tracking experience. The lions that are tracked have radio collars on them and it’s breathtaking for Wildlife enthusiasts who take part in this rare opportunity while in Queen. However, the groups (to go tracking) are limited in order to reduce stress on these members of the big 5 and increase the quality of the experience for visitors. You will also have the opportunity to encounter other wildlife while on the lion tracking experience. Return to your accommodation for some rest time and lunch. The afternoon adventure entails a launch (boat) trip on the Kazinga Channel – a water stream joining Lake Edward and Lake George. The channel attracts a large school of hippos and Nile crocodiles besides the variety of birds that flock the reed shores like: the pelicans, kingfishers, saddle billed stork and sometimes the crowned cranes. Return to your accommodation in time to relax, enjoy dinner and surely the overnight rest.

hasha area of Queen Elizabeth National Park – famously known for its resident tree-climbing lions. The chance of spotting these lions is about 70% though sometimes they are really hard to spot (most especially when they’re down in the grassland looking for prey). Hoping you get the chance to spot them, the sight will be spectacular! You will also be able to see other wildlife such as the Uganda kob, Cape buffalos, elephants and warthogs in addition to the tree-climbing lions. Thereafter, head to the accommodation for relaxation, dinner and later overnight.

Be up and have your breakfast served. Go for more tree-climbing lions’ sighting and thereafter transfer to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. Bwindi is a big habitat for mountain gorillas in Uganda (harboring an estimated 400 mountain gorillas – roughly half of the world’s population), including several habituated groups, which can be tracked. With a strenuous day ahead, you will do less on arrival but just check-in your accommodation, relax as you prepare for the Bwindi gorilla trekking experience the following day.

Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is a highlight for many visitors as this is where they will be visiting the home of the gentle giants. The park lies in southwestern Uganda on the edge of the Rift Valley. Uganda's oldest and most biologically diverse rainforests lies on the mist-covered hillsides. This magnificent forest dates back over 25,000 years, even surviving the last Ice Age (most forests disappeared). Bwindi forest has an incredible diversity of flora and fauna and is the only forest in Africa which can make claim to host both mountain gorillas and chimpanzees. In fact, half the worlds’ population of gorillas live here divided over nine habituated family groups. Also 5 other primate species, 120 species of mammal, over 220 butterflies and 360 bird’s species call Bwindi home. This is the place to see the critically endangered mountain gorillas up close for your very own ‘Gorillas in the Mist’ moment.

Lake Bunyonyi is framed by lush, green-terraced hills that reach a height of (2,200 – 2,478m) with 29 islands of various shapes and sizes scattered across the water that make it most magical — you could admire them all day. You shall have an exciting boat ride on Lake Bunyonyi. In the afternoon you may have optional activities; a Canoe boat ride, a swim in the Bilharzia free lake, you may also explore a nearby village. Residents are happy for you visit and are open to explain their daily lives.

Have breakfast and set off to Lake Mburo NP. Drive past the intensely terraced Kigezi hill slopes into Mbarara town and finally Lake Mburo NP. Arrive in the park in the early afternoon and take some rest before proceeding out for the late afternoon (evening) game viewing. On the game drive, expect to see the gigantic eland antelopes, zebras in big numbers, topis, impalas, warthogs, Uganda kob and Cape buffalos among others. Later, relax at the accommodation where you will spend the night.

Enjoy your early breakfast and proceed for the Mburo morning park/nature walk in the presence of an armed Uganda Wildlife Authority ranger/guide. On this early morning guided walk, you often encounter hyenas that are returning to their dens after a night of being on the prowl. Also, you will have the opportunity to encounter (at close range): Zebras, Giraffes and Eland, Topi and other antelopes, Cape buffaloes among others. Take the Trail to the top of the hills and see Lake Mburo and beyond. From this vantage point, you will have a great view of 9 of the twelve lakes surrounding Lake Mburo NP. Thereafter, return to the accommodation for checkout and then hit the road to Entebbe airport for your flight out. We hope to see you (or any referral) when next, you visit and thanks for choosing Ngoni Safaris Uganda!