UGANDA AND RWANDA SAFARIS: WILDLIFE, BIRDING AND PRIMATES TOUR
Have breakfast to drive off to Murchison falls national park. You will go through the famous Luwero triangle, Budongo forest on the western arm of the Great Rift Valley.
The journey will offer you with great sceneries that are picturesque to reach the park in the afternoon. You will drive to the top of the falls where the Nile perfects its beauty. Here you will see the calm Nile forcing its self through a narrow gorge to fall a distance of about 150 ft down producing a thunderous roar of white water- incredible scenery! You will then be transferred to board the jetty to Paraa Lodge for dinner and overnight.
Take a cup of tea and go for a game drive before dawn to catch up with predators and early risers. This early morning game drive will reward you with game like jackals, hyenas, giraffe, lion, antelope, elephant, and the Uganda kob and many more. You will retire from the game drive for late breakfast and lunch and then in the afternoon you will go for a launch cruise on the Victoria Nile. The boat trip will take you to the bottom of the falls where you will view animals like the buffaloes, hippos, crocodiles, elephants and plenty of water birds like fish eagles and rare shoebills and many more. Dinner and overnight at Paraa Safari Lodge/ Red Chilli.
Have breakfast to transfer to Kibale National park. You will reach in the afternoon. Have lunch and then rest. Dinner and overnight at Ndali Lodge /Rwenzori travellers Inn.
You will go track chimpanzees in the forest and this will enable you view other primates like the colobus monkeys, Mangabeys, baboons, Bushbabies and many more. You will move with a guide who will make your walk informative and productive making it interesting. He will provide information on both flora and fauna. Have lunch and then in the afternoon you will go for a walk to Bigodi sanctuary for plenty of birds and rare fauna and flora. Dinner and overnight at Ndali lodge or Rwenzori Travelers Inn.
Very early in the mornings depart Kibale for Semliki national park. The drive will take you down the eastern side of Lake Albert. Situated in the basin of the western Rift valley, Semliki National park is one of the parks with many habitats ranging from Riparian forests, rain forests to short and high grass savannah. It is also know for its night game drive that reward you with nocturnal dwellers like the white tailed mongoose and slender mongoose, standard and pennant winged nightjars, cats, hyenas, leopards and many more. This is the only place in Uganda where you can do a spot lit night drive. The park generally offers lots of surprises because you never know what you might find. Overnight at Semliki safari Lodge/Kanyankyu Ecological site (FB)
Have a cup of tea to go down into the beautiful gallery rainforest to track wild chimpanzees. These are usually tracked at dawn n or dusk due to the fact that these apes tend to disappear in the middle of the day. There are also a number of bird species which are found in this picturesque forest. Retire from the chimp track and then in the afternoon you may relax at the pool or go for a game drive as you watch the sun dip. Dinner and Overnight at Semliki safari Lodge/Kanyankyu Ecological site
Head to Queen Elizabeth National park after breakfast to follow the mystical Rwenzori Mt. Ranges. The journey will offer you with game enroute. You should watch out for game like a leopard, hyena, elephant, buffalo, and the King of the Jungle – Lion. You will reach in the afternoon to have lunch and then go for a boat trip on the Kazinga channel where you will view Hippos, buffaloes and water birds at a close range. Dinner and overnight Mweya Safari Lodge / jacana Lodge.
Go for a prior to Dawn Game drive to catch up with the early risers and predator returning to their conceal outs. This drive will reward you with game like Lions, elephants, buffaloes, hyenas, jackals, bush bucks, bush pigs, and many more. You will retire from the game drive for lunch at the lodge. In the afternoon you will go track chimps in the Kyambura gorge. This walk will aid you see other primates like the colobus monkeys, baboons and others. Dinner and overnight at Mweya Safari Lodge / jacana Lodge.
Have breakfast and go for a game drive as you transfer to Bwindi Impenetrable gorilla forest National Park. You will pass through the Ishasha sector to reach Bwindi gorilla forest in the late afternoon. This journey will offer you with views of game and you should watch out for tree climbing lions in the Ishasha sector. After checking in the lodge you may go for a community walk to be given a welcome entertainment. Dinner and overnight at Gorilla resort / Buhoma community Bandas.
Have breakfast to transfer to the park headquarters for briefing before setting off to the forest to track for gorillas. The guide will brief you and at 9:00 am you will set off to the forest for these apes. The time you will take tracking these humble apes in unpredictable however it ranges between 2-9 hours depending on their movement. The activity requires you to go through steep rocks trekking up and down making it tiresome however, the thrill of encountering these giant primates erases the poor memories you went through in trying to find them. An astounding experience. Dinner and over night at Gorilla Resort / Buhoma homestead.
Have breakfast to drive to Rwanda. You will reach in the evening and with time permitting you may go for a city tour to visit the markets laces, Franco-Rwandan cultural centre and the genocide memorial. Dinner and Overnight at Gorilla Nest Lodge/Kinigi Guest house (FB)
Have breakfast to transfer to the PNV headquarters for briefing before you go trekking. With your packed lunch you will start tracking the gorillas. The activity is demanding although at the same time it’s rewarding. The time its takes ranges between 2-9 hours depending on the movement of these great apes. The experience derived from meeting these giant primates in unforgettable. Dinner and overnight Gorilla Nest Lodge/Kinigi Guest house (FB)
This morning have breakfast and then drive to Lake Bunyonyi. It is a picturesque spot dotted with small islands and ringed with very steep terraces. After breakfast, we will depart to Lake Bunyonyi. The place is known to be a birders sanctuary with plenty of waterbirds. Small and large from which the lake was named- Bunyonyi- meaning Small birds. Dinner and overland Lake Bunyonyi overland Camp.
This morning you will go for a canoe ride on lake Bunyonyi to explore the birds and the over all area. Dinner and overland Lake Bunyonyi overland Camp.
Have breakfast to drive off to Lake Mburo National Park. The park is well known for harbouring plenty of antelope including the impala from which the Capital city of Uganda-Kampala- was named. You will drive to go through some of the finest sceneries to reach Lake Mburo National park in the afternoon. You will have lunch and then go for a canoe ride on Lake Mburo to search for animals at the shores of the lake. Dinner and overnight at Mantana tented Camp / Rwonyo CAMP.
Have breakfast to go for game drives in the morning and in the afternoon to explore all the game and avifauna in the park. The park is also referred to as birders paradise with over 300 species recorded. . Dinner and overnight at Mantana tented Camp / Rwonyo Camp.
This morning have breakfast to drive back to Kampala. You will have a brief stop at the equator for photographs and crafts to reach Kampala in the afternoon. Have lunch and then rest this afternoon at your Hotel. Dinner and overnight at Sheraton / Hotel Africana.
Have breakfast to transfer to Lake Victoria shores for you cruise to Ngamba Island. The boat transfer will take you about an hour. You will arrive the chimpanzee sanctuary to be briefed about the sanctuary and then go spend some time with the chimps as they feed. It’s awe-inspiring! Later you will go for a nature walk on the island with the young chimps. Dinner and overnight on the island. Overnight at Ngamba Island Camp (FB)
You will go for forest walk with the chimps in the morning following breakfast. It is an interest walk as the chimps climb on you, pull your hair or walk hand by hand with you. It’s awesome. Dinner and overnight at on Ngamba Island Camp (FB)
Have breakfast to transfer to Entebbe to catch you flight back home.