Spending 12 days exploring the best of Uganda, you will catch a glimpse of gorillas, cheer for chimps, and hurrah for hippos on this spectacular trek through Uganda’s dense forests and scenic lakes.
You’ll also spot four of the famed Big Five: buffalo, elephants, leopards and lions! this tour gives you the best of Uganda in less than two weeks. Among the lovely tourist attractions, you will visit during this 12 days Uganda trip include, Queen Elizabeth National Park, Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park for the mountain gorillas and Murchison Falls.
This 12 days tour to Uganda begins in Kampala and Ends in Kampala, Uganda
12 Days / 11 nights
Below are the areas you will visit during your 12 days safari tour in Uganda with Tranquil Safaris
Pick up in the morning from Kampala by your driver-guide and drive to Murchison Falls National Park via Zziwa Rhino Sanctuary. While you track the rhinos, you will also visit the information centre and craft shop. Look out for bushbuck, leopard, Uganda
kob, oribi, crocodiles, hippo and other wildlife and birds which is abundant in the Lugogo Swamps. Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary offers peace and tranquillity in beautiful surroundings.
In the afternoon, you will visit the “top of the falls” for your chance to view the spectacle of the Nile. The park is cut into half by the famous River Nile where it has to squeeze itself through the legendary Murchison Falls, an impossibly narrow 7m gap in a cleft rock creating a powerful explosion of white water. The Falls are believed to be the most powerful natural flow of water anywhere on earth.
Dinner and overnight Paraa Safari Lodge.
After an early breakfast, enjoy a morning game drive within the park with an opportunity to see: Elephant, Cape buffalo, hartebeest, Rothschild’s giraffe, Uganda kob and waterbuck. Other animals include oribi, bushbuck, Bohor reedbuck, bush duiker, warthog, bushpig, lion, leopard and spotted hyena.
After lunch, enjoy a boat ride upstream the calm Victoria Nile. En-route, marvel at the toothsome hippos, crocodiles and over this 17 km stretch you may see elephant, waterbuck and Uganda Kob. This is also a zone of many bird-like Goliath heron, Egyptian goose, pelican bee-eater, kingfisher, hornbill, cormorant and the rare shoebill stork. The boat will stop just tens of metres from the sinister, frothing and bubbling base of the falls.
Dinner and overnight Paraa Safari Lodge.
Full day drive south via Hoima to Fort Portal through verdant countryside and past traditional homesteads and farms. Fort-Portal rests in the shadow of the fabled Mountains of the Moon.
Dinner and overnight Ndali Lodge.
It’s early morning and we’re already geared up, ready for our day’s trek into the forest. We’re on a full-day search of the Kibale Forest for Uganda’s renowned primates – at least 10 species, including hoestes, red colobus, blues, red-tailed and grey-cheeked mangabey, and chimpanzees, the closest relatives to humans. Tread quietly and sharpen your vision: primates are among the world’s most intelligent and mischievous animals.
Dinner and overnight at Ndali Lodge.
After breakfast, you shall visit Bigodi Wetland Sanctuary to search for smaller mammals and primates. Look out for the rare red colobus monkey and the sitatunga. The guided 4.5km trail through the swamp is one of the best-guided bird trails in East Africa and also offers a realistic opportunity to see up to six different primate species in a space of a few hours. Then take a three-hour drive that follows the gentle curves of the mystical Ruwenzori Mountain Range, the landscapes growing ever more exotic as we progress. Civilization fades as we near Queen Elizabeth National Park, the country’s most visited and home to some of Uganda’s biggest game – keep your eyes on the scenery to spot hyenas, African buffalos, leopards, bush elephants, lions, and antelope!
After lunch, it’s all aboard a two-hour cruise through the Kazinga Channel and into Lake Edward. We’ve chosen this serene stretch of water for one reason: hippos! In many areas, the telltale grey bumps are so thick through the channel that our boat must evade, avoid and zigzag through a toothsome sea of hippopotami. But it’s not just hippos we watch for: this scenic area is home to more than 550 bird species!
Dinner and overnight at Mweya Safari Lodge.
Today we ride into the wilds of Queen Elizabeth National Park – twice! Two game drives, morning and evening, honour and celebrate the diversity of this incredible national park. The massive and majestic Rwenzoris play backdrop to our explorations, as we delve ever deeper into the native habitat of lions, leopards, elephants, cape buffalo, bushbuck, and other fascinating wildlife.
Dinner and overnight at Mweya Safari Lodge.
Early morning transfer to Ishasha Area of Queen Elizabeth National Park. You will do Game drives in Ishasha sector which is home to the famous for tree-climbing lions and large herds of game. The scenic beauty, the size of the euphorbias and combination of riverine forest, Savannah plain and equatorial forest makes this a memorable day, only found in Africa.
Overnight Ishasha Wilderness Tented Camp.
Enjoy game drives in Ishasha sector which is home to the famous tree-climbing lions and variety of game. The scenic beauty, the size of the euphorbias and combination of riverine forest, Savannah plain and equatorial forest makes this a memorable day, only found in Africa.
Overnight Ishasha Wilderness Tented Camp.
Today’s sojourn takes us through the “Switzerland of Africa” – the terraced Kigezi Highlands, where winding roads ascend to mountainous heights and traditional settlements appear alongside dusty roadsides. By late afternoon, the rolling mountains have
faded into a dense swath of exotic flora and lush trees; we’ve reached Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and home to approximately half of all wild mountain gorillas.
Dinner/overnight at Volcano Bwindi Lodge.
Awaken to a forest of jade, emerald and malachite – a rainforest where epiphytes, moss and lichens drip from the trees. This Ugandan jewel, the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, is home to half of the world’s largest primate population – 300 of the world’s
remaining 600 mountain gorillas call this forest home.
Today we set out on a search for primates. Our primary goal is the famed mountain gorilla, so our guides lead us scrambling over mossy stones and through dense forest, in search of last night’s gorilla nests. We’re also on the lookout for another nine primate species, including chimpanzees, blue monkeys, black and white colobuses, and the needle-clawed galago. The going gets tough on occasion, but when you come face-to-face with your very first gorilla, the experience proves worth the effort!
Dinner and overnight Buhoma Lodge.
Our leisurely drive meanders over Ugandan landscapes, traipsing through the bush and kicking up dust. We finally wind our way to Lake Mburo National Park, Uganda’s top spot for spotting zebras. Open savannah hugs the park’s five lakes, and we’ll watch
in awe as zebra herds wind and weave and wind en masse through the grassy plains. Joining them are reedbucks, roan antelopes, elands, impalas, klipspringers and topis, as well as buffalos and hippos. An afternoon boat ride cosies up to the park’s boundaries, where the Bahima tribe is best known for herding Uganda’s famed long-horned Ankole cattle.
Take an afternoon boat ride.
Overnight Mihingo Safari Lodge.
Grab your species list for one last chance to tick off some sightings. This morning’s early morning game drive heads into Lake Mburo National Park for another opportunity at zebra, antelope and eland. Due to cattle herding in the area, it is amusing to see zebra grazing alongside the long-horned Ankore Cattle peaceably. Return for lunch which should be taken leisurely enjoying the view of the lakes in this park.
After lunch, return to Kampala with a stop at the Mpigi Royal Drum Makers where you will able to watch the ceremonial drums being crafted using methods passed down through generations. There will also be time to stop at the equator for photographs. You arrive Kampala early evening for airport drop off for your return flight or overnight in the city.
