Uganda Safari

Day 1: Arrival in Entebbe, Uganda

Upon your arrival in Entebbe International Airport, you will be welcomed by our professional local guide who will take us to our hotel in the beautiful Entebbe peninsula. This is the only international airport in Uganda and the major inlet/ outlet for travellers. Introduction and briefing will be done on this day depending on the arrival time. Overnight at Protea Hotel on the shores of Lake Victoria.

Day 2: Drive to Murchison Falls National Park

After breakfast, we shall set off to Uganda’s biggest protected area- Murchison Falls National Park. This huge savanna expanse is home to a variety of mammal, bird and reptile species. The energetic falls and the scenery are unbelievable with the Borass’s palm landscape back dropped by the Victoria Nile, Delta and Albert Nile. We’ll have a lunch stopover at Kabalega and continue through the peaceful Budongo forest. Overnight at Pakuba Safari Lodge.

|Day 3:  Morning Game Drive – Afternoon Boat Safari to the Bottom of the Fall

Murchison Falls National Park is one of the biggest and oldest parks of Uganda, known for the noisy Murchison Falls, where the River Nile explodes through a narrow gorge. Some of the animals found in this park are elephants, lions, giraffes, hippos, and over 450 species of birds. It has stunning physical features, such as savannahs and riverine forests, making it one of the best destinations for nature enthusiasts.

Today, early at 6:30 am, we embark on a game drive for about 4-5 hours. In the different tracks of Murchison Falls National Park. You will have a variety of animals to see, such as the Giraffes, Buffaloes, Jackson Hartebeests, African Elephants, African Lions, Uganda cobs, and many other bird species in the wild. We’ll have a simple bush breakfast and then continue with the game drive. We return to the lodge for relaxation and lunch. We will have an amazing afternoon boat safari to the bottom of the falls for 2 hours on the boat. Check back at the lodge for dinner, relaxation, and overnight. Overnight Pakuba Safari Lodge.

Day 4: Transfer to Queen Elizabeth National Park and Cooking Class

After breakfast, we will transfer from Murchison Falls to Queen Elizabeth National Park. This will be quite a distance compared to other journeys with a lunch stopover at Tinka’s Homestead for our local cooking class. This is a wonderful opportunity to interact with local women, enjoying the garden-to-plate concept, which is typical in a Ugandan home. We will see the traditional food preparation and take part in all processes with the satisfying ending of eating what we have prepared. Later, we transfer to Queen Elizabeth National Park, right at the base of the Albertine Rift Valley. This park boasts the highest biodiversity rankings in the world due to the varied habitats here, from the rain forest, wetlands, rift valley lakes, savanna grasslands, woodlands, and bushes and thickets. We check in at the lodge for dinner, relaxation, and overnight.  Overnight at Twin Lakes Safari Lodge

Day 5: Game Drive | Boat Cruise in Queen Elizabeth National Park – Visit the Katara women elephant project

After breakfast, we head out for an early morning game drive. Queen Elizabeth is a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve where people and wildlife share the same habitat and the park is home to a selection of beautiful landscapes from the explosion craters, the rift valley escarpments and lakes, and the views of the snow-capped Rwenzori Mountains. It is also famous for the tree climbing lions of Ishasha in the southern part, home to over 90 mammals and an average of 612 bird species. We’ll go to the Kasenyi plains in search of game and depending on nature’s will, we shall see the Savanna elephant (the biggest land mammal), herds of buffaloes, Uganda Kob, Defassa Waterbuck, Nile Bushbuck, Common Warthog, Laughing Hyenas, Giant Forest Hog as well as big cats like the Leopard and Lion. We shall crown our game drive with a visit to the Salt Lake which has a community craft market for shopping. We head back to the lodge for relaxation before lunch and then go to the Kazinga channel jetty for a lifetime experience on this natural water body. The afternoon boat cruise will expose us to several other goodies like the fishing village, thousands of Hippos, crocodiles, monitor lizards and an assorted list of water birds. Other big mammals come to the channel for drinking and bathing in the hot hours of this equator-centered park.  In the evening visit the karata women elephant project.

The Kataara women project was started to provide a source of livelihood for the women most of whom are widowed. The project promotes conservation and also to rally the community to protect the animals in the Queen Elizabeth National Park which is within their neighborhood. ‘The idea of making paper from elephant dung came from turning a difficult situation into an opportunity. This is because elephants walk into their gardens all the time, destroying crops and incensing the locals so they decided to get what they left in their gardens and make something productive, their dung – into paper! The group also makes handicrafts, improved cook stoves and briquettes also made from a mixture of elephant dung and other materials which are all a source of income for the group. After this incredible day, we head back to the lodge for dinner, relaxation, and overnight accommodation. Overnight at Twin Lakes Safari Lodge.

Day 6: Drive to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park

We’ll be up very early in the morning and after breakfast, we will set off for Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. This is a totally different environment from Queen Elizabeth National Park. On our way we’ll enjoy scenic views of the Kigezi highlands which will remind you of the movie Sound of Music. We arrive at the lodge in Rushaga, the southern part of Bwindi Impenetrable Forest. Check in at the lodge and relax as we prepare for our gorilla trek tomorrow. Ride 4 a Woman is a Ugandan non-governmental organization dedicated to supporting women facing the challenges of poverty, HIV, domestic violence, single motherhood, widowhood and who never had the opportunity to attend school. Through a variety of impactful projects, Ride 4 a Woman empowers women socially and economically, and ignites positive change within the community of Bwindi, in south-western Uganda. Every initiative is a step forward to build brighter futures and fostering resilience. Overnight at Ride for a Woman.

Day 7: Mountain Gorilla Trekking in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park

This is a true bucket list, once in a lifetime experience.  We check into the park offices for gorilla tracking registration, briefing, and entertainment. We shall trek the impenetrable forest on this journey that can take a few hours to a full day experience depending on what nature decides. We will take packed lunch boxes. Once we have a sighting, we meet the gentle giants. Looking in their eyes of the adult female gorillas makes one awestruck at our similarities. We spend about an hour with the gorillas as they go through their daily activities, and then head back at the lodge to enjoy our photos as we meditate about our experience. Bwindi is home to more than 20 Albertine rift endemics and this is also a birder’s paradise day. We may see the likes of the Handsome Francolin, Regal Sunbird, Bar-tailed Trogon, Strange Weaver, Purple-breasted Sunbird, and Turaco, among many others. Other mammals include the African Elephant, Rwenzori Duiker, L’hoest, Blue, Vervet and Red-tailed Monkeys, Olive Baboon, Mantled Guereza Colobus Monkey, as well as the beautiful Rwenzori Three-horned Chameleon. Overnight at Ride for a Woman.

Day 8: Chill day with local immersion

Wake up to a leisurely breakfast and then have our memorable gomesi wear class. This activity will have a lot of funny photo poses and video making while you are wearing your gomesi, the traditional garment of Ugandan women. We learn the history and lifestyle of the gomesi for women in Uganda. And, you get to keep your gomesi as a gift to take home with you! After our gomesi photo shoot, prepare for yet another adventure around the project, join the local women as they weave different items like baskets, wall hangings and more. We also join the tailors to learn how they make their items while those interested will take part in preparing traditional meals.  A day at the ride for a woman is worth it and memorable. Overnight at Ride 4 a Woman.

Day 9: Lake Mburo National Park and Game Drive

After breakfast, we drive through Kigezi highlands to the interlocking hills full of banana plantations and cattle farms in Ankore. We later check in at our lodge in Lake Mburo National Park and have lunch and relax a bit as we await our evening game drive. This is Uganda’s smallest savanna park with a habitat exactly like that of northern Tanzania. It is dominated by Savanna woodlands and gets the name from one of the many lakes here called Mburo, which has interesting cultural stories on how it was created. Some of the possible sightings include the Hippo, Nubian giraffe, Cape buffalo, leopard, plain zebra and impala, among others. Back at the lodge we’ll enjoy dinner and relaxation. Overnight at Rwakobo Rock lodge.

Day 10: Lake Mburo National Park and back to Entebbe

After an early morning cup of coffee, we drive out to the scenic park in search of game and other natural beauty. Some of the mammals expected include the Impala, Common eland, Topi, Warthog, Plain Zebra, Nubian Giraffe, Nile Bushbuck, Defassa Waterbuck, Cape Buffalo, Dwarf Mongoose, Leopard, Spotted Hyena and Lion. The bird species include the Lilac-breasted roller, Emerald-spotted Wood-Dove, Brubru, Black-collared and Crested Barbets, Trilling Cisticola, Tropical Boubou, Grey-headed and Stripped Kingfishers, Black, African and Red-chested Cuckoos, Palm-nut and White-backed Vultures among many others. There are also regular sightings of the Central African Rock Python. We check out, and the rest of the day will be a drive to the Entebbe Airport depending on flight times home; or choose to extend on your own.

• Fully guided tour with an English speaking local guide (and a Canyon Calling Trip Leader if there are more than 6 guests.)
• All land transportation as outlined in the itinerary
• Luxury accommodations in double occupancy (limited single supplement at $969 for your own room 9 nights)
• Activities as mentioned in the itinerary
• All guide gratuities and hotel, restaurant, and driver gratuities
• All meals from dinner on Day 1 through dinner on Day 9
• One gorilla permit per person
• All National Parks entrance fees and permits
• Water throughout the trip

• Transportation to/from Entebbe International Airport (code EBB)
• Visa application fee (approx $50 USD per person) and personal travel insurance
• Routine vaccines as required, check with your health care provider
• Items of a personal nature such as snacks, alcohol, etc.
• Gratuity to your local guide /Trip Leader at the end of the tour

Notes for this specific trip that are outside our standard payment and cancellation policies. Accommodations have limited capacity and therefore it is essential to make and pay for reservations well in advance – including gorilla permits. Gorilla viewing is subject to the availability of permits, which are limited.

• Once deposit of $1000 per person is made, a second payment of $2000 is due six months prior to travel, and final payment is due three months prior to travel. This is a payment schedule we abide by for our local partner as they incur real costs like gorilla permits, lodge deposits, etc. Gorilla viewing is subject to the availability of permits, which are limited
• Cancellations:  91 days or more prior to arrival 25% charge
  90 – 61 days  prior to arrival 50% charge
  60 days prior to arrival 100% nonrefundable
• Gorilla permits are always 100% non-refundable and non-transferable.