The national parks to be visited include; Kidepo Valley National Park, Murchison Falls for the world’s most powerful falls and wildlife, Kibale Forest for chimpanzee trekking, Queen Elizabeth for wildlife-viewing and tree climbing lions in Ishasha sector, Bwindi for the endangered mountain gorillas trekking, and finally Lake Mburo before proceeding to Kampala city.
This 14 Days Uganda Gorilla, Chimpanzees and Wildlife full adventure offers an opportunity to go off the beaten path. On this tour we bring you to the known and lesser-known corners of this country, take you through the vibrant capital Kampala and guide you on two hikes which could not be any different. Be amazed by the rugged nature in the remote Kidepo Valley National Park. Take a plunge on top of Mount Moroto and a shower in Sipi Falls. And, of course, dive into the country’s culture and cuisine.
If you’ve ever dreamed of a safari in Africa, get ready to have your dream come true. Together, Murchison Falls National Park and the Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary are home to the Big Five and countless other mammals, reptiles and birds. Leaving the camera bag in the hotel by accident (or on purpose) is fine on this tour. You want to keep the camera in your hands at all times anyway to capture once-in-a-lifetime moments for eternity.
You will dive into the primate’s world, Chimpanzees and mountain gorillas. Probably you will not just compare the two but your breath will be taken away by their way of life, family life, behavious and use of tools.
Day 1: Arrival at Entebbe Airport and Transfer to Your Hotel
On your arrival at Entebbe International Airport, you will be met by Leone tours and travel driver guide who will brief you and transfer you to your hotel for relaxation, dinner, and an overnight stay. Depending on your arrival time, you can have a chance to have an evening city tour in Entebbe where you can visit areas like Entebbe wildlife Education centre.
Day 2: Early Morning Transfer, Sipi Falls Hike and Coffee Tour
After your breakfast, you will drive to visit the falls, you will meet your local guide at Sipi who will take you through the history of Sipi Falls thereby starting this exciting activity with a guided hike to the top of the falls. Later, you will have a tour through the coffee plantations giving you a chance to learn how coffee is processed with coffee tasting. You will drive to the lodge for dinner and an overnight stay.
Day 3: Transfer to Kidepo Valley National Park and Evening Game drive
After breakfast, you will check out of the lodge and embark on your journey to Kidepo Valley National Park. The park is located in the far North Eastern part of Uganda taking about 5-6 hours’ drive. The drive is spectacular with great countryside views as you approach the Karamonja region. You will have lunch upon check-in at your lodge. You will be cleared at the entry and proceed to your accommodation for check-in. Kidepo National Park is very beautiful with incredible views of the mountains and hills.
Day 4: Explore Kidepo Valley National Park with game drive
After breakfast, you will drive to the wild for your morning game drive and explore the park in Narus Valley. After lunch, you will go for a game drive in Kidepo Valley in anticipation of seeing some of the animals— the ostrich birds. You’ll also visit the hot springs of Kanangorok before you return to your lodge. You’ll spend the rest of the evening in the community at the Karamojong village.
Day 5: Transfer to Murchison Falls National Park
After breakfast in the morning, you will embark on your journey to Murchison Falls National Park. It’s quite a long drive from Kidepo National Park —about 6 to 7 hours. Along the way, you will have a stopover in Gulu town for lunch and proceed with the journey to the park. Upon arrival, you will check in at the lodge and spend the rest of the evening at leisure as you relax.
Day 6: Murchison Falls National Park and Game Drives and Boat Cruises
Today, you’ll enjoy an early morning breakfast at the lodge and head out for the 2-hour game drive in Uganda’s largest park. It has a wide range of wildlife species such as leopards, hippos, lions, warthogs, cape buffaloes, African elephants, antelopes, Rothschild’s giraffes, waterbucks, and various bird species. After the game drive, you’ll transfer back to the lodge for lunch and some relaxation. Then, you’ll have a 3-hour launch 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 water bird species. You’ll ride towards the bottom of the falls where you will hike to the top of the fall for about 1 hour and 30 minutes. Afterward, you will retire to your lodge for dinner and an overnight stay.
Day 7: Transfer to Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary and Tracking
You will wake up early in the morning and have breakfast. Then, you will check out from the lodge and drive through the park to Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary. Here, you will trek into the savannah for a close view of the rhinos. From there, you will have lunch and proceed to Hoima town for dinner and an overnight stay.
Day 8: Transfer to Kibale National Park and Bigodi Swamp
After breakfast, you will 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 nature walk through the Bigodi wetland where you will spot birds, olive baboons, bush babies, and sitatunga among other wildlife species.
Day 9: Chimpanzee Trekking and transfer to Queen Elizabeth National Park
After breakfast, you will transfer to the park offices for briefing and then set out for a chimpanzee trekking through the dense forest. Keep this in mind that only 1 hour is given to visitors when they encounter face to face with the chimpanzees. Besides chimpanzees, other primate species can be spotted like the red-tailed monkeys, blue monkeys, black, LHoest’s monkeys, and white colobus monkeys. Also, there are African elephants, antelopes, and Cape buffaloes. From there, you’ll head back to the lodge for lunch and some relaxation. After the chimpanzee trekking, you will transfer to Queen Elizabeth National Park.
Day 10: Game Drive and Boat Cruise in Queen Elizabeth National Park
Today after your breakfast, you will set out for an early morning game drive through Queen Elizabeth Park. You will be spotting various wildlife species like waterbucks, lions, African elephants, hartebeests, Rothschild’s giraffes, antelopes, cape buffaloes, leopards, and warthogs, and also view 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 which has the highest concentration of hippos in the world. This comes along with several bird species and animals like Nile crocodiles, African elephants, and antelopes among others.
Day 11: Transfer to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park through Ishasha Sector
On this day, you will wake up early in the morning and head out for another 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 looking out for the tree-climbing lions, African elephants, leopards, cape buffaloes, waterbucks, and various beautiful birds. Later, you will embark on a 2-hour drive to Bwindi forest the gorilla land.
Day 12: Mountain Gorilla Trekking Safari in Uganda and Transfer to Lake Bunyonyi
The talk about these gentle giants claims that 98% of DNA is close to that of the human race. Bwindi Impenetrable National Park 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 hours to about 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 gorillas trekking, you can have a short guided forest walk or a village 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.
Day 13: Transfer to Lake Mburo National Park the whisper of the wild
After your breakfast, you will embark on the 4 hours and 30 minutes road trip to Lake Mburo National Park, known for being the smallest but rich with wildlife. You will have a stopover for lunch in Mbarara town. The road trip will go through stunning sceneries, farms, markets, and plantations. The park is a habitat for a large number of zebras, impalas, oribis, Cape buffalos, warthogs, and waterbucks with over 332 bird species. Upon arrival at the park in the afternoon, you will head for a boat cruise along Lake Mburo.
Day 14: Morning Walking Safari and Transfer to Entebbe via the Equator Line
After an early breakfast, you will go for a morning walking safari in Lake Mburo National Park. This park is famous for zebras, impalas, giraffes, elands, Cape buffalos, and many tropical bird species. You will check out of the hotel 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 00. This marks the end of your trip with Leone Tours and Travel and we hope to welcome you again.
