12 Days Best of Uganda full adventure

Day 1: Arrival and Airport transfer to your lodge

On your arrival, you will be welcomed by Leone tours and travel representative who will be at Entebbe Airport to pick you up from your flight and take you directly to your lodge in Kampala. Depending on the time of your arrival, you may be able to explore the sites in and around Kampala. You will be briefed about your trip and then have a relaxing moment after your long flights with dinner and overnight.

Day 2: Transfer to Murchison Falls, Rhino Sanctuary en-route

Today’s journey will take you north from Kampala to Murchison Falls National Park. En route, you will visit Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary where you will go on a guided rhino tracking with an experienced ranger, which gives you a unique opportunity to view the rhinos from a close distance.

Murchison Falls National Park is the largest conservation area in Uganda. The park’s name derives from its famous waterfall. As the river attracts large numbers of game, a boat safari up the Nile provides the perfect opportunity to see and photograph the animals. By car or after a short hike you can reach the “Top of the Falls” from where you have a perfect view of the extraordinary falls and the river snaking below. You will proceed to your lodge for dinner and overnight.

Day 3: Morning game drive, boat safari & hike to top of the Falls

Today you will wake up very early. In the early morning hours animals are the most active, the sun is not yet so bright and temperatures are cooler. It offers the best time to spot wild animals. After an early breakfast, you will go on a game drive to explore the northern part of the park. You will be eye-to-eye with the African animal kingdom: elephants, giraffes, buffaloes, lions, leopards, different species of antelopes, and many tropical birds may all be spotted during the game drive.

In the afternoon you will take a boat safari up the Nile River to Murchison Falls. You will be watched by crocodiles, hundreds of hippos, buffaloes, water birds, monkeys, and all the other thirsty wildlife that the Nile attracts, you will reach the base of the 43-meter high falls which approach with a thunderous sound. After the boat safari, you will hike to the top of the falls. From here you have a wonderful view and fantastic photo opportunities.

Day 4: Morning transfer to Kibale National Park

Today you will begin your journey to Kibale Forest N.P. The long drive is incredibly scenic, passing through tea plantations and the lush green countryside which characterizes so much of Uganda.

Kibale Forest National Park is located in west-central Uganda just east of the Rwenzori Mountains, near the town of Fort Portal. The 766 km² park predominantly covers evergreen rainforest and ranges between 1100 and 1600m in elevation. Kibale Forest is one of the last remaining expanses to contain both lowland and montane forests and forms a continuous forest with Queen Elizabeth National Park.

You will have packed lunch en route, arriving in the evening for overnight and dinner.

Day 5: Chimpanzee tracking and Bigodi swamp walk

Today you will wake up early to go to the park head offices to be briefed about your chimp tracking experience. Kibale Forest National park boasts the highest number of primate species in the world, including chimpanzees.

An experienced ranger will take you chimp tracking chimp in the morning or afternoon; you might also see other monkey species that live here. Once you locate the chimpanzees you will have a full hour of eye-to-eye contact with them. Since they are wild animals, we can never guarantee you to see them and might have to settle with hearing their hoots and hollers.

In the afternoon after lunch, you will go for the guided swamp walk. The walk will take you through grassland, small communities, and some beautiful scenery, where the locals are likely to greet you with enthusiastic waves. It is usual to spot three to four different primate species during this walk, though the highlight is catching a glimpse of the great blue turaco.

Day 6: Transfer to Queen Elizabeth National Park

In the morning after your breakfast, you will then continue your journey to Queen Elizabeth National park. Queen Elizabeth is Uganda’s second-largest park, located at the base of the majestic Rwenzori Mountain range, adjacent to Lake Edward and Lake George. The park has game including gazelle, Uganda kob, warthog, and waterbuck. Lions are often sighted both in and at the entrance to the park. Be prepared for huge numbers of hippos and elephants, and keep your eyes peeled for a leopard lazing in the sunshine. In the late afternoon, you will check in and relax at the lodge.

Day 7: Morning Game drive and Kazinga channel boat safari

A little before sunrise coffee, tea and donuts will be served in the lounge before we head out for a long game drive in time to see the first rays of light. You will search for all the wildlife in the park and are likely to come across elephants, buffalo, lions, waterbuck, leopard, Uganda kob, and many warthogs.

A well-deserved brunch will be served back at the lodge in the late morning. In the afternoon you will take a boat safari along the Kazinga Channel which joins Lake George and Lake Edward.

Here, you will see a lot of hippos (more than you can possibly imagine), as well as a variety of other animals which come to the waterhole to drink or bathe. You can expect to see buffalo, crocodiles, bathing elephants, and a range of beautiful birds. This will undoubtedly be one of the highlights of your tour.

Day 8: Morning game drive and transfer to Ishasha sector

After breakfast, you will proceed to the southern part of Queen Elizabeth National Park, the famous Ishasha area. Ishasha is home to the famous tree-climbing lions. While lion cubs around the world frequently climb trees for fun, adults rarely do. The (adult) lions in Ishasha are an exception to this. It is thought that they sit in the branches to get away from the tsetse flies and to enjoy a cool breeze. If you are lucky you might spot a few during your game drive.

You will check in at your Lodge, which is surrounded by acacia forest, lush vegetation with palm trees, and scattered grasslands. Find birds, monkeys, and other wildlife around your cottage.

Day 9: Transfer to Bwindi impenetrable Forest national park

Today after breakfast, you will be transferred to Bwindi in the south-western part of Uganda; close to the borders with Rwanda and Congo. You cross a beautiful part of the country often referred to as ‘the Switzerland of Africa’. You will see the great countryside, bamboo forest and have great views over the Virunga Mountains. For lunch, you will stop at a local restaurant on the road.

Day 10: Gorilla Tracking in Bwindi Forest

Today you will encounter one of Bwindi’s endangered mountain gorillas. For most people, this is the absolute highlight of their tour in Uganda.

Bwindi Impenetrable national park boasts both mountain gorillas and chimpanzees, the only forest in Africa that can make this claim. It also hosts five other species of primates, 113 species of mammals, over 200 species of butterflies, and 360 species of birds. The gorillas you track belong to one of nine habituated family groups who can tolerate the presence of humans for a brief period every day. The time taken to track the gorillas can be as few as 2 hours to as many as 7 hours. Once the gorillas have been located, your group will be allowed a maximum of one hour with them. Coming face-to-face with a mountain gorilla is a truly humbling and emotional experience.

Day 11: Transfer to Lake Mburo National Park

After breakfast, you will travel to Lake Mburo National Park, one of Uganda’s smallest parks, but certainly not to be underestimated. It is the only Ugandan national park (besides Kidepo Valley N.P.) that is home to zebras, elands, and impalas, as well as to an abundance of other wildlife – not to mention the lake itself, which has lots of hippos and crocodiles.

You will stay just outside the park boundaries, but it will feel like being in the middle of the park. From your veranda and restaurant, you have a great view of the park and its wildlife.

Day 12: Morning game drive and transfer Entebbe

Today after breakfast, you will go for a guided bushwalk. Lake Mburo N.P is one of two parks in Uganda where bush walks with an experienced ranger is permitted. This opportunity should not be missed. From footprints and animal droppings the ranger will be able to tell you which animal has left it and how long ago. It is exciting to approach wildlife at such close range.

After, you will drive back to Kampala or Entebbe (Airport) stopping at the equator for the requisite snapshot and a bit of souvenir shopping.