12 days best of Uganda safari is a hot selling Ugandan tour package as you are taken around the Pearl of Africa guaranteed of wildlife encounters and learning about African culture. This safari takes you to Murchison Falls National Park a home to world’s strongest waterfalls, Kibale National Park which is the world’s primates capital, Queen Elizabeth National Park which is Uganda’s most visited National Park and a haven to the uncommon tree climbing lions, Bwindi Impenetrable National Park that harbors half of the entire world’s gorilla population, Lake Mburo National Park a home to the world’s largest antelope and Lake Bunyonyi which is Uganda’s deepest and predator free lake. Get to enjoy the beautiful scenery of Kigezi terraced hills, relax and chill on various boat cruises while you capture the days’ sunrise and sunsets. Encountering our closest cousins in their natural habitat will be the highlight of your entire safari and getting close to them is a once in a life time thrilling experience.
Day 1: Arrival and transfer to Murchison Falls N/P via Ziwa Rhino sanctuary
An experienced driver guide from Glory summit tours and travel will be waiting to receive you upon your arrival at the airport. He will take you through a briefing highlighting your safari expectations, activities and duration of travel to various destinations. You will set off to embark on your drive to Murchison Falls National Park traversing local roadside markets where you may ought to grab yourself locally roasted chicken and fruits proceeding to have a stop-over at Ziwa rhino sanctuary in Nakasongola. Here you will track white rhinos after which you will proceed for your lunch in Masindi before arriving at the Park in the evening. You will check-in at your pre-arranged lodge to have dinner and an overnight.
Day 2: Morning game drive – afternoon boat cruise and top of the falls hike
Wakeup so early to have breakfast and set off for your game drive by 6am to have wildlife encounters in the jungle. You will encounter nocturnal animals lying along the trails such as spotted hyenas while others return to their hideouts. Early risers will be captured while predators try hunting them down for a day’s meal. Animals that will be spotted include lions, elephants, giraffe, leopards, oribis, hartebeests as well as several birds. Return to the lodge for lunch before heading for a cruise to the bottom of the falls where you will spot numerous hippopotamuses, Nile crocodiles and various bird types. The bottom of the falls will be seen at a distance after which you will retire off the boat to make a hike to the top of the falls. This will be a moment of excitement as you are showered by splitting waters while you take beautiful photos with a rainbow in the background. Return to the lodge for dinner and an overnight.
Day 3: Transfer to Kibale National Park – crater lakes exploration
Today, wakeup early to have your breakfast and checkout of the lodge to be transferred to Kibale National Park via the Albert escarpment to capture the best scenic beauty of the lake. You will proceed with your drive through traditional villages and tea plantations arriving in Fort Portal to have your lunch as you capture the backdrops of Rwenzori Mountains. Arrival at the Park will be in the afternoon to check-in at your reserved lodge after which you will proceed to explore Kibale’s crater lakes on foot. You will enjoy cool breezes from lakes such as Lake Nyinambuga, Lake Nyabikere, Lake Nkuruba, Nyamirima and many more as well as you spot several bird types. Retire off the crater lakes walk and return to your lodge to have dinner and an overnight.
Day 4: Chimpanzee trekking and Bigodi wetland sanctuary
Have your early morning breakfast and be driven to Kanyanchu visitors’ center for a briefing about chimpanzee trekking. Head off into Kibale’s dense rainforests led by ranger guides to locate a group of habituated chimpanzees while you spot various forest birds and other primates like blue monkeys, black and white colobus, red-tailed monkeys, olive baboons and many more. Locating chimpanzees lasts for about 1 to 4 hours where you are entitled an hour amidst them as you closely watch them go by their routine duties. Return to have lunch at your lodge before you head for a nature walk within Bigodi wetland sanctuary. This sanctuary is a home to several bird types like the great blue turaco, primates, mammals like the sitatungas, forest elephants and many more that you will all encounter. Return back to the lodge for your dinner and later an overnight.
Day 5: Transfer to Queen Elizabeth National Park – evening game drive
Wake up to a scrumptious breakfast and checkout of the lodge to be driven southwards to Queen Elizabeth National Park while you enjoy the beautiful scenery of the foothills of the Rwenzori Mountains while capturing its great peak. Arrival in the Park will be in the early afternoon to check-in and have your lunch. After lunch you will relax a bit at your lodge as you wait for the heat and temperatures to cool as it gets to evening. You will then hit the savannah plains to have an evening wildlife encounter where you will spot animals like the elephants, Uganda kobs, warthogs, buffaloes, lions, oribis, bushbucks to mention but a few and various bird species. This lasts for about 3 hours after which you will return to the lodge for dinner and a night stay.
Day 6: Boat cruise and transfer to Bwindi Impenetrable via Ishasha
Today have your morning breakfast and proceed for a boat cruise along the Kazinga channel a water stretch that connects Lake Edward to Lake George. You will sail through schools of hippopotamuses as you spot various crocodiles lying and sunbathing along the channel banks. Many other animals will be spotted quenching their thirst and cooling their temperatures such as buffaloes, elephants, bushbucks with a variety of birds roaming the channel. These birds include pygmy kingfisher, African morning dove, squire- tailed nightjar, swamp-nightjar, mouse bird, little bee-eater, swamp fly-catcher, red-chested sunbird, pin-tailed whydah, lesser masked weaver to mention but a few. Return to the lodge for lunch and immediately check-out to be transferred to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park via the Ishasha sector where you will see tree climbing lions hanging in tree branches. Arrival will be in the evening to check-in at your reserved lodge for dinner and an overnight.
Day 7: Gorilla trek – Bwindi Batwa cultural experience
On this day, have your tasty breakfast very early in the morning and be transferred to the park headquarters for a briefing about gorilla trekking. You will be led into Bwindi’s misty forests by ranger guides to embark on the search of the gentle giants. Locating your assigned gorilla family may last for 1 to 6 hours depending on their movement. An hour is allowed with the gorillas before you return to the lodge for your lunch. After lunch, a Batwa guide will lead you as you hike through a forest to the Batwa communities where you will encounter the former forest keepers who will entertain you as you learn about their culture and how they survived and depended on the forests. Return to your lodge to have dinner and an overnight.
Day 8: Transfer to Lake Bunyonyi – evening boat ride
Grab yourself a cup of coffee, checkout of your lodge in Bwindi and set off for Lake Bunyonyi while you have spectacular views of the Switzerland of Uganda known as Kigezi area. This journey lasts for over 3 to 4 hours via Kabale-Kisoro road where you will arrive in the early midday to check-in at your booked lodge and have lunch. After lunch you will head for boat ride along Lake Bunyonyi as you chill and relax while taking in the evening breezes of the lake. This is a better opportunity for bird watching because this lake is a haven to a variety of bird species. You will return to your lodge to have dinner and an overnight.
Day 9: Island exploration – community visits
Have your morning breakfast and return to Lake Bunyonyi to explore its Islands that all have history to be told. You will embark on a boat ride around the Lake as you make visits to several Islands for example Akapene also known as the Punishment Island that holds a morbid history of a tradition that was upheld for a long time by the local Bakigas, Bushara Island occupied by colonies of birds, Kyahungye a home to several mammals, Bwama Island and many more. Return to the lodge for lunch before you walk around the communities as you learn about their history, cultural beliefs and traditions while you enjoy their cultural performances and mythical stories. Later in the evening, you will return back to your lodge for dinner and an overnight.
Day 10: Depart for Lake Mburo National Park
This day starts with a delicious breakfast, checkout of your lodge to meet your driver guide and be transferred to Lake Mburo National Park. This is a 5 hours’ adventurous drive to Mbarara arriving to check-in at your pre-arranged lodge and have lunch. You will have some relaxation around your lodge after which you will head off for a game drive in the evening to encounter several animals for example zebras, impalas, elands, giraffes, buffaloes, defassa waterbucks, reedbucks, topis, Uganda kobs, oribis to mention but a few as well as several bird types. The drive lasts for over 3hours after which you will retire off the jungle and return to the lodge to have dinner and an overnight.
Day 11: Morning game drive – evening boat cruise
You will have your breakfast in the early morning and set off for a game drive in Park’s plains where you will have your eyes fed with amazing sights of various bird species and animals such as the hippopotamuses, impalas, elands, Uganda kobs, topis, oribis, buffaloes, giraffes to mention but a few. You will return back to the lodge after your game drive to have lunch after which you will head to have a boat cruise along Lake Mburo. This is another rewarding activity that will expose you to aquatic life like the hippopotamuses, crocodiles and various bird species such as king fishers, herons African fish eagle, rare African fin-foot, cormorants, pelicans, hammerkops to mention but a few. You will later be driven back to your lodge to have dinner and an overnight.
Day 12: Return to Kampala and departure
You will have breakfast after which you will checkout to embark on your journey back to Kampala. You will have a game drive while you have your last glance at several animals before you leave the Park. Along your journey, you will have a stop-over at the equator line in Kayabwe where the earth is equally divided into two equal hemispheres. You will have photographs taken at the equator monument and purchase souvenirs from craft shops to take with you home. This will be the right time for you to have lunch after which you will continue with your drive to be dropped off at a hotel of your choice in Kampala or a drop off at the airport to catch your flight back home.
