SUMMARY

Day 1: Arrival – Transfer to the Hotel

Day 2: Transfer to Kidepo Valley National Park

Day 3: Kidepo valley national park – Game drive – Nature walk

Day 4: Whole Day Game drive – Community visits

Day 5: Transfer to Murchison Falls National Park

Day 6: Game drive – Launch cruise

Day 7: Visit the Top of the falls

Day 8: Transfer to Kibale Forest National Park

Day 9: Chimpanzee trekking – Bigodi wetland visit

Day 10: Transfer to Queen Elizabeth National Park

Day 11: Game drive – Afternoon boat cruise

Day 12: Nature walk – Afternoon game drive

Day 13: Transfer to Kisoro

Day 14: Gorilla trekking in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park

Day 15: Community walks

Day 16: Transfer to Lake Mburo National Park

Day 17: Game drive – Afternoon boat cruise

Day 18: Depart Kampala / Entebbe

Day 19: Departure – Entebbe Airport

DETAILED ITINERARY

Day 1: Arrival – Transfer to the Hotel

On your arrival, you will be picked by one of our representatives from Great Nest Image Safaris and thereafter, you will be transferred to your booked hotel in Entebbe/Kampala for your accommodation. Depending on your arrival time, you can proceed to visit some of the places around Entebbe/Kampala like the busy big markets, African craft shops, gardens (for the bird lovers) or one of the biggest shopping malls around town.

Accommodation

• Innophine Hotel (Entebbe)/Prestige Hotel (Kampala)
• (Mid-range accommodation)

Meals & Drinks

• Breakfast
• Bottled Drinking water 

Day 2: Transfer to Kidepo Valley National Park

After breakfast, you will leave Entebbe/Kampala for Kidepo Valley National Park which is in the northern part of Uganda. You will make a visit to Zziwa Rhino sanctuary for your first Big 5 experience where you will have an hour of rhino tracking and another stopover for a quick lunch and then proceed Kidepo via Kitgum. Dinner and overnight stay at the lodge.

Accommodation

• Nga Moru Wilderness Camp
• (Mid-range accommodation located just outside the park)

Meals & Drinks

• Breakfast
• Bottled Drinking water 

Day 3: Kidepo valley national park – Game drive – Nature walk

You will catch the beautiful scenery of the sun rise behind the mountains before flooding the valley then off for the game drive to the ostrich farm, you will be able to view herds of elephants, giraffes, lions, cape Buffaloes and much more. Later you will return to your lodge for lunch and later in the afternoon you will be joined by an expert ranger guide for a nature walk to explore the park on foot, sharing his knowledge of the Eco-system and also bring you closure to the animals.  Dinner and overnight stay will be at your lodge.

Accommodation

• Nga Moru Wilderness Camp
• Mid-range accommodation located just outside the park

Meals & Drinks

• Breakfast
• Bottled Drinking water 

Day 4: Whole Day Game drive – Community visits

After an early morning breakfast, you will go for a game drive along the trails of Kidepo Valley. The park inhabits one of the most exciting faunas of any Ugandan parks, with over 80 species of mammals several of which are endemic to Kidepo National Park like the cheetah, the striped hyena and more. The park also has a very impressive bird list of over 470 species and has the second highest bird record of any Ugandan protected areas after Queen Elizabeth National Park and it’s the best for viewing Northern semi-desert specials. Sixty birds on its list haven’t been recorded in any other Ugandan park and migratory birds are present from November to April.

After lunch, in the afternoon you will visit the Karamojong village to learn more about their culture, music and dance and Karamojong are notorious as cattle raiders. Unlike most other Ugandans, many Karamojong shun western-style clothes and instead wear “traditional” dress of a blanket -like shawl, often in red and black whereby the women wear elaborate beadwork.

Accommodation

• Nga Moru Wilderness Camp
• (Mid-range accommodation located just outside the park)

Meals & Drinks

• Breakfast
• Bottled Drinking water 

Day 5: Transfer to Murchison Falls National Park

After breakfast, you will start on your journey to Murchison falls national park in the northern sector with lunch along the way. There are a lot of animals to see on your way to as you head to your lodge through the park such as elephants, giraffes and buffaloes and much more. Dinner and overnight stay at your lodge.

Accommodation

• Fort Murchison Lodge (Non self-contained tents)
• (Mid-range accommodation located just outside the park)

Meals & Drinks

• Breakfast
• Bottled Drinking water 

Day 6: Game drive – Launch cruise

You will have your breakfast early in the morning and go for an early morning game drive across the rolling plains of Uganda’s largest National Park and be on the lookout for wildlife including: lions, giraffe, elephants among others. For any birder, there are quite a number of birds to sight too during the drive like the kingfishers, standard night jar, herons and more.

Later return to the lodge for some rest and lunch. After lunch, you will head out for a 2-3hr boat trip/launch cruise to the base of Murchison Falls where you will also be able to catch sight of more animals including Hippos and Crocodiles and water birds like the kingfishers, wagtails, herons, shoebill and many more. Continue with a hike (if you like) to the top of the falls as you enjoy the thunderous roars of the magnificent falls as they make their way through an 8m gorge and falling at 43m to meet again the Victoria Nile. The hike may be a strenuous one but the thrill on reaching the top is unforgettable. Return to your accommodation and have a relaxed evening.

Accommodation

• Fort Murchison Lodge (Non self-contained tents)
• (Mid-range accommodation located just outside the park)

Meals & Drinks

• Breakfast
• Bottled Drinking water 

Day 7: Visit the Top of the falls

After breakfast, you will visit the top of the falls, where the longest river in the world is forced through a narrow gap in the rock only 7 meters wide, before ferociously plunging down 43 meters to the devil’s cauldron, while here take as many photos as you can. Later you will return to your lodge for lunch, dinner and overnight stay as you prepare for your next day’s journey to Kibale Forest National Park.

Accommodation

• Fort Murchison Lodge (Non self-contained tents)
• (Mid-range accommodation located just outside the park)

Meals & Drinks

• Breakfast
• Bottled Drinking water 

Day 8: Transfer to Kibale Forest National Park

After an early morning you will start on your journey to Kibale National Park which will take approx. 8hours drive. You will have lunch in Fort portal, and here you can decided to go and visit the Amabere g’ Nyinamwiru Caves breast like features believed to have belonged to Nyinamwiru the daughter of Bukuku who was a self-enthroned King of the Bachwezi, you can also hike the Fort Portal Crater Lake field. The guide at the place will give you more informative and educative history about the place. From here you will depart to Kibale Forest National Park for relaxation, dinner and overnight stay.

Accommodation

• Chimpanzee Forest Guesthouse
• (Mid-range guest house located just outside Kibale Forest National Park)

Meals & Drinks

• Breakfast
• Bottled Drinking water

Day 9: Chimpanzee trekking – Bigodi wetland visit

After an early morning breakfast, you will go to the park headquarters where you will be briefed about the dos and don’ts while doing chimpanzee trekking. After, you will start your search for the chimpanzees within the park and this can take you half a day depending on the movements of these primates. These primates are the closest relatives to the human being and they share 98% of their DNA with that of the human beings. There are other primates in the area like the golden monkeys, baboons, L’Hoest monkey, white and black Colobus monkeys, red Colobus and blue monkeys. Other animals to watch include; forest elephants unique from the common type and giant forest hogs. This park is one of the great rain forests in Africa and has the largest community of chimpanzees consisting of 1-100 individuals.

Later after lunch, you will take a guided nature walk to Bigodi swamp sanctuary, a good site for birders and here watch out for the Great Blue Turaco, Papyrus Gonolek, herons and kingfishers among others. Other primate species to view include; the bush pigs, baboons, bush bucks and more. Dinner and overnight stay at your lodge.

Accommodation

• Chimpanzee Forest Guesthouse
• (Mid-range guest house located just outside Kibale Forest National Park)

Meals & Drinks

• Breakfast
• Bottled Drinking water 

Day 10: Transfer to Queen Elizabeth National Park

After an early morning breakfast, you will enjoy a walk along the foot hills of the Rwenzori Mountains where you will have a glance at the great peak of this mountains of the moon. After, you will transfer to Queen Elizabeth National Park which is 3 hour’s drive away from Kibale National Park. You will drive Southwest through Fort portal and the Albertine Escarpment of the Western Rift Valley and you will have lunch on the way.

From here you will continue to Mweya peninsula found in the Queen Elizabeth national park. This park was named after Queen Elizabeth the second and it has variety of wildlife species including; the impalas, kobs, forest hogs, elephants, buffaloes, tree climbing lions, and the cape buffaloes. The park also contains 600 bird species making it a must visit destination for birders to Uganda. You will arrive the Park in the evening, have dinner and overnight stay at the lodge.

Accommodation

• Engiri Game Lodge and Campsite
• (Budget lodge located just outside Queen Elizabeth National Park)

Meals & Drinks

• Breakfast
• Bottled Drinking water

Day 11: Game drive – Afternoon boat cruise

Early in the morning have your breakfast, proceed for a morning game drive to the Kasenyi plains and be on the look for Cape buffalos, herds of elephants plus the big cats: lions, leopard (not easy to spot) among others. Return to the lodge for some rest and lunch.

After lunch, you will go for a 3 hour boat trip on the Kazinga Channel that connects Lakes George and Edward. During the trip, the sight of wildlife including giant hippos, elephants and crocodiles among others will fascinate you. You will also be able to spot out different species of birds at the water shores. You will have dinner and overnight at your accommodation.

Accommodation

• Engiri game lodge and campsite
• (Budget lodge located just outside Queen Elizabeth National Park)

Meals & Drinks

• Breakfast
• Bottled Drinking water

Day 12: Nature walk – Afternoon game drive

After breakfast, you will go for a walk through the Maramagambo forest which is one of the second largest forests in Uganda. This forest is a habitat to a number of primates and harbors many wildlife species including; the butterflies, birds, bats and the chimpanzees which are found in Kyambura Gorge with in the forest. This walk will also take you to the volcanic caves which is a home to thousands of bat species as well as the predator pythons which prey on the bats that leave within the cave.

Later in the afternoon after lunch, you will go for the game drive through the Ishasha sector where you will be able to view the tree climbing lions and other animal species including the birds, elephants, buffalos, kobs, monkeys and many more.

Accommodation

• Engiri game lodge and campsite
• (Budget lodge located just outside Queen Elizabeth National Park)

Meals & Drinks

• Breakfast
• Bottled Drinking water 

Day 13: Transfer to Kisoro

After breakfast, you will we leave Queen Elizabeth National Park for Kisoro for 2hours drive, Located in South-Western Uganda and borders Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo to the South and West, It also borders the Districts of Kanungu and Kabale in the North and East, respectively. The bad road takes you through a beautiful landscape called the “Switzerland of Africa”. While here, you will pass mountains, hills and lakes with cultivated terraces and tropical rainforest and bamboo forest. Here you will just check in your lodge to relax or you can decide to take a walk around the community. Dinner and overnight stay at the lodge.

Accommodation

• Rushaga Havens Lodge

Meals & Drinks

• Breakfast
• Bottled Drinking water 

Day 14: Gorilla trekking in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park

You will have an early breakfast and drive to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park headquarters for briefing on the dos and don’ts while doing your gorilla trekking and at 8:30 you will start the trek. The time taken and the terrain vary with the movements of these great primates and once you have located a gorilla group, you will be allowed an hour in their presence watching their activities and taking photos. The experience of coming face to face with these peaceful giants is very overwhelming. Later you will drive back to your lodge for lunch, dinner and overnight stay.

Accommodation

• Rushaga Havens Lodge

Meals & Drinks

• Breakfast
• Bottled Drinking water 

Day 15: Community walks

After breakfast, you can decide to have a community walk, know about the people leaving around, how they do their activities, engage in their dances, learn about their cultural history and much more. For the bird lovers you can look around for different bird species or decided to relax at your lodge.

Accommodation

• Rushaga Havens Lodge

Meals & Drinks

• Breakfast
• Bottled Drinking water 

Day 16: Transfer to Lake Mburo National Park

After breakfast, embark to the 4hours drive to Lake Mburo, a small but rich National park seated on an area of 371 sq km. Lake Mburo National Park is home to a big number of antelopes, Zebras, warthogs, reed bucks and a number of bird species. On your way, you will go through the rolling terraced hills of Kabale and have a stop in Mbarara for lunch. After, you will continue to park reaching late afternoon. Later you will have a 2 hour boat cruise on the lake and later have dinner and overnight at the lodge.

Accommodation:

• Mihingo Lodge
• (Budget lodge outside Lake Mburo National Park)

Meals & Drinks:

• Breakfast
• Bottle Drinking water

Day 17: Game drive – Afternoon boat cruise

After an early morning breakfast, you will set out for a game drive through the park where your eyes will be fed with amazing sights and wildlife such as Impalas, Kobs, antelopes and different bird species. After, you will head back to your lodge for lunch with preparation for an unforgettable experience on the boat ride along the lake and while here, you will see different animals like the crocodiles, and hippos among others.

Accommodation:

• Mihingo Lodge
• (Budget lodge outside Lake Mburo National Park)

Meals & Drinks:

• Breakfast
• Bottle Drinking water

Day 18: Depart Kampala / Entebbe

After breakfast set out for a game drive through the park and feed your eyes as you watch amazing animal species and birds and also amazing savannah grasslands. You will drive out of the park with stopovers in Masaka for lunch and at the Equator, refreshments, take photographs and purchase some souvenirs. You will arrive Kampala/Entebbe late in the evening.

Day 19: Departure – Entebbe Airport

After your breakfast, you can do some shopping around Kampala Town/buy some souvenirs for example crafts then later transfer to Entebbe International Airport to meet your departure flight back home if scheduled on this day.

END OF SAFARI TOUR

BEST TIME TO VISIT

All the above parks can be visited throughout the year and all the activities can be enjoyed any time of the year.

ACTIVITIES

• Launch cruise
• Game drives
• Gorilla trekking
• Chimpanzee tracking
• Community visits
• Nature walks
• Zziwa rhino tracking
• Visit to the top of the falls

Number of Days

19 Days / 18 Nights

Included

• All Park entry fees
• Gorilla permit
• Chimpanzee permit
• A professional driver/guide
• All transportation including fuel
• All activities (included in the itinerary)
• All accommodation (included in the itinerary)
• All Taxes/VAT
• Roundtrip/Airport transfer
• Bottled Drinking water

 Excluded

• International flights
• Personal items
• Meals
• Additional accommodation before and at the end of the tour
• Tips
• Government imposed increase of taxes and/or park fees

Requirements

GORILLA PERMIT COSTS

Gorilla trekking permit costs

 PERMITS

In Uganda chimpanzee and Gorilla tracking is done throughout the year. Chimpanzee permit goes for $50 per person while a Gorilla trekking permit goes for $700 per person and all these are payable through the Uganda Wildlife Authority or through our Company.

REQUIREMENTS FOR THE SAFARI

• Gorilla and Chimpanzee permits should be paid in advance through our Company or Uganda Wildlife Authority.
• Proof of Yellow fever vaccination.
• Good physical, fit health and mental condition.
• Uganda Visa which can be got on arrival at the Airport.
• Travelers must be at least 15 years old on the day the trekking.
• Travel & Health insurance arranged from your home Country.
• Hiking shoes.
• Water proof Jacket.
• Long Sleeves shirt & Waterproof Pants.
• Warm Jacket.

700USD per person and you get to spend only one hour with the mountain gorillas while Gorilla Habituation costs 1500USD per person allowing you to spend four hours with the mountain gorillas. Gorilla trekking permit is inclusive of the park entry fee and should be paid in advance through Uganda Wildlife Authority Offices or through our Company.

REQUIREMENTS FOR THE SAFARI

Gorilla trekking permits.
Proof of Yellow fever vaccination.
Good physical, fit health and mental condition.
Uganda Visa which can be got on arrival at the Airport.
Travelers must be at least 15 years old on the day the trekking.
Travel & Health insurance arranged from your home Country.
Hiking shoes.
Water proof Jacket.
Long Sleeves shirt & Waterproof Pants.
Warm Jacket.
Good camera for photography

Standard 4X4 Safari Vans/Land cruisers

Our standard mode of transport is by road and we use 4×4 Safari van and Land cruisers with open roof tops customized for game viewing and photography.  Each Safari van/Land cruiser comes with a professionally trained driver/guide with fuel for the whole safari. Each client is entitled to a window seat and can take up to 8-10 people. We also have very comfortable super customs which can carry up 6 people with their luggage also have small vehicles like Alphads, Harrier and much more that can carry 4-5 people.