9 Days Uganda Wildlife Adventure

This 9 days Uganda wildlife adventure will take you various protected areas in Uganda where you will have spectacular views of different wildlife species such as the big five mammals which include the elephants, lions, leopards, buffaloes, rhinos, other animals like Uganda kobs, waterbucks, giraffes, bushbucks among others in Murchison falls national park and Queen Elizabeth national park, primates like the mountain gorillas which are found in Bwindi impenetrable national park and chimpanzees in Kibale national park. You will wrap up your safari with a tour to Lake Bunyonyi in Kabale which is the deepest lake in Uganda with about 29 islands.

Highlights of the 9 days Uganda wildlife adventure

Day 1: Arrival and transfer to Murchison falls national park

Day 2: Morning game drive and afternoon boat cruise

Day 3: Transfer to Kibale national park

Day 4: Chimpanzee trekking and transfer to Queen Elizabeth national park

Day 5: Game drive and boat cruise

Day 6: Transfer to Bwindi impenetrable national park

Day 7: Gorilla trekking and Batwa trail experience

Day 8: Transfer to Lake Bunyonyi

Day 9: Departure to Kampala

Detailed itinerary

Day 1 of the 9 days Uganda wildlife adventure

Arrival and transfer to Murchison falls national park, upon arrival at Entebbe international airport on the first day of the 9 days Uganda wildlife adventure, you will be welcomed by our guide who will brief you about the safari and then start the journey to Murchison falls national park in north western part of Kampala. The journey to the park takes about 5 to 6 hours drive and on the way you will have great views of the roadside markets, smiling people, beautiful landscape, homesteads among others. You will have a stopover at Ziwa rhino sanctuary for rhino tracking, Ziwa rhino sanctuary is the only destination in Uganda that harbors rhinos in their natural environment. After rhino tracking you will proceed to Masindi town for lunch and then continue the journey to the park where you will check into the lodge, have dinner and overnight.

Day 2: Morning game drive and afternoon boat cruise

Morning game drive, after an early breakfast on the second day of the 9 days Uganda wildlife adventure you will meet up with your driver guide to go for a morning game drive which starts at around 6:30 or 7:00am. There are different game tracks in the park that you will follow during the game drive such as Buligi game track, Albert game track, Victoria game track among others. During the game drive you should look out for animals like elephants, giraffes, lions, Uganda kobs, buffaloes, Jacksons hartebeests, warthogs, leopards, bird species like black headed lapwing, Abyssinian ground hornbill, Senegal thick-knee, grey crowned crane, marabou stork, secretary birds among others. After the game drive you will drive back to the lodge for lunch.

Boat cruise, after lunch you will drive to Paraa landing site for an interesting boat cruise along River Nile to the bottom of the falls. the scheduled boat cruise starts at around 2:00pm and takes about 2 to 3 hours ride and during the boat ride you will have great views of beautiful landscape, waterfall, enjoy a wide range of animals such as elephants, buffaloes, antelopes drinking water along the shores, hippos and Nile crocodiles in water, aquatic bird species like red throated bee-eater, pied kingfisher, fish eagles, hornbills, cormorants among others. The boat will continue to the bottom of the falls where you will either opt to return back to the starting point or hike to the top of the falls. Hiking to the top of the falls is an exciting activity that takes about 45 minute to reach on top where you will find the driver waiting for you and then transfer to the lodge for dinner and overnight.

Day 3: Transfer to Kibale national park

After breakfast on the third day of the 9 days Uganda wildlife adventure, you will check out of the lodge and your driver guide will pick you up to transfer to Kibale national park which is also known as the primate capital because it harbors about 13 primate species. On the way you will have en-route lunch and spectacular views of the Rwenzori Mountains, tea plantations, crater lakes, beautiful landscape among others. Upon arrival in the park you will check into the lodge for dinner and overnight.

Day 4: Chimpanzee trekking and transfer to Queen Elizabeth national park

Chimpanzee trekking, after an early breakfast on the fourth day of the 9 days Uganda wildlife adventure you will meet up with your driver guide to transfer to the park headquarters for a briefing about the rules, regulations and expectations of chimpanzee trekking. Chimpanzee trekking in Kibale national park is an exciting activity that is done in groups of 6 individuals where each group is allocated a chimpanzee family to trek daily and a park guide who is well conversant with trails in the forest. Trekking of chimpanzees in Kibale forest takes about 30 minutes to 4 hours or even longer depending on where the chimpanzees are located because they like to move deep into the forest in search of food.

During trekking you will be able to view bird species like tropical boubou, slender billed weaver, great blue turaco, green breasted pitta, black cuckoo, black throated apalis, primates like black and white colobus monkeys, l’hoest monkeys, red tailed monkeys, olive baboons, animals like bush pigs, buffaloes, elephants, plant and tree species among others. Once the chimpanzees are found you will be allowed to spend one hour with them in their natural habitat which gives you an opportunity to watch them feed, hunt, breastfeed, rest, play, learn more about their behaviors, habits, take photos and record videos. After the one hour with the chimpanzees you will trek back to the park headquarters where you will meet up with your driver guide to transfer to the lodge for lunch.

Transfer to Queen Elizabeth national park, after lunch you will check out of the lodge and meet up with your driver guide to transfer to Queen Elizabeth national park which is the second largest national park in Uganda. The journey to Queen Elizabeth national park takes about 3 hours drive and filled with great views of the beautiful landscape, scenery among others. Upon arrival in the park you will have views of different animals as you drive to the lodge for dinner and overnight.

Day 5: Morning game drive/ lion tracking experience and after noon boat cruise

Game drive/ lion tracking experience, after an early breakfast on the fifth day of the 9 days Uganda wildlife adventure you will meet up with your driver guide to go for a morning game drive or lion tracking experience which is commonly done in Kasenyi plains. During the game drive you will be able to view animals like elephants, lions, leopards, Uganda kobs, waterbucks, bushbucks, warthogs, giant forest hogs, bird species like grey crowned cranes, yellow throated long crow, red throat spur fowl, African white backed vulture, African wattled plover, black bellied bustard, black headed gonolek among others. After the game drive you will drive back to the lodge for lunch.

Boat cruise, after lunch you will go for an amazing boat cruise on Kazinga channel a water body that connects Lake George and Lake Edward. The scheduled boat cruise starts at 2:00pm and takes about 2 to 3 hours, during the boat cruise you will be able to cruise near large concentration of hippos and crocodiles in water, animals like elephants, buffaloes, waterbucks, warthogs on the shores of the lake, bird species like saddle bill stork, long tailed cormorant, African shoebill, yellow billed stork, pink backed pelican, black crake, view fishermen preparing their fishing gears among others. After the boat cruise you will drive to the lodge for an evening relaxation, dinner and overnight.

Day 6: Transfer to Bwindi impenetrable national park

On the sixth day of the 9 days Uganda wildlife adventure, you will have breakfast, check out of the lodge and meet up with your driver guide to transfer to Bwindi impenetrable national park in southwestern part of Uganda. You will pass via Ishasha sector where you will view the tree climbing lions lying up in acacia, fig tree branches staring on the antelopes which will be feeding in the open savannah plains. After the game drive in Ishasha sector you will go for lunch and then continue with the journey to Bwindi forest which takes about 3 to 4 hours drive. Upon arrival in the park you will check into the lodge, have dinner and overnight.

Day 7: Gorilla trekking in Bwindi impenetrable national park

Gorilla trekking, after an early breakfast on the seventh day of the 9 days Uganda wildlife adventure, you will carry packed lunch and meet up with your driver to transfer to the park headquarters for a briefing about the rules, regulations and expectations of gorilla trekking. Gorilla trekking in Bwindi impenetrable national park is an interesting activity and one of the major activities carried out in Uganda and it’s done is groups of 8 individuals where each group will be allocated a gorilla family to trek daily and a park guide who will be sharing information about the mountain gorillas and also conversant with trails in the jungle.  Trekking of the mountain gorillas takes about 30 minutes to 8 hours depending on where the gorillas are located because they like to move from one place to another in search of food.

During trekking you will have views of colorful bird species like handsome francolin, rwenzori batis, animals like buffaloes, elephants, antelopes, primates like chimpanzees, l’hoest monkeys, black and white colobus monkeys, plant and tree species among others. Once the mountain gorillas are found you will be allowed to spend one hour with them in their natural environment which gives you an opportunity to watch them carry out their daily activities like feeding, breast feeding, playing, ask questions, learn more about their behaviors, habits, take photos and record the moments to show people back home after the safari. After one hour encounter with the endangered mountain gorillas, you will trek back to the park headquarters where you will be awarded a certificate for participating in gorilla trekking and then meet up with your driver guide to transfer back to the lodge for an evening relaxation, dinner and overnight.

Day 8: Transfer to Lake Bunyonyi

After breakfast on the eighth day of the 9 days Uganda wildlife adventure, you will check out of the lodge and meet up with your driver guide to transfer to Lake Bunyonyi in Kabale. The journey takes about 3 to 4 hours’ drive and upon arrival you will go for an amazing boat cruise which is done in a wooden dugout canoe. During the boat cruise you will be able to take beautiful photos, explore some of the 29 Islands on Lake Bunyonyi such as the punishment island, view traditional homesteads, terraced farmlands, beautiful scenery, local people, some animal species, birds like herons, egrets, pied crow, grey crowned crane among others. After the boat ride you will drive to the lodge for lunch.

Community tour, after lunch you will go for an evening community tour in the neighboring communities around the lake such as the Batwa or pygmies and the Bakiga. During the community tour you will be able to interact with the local people which gives you an opportunity to visit their homesteads, farmlands, market centers, learn more about their ways of life, culture and traditions, take part in their traditional songs, dance and drama, taste their local food among others. After the community tour, you will drive back to the lodge for dinner and overnight.

Day 9: Departure to Kampala

after a relaxed breakfast on the last day of the 9 days Uganda wildlife adventure you will check out of the lodge and your driver guide will pick you up to transfer to Kampala. On the way you will have a stopover in Mbarara town for lunch and another stopover at the Equator where you will be able to take photos and buy some souvenirs. From the Equator you will proceed with the journey to Kampala and upon arrival your driver guide will drop you off at Entebbe international airport for your next flight.

End of 9 days Uganda wildlife adventure

Tour includes                    

• Gorilla trekking permit
• Chimpanzee trekking permit
• Park entrance fees
• Boat cruise fees
• Canoeing on Lake Bunyonyi
• Rhino tracking permit
• All activities included in the itinerary
• An English speaking driver guide
• Full board accommodation
• Pick up and drop off
• Vehicle and fuel
• Bottled water

Tour excludes                          

• Air flight tickets
• Visas
• personal insurance
• Optional activities not included on the itinerary
• Personal expenses like buying souvenirs, cigarettes, crafts, drinks, laundry services, hiring a porter, tips among others.