19 Days Great Uganda Tour

Safari Highlights

Equator experience
Game drives in 6 National Park
Canoe ride and Boat launch on 3 Lakes
Chimp trekking
Natures walks
Cultural visits
Tree climbing lions
Scenic views
Sipi Falls
Mountain hiking and abseiling
Source of the Nile
Water adventure sports on the Nile

Great Uganda Tour Itinerary

Day 1: Arrival in Uganda – The pearl of Africa

Upon arrival at Entebbe International Airport, you will be met by our Great Uganda Tour guide who will transfer you to Kampala to a hotel booked for you. In case you have had an early flight to Uganda, you will be taken on a brief tour of the city of Kampala.

Day 2: Travel to Lake Mburo National Park

After breakfast, you will travel west of Kampala to Lake Mburo National Park to start the Pearl of Africa Safari. The journey will take 3-4 hours with a stopover at the Equator where you will have an opportunity to stand in 2 hemispheres at the same time and take memorial photos. You will continue to Lake Mburo where you will have lunch at the Great Uganda Tour lodge booked for you.

In the afternoon, you will go on a boat trip on the lake to see a variety of animals such as hippos and crocodiles and bird species such as Pelicans, Black Crake, Heron, Cormorant, and Fish Eagle which can only be viewed clearly on a boat trip. You will retire to your lodge for dinner and overnight.

Luxury: Mihingo Lodge/ Mantana Lake Mburo Camp/ Kigambira Safari Lodge
Moderate: Lake Mburo Safari Lodge/ Rakobo Rock
Budget: Eagles Nest Camp
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 3: Exploration of the Mburo Park

You will have an early Great Uganda Tour breakfast and set off for a sunrise game drive in the park where you can expect to see a variety of wildlife such as zebras, monkeys, impalas, waterbucks, elands, buffaloes, hippos, topi, Bohor reedbuck, sitatunga antelope, klipspringer, vervet monkey, olive baboon, side-striped Jackal, spotted-hyena, leopard, white-tailed mongoose, among others.

You will return to your lodge for lunch and in the afternoon go for either horse riding around the park, or a Nature walk in the Rubanga Forest. This forest offers excellent habitat for birds therefore a very attractive place for bird watching. Time allows you would participate in sports fishing at Lake Mburo before retiring to your lodge for dinner and overnight.

Luxury: Mihingo Lodge/ Mantana Lake Mburo Camp/ Kyigambira Lodge
Moderate: Lake Mburo Safari Lodge/ Rakobo Rock
Budget: Eagles Nest Camp
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 4: Transfer to Queen Elizabeth National Park and Game drive in the Park

After your breakfast, you will transfer to Queen Elizabeth National Park and have lunch at the Great Uganda Tour lodge of your booking. In the afternoon you will go for a game drive. Dinner and overnight will be at your lodge of booking.

Luxury: Mweya Safari Lodge/ Katara Lodge/ Jacana Lodge
Mid range: Bush Lodge (in rooms)/ Simba Safari Camp in rooms/ Buffalo Safari Resort/ Enganzi Lodge/ Ihamba Safari Lodge
Budget: Kazinga Channel View Lodge/ Simba Safari Camp in tents/ Bush Lodge in tents
Meal Plan: Breakfast Lunch and Dinner

Day 5: Game drive in Queen Elizabeth and Boat launch on Kazinga channel

You will return to the lodge for lunch and later in the afternoon (3:00 pm) go for a 2-hour Great Uganda Tour boat safari cruise on the Kazinga Channel. This is a 42km channel that joins Lake Edward and Lake George. This trip passes through possibly the highest concentration of hippos and offers an excellent opportunity for photography, bird watching, and game viewing. The prolific bird life is colorful, with well over 550 resident species. Dinner and overnight will be at your lodge of booking.

Luxury: Mweya Safari Lodge/ Katara Lodge/ Jacana Lodge
Mid range: Bush Lodge (in rooms)/ Simba Safari Camp in rooms/ Buffalo Safari Lodge/ Enganzi Lodge/ Ihamba Safari Lodge
Budget: Kazinga Channel View Lodge/ Simba Safari Camp in tents/ Bush Lodge in tents
Meal Plan: Breakfast Lunch and Dinner

Day 6: Great Uganda Tour Game drive and Boat Safari launch

You will wake up early for a morning Great Uganda Tour game drive in the park during which you will see Lions, Elephants, Topis, Leopards, Bush bucks, Cape Buffaloes, Defassa Waterbucks, Giant Forest Hogs, and Uganda Kobs, among others. You will later in the afternoon go for a two-hour boat cruise down the Kazinga Channel that connects Lakes George and Edward. The cruise takes you through the highest population of Hippos and you will see a profusion of animals drinking on the water shores. This launch cruise rewards you with a great opportunity to take photos, watch birds and see the water animals.

Day 7: Transfer to Kibale Forest National Park

You will after breakfast set off on a 4-hour journey to Kibale Forest National Park. On the Drive to Kibale National Park, you will be able to enjoy an impressive sight of the legendary “Mountains of the Moon” which you will clearly see on the road to Fort Portal. You will have lunch in Fort Portal and proceed to Kibale Forest National Park.

You will then choose either go to the unique Bigodi swamp eco-tourism site where you will see uncommon plants and rare bird species such as the Great Blue Turaco, little Bulbul, Rwenzori Turaco, and the Narina Trogon, among others, or visit the crater lakes area to enjoy the beautiful scenery. Dinner and overnight will be at the Great Uganda Tour lodge of your booking

Luxury: Ndali Lodge/Primate Lodge/Kibale Forest/Kyaninga Lodge
Moderate: Mountains of the moon/Kibale Forest Camp
Budget: Rwenzori Travelers/Kibale Forest Camp/Chimpanzee Forest Guest House
Meal plan: Breakfast Lunch and Dinner

Day 8: Chimpanzee tracking and swamp walk for bird watching
You will, after breakfast, head to Kibale Forest National Park to view the primates. The activity begins at 8.00 am with a briefing on the rule for trekking the chimpanzees after which you set off to search for them in the forest. The exercise takes half a day and along the way, you will see other primates such as Grey cheeked Mangabeys, Phoestes, Red-Colobus, and the Blue tailed and Red-tailed monkeys swinging in the braches of this thick forest.

Your Great Uganda Tour guide will give you informative briefings on the lifestyles of the primates you will be coming across and on the plants as well as on the insects and butterflies in this forest to ensure that the trek is not only enjoyable but informative as well..

Luxury: Ndali Lodge/Primate Lodge/Kibale Forest/Kyaninga Lodge
Moderate: Mountains of the moon/Kibale Forest Camp
Budget: Rwenzori Travelers/Kibale Forest Camp/Chimpanzee Forest Guest House
Meal plan: Breakfast Lunch and Dinner

Day 9: Transfer to Murchison Falls National Park (441 Kms)

You will set off on a 6-hour journey to Murchison Falls National Park. The drive is through verdant countryside inter-passing traditional homesteads and farms and via the town of Hoima where you have a lunch break. You will continue the journey to Murchison Falls National Park arriving late in the afternoon. Dinner and overnight will be at the lodge of your booking

Luxury: Paraa Safari Lodge/ Nile Safari Lodge
Mid-range: Fort Murchison (in rooms)/ Murchison River Lodge
Budget: Fort Murchison in tents/ Murchison River Lodge in tents / Red Chili
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 10: Game Drive and Boat Cruise

You will wake up very early and set off at 6.30 am for a sunrise game drive in the Nyamsika plateau to see the Cape buffaloes, Rothschild’s giraffes, Uganda kob, hartebeest, and waterbucks. You may also spot oribi, bushbuck, Bohor reedbuck, shy sitatunga, bush duiker, warthog, and bush pig plus large carnivores including lions, leopards, and spotted hyenas.

Chimpanzees and olive baboons head the list of six species of primates found in the park. Crocodiles and hippos will be seen along the banks of the Nile. Some of the more common birds that can be seen include goliath heron, Egyptian geese, pelican, bee-eaters, kingfishers, hornbill, cormorant, saddle-bill stork, and the rare shoe bill stork.

You will return to your lodge for a late breakfast and some relaxation before you set off in the afternoon for a boat cruise on the placid Victoria Nile, upstream, to the base of the falls. En-route you will see hippos, crocodiles, waterbuck, and a wide variety of birds like the unusual shoebill stork. The boat stops just tens of meters from the “Devil’s Cauldron” for pictures to be taken of the photogenic and majestic Murchison Falls.

Luxury: Paraa Safari Lodge/ Nile Safari Lodge
Mid-range: Fort Murchison (in rooms)/ Murchison River Lodge
Budget: Fort Murchison in tents/ Murchison River Lodge in tents / Red Chili
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 11: Visit the top of the fall and travel to Kitgum town

You will after your breakfast visit the “top of the thunderous Murchison falls”, where you will observe the River Nile squeezing itself into a 7-meter gorge before tumbling 40 meters down in a thunderous explosion and then flowing down into a very peaceful river whose water banks are swarmed with a profusion of water and land animals as well as birds. You will thereafter set off on a 9-hour journey to Kitgum in the northern part of Uganda where you will have an overnight stopover. You will have a Great Uganda Tour dinner and overnight at the lodge of your booking.

Luxury: Bomah Hotel/ Acholi Pride Guest Houses / Hotel de Carols
Budget: Lonely Planet / Kitgum Holiday Rentals
Meal Plan: Breakfast Lunch and Dinner.

Day 12: Drive to Kidepo Valley National Park

You will continue the journey to Kidepo Valley National Park on a rough road. The journey to Kidepo from Kitgum will take 4 – 7 hours depending on the weather conditions which determine the state of the roads in this part of the country. You will spend the night at one of the lodges in the park.

Luxury: Apoka Safari Lodge, Adere Safari Lodge
Average range: Kidepo Savannah Lodge
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner

Day 13: Game drive and safari walk in Kidepo

You will wake up early for a Great Uganda Tour game drive in the park to catch up with the early predators that will be returning to their habitats after a night hunt. In Kidepo you will find zebras, giraffes, elephants, lions, and leopards and this is the only place in Uganda – Pearl of Africa where you can find the cheetah and ostrich. You’ll return to the lodge for a late breakfast, have a rest, and go off in the mid-afternoon for a nature walk. You will return to your lodge in the late afternoon for dinner and overnight.

Luxury: Apoka Safari Lodge, Adere Safari Lodge
Average range: Kidepo Savannah Lodge
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner

Day 14: Cultural Village Tour in Kidepo

You will be taken on a guided cultural village tour where you will learn about the nomadic lifestyle of the people around Karenga and Kidepo. During this cultural tour, you will visit the Karamajong homesteads (manyattas) and see the kraals of cattle, the traditional costumes, stools, spears, headdresses, knives, bows, and arrows, jewelry, grinding stones, and utensils all made locally by the natives. In the evening you will be taken for a sunset game drive to explore more of Kidepo.

Luxury: Apoka Safari Lodge, Adere Safari Lodge
Average range: Kidepo Savannah Lodge
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner

Day 15: Travel to Sipi

You will after your breakfast set off for the Sipi Falls on Mt Elgon. This will be a 9-hour journey through the towns of Kotido and Soroti arriving late in the afternoon. You will have dinner and overnight at the lodge of your booking.

Luxury: Sipi River Lodge/Sipi Valley Resort
Average Range: Lacam Lodge/Sipi Falls Resort
Meal Plan: Breakfast Lunch and Dinner

Day 16: Hike to Sipi Falls

You will after your breakfast go for a hike to see the beautifully stunning Sipi falls that cascade over a 100-meter cliff. You will follow the challenging trail to two other waterfalls. You will pass maize fields, coffee gardens, banana plantations, and typical African homesteads on your way and enjoy the breathtaking views over the laid-out valley. Those interested in experiencing the real thrill of watching the waterfalls from a very close distance will go abseiling down the mountain to the bottom of the famous Sipi Falls. At the end of the day, you will experience a magnificent sunset before returning to your lodge.

Luxury: Sipi River Lodge/Sipi Valley Resort
Average Range: Lacam Lodge and Sipi Falls Resort
Meal Plan: Breakfast Lunch and Dinner

Day 17: Transfer to Jinja

We leave early in the morning and head to Jinja to visit the source of the Nile and to enjoy some of the adventurous activities whose options include white water rafting, jet boating, horse riding, mountain biking, quad biking, or bungee jumping. Enroute, you will have a stopover at the Equator where you will have an opportunity to stand in two hemispheres at the same time and take some photos. You will arrive in the late afternoon and relax at the hotel of your booking till dinner and overnight.

Luxury: The Heaven
Moderate: Surgious Guest House.
Budget: Backpackers
Meal Plan: Dinner

Day 18: Adventure on the Nile

You will, after breakfast, go for the adventurous white water rafting on the Nile River. The rafting begins at the Source of the Nile at 09:30 am with a comprehensive briefing and being fitted with the rafting gear. The rafting is done on an 18-kilometer stretch of the Nile River and no prior experience in rafting is required. The first few rapids are of low grade (1, 2) to build the confidence of the participants before guiding them gradually into the more challenging grades. A total of eight major rapids are rafted to maximize the adrenaline rush of this adventure. You will, after the rafting adventure, be treated to a barbecue lunch and drinks before returning to Kampala

Accommodation: Signature Hotel Apartments, Nile Valley, and Living Waters Resort.
Meal Plan: Dinner

Day 19: Transfer to Entebbe for your departure flight

In line with the timing of your departure flight, you will be transferred to the Airport for your scheduled flight back home or visit the source of the Nile and enjoy some of the adventurous activities whose options

However, the Pearl of Africa Safari package excludes: Personal Expenses like tobacco, telephone, drinks, laundry, porter fee, personal insurance, Visa, and tips for guides

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