12 Days Best of Uganda safari
The 12 days best of Uganda safari starts and ends in Kampala. The safari involves visiting various national parks in Uganda such as Murchison falls national park which is the largest and most visited national parks in Uganda offering wildlife viewing and boat cruise activities, Queen Elizabeth national park which is the second largest national park in southwestern Uganda that offers boat cruise and game drives where you will be able to view the tree climbing lions in Ishasha sector, Kibale national park which is also known as the primate sector that harbors the highest number of chimpanzees in Uganda, Bwindi impenetrable national park in southwestern Uganda which is famously known due to the fact that it harbors the endangered mountain gorillas, Lake Mburo national park which is located in Kiruhura district.
Highlights of 12 days best of Uganda safari
Day 1: Pick up from Entebbe airport and transfer to Kampala.
Day 2: Transfer to Murchison falls national park.
Day 3: Game drive and boat cruise.
Day 4: Transfer to Kibale national park
Day 5: Chimpanzee trekking and Bigodi wetland tour
Day 6: Transfer to Queen Elizabeth national park
Day 7: Game drive and boat cruise
Day 8: Transfer to Bwindi impenetrable national park
Day 9: Gorilla trekking
Day 10: Transfer to Lake Bunyonyi
Day 11: Transfer to Lake Mburo national park
Day 12: Game drive and departure
Detailed itinerary
Day 1 of the 12 days best of Uganda safari
Pick up and transfer to Kampala, on the first day of your 12 days best of Uganda safari, you will be welcomed by our guide at Entebbe international airport depending on the time of arrival and then transfer to a lodge in Kampala check in for an evening relaxation, dinner and overnight.
Day 2: Transfer to Murchison falls national park
You will wake up and have breakfast on the second day of your 12 days best of Uganda safari and your driver guide will pick you up from the lodge and then start your journey to Murchison falls national park. Murchison falls National Park is located in the northern part of Kampala and it’s the largest one of the most visited national parks in Uganda. The journey to Murchison falls national park takes about 4 to 5 hours’ drive and you will pass via Luwero and Masindi town where you will have a stopover for lunch.
After lunch you will continue the journey to the park and on arrival, you will drive directly to the top of the falls where you will have great views of River Nile, animal and bird species among others. After the top of the falls drive, you will drive to the lodge, check in, have dinner and overnight.
Accommodation options: Paraa safari lodge luxury, Pakuba safari lodge mid-range or Red chilli rest camp budget.
Day 3: Game drive and Boat cruise
On the third day of your 12 days best of Uganda safari you will wake up, have breakfast and your driver guide will pick you up and transfer for the morning game drive which will start at around 7:00am. Murchison falls national park harbors abundant wildlife species including vegetation types, bird species and animal species therefore during your morning game drive which will be done in Buligi game track, you will get an opportunity of viewing various animals in the park such as elephants, buffaloes, giraffes, lions, waterbucks, warthogs, antelopes among others. After the game drive you will drive back to the lodge to have lunch and re-freshen up.
After lunch, you will go for an afternoon boat cruise on River Nile. The boat cruise ride is an exciting activity and it takes about 2 hours. During the boat ride on River Nile, you will be able to view various animals such as the elephants, buffaloes, antelopes on the shores of the water, hippos and crocodiles in water and some water birds. The boat will continues to the bottom of the falls where you will have beautiful views of the waterfall and while at the bottom of the falls, you can opt for hiking on top of the falls where you will meet your driver guide on top after hiking. Hiking to the top of the falls is an interesting and adventurous activity that takes about 45 minutes but needs you to be physically fit. When you reach the top of the falls you will meet up with your driver guide and then drive back to the lodge for dinner and overnight at the lodge that was used the previous day.
Day 4: Transfer to Kibale national park
You will wake up and have breakfast on the fourth day of your 12 days best of Uganda safari, meet up with your driver guide and then start the journey to Kibale national park. Kibale national park is situated in southwestern Uganda and it’s also known as the primate capital due to the fact that it harbors the highest number of chimpanzees. It’s a long journey from Murchison falls national park to Kibale national park in that it takes about 8 to 9 hours’ drive, though the journey is long its rewarding with spectacular views of the Rwenzori mountains, Lake Albert, Lake Edward and Lake George, rift valley among others. You will have en-route lunch and stop overs to stretch your legs, take photos and then continue to the lodge where you will check in, have dinner and overnight.
Accommodation options: Primates lodge luxury, Chimpanzee guest house midrange
Day 5: Chimpanzee trekking in Kibale national park
On the fifth day of your 12 days best of Uganda safari you will wake up early have breakfast and then meet up with your driver guide to transfer to Kanyachu Visitors Centre for a chimpanzee trekking briefing. The briefing involves the rules, regulations and expectations, after the briefing you will be grouped into 6 people and allocated a chimpanzee group to trek. You will start trekking in the jungle at around 8:00am with a park guide who is well conversant with the chimpanzees and the trails to follow.
Chimpanzee trekking in Kibale forest national park takes about 30 minutes to 4 hours depending on the location of the chimpanzees and once they are found, you will be allowed to spend one hour with them in their natural habitat learning more about their life style, behaviors, watching them feed, playing up in the trees as you record videos and take plenty of pictures with a flash less camera. After the one hour with the chimpanzees, you will trek back to Kanyachu Visitors Centre meet up with your driver guide and drive back to the lodge for lunch.
After lunch you will go for a nature walk in Bigodi community wetland where you will have spectacular views of different bird species like the great blue turaco, papyrus gonolek, primates like the black and white colobus monkey, blue monkeys, red tailed monkey, plant species, butterflies and also have and interaction with the local people. After Bigodi wetland walk you will meet up with your driver guide and head back to your lodge for dinner and overnight.
Day 6: Transfer to Queen Elizabeth national park
You will wake up, have breakfast on the sixth day of your 12 days best of Uganda safari, check out of the lodge and meet up with your driver guide to transfer to Queen Elizabeth national park. Queen Elizabeth national park is the second largest national park in Uganda situated in southwestern region and the journey takes about 3 to 4 hours’ drive to reach the park. On arrival, you will continue to the lodge where you will check in and have lunch.
After lunch you will go for an afternoon game drive in Kasenyi plains where you will be able to view various animal species such as the elephants, buffaloes, waterbucks, Uganda kobs, bushbucks among others. After the game drive you will drive to the lodge have dinner and overnight.
Accommodation options include Mweya Safari Lodge (luxury), Park View Safari Lodge (midrange) or Pumba Safari Lodge (budget).
Day 7: Morning game drive/ lion tracking and afternoon Boat cruise
On the seventh day of your 12 days best of Uganda safari you will wake up early have breakfast and meet up with your driver guide to transfer to Kasenyi plains for the morning game drive or lion tracking experience. During lion tracking you will be with a tracker who will be having a tracking device which tracks lions with radio collars moving around the park to the direction where the lions will be hiding. Once the lions are found you will spend time viewing them at a close range as you monitor and learn more about their behaviors, habits among others which give you unforgettable and lifetime experiences.
Lion tracking activity in the park takes about 2 to 3 hours and after the experience you will drive to Lake Katwe where rock salt is mined. Lake Katwe is situated in the northern part of Mweya peninsular and while at the lake you will be able to learn how the local people earn a living by extracting rock salt from the lake and selling it to traders in Uganda and other countries like Congo. From Lake Katwe, you will drive to your lodge for lunch.
After lunch you will meet up with your driver guide and drive to Kazinga channel for the afternoon boat cruise. Kazinga channel is a water body that joins Lake George and Lake Edward and the boat ride starts at around 2:00pm at a landing site near the luxury lodge Mweya safari lodge. the boat cruise is an exciting and thrilling activity that takes about 2 hours and during the activity you will be able to ride close to the animals such as elephants, buffaloes, hippos, Nile crocodiles, waterbucks which will be viewed along the water banks and various water birds such as martial eagle, papyrus gonolek, pelicans, African skimmers, cormorants, African spoonbills, fish eagles, king fisher’s among others. After the boat cruise you will drive back to the lodge for dinner and overnight.
Day 8: Transfer to Bwindi impenetrable forest national park
You will wake up, have an early breakfast on the eighth day of your 12 days best of Uganda safari, check out of the lodge and meet up with your driver guide to transfer to Bwindi Impenetrable forest national park which takes about 4 hours’ drive. On your way you will pass via Ishasha sector which is situated in the southern part of Queen Elizabeth national park and Ishasha sector is famously known for the tree climbing lions which will be viewed lazily lying up in the acacia, fig trees staring on the antelopes grazing in the open savannah plains during the game drive. It’s believed that the tree climbing lions in Ishasha sector climb trees due to heat from the ground during afternoon hours and to also run away from the tsetse flies. During the game drive in Ishasha sector you will also view other animals such as the buffaloes, elephants, antelopes and some bird species.
After the game drive in Ishasha you will have en-route lunch at Savannah Resort Hotel in Kihihi and then proceed with the journey to Buhoma sector which is situated in the northern part of Bwindi impenetrable national park. On arrival you will check into the lodge, relax as you prepare for an optional evening community tour. During the community tour you will visit the Batwa community who used to live in the forest many years ago before it was gazetted as a national park. You will interact with the Batwa/ pygmies as they share their lifestyle, narrating stories of how they lived in the forest, show you plants which acted as medicine to treat different illnesses among others. After the cultural tour you will transfer back to the lodge for dinner and overnight.
Day 9: Gorilla trekking in Bwindi impenetrable national park
On the ninth day of your 12 days best of Uganda safari you will wake up early, have breakfast, carry your packed lunch and meet up with your driver guide to transfer to the park headquarters for a briefing about the rules, regulations and expectations of gorilla trekking. After the briefing you will be grouped into 8 people to trek each habituated gorilla family and grouping of individuals is done according to personal interests, age and physical fitness so that visitors who are not physically fit are allocated a gorilla family that is near to trek.
Each group of 8 people will be allocated a park guide and at around 8:00am, you will start trekking in the jungle where you will have views of the plants, tree species, bird species and primates like the monkeys among others. Gorilla trekking takes about 30 minutes to 7 hours depending on where the gorilla family is located and once the gorillas are found, you will spend one hour with them in their natural habit learning more about their lifestyle, behaviors, taking photos with flash less camera, recording videos among other.
After having an encounter with the gorillas, you will trek back to the starting point where you will be awarded a certificate for participating in gorilla trekking in Bwindi impenetrable national park and then meet up with your guide and transfer back to your lodge for an evening relaxation, dinner and overnight.
Day 10: Transfer to Lake Bunyonyi
You will wake up, have breakfast on the tenth day of your 12 days best of Uganda safari, check out of the lodge and meet up with your driver guide to transfer to Lake Bunyonyi which is the deepest lake in Uganda and second deepest in Africa located in Kabale district. It takes about 3 to 4 hours’ drive from Buhoma sector to Lake Bunyonyi and upon arrival you will check into the lodge and have lunch.
After lunch you will you will go for a boat ride in a dugout canoe on Lake Bunyonyi where you will be able to explore the some of the 29 islands. During the boat ride you will also view the homesteads, farmlands, local people who live on the islands, some animal species and birds. After the boat ride you will return back to the lodge have dinner and overnight.
Accommodation options: Birdnest @Lake Bunyonyi (luxury), Lake Bunyonyi eco resort (midrange) or Lake Bunyonyi overland resort (budget).
Day 11: Transfer to Lake Mburo national park
You will wake up early, have breakfast on the eleventh day of your 12 days best of Uganda safari, meet up with your driver guide and start the journey to Lake Mburo national park which is located in the western part of Uganda in Mbarara district. You will pass via Kabale-Mbarara road and the journey takes about 5 hours’ drive. On arrival in the park you will check into the lodge and have lunch.
After lunch you will go for an afternoon boat cruise on Lake Mburo which starts at 2:00pm and takes about 2 hours. During the boat cruise on you will have an opportunity of riding near the animals such as hippos, crocodiles in waters and waterbucks, eland, topi zebras, antelopes, otters, buffaloes among others which will be along the water banks, some water birds such as the pre-historic shoebill stork, king fishers, fish eagles, black crake, hammerkop, blue headed weaver, herons, pelicans among others. After the boat cruise you will drive back to the lodge for dinner and overnight.
Accommodation options include Mihingo lodge (luxury) and Eagles nest lodge (mid-range)
Day 12: Morning game drive and transfer back to Kampala
On the last day of your 12 days best of Uganda safari you will wake up early have breakfast, check out of the lodge and meet up with your driver guide for the morning game drive in the park. During the game drive you will be able to view nocturnal animals going back to their hide out areas and other animals grazing such as the zebras, giraffes, warthogs, waterbucks, elands, topi, impala, buffaloes and some bird species. After the game drive you will drive out of the park and start your journey to Kampala with a stopover at the equator for lunch. While at the equator you will have views of the craft shops where they sell souvenirs, art and craft among others, you will also be able to take photos while standing on the equator among others.
After lunch you will continue you journey to Kampala and since it takes 4 hours’ drive you will reach Kampala early evening and your driver guide will drop you off either at Entebbe international airport or at any place of convenience.
End of 12 days best of Uganda safari
Tour includes
- Gorilla trekking permit
- Chimpanzee trekking permit
- Park entrance fees
- Boat cruise fees
- Canoeing on Lake Bunyonyi
- Lion tracking fees
- An English speaking driver guide
- All activities in the itinerary
- Full board accommodation
- Pick up and drop off
- Vehicle and fuel
- Bottled water
Tour excludes
- Air flight tickets
- Visas
- Optional activities not included on the itinerary
- Personal expenses like buying souvenirs, crafts, drinks, laundry services, hiring a porter, tips among others.
Gorilla and chimpanzee trekking tips
Due to unpredictable weather conditions you are advised to pack or carry various essential items for your Uganda safari including
- Hiking shoes
- Garden gloves
- Long sleeved shirt and trouser
- Insect repellent
- Water proof rain jacket
- Warm sweaters
- Cotton stockings
- Water proof back pack to carry your equipment’s
- camera
- Drinking water and packed lunch from the lodge
- Porter who will carry your backpack and also give you a pull and push in steep and slippery areas.
