Best of Uganda’s Wildlife

Arrive Entebbe. Met on arrival and transfer to your hotel.

Pickup by private safari guide with specially equipped 4WD Land-cruiser with popup roof, charging sockets, WiFi and a fridge stocked with complimentary fruit, snacks and soft drinks. Drive (approx. 4hrs) to the Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary. Setup to re-establish a wild rhino population since poaching in the 1970s decimated the last of the natural population, Ziwa now has a growing population of 22 white rhinos within its 7,000 hectare reserve. Other inhabitants include deer, monkeys and over 300 species of bird. Afternoon walking safari to spot white rhino. Night walk to see some of the nocturnal wildlife of the area.

A morning visit to the Lugogo Wetlands for birdwatching on foot and by boat. The reserve protects over 350 avian species including many raptors, turacos, a range of kingfishers, barbets and woodpeckers and is a prime location for shoebill stork. Return to the lodge for lunch then venture out to track white rhino on foot. Other sightings might include deer, further bird species and the local long-horned Ankole cows.

Morning drive (approx. 3.5hrs) to Murchison Falls National Park. Check-in to your lodge and enjoy an afternoon boat trip to Murchison Falls, following the Victoria Nile as it flows through the park. As well large numbers of water birds, the river attracts plenty of game which comes to the river to drink and bathe including hippo, elephant, buffalo and crocodile. You will continue up the river to the spectacular Murchison Falls where the river hurtles down a seven-metre chasm. Disembark for a fairly steep walk to the top of the falls, observing various cascades along the way. Return to the lodge in the evening.

Enjoy a full day in Murchison Falls National Park. At 3,893 square kilometres in size, this is Uganda’s largest national park and dominated by the Nile running roughly east to west and dividing the park in two. Here you can see large numbers of Rothschild's giraffe, elephant and buffalo. Specialities of the park include the Jackson’s hartebeest, the tiny oribi antelope and the Uganda kob – an antelope which forms large herds. Lion are seen quite regularly but leopard and spotted hyena less so. Primates include olive baboon, blue and red-tailed monkeys, black-and-white colobus plus the rare savanna-dwelling patas monkey. As well as waterbirds such as shoebill stork, goliath heron and grey crowned crane, there are many savannah species including the Abyssinian ground hornbill, Senegal thick-knee and Northern carmine bee-eater. Morning boat trip to the Nile delta to look for shoebills and other wildlife. Return to the lodge for lunch, then enjoy a sunset game drive.

Depart early for the long drive to Kibale (approx. 8 hrs). Begin on quiet dirt roads through the farmland around Murchison Falls, then continue on paved roads towards Kibale. Check in to your hotel and spend the rest of the day at leisure.

Depart before dawn and head to the Kibale Forest National Park headquarters and check-in for a morning chimpanzee trek. Bordering Queen Elizabeth National park to the south, Kibale Forest National Park is Uganda’s largest expanse of intact forest. It is home to over 350 species of tree, 375 species of bird and 70 species of mammal including forest elephant, red and blue duikers, bushbuck, sitatungas, bush pig, giant forest hog, common warthog, buffalo, leopard and even the occasional lion. Thirteen species of primate are found there, including the Uganda mangabey, Ugandan red colobus, L'Hoest's monkey, black-and-white colobus and blue monkey. Possibly Africa’s best chimpanzee trekking can be enjoyed there, with over 120 individuals within the main habituated group, divided into various sub-groups. After a short briefing, you will be split into groups of eight and spend the morning tracking chimpanzees with an armed ranger who will know where they were last seen. If you are lucky, the group will be vocalising so you can follow the distinctive whoops and calls to find it. If not, the ranger will use his tracking skills to follow a trail of broken vegetation and dropped fruit leading to the group. This can sometimes take some time and involve much walking through some thick forest. Once found, though, you can enjoy an unforgettable hour witnessing fascinating social interactions and other behaviour before returning to park HQ and your lodge for lunch. Please Note: you will need to keep a safe distance from the chimpanzees at all times and you will not be able to partake at all if you are feeling ill.

In the afternoon, enjoy a scenic walk in the Bigodi Wetlands for some of the area’s smaller primates plus rich birdlife. Pass along a series of trails and boardwalks through farmland, forest and extensive areas of papyrus. The wildlife is dominated by birds including great blue turaco, papyrus gonolek, hornbills, waxbills, weavers, cuckoo, flycatchers and a number of kingfisher species. There are eight primate species including black and white colobus, red colobus, mangabey, red tail, vervet, and L’Hoest monkeys.

Check out and drive (approx. 60 minutes) to the northern border of Queen Elizabeth National Park and enjoy an introductory game drive to your lodge. Stop to see the beautiful crater lakes that punctuate the park, the dramatic Kyambura Gorge and explore the flat, open grasslands looking for lion and buffalo. Lunch at your lodge followed by an afternoon’s game drive in the park.

Enjoy a morning shared boat cruise on the Kazinga Channel. The channel connects Lake George and Lake Edward and attracts a lot of big game. Expect hippo, crocodile, elephant and buffalo aplenty. The banks are home to bee-eaters, kingfishers and other birdlife – there are over 600 species found in the area.

Continue south (with packed lunch) through the Ishasha sector of Queen Elizabeth National Park, generally more green, forested and less-visited than the northern part. There are healthy numbers of elephant, buffalo, hippo and Uganda kob as well as black and white colobus monkey and other primates. It is also excellent for birding with grey crowned crane, nerina trogon and black bee-eater being particular highlights. However, Ishasha’s most famous inhabitants are the tree climbing lions. These are quite often sighted, especially in the mid-morning and mid-afternoon when they climb low-hanging fig trees in search of a cooling breeze. There is no off-road driving in the park, so some sightings can be distant. Arrive back at your lodge in time for dinner.

Depart with a picnic lunch for a morning game drive in Ishasha seeking tree-climbing lions and other wildlife. Continue south (approx. 2 hours) to the Buhoma section of the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park. Rest of day is free to relax and acclimatise.

Morning gorilla tracking in the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park. This is one of the oldest and most biologically diverse forests in Africa, containing over 400 species of plant, 350 species of bird and 120 species of mammal including forest elephant, antelopes and baboons. However, there is one mammal everyone comes here to see: the mountain gorilla. Bwindi holds the world’s largest surviving population of the great apes which are dispersed in several family groups, eleven having been habituated to accept human visits.

There are four main starting points for the Bwindi trekking. You will begin at Buhoma where there are three main groups: Rushegura, Habinyanja and Mubare (the first group to be habituated in Uganda). Arrive at the park by 8am to be registered and shown a video about gorilla conservation and the rules of tracking. You will be assigned to a group and begin your trek. Groups will be allocated according to participants’ fitness and the approximate location of the gorillas.

There is usually a short drive to the trek starting point where you will have a chance to prepare yourself and hire a porter – porters are not essential but we recommend one. Not only do they carry your bags but also lend a hand (literally) on steeper sections of the trip, and the fee of around $20 provides much needed income for them and their families.

Treks typically start with a steep walk up mountain paths into the forest, usually taking one to three hours depending on the route and overall fitness of the party. Then it’s a scramble through the vegetation to your gorilla group, usually across flatter terrain. You will often be hacking through very dense foliage (it’s not called “impenetrable” for nothing) so it’s best to have both hands free and wear thick gardening gloves for the thorns and stinging plants.

When you finally reach your gorilla group (often after another hour or so) you will have a chance to rest, collect your thoughts (and your camera) before walking the final few metres to the great apes. You will then be given an hour to observe and photograph the group. The time will fly by so make sure you have plenty of space on your memory card, a fully charged battery and your flash switched off as no flash photography is allowed. You are expected to keep a respectful distance or around seven metres from the animals. Of course, you should not even begin the trek if suffering from any sort of illness in order to protect the health of the gorillas.

After an unforgettable hour you will retrace your steps to the vehicle and return to the lodge. The total length of the trek can be anything from three to eight hours depending on the group tracked and the fitness of your party. Bring plenty of water, snacks, sun cream, hat and raingear with you.

After lunch there will be a free afternoon to rest and relax or, if you have the energy, visit a nearby Batwa (pygmy) tribe or enjoy a forest walk to spot some of the other wildlife found in Bwindi.

Morning departure from the lodge for the drive (approx. 6 hours) to Lake Mburo National Park. Enjoy lunch at your new lodge followed by a late afternoon game drive with a spotlight night drive on the return. The small, overlooked Lake Mburo National Park lacks some of the wow factor of bigger parks as it contains no lion or elephant. However, the lack of large game allows for walking, riding and even cycling through the park. There are a number of species that are difficult to see elsewhere in Uganda including zebra, eland and impala. Lake Mburo is also good for leopard and hyena, with sightings mainly at night. Avian highlights include African fish eagle, African finfoot, white-backed heron and large numbers of malachite kingfishers.

Early morning game drive in Lake Mburo National Park – you could upgrade to a walking or riding safari for a small additional charge. Have breakfast at the lodge then drive to the Mabamba Wetland for a final boat trip in search of shoebills and other birdlife. Continue to Entebbe. Visit a nearby restaurant for dinner (included) then take an evening flight home.