12 Days Uganda primates and wildlife safari
12 Days Uganda primates and wildlife safari to Kidepo, Murchison falls, Kibale, Bwindi and Lake Mburo national park : This 12 days Uganda primates and wildlife safari is an exceptional adventure that will take you to the most visited national parks in Uganda including Kidepo valley national park, Murchison falls national park, Kibale forest national park, Bwindi impenetrable national park and Lake Mburo national park. During the 12 days Uganda primates and wildlife safari, you will be able to view animals such as elephants, buffaloes, lions, leopards, Jackson’s hartebeest, giraffes, zebras, elands, waterbucks, Uganda kobs, oribi, Rhinos among others during the game drives and boat cruise and also spend time with the endangered mountain gorillas in Bwindi impenetrable national park and chimpanzees in Kibale forest national park.
Highlights of the 12 days Uganda primates and wildlife safari
Day 1: Pick up and transfer to a hotel in Kampala
Day 2: Transfer to Gulu via Ziwa rhino sanctuary
Day 3: Transfer to Kidepo valley national park
Day 4: Morning game drive and Karamajong cultural tour
Day 5: Transfer to Murchison falls national park
Day 6: Morning game drive and afternoon boat cruise
Day 7: Transfer to Kibale national park
Day 8: Chimpanzee trekking and Bigodi swamp walk
Day 9: Transfer to Bwindi impenetrable national park
Day 10: Gorilla trekking in Bwindi impenetrable national park
Day 11: Transfer to Lake Mburo national park-afternoon boat cruise
Day 12: Moring game drive and departure to Kampala
Detailed itinerary
Day 1: Transfer to a hotel in Entebbe/ Kampala
Depending on your arrival time at Entebbe international airport on day 1 of 12 days Uganda primates and wildlife safari, you will be welcomed by our driver guide who will brief you about the safari and then transfer to the lodge in Entebbe or Kampala for dinner and overnight.
Day 2: Transfer to Gulu via Ziwa Rhino sanctuary
After breakfast on day 2 of the 12 days Uganda primates and wildlife safari, our driver guide will pick you up from the hotel and start the journey to Kidepo valley national park. It’s a full day journey and to cut the journey short you will have a stopover in Gulu town. On your way you will have a stopover at Ziwa rhino sanctuary for rhino tracking. After rhino tracking you will continue the journey with en-route lunch where after you will proceed the journey with spectacular views of the beautiful landscape, homesteads, local people among others. Upon arrival in Gulu town you will check into the lodge for dinner and overnight.
Day 3: Drive to Kidepo national park-evening game drive
On day 3 of the 12 days Uganda primates and wildlife safari, you will have breakfast and your driver guide will pick you up from the lodge to continue the journey to Kidepo national park. The journey takes about 3 to 4 hours’ drive and on your way you will enjoy great views of the landscape, hills, Karamojong manyatas, seasonal rivers among others and upon arrival you will check into the lodge and have lunch.
After lunch you will go for an evening game drive where you will get an opportunity to take beautiful pictures and enjoy great views of sunset, animals like giraffes, buffaloes, elephants, zebras, lions, waterbucks, bushbucks, Jackson’s hartebeests among others. After the game drive you will drive back to the lodge for dinner and overnight.
Day 4: Morning game drive and Karamajong cultural tour
Morning game drive,
After an early breakfast on day 4 of the 12 days Uganda primates and wildlife safari, you will meet up with your driver guide and go for a morning game drive in Narus valley a permanent water body in Kidepo valley national park that attracts large concentrations of wildlife species. During the game drive you will be able to view different animals like lions, cheetahs, leopards, bush duikers, jackal, buffaloes, elephants, bushbucks, giraffes, zebras, waterbucks, Uganda kobs, bird species like ostriches, Kori bustard, yellow barbet, dark chanting goshawk, purple heron, yellow billed shrike, little green bee-eater, Karamoja apalis among others. After the game drive you will drive back to the lodge for lunch.
Cultural tour,
After lunch you will go for a cultural tour where you will visit the Karamojong people that live near Kidepo valley national park. During the cultural tour you will interact with the local people in the community which gives you an opportunity to know more about their lifestyle, culture where you can marry many wives depending on the number of cattle you own, learn about their way of living, visit their homesteads which are known as manyattas, enjoy traditional performances in form of dances and songs, listen to ancient stories among others. After the cultural tour you will meet up with your driver and transfer to the lodge for dinner and overnight.
Day 5: Transfer to Murchison falls national park
After breakfast on day 5 of the 12 days Uganda primates and wildlife safari, you will check out of the lodge and meet up with your driver guide to start the journey to Murchison falls national park. On your way you will have great views of the beautiful scenery, landscape, farmlands among others and upon arrival you will drive directly to the top of the falls where you will enjoy views of the waterfall, beautiful scenery, water splashes, listen to roars of the waterfall among others. From the top of the falls, you will drive to the lodge for dinner and overnight.
Day 6: Morning game drive and afternoon boat cruise
Morning game drive,
After an early breakfast on day 6 of the 12 days Uganda primates and wildlife safari, your driver guide will pick you up from the lodge to go for a morning game drive where you will be able to see animals like buffaloes, Uganda kobs, warthogs, elephants, Jacksons hartebeest, giraffes, waterbucks among others grazing in the open savannah plains, view predators like lions, leopards, hyenas before they go back to their hiding areas, view different birds among others. After the game drive you will return back to the lodge for lunch.
Afternoon boat cruise,
After lunch you will drive to Paraa jetty landing site for an exciting boat cruise to the bottom of the falls. During the boat ride which takes about 2 hours you will have spectacular views of the beautiful scenery, hippos and Nile crocodiles in water, elephants, buffaloes, warthogs, antelopes along the shores, water birds like kingfishers, bee-eaters, cormorants, fish eagles among others. After the boat cruise you will meet up with your driver guide and return to the lodge for dinner and overnight.
Day 7: Transfer to Kibale national park
After breakfast on day 7 of the 12 days Uganda primates and wildlife safari, you will check out of the lodge and meet up with your driver guide to transfer to Kibale national park in western Uganda. It’s a whole day journey and on the way you will have en-route lunch and stunning views of the traditional homesteads, local people, beautiful scenery, views of the Rwenzori Mountains, crater lakes, tea plantations among others. Upon arrival in the park you will check into the lodge for dinner and overnight.
Day 8: Chimpanzee trekking and Bigodi swamp walk
Chimpanzee trekking,
After an early breakfast on day 8 of the 12 days Uganda primates and wildlife safari, you will check out of the lodge and meet up with your driver guide to transfer to the park headquarters for a chimpanzee trekking briefing. After the briefing you will be grouped into 6 people, allocated a chimpanzee family to trek and a park guide who will lead you into the forest during trekking. Chimpanzee trekking is an interesting activity that starts at 8:00am and takes about 30 minutes to 4 hours depending on where the chimpanzees are located because they like to move from one place to another in search of food especially during the dry season. During trekking you will be able to see other primates like red tailed monkeys, black and white colobus monkeys, grey cheeked mangabey, vervet monkeys, view some bird species, mammals, plants species among others. Once the chimpanzees are found you will be able spend one hour with them in their natural habitat which gives you an opportunity to learn about their behaviors, habits, watch them feed, play, fight, hunt, mate, take photos and record the moments. After the one hour with the chimpanzees you will trek back to the park headquarters where you will meet up with your driver guide and transfer to the lodge for lunch.
After lunch, you will go for an interesting Bigodi swamp walk where you will be able to view different bird species, primates, plant and tree species among others. After the swamp walk, you will return to the lodge for dinner and overnight.
Day 9: Transfer to Bwindi impenetrable national park
After breakfast on day 9 of the 12 days Uganda primates and wildlife safari, you will check out of the lodge and meet up with your driver guide to transfer to Bwindi impenetrable national park via Ishasha sector where you will be able to view the tree climbing lions lazily laying up in tree branches during the game drive. After the game drive, you will have lunch and then continue to Bwindi impenetrable national park and upon arrival you will check into the lodge for dinner and overnight.
Day 10: Gorilla trekking in Bwindi impenetrable national park
Gorilla trekking experience,
After an early breakfast on day 10 of the 12 days Uganda primates and wildlife safari, you will carry 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 start trekking in the jungle with an experienced park guide who is well conversant with gorilla trekking trails. Gorilla trekking in Bwindi impenetrable national park takes about 30 minutes to 7 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 be able to view other primate species like chimpanzees, l’hoest monkeys, baboons, bird species, mammals, different plant and tree species among others. Once the gorilla family is located you will be able to spend one hour with the gorillas where you will get an opportunity to watch them carry out their daily activities, learn about their behaviors, habits, take photos and record the breathtaking moments to show people back home. After the one hour experience, you will trek back to the park headquarters where you will meet up with your driver guide and return back to the lodge for an evening relaxation, dinner and overnight.
Day 11: Transfer to Lake Mburo national park
After breakfast on day 11 of the 12 days Uganda primates and wildlife safari, you will checkout of the lodge and meet up with your driver guide to transfer to Lake Mburo national park. On the way you will have en-route lunch and enjoy great views of the countryside, Kigezi hills. Upon arrival you will go for an afternoon boat cruise where you will be able to view animals like hippos and Nile crocodiles in water, view buffaloes, waterbucks, impalas, giraffes, warthogs among others along the shores. After the boat cruise, you will drive to the lodge for dinner and overnight.
Day 12: Morning game drive and departure to Kampala
After an early breakfast on the last day of the 12 days Uganda primates and wildlife safari, you will check out of the lodge and meet up with your driver guide to go for a morning game drive where you will be able to view some of the animals like buffaloes, waterbucks, elands, impalas, oribi, giraffes, zebras, topi among others. After the game drive, you will drive out of the park and start the journey back to Kampala with en-route lunch on the way. You will also have a stopover at the Equator in Kayabwe where you will take photos, buy souvenirs and then proceed to Kampala. Upon arrival, your driver guide will drop you off at Entebbe international airport for your departure flight or drop off at any place of convenience.
End of 12 days Uganda primates and wildlife safari
Tour includes
- Chimpanzee trekking permit
- Gorilla trekking permit
- Rhino tracking fees
- Park entrance fees/ game drives
- Boat cruise fees
- Karamajong cultural tour
- Professional English speaking driver guide
- Full board accommodation
- Ground transfers (in a 4WD vehicle)
- Vehicle and fuel
- Bottled water
Tour excludes
- International air flight tickets
- Visas
- Optional activities not included on the itinerary
- Life insurance
- Personal expenses like buying souvenirs, crafts, drinks, laundry services, hiring a porter, tips among others.
