16 Days Uganda Safari : The largest national park in Uganda, Murchison Falls National Park is known for its picturesque scenery and the magnificent falls that give the area its name. It is included in our 16-day Best Big Game Safari in Uganda. A spectacular assault on the senses occurs as the Mighty Nile River thunderously roars through a 7-meter gorge before plunging 40 meters below in a tumultuous explosion. In this national park, you can take memorable game drives, go on a boat safari, and take in the breathtaking scenery.
A continuation of the safari will take place at the monkey capital of the world, Kibale Forest National Park, where visitors can trek wild but tame chimpanzees and go on a nature walk to see other primates, vibrant birds, unusual flora, and magnificent volcanic scenery.
The best major event In Uganda, a safari will take you to Queen Elizabeth National Park, where you can witness a wide variety of wildlife, take in the breathtaking scenery, and unwind on a boat tour through the Kazinga Channel, where you can see water birds and other creatures lounging on the coast. You will go to Lake Bunyonyi, sometimes known as “the Switzerland of Uganda,” which is dotted with 20 islands that stick out of the water. You may go on canoe excursions on these islands and trek the steep terraced hills that surround the lake to get a stunning perspective of the surrounding area. Around Lake Bunyonyi, there are numerous birds.
The highlight of the Best Big Game Safari in Uganda will be a close encounter with the endangered Mountain Gorillas in the renowned Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, as well as the chance to trek Golden Monkeys or hike volcanoes in Mgahinga National Park. The safari includes a visit to Lake Mburo National place, the only place in Uganda where a wildlife safari may be done on foot, for wild nature hikes.
Activities to do
Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary
Boat launch on Victoria Nile
A scenic view of the Murchison falls
Game drive in Murchison Falls National Park
Chimpanzee trek in Kibale National Park
A nature walk in the Bigodi swamp
Game drive in Queen Elizabeth National Park.
Boat Launch on Kazinga channel.
Canoe ride on Lake Bunyonyi/Hike in the surrounding hills.
A village walks around Lake Bunyonyi.
Gorilla trek in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest.
Volcano hiking / Golden monkey trek.
Cultural trail.
Nature walk and Game drive in Lake Mburo National Park.
Boat launch on Lake Mburo.
Equator experience.
Visit Source of the Nile.
White water rafting/bungee jumping/ quad biking/cultural tour.
16 Days Uganda Safari Highlights
Day 1: Arrival in Uganda and briefing on safari plan
Day 2: Travel to Murchison Falls National Park
Day 3: Game drive and Boat launch on the Nile
Day 4: Visit the top of the Falls and transfer to Kibale Forest National Park
Day 5: Chimp trekking and nature walk in Kibale Forest
Day 6: Transfer to Queen Elizabeth National Park and Game drive in the Park
Day 7: Game drive in Queen Elizabeth and Boat launch on Kazinga channel
Day 8: Game drive in the Ishasha sector of Queen Elizabeth National Park
Day 9: Travel to Lake Bunyonyi – Canoe ride / Hiking to the viewpoint / Swimming
Day 10: Village walk around Lake Bunyonyi and travel to Bwindi
Day 11: Gorilla trekking in Bwindi and transfer to Kisoro town
Day 12: Optional activities: Hiking / Trekking / Canoe ride /Coffee experience
Day 13: Travel to Lake Mburo National Park via Igongo Cultural Centre
Day 14: Game drive in the park and Boat cruise on Lake Mburo
Day 15: Walking safari in the park and transfer to Jinja
Day 16: Adventure on the Nile & transfer to Kampala
DETAILED ITINERARY
Day 1: Arrival in Uganda
Your designated Best Big Game Safari in Uganda guide will be there to greet you when you arrive at Entebbe International Airport. He or she will drive you to the hotel you have reserved and give you a briefing on the safari itinerary.
Day 2: Travel to Murchison Falls National Park
On the 2nd day of your 16 Days Uganda Safari, After an early breakfast, the private driver from the Best Big Game Safari in Uganda will take your group to Murchison Falls National Park by way of the Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary, where you will get the chance to trek rhinos. The rhino reintroduction effort in Uganda is housed in the reserve. It takes 1.5 hours to complete the walking portion of the excursion. You will continue your journey and eventually arrive in the late afternoon at the northern bank of the Murchison Falls National Park. It takes 9 to 10 hours to complete the trip. You will eat dinner and spend the night at the lodge you reserved.
Day 3: Game drive and Boat safari launch on the Nile
After breakfast, you’ll depart for a wildlife drive on the Nyamsika plateau to witness Cape buffalo, Rothschild giraffes, Uganda kob, hartebeest, and waterbucks. Along with large carnivores like lions, leopards, and spotted hyenas, you might see Oribi, bushbuck, Bohor reedbuck, shy sitatunga, bush duiker, warthog, and bush pig.
After lunch, go back to the lodge before taking a boat trip upstream on the Victoria Nile to the base of the falls. Elephants, crocodiles, hippopotamuses, lions, giraffes, buffalo, as well as many antelopes and birds, can all be seen on the riverbanks. The boat stops a few meters from the “Devil’s Cauldron” so that visitors can take pictures of the magnificent and picturesque Murchison Falls. You will eat dinner and spend the night at the lodge you reserved.
Day 4: Visit the top of the Falls and transfer to Kibale Forest National Park
After breakfast, you will go to the “top of the thunderous Murchison falls” to see how the Nile River squeezes itself into a 7-meter gorge before thunderously exploding 40 meters below the surface. The Nile then flows into a very calm river, whose banks are teeming with a variety of water and land animals as well as birds.
The journey to Kibale Forest National Park will begin. The route travels through picturesque terrain filled with historical plantations, trading posts, and towns in addition to traditional homesteads, crop gardens, and plantations. After eating lunch en way, you’ll be there in the late afternoon. You’ll eat dinner and spend the night in the hotel you reserved.
Day 5: Chimps tracking and nature walk in Kibale Forest
On the 5th day of your 16 Days Uganda Safari, You’ll travel to Kibale Forest National Park to see the primates after breakfast. The best big game safari in Uganda starts at 8:00 am with a briefing on how to trek chimpanzees, after which you head out into the jungle to look for them. The workout takes about an hour, and on the route you may spot various primates swinging in the branches of this dense forest, including Blue-tailed and Red-tailed monkeys, Phoestes, Red-Colobus, and Grey-cheeked Mangabeys.
To guarantee that the trip is not only entertaining but also educational, your guide will give you briefings on the lifestyles of the monkeys you will be seeing, on the flora, as well as on the insects and butterflies in this forest. You will take a supervised nature walk at the Bigodi Wetland Sanctuary in the late afternoon. The refuge provides wonderful chances for bird watching and environmental hikes. In addition to birdwatching, Bigodi Village is home to a rich cultural heritage site where you may mingle with the locals and take in the lifestyle and entertainment customs of Africa. After that, you will be taken to Queen Elizabeth National Park.
Day 6: Game drive in Queen Elizabeth and Boat launch on Kazinga channel
After breakfast, you’ll travel on another game drive in the Kasenyi area of Uganda to see lions, elephants, Cape buffalo, warthogs, leopards, spotted hyenas, as well as a variety of other small animals and flocks of birds.
After lunch, head back to the lodge, and at 3:00 pm, embark on a 2-hour boat tour on Kazinga Channel. This 42 km waterway connects Lake George with Lake Edward. This journey includes possibly the area with the greatest concentration of hippos and provides a fantastic chance for photography, bird watching, and game viewing. With well over 550 resident species, the bird population is abundant and diverse. At your reserved lodge, you will have dinner and spend the night.
Day 7: Game drive in the Ishasha sector of Queen Elizabeth National Park
After breakfast, you’ll head to the Queen Elizabeth National Park’s Ishasha section, which is renowned for its tree-climbing lions that lounge in the tree branches while keeping a careful eye on herds of Uganda kob, their preferred prey. Numerous elephants, buffalo, and the endangered shoebill stork live there as well. In this region of the park, you will spend the day game-viewing. In the late afternoon, you will return to the lodge where you made your reservation for dinner and the night.
Day 8: Travel to Lake Bunyonyi – Canoe ride / Hiking to the viewpoint
After breakfast, you will go to Lake Bunyonyi. This lake is thought to be among western Uganda’s most picturesque locations. It is the second-deepest lake in all of Africa [900 meters deep] and one of the few locations in the nation where swimming is regarded as safe due to the absence of bilharzia. You will eat lunch en way and the trip takes three to four hours. Terraced hills that protrude from the lake’s edge make up the surrounding landscape. Bunyonyi, which translates to “place of little birds,” refers to the abundance of birds in the area surrounding the lake. The afternoon can be spent swimming in the lake, taking a canoe trip, or hiking to a hilltop viewpoint to take in the breathtaking views of this region of the country. Dinner and overnight will be spent at the lodge you reserved for your Best Big Game Safari in Uganda.
Day 9: Village walk around Lake Bunyonyi and travel to Bwindi
You go for a two to three-hour walk along Lake Bunyonyi this morning to soak in the various perspectives of this Best Big Game Safari in Uganda stunning location. You will go through the villages of the locals to see how they go about their everyday lives and be astounded by how carefully they crop the hillsides and look after their cows, which are a major source of pride. Following your walk, take a drive to Kisoro, a town close to the Congo and Rwandan borders.
The journey will take you through a stunning region of the nation that is frequently referred to as “the Switzerland of Africa” due to its unusually cold climate while being close to the equator. Great views of the Virunga Mountains, bamboo forests, and the surrounding landscape will be visible. At your reserved lodge, you will have dinner and spend the night.
Day 10: Gorilla trekking in Bwindi and transfer to Kisoro town
This is the main attraction of the best big game safari in Uganda, therefore you may wish to avoid missing it. Eat breakfast early and then head to the park headquarters to meet up with other trackers at 7:30 am for a briefing on the guidelines for gorilla trekking. It will take you and your guides a trip through dense underbrush and bushes to reach the gorillas, which might take 2 to 8 hours, depending on where they are in the dense jungle. You will have one hour to spend with these gentle giants that are clever, majestic, and share more than 90% of their genetic makeup with humans. In order to prepare for the activities planned for tomorrow in the volcanic highlands, you will then go to Kisoro, a town close to the Rwandan border. Additionally, if it’s a Monday or Thursday, you can visit Kisoro’s sizable, vibrant market. You will eat dinner and spend the night at the lodge you reserved.
Day 11: Optional activities: Hiking / Trekking /Coffee experience
You will select one of the four activities that can be done here today. You can choose to hike a volcano, trek with golden monkeys, take a canoe on Lake Mutanda, or you can learn how coffee is grown in a garden and prepared locally for consumption.
After a late lunch, you’ll head back to your lodge where you’ll spend the remainder of the day relaxing before supper and retiring for the night.
Day 12: Travel to Lake Mburo National Park via Igongo Cultural Centre
Enjoy the best Big Game ever. Breakfast before setting out on a safari in Uganda to Lake Mburo National Park, which is home to a number of lakes bordered by swamps and abundant with birdlife. The park’s lush acacia woodland is also home to animals like the zebra, warthog, elands, and impala, among others. You will stop for lunch and to learn more about the distinctive history and culture of the Ankole people, who take great pride in raising long-horned cattle, at the Igongo Cultural Center on the way.
Visit this center to enjoy some traditional dances. You will keep going to Lake Mburo National Park where you will have dinner and stay the night in the lodge you reserved.
Day 13 Game drive in the park and Boat cruise on Lake Mburo
On the 13th day of your 16 Days Uganda Safari, After a leisurely breakfast, you’ll leave for a dawn viewing. Best Big Game Safari in Uganda 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. After returning to the lodge for lunch, you’ll take a boat tour on the lake to witness a variety of aquatic wildlife and birds, including Pelicans, Black Crakes, Herons, Cormorants, and Fish Eagles, which are only visible from the water. After dinner and before going to bed, you will retire to your lodge.
Day 14: Walking safari in the park and transfer to Jinja
On the 14th day of your 16 Days Uganda Safari, After breakfast, you’ll go on a Best Big Game Safari in Uganda tour of the park on foot with a knowledgeable game ranger who will explain which animals have left footprints and droppings in the park, as well as how recently they may have done so. One of the two parks in Uganda where a walking tour is allowed is Mburo. After the walking safari, you’ll make your way to Jinja, where the Nile River originates. While traveling, you will stop at the Equator, where you can capture pictures while simultaneously standing in two hemispheres. You will have dinner and spend the night at the lodge you reserved.
Day 15: Adventure on the Nile & transfer to Kampala
After breakfast, you’ll go on an exhilarating white water rafting trip down the Nile River. A thorough briefing and the fitting of the specific rafting equipment precede the start of the rafting at the Source of the Nile at 9:00 am. No prior rafting expertise is necessary, and the rafting is done on a portion of the Nile River that is 18 kilometers long. The first couple of rapids are modest grade (1, 2) to help participants gain confidence before guiding them gradually into the more difficult grades. To increase the thrill factor of this trip, rafts are used on a total of eight significant rapids. After the rafting experience, you’ll enjoy a BBQ meal and drinks before traveling back to Kampala to check into your hotel and spend the night for a well-earned rest.
Day 16: Departure.
Depending on the time of your flight, you will be transferred to the airport after breakfast.
End of 16 Days Uganda Safari