Our Uganda Discovery Safari highlights wildlife experiences, boat trips on the Nile below Murchison Falls and on the Kazinga Channel in Queen Elizabeth National Park, morning and evening game drives offering sighting opportunities of lion, leopard, buffalo, giraffe, hartebeest, Uganda kob, waterbuck, elephant and 450 bird species.
The highlight is undoubtedly mountain gorilla trekking in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park. The terrain is aptly named the Impenetrable Forest; visitors require a reasonable level of fitness.
Uganda Discovery Safari, Uganda
Tour Length: 10 days
Entebbe | Murchison Falls| Queen Elizabeth National Park | Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park
10 Days – Uganda
From $7,295 per person
Experience the “Pearl of Africa”, as Uganda was dubbed by Winston Churchill, on our Uganda Discovery Safari. This mostly wing journey highlights some of the best wildlife experiences possible in the country. Boat trips on the Nile below Murchison Falls and on the Kazinga Channel in Queen Elizabeth National Park expose concentrations of waterside wildlife and waters filled crocodiles and hippos. Morning and evening game drives offer sightings of lion, leopard, buffalo, giraffe, hartebeest, Uganda kob, waterbuck, elephant and 450 bird species.
The highlight for many will undoubtedly be trekking for mountain gorillas in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park. The terrain is aptly named the Impenetrable Forest; visitors require a reasonable level of fitness.
Uganda Discovery Safari Tour Itinerary
Day 1 Depart USA
Begin your overnight journey to Uganda as you embark on our Uganda Discovery Safari!
Day 2 Entebbe (1 night)
You are welcomed on arrival in Entebbe and escorted to your waiting transfer vehicle for the short drive to your lodging.
Day 3 Murchison Falls National Park (2 nights)
It’s a short one hour flight north to Murchison Falls National Park. The evening game drive sets out at 4PM and you can expect to see elephant, buffalo, giraffe, Jackson’s hartebeest and oribi. With luck, lion and perhaps even a leopard may be sighted.
Day 4 Murchison Falls National Park
Murchison Falls National Park was established in 1952 and covers an area just over 1500 square miles. The varied land is divided by woodland, wetland, savannah and tropical forest. This diverse landscape is habitat for over 76 mammal and 450 bird species. You might see hippo, Rothschild’s giraffe, warthog, Cape buffalo, Uganda kob, hartebeest and elephants on the morning game drive. After lunch you take a boat ride on the Nile, journeying upstream to view the falls and the wildlife along the riverbanks. Your river excursion concludes in time to embark on another late afternoon/evening game drive.
Day 5 Queen Elizabeth National Park (2 nights)
This morning drive to Budongo to track the chimps at Kaniyo Pabidi. The forest is covered mostly by huge mahogany trees plus ironwood trees and the bird life is plentiful, including Puvel’s Illadopsis, found nowhere else in East Africa. Chimpanzee tracking in the area is managed by the Jane Goodall Institute.
After lunch, board your charter flight to Queen Elizabeth National Park. Once settled into your lodging, embark on your first game drive in the park. QENP is over 763 square miles and encompasses five levels of vegetation, thereby offering a variety of habitats for over 95 mammal and 612 bird species.
Day 6 Queen Elizabeth National Park
The day begins with a morning game drive in search of elephant, Cape buffalo, lion, leopard, waterbuck, bushbuck, Uganda kob and warthog on the grasslands. A few of the less abundant residents include hyena, topi and sitatunga. Many of the birds are regarded as “specials” within East Africa, which makes the park a must see for birding enthusiasts.
Late afternoon, take a boat trip on the Kazinga Channel. This water system has the highest concentration of hippo in the world and we will get quite close to them. Crocodiles lurk beneath the water and bask on the banks, where buffalo, elephants and other residents of the grassland thickets come to drink. The park also supports an abundant avian population.
Day 7 Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park (2 nights)
Today’s drive to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest will take about 6 hours. This rain forest is located in south-western Uganda, at the junction of the plain and mountain forests. The park covers close to 125 square miles and is known for its exceptional biodiversity, with more than 160 species of trees and over 100 species of ferns. Many types of birds and butterflies can also be found there, as well as many endangered species, including the mountain gorilla. There are 23 of the 24 Albertine rift endemics including the African green broadbill, bar tailed trogon and other beautiful forest species. This rain forest is ancient, dating back over 25,000 years. It is comprised of dense, tangled vegetation on a mountainous landscape of deep valleys and steep ridges, which requires a reasonable level of fitness.
Day 8 Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park
Today after an energizing breakfast, you will embark on your gorilla trek, a highlight of our Uganda Discovery Safari. Your guides will lead you through the undergrowth, parting thick creepers, to track the gorillas. The word “Bwindi” means “darkness” and taking a hike in this magnificent forest will certainly unveil to you the reason why the forest was named so.
The trek can take anywhere from half an hour to 7 hours. A reasonable degree of fitness is required of you. The trek may require climbing steep terrain and a sturdy pair of walking boots is essential. Experience the extraordinary feeling of sitting in the dense rain forest and knowing you are with a few of the last remaining mountain gorillas; sadly enough, there are only about 650 of these beautiful creatures left in the world. You are allowed exactly one hour with the gorillas before returning to the base station.
Day 9 Entebbe – Departure
A scheduled flight takes you back to Entebbe this morning. You are driven to the shores of Lake Victoria for a water transfer to Ngamba Island Chimp Sanctuary. This sanctuary was established in 1998 for the care of rescued chimps that can not be returned to the wild. Attend the afternoon feeding and witness their frolicking and human-like interactions.
The day concludes as you are transferred to the airport in time for your departing international flight.
Day 10. Arrive USA
Arrive home with treasured memories from your time on our Uganda Discovery Safari.
