Itinerary
Early in the morning, set off to the source of the longest river on planet earth. You will drive to Jinja via Kampala. The journey will take you through small towns, tropical rain forest, road side markets, and tea and sugar plantations arriving in time for a lunch break and a boat ride to the source of the Nile.
After an early breakfast, transfer to Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary via Nakasongola for Rhino trekking. Have an opportunity of tracking these endangered species and learn more about them.
After breakfast, you will drive to Budongo Forest which is part of the larger Murchison Falls National Park, you will then drive to Murchison Falls via the top of the falls to see how Nile waters squeeze themselves into a narrow gorge to explode into what has been called the strongest and powerful waterfalls on planet Earth.
You will wake up early for a morning game drive to the northern banks of River Nile. This side of the park provides an opportunity to spot several antelopes, hippos, buffaloes, giraffes, buffaloes, and if luck, big cats such as leopards and lions. Return to the lodge for lunch and then a boat cruise to the base of the falls. On your way from the jetty point to the bottom of the falls, you will spot several herds of buffaloes, crocodiles, hippos, water bird species and other wild animals as they flock River Nile to drink water. Continue upstream to the base of the falls to observe how water squeezes in a narrow gorge to later explode in what has been referred to the strongest and powerful falls on planet earth. Return to the Lodge for overnight.
You will drive to Kibale National Park via Fort Portal town for Lunch before checking in at Rwenzori View Guest House. No major activity these day but if time allows, you may drive around Fort Portal town.
After breakfast, you will be transferred to Kibale National Park headquarters at Kanyakyu to join other trekkers for briefing and eventual chimpanzee trekking. You will be led by a well-trained ranger/guide who will take you for a guided primate walk inside Kibale Forest National Park. This forest provides an opportunity to visit one of the habituated communities/part of chimpanzees and spend an hour with them observing and taking photographs. Kibale National Park is home to other 11 primate species coupled with forest birds. After your chimpanzee trek, you will drive to Bigodi Village for a wetland walk that was designed to benefit the local community living around Kibale Forest National Park.
After breakfast, your will drive from Kibale National Park to Queen Elizabeth National Park. You will have an opportunity of passing through small towns, seeing several foothills of Mountain Rwenzori, small rivers that originate from Rwenzori mountain ranges as well as crossing the equator at Kikorongo. Check in at Lodge, relax as you prepare for afternoon game drive in Mweya. This section of Queen Elizabeth National Park is endowed with Antelopes, Buffaloes, Warthogs, elephants and many other wild animals including lions and leopards whose sight depends on your luck since this is nature
After an early morning cup of tea, you will drive back to Kasenyi plains for a game drive to catch up with what you could have missed out on your earlier game drive. It’s this time of the morning that big cats are out hunting for their prey and as such chances of spotting lions and or leopards are slightly high. Never the less, you will be guaranteed to see buffaloes, hippos, several species of antelopes, and many others. You may return to the lodge for lunch or drive directly to Mweya jetty for an afternoon boat cruise on Kazinga Channel. This two hour boat cruise is one of the highlights in Queen Elizabeth National Park. It provides you an opportunity to view over 300 out of the 600 water bird species recorded here, antelopes, crocodiles, elephants, buffaloes and hippos
After breakfast, you will be driven to Kyambura to join other trekkers for briefing and their after start you chimpanzee walk in the gorge. Your experienced ranger guide will help you identify several flora and fauna resident in this gorge and once you find a community of chimpanzees, you will be allowed to spend one hour with them for photography. Return back from the trek for lunch and short relaxation at the lodge before moving out again to visit Lake Katwe salt mines. Lake Katwe is an explosive crate which is gifted with salt and it’s the local community that mines/extracts salt from this lake. The local community guide will take you for a tour around salt mines explaining how salt extraction is done, challenges faced and opportunities available. Lake Katwe salt extraction project is one of the live examples supporting Queen Elizabeth as one of the conservation areas in the whole world where man is sustainably co-existing harmoniously with wildlife.
Early in the morning after breakfast, transfer to Bwindi National Park famous for the rare mountain gorillas. The park has 8 habituated groups which visitors are allowed to visit and one for scientists and researchers. Pass through the Ishasha sector which is found in the southern part of Queen Elizabeth National Park famous for the tree climbing lions.
After breakfast, you will transfer to the park headquarters to join others for gorilla family allocation and full briefing about the dos and don’ts while with the gorillas. After that, you will be driven to the starting point of your allocated gorilla family to start your trek into the impenetrable Bwindi Forest. This trek may take from 30 minutes to three quarters of the day depending on where mountain gorillas will be. Thus gorilla trekking can be strenuous and as such a certain level of fitness is required. Once you find the gorillas, the experience will be worth it and you will be allowed one hour of observation and photography. You will then return to the park headquarters where you will be awarded a certificate in recognition of your effort of helping to conserve the endangered mountain gorillas. Return to the lodge for relaxation followed by a village walk to learn more about the local people living around Bwindi Impenetrable National Park.
Drive from Bwindi Impenetrable National Park to Lake Bunyonyi in Kabale District. Bunyonyi locally means small birds due to the abundance of small birds in this area. Lake Bunyonyi is said to be the deepest lake in Uganda and second deepest in East Africa. A person visit Lake Bunyonyi for its beauty and is one of the best place to relax after your gorilla trek.
After breakfast, you are free to admire the beauty of the lake and its surrounding hills. You will have a choice of either taking a canoe ride on the lake to explore different island with exciting history. You will for example visit the Punishment Island where girls who would produce babies out of legitimate tradition marriage would be dumped and left to die. This is a whole day activity and you will surely enjoy it. Alternatively, you can hike one of the hills around Lake Bunyonyi. Encounter Africa Safaris supports some projects so those who want to do something on their tour can go for volunteer work
After breakfast, drive to Lake Mburo National Park via Igongo Cultural center to learn more about the cultures of ethnic groups in western Uganda. Lunch will be served en route arrive at Lake Mburo National Park for a boat cruise on the Lake followed by an evening game drive. Lake Mburo National Park is popular for animals such as impalas, Giraffes, Zebras and so much more. Return to the Lodge for overnight.
After breakfast, you will go for a guided nature walk with an armed ranger where you will see animals like as impalas, Giraffes, Zebras and so much more. Afternoon, proceed the journey to Kampala with a stop at the Equator crossing for photography and stretching.
You will enjoy a relaxed breakfast, have a brief city tour of Kampala, enjoy lunch and later transfer to the Airport.
