This is one of the most rewarding Ugandan safaris that you should not miss on your checklist and this entails wildlife safari to Queen Elizabeth National park and the great apes highland of Bwindi impenetrable forest National park.
Trip Summary
Day 1: Transfer to Queen Elizabeth national park
Day 2: Game drive and Boat cruise at a long Kazinga channel
Day 3: Transfer with a game drive through Ishasha sector to Bwindi National Park
Day 4: Gorilla trekking experience and community visit
Day 5: Transfer back to Kampala or Entebbe airport
Trip Itinerary
Day 1: Transfer to Queen Elizabeth National
This day marks the beginning of the 5 – day safari in Uganda
Transfer to Queen Elizabeth national park via Kampala – Masaka road (7hrs drive) en route making a stopover at the equator for photography and Mbarara for lunch. Later transfer to Queen Elizabeth national park. It is roughly a 3-hour’s drive from Mbarara to Queen Elizabeth national park. Overnight stay at Mweya safari lodge / Katara Lodge/ Park View Lodge / Engazi Lodge
Day 2: Game drive and Launch cruise along Kazinga Channel
In the morning enjoy a game drive to the northern sector of the park – Kasenyi plains in search for leopards and lions. As you drive along Kasenyi track expect to encounter big herds of elephants, buffalos, Uganda Kobs, warthogs, Defassa waterbuck, bushbuck and giant forest hogs among others. Return to the lodge for a hot lunch before undertaking a launch cruise along the Kazinga Channel at 2:00 pm. The launch experience will bring you closer to big herds of elephants, hippos and a plethora of migrant and endemic birds among others. At 6:00 pm return to the lodge for your dinner and relaxation.
Day 3: Ishasha – Bwindi national park
After breakfast at 8:00 am transfer to Ishasha – the southern sector of Queen Elizabeth national park in search of tree climbing lions. It is approximately an hour’s drive from Mweya to Ishasha Gate. At 10:00 am lions begin climbing fig trees as they seek shelter in the tree branches from the scorching sunshine and relaxing after a night and morning feast on the antelopes.
At 13:00 O’clock transfer to Savannah Hotel for a hot lunch and later proceed to Bwindi national park for an evening Batwa (Pygmies) community walk. Overnight stay at Gorilla Forest Camp / Mahogany Springs.
Day 4: Gorilla Tracking Adventure
Wake up very early in the morning for your breakfast and then hike to the park headquarters, which is a few meters from your lodge for a briefing by the park ranger before commencing the gorilla trek at 8:30 am. Gorilla tracking is a strenuous exercise but ranked the most rewarding wildlife experience. The time is taken to encounter these apes ranges from an hour to several hours depending on their movement in the jungle. Overnight stay at Gorilla Forest Camp / Mahogany Springs.
Day 5: Departure
After breakfast transfer back to the airport either Entebbe or Kigali. It is more than 8 hours drive to Entebbe from Bwindi; whereas it is a 4 to 5 hours drive to Kigali international airport.
End of Safari