Best of Uganda

After breakfast you begin your adventurous private Uganda safari with the drive to Murchison Falls National Park, which you reach in the afternoon. On the way you make a stopover at the ZIWA Rhino Fund. The aim of this project is to breed Uganda’s only rhinos in their protected habitat so that they can be reintroduced into the national parks in the future. On a walk through the sanctuary you have the opportunity to observe the animals up close for an hour. You are accompanied by an armed ranger, who will gladly answer all your questions and bring this very interesting project to life. Later, on arrival in Murchison NP, you head straight to the park’s first highlight, the breathtaking waterfalls. With a wild roar they plunge down through a gorge just 7 metres wide and 43 metres long. If there is still some time left afterwards, you go on a first game drive in the park. You reach today’s lodge in time for dinner. You stay in a cottage (mid-range) or in a tent (standard) at Murchison River Lodge.

This morning is reserved for extensive game drives. Your guide knows where the animals are and takes you to the most interesting areas of the park. After lunch at your lodge, you are taken to the boat landing for an approx. 3-hour boat safari on the Victoria Nile. This time you travel by water up to Murchison Falls. On the way you have very good chances of spotting again, near the water, animals you already saw from the vehicle on your morning game drive. Caution is advised, as the Nile crocodiles are already waiting! You stay at the same lodge as the previous night.

After a relaxed breakfast comes the longest driving day of your private Uganda safari. The route takes you along Lake Albert to the region around Kibale National Park. You have lunch in the form of a packed lunch. The late afternoon is at your free disposal at today’s accommodation to unwind and relax. You stay at Papaya Lodge (mid-range) or Kibale Forest Camp (standard).

Breakfast | Lunch | Dinner

After breakfast you drive on to the next stop on the route, Queen Elizabeth National Park. Once you have arrived, you first drive to your accommodation for the next two nights. After check-in is done and your luggage is stowed in your room, you go on your first game drives in the park. In the afternoon, an approx. 2–3-hour boat safari on the Kazinga Channel, which connects Lake Edward and Lake George, is on the programme. Keep scanning the bank during your trip to see buffalo, hippos and other animals. With a little luck you may even spot the rarer member of the “Big Five” – the leopard. You spend the next two nights at Elephant Hab Lodge (mid-range) or Twin Lake Safari Lodge (standard).

Breakfast | Lunch | Dinner

Today is reserved for extensive game drives in the national park. Look for animals you have not yet spotted. You have lunch in the form of a packed lunch at a picnic site. Return to your accommodation in the late afternoon.

In the morning you visit the southern part of the national park in search of the tree-climbing lions of the Ishasha region. The chances of observing this behaviour, rather atypical for lions, are particularly good here. Elephants, buffalo, waterbuck and many other animals can also be seen. Around midday you leave the park and drive on to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest. You stay at Gorilla Safari Lodge (mid-range) or Ichumbi Gorilla Lodge (standard).

Today is certainly the highlight of your private Uganda safari. You set out on the trail of the last free-living mountain gorillas. The gorillas live scattered in several groups in Bwindi National Park. The various groups, which are used to humans, can be visited for one hour in small groups of no more than eight people. After a short briefing, you start the hike with a guide from the national park authority. The animals move freely in the park, so no exact guarantee can be given for their whereabouts. Depending on where the animals are, it can take between one and six hours to find them. An hour before you set off, a group of rangers is sent out to locate the gorillas and radio their exact position to your guide. The gorillas live in family groups of up to twenty animals and roam the national park in search of food. Watch these unique animals going about their busy lives, which show almost human traits. You spend a total of one hour in the immediate vicinity of these “gentle giants”. Even the most experienced Africa connoisseurs remember this experience for a long time. After your return to the gate of the national park, you are transferred to the lodge. For those who do not wish to take part in gorilla trekking, this day is at your free disposal. You stay again at the accommodation from the previous day.

After a relaxed breakfast you set off towards Lake Mburo National Park, which you will reach in the early afternoon. Large herds of zebra, impala, eland and other savannah animals live in the park. Bird lovers will also get their money’s worth here, with 300 different species. With a little luck you may also see the somewhat quirky-looking shoebill. Since mid-2012, lions have also been sighted in the park again. After check-in at today’s accommodation, you go on game drives within the park with your guide. You spend your last night on this eventful private Uganda safari at Kigambira Safari Lodge (mid-range) or Kigarama Wilderness Lodge (standard).

In the morning you leave the national park and head back to Entebbe/Kampala, which you will reach at around 2 pm. Here you can either spend another night (optional) or be taken directly to Entebbe airport to continue your journey in East Africa from there.