Arrival at Entebbe Airport and transfer to the Guest house

Entebbe - Arrive in Entebbe according to your international flight schedule, meet a representative from Nkuringo Safaris, and transfer to the Guest House.

Optional Extra ($150 per person): In the afternoon (departure from the hotel must be by 14:30/15:00 hours), take a car, speed boat, and local canoe to Mabamba Swamp, one of the prime locations for spotting the rare shoebill storks. While some luck is required, it’s rare to leave the swamp without seeing one! Many other water birds also inhabit this area, making birdwatching very interesting. Enjoy a relaxing sundowner on Lake Victoria before returning to the Guest House.

Transfer from Entebbe to Lake Mburo National Park

Lake Mburo National Park - After an early breakfast, travel to Western Uganda through the beautiful landscape of central Uganda, characterized by rolling hills and cultivated terraces. Stop en route at Mpambire to watch traditional drum-making and at the equator. The drive takes about 5 hours.

After lunch at the lodge, take a game drive to spot resident favorites like buffalo, impala, zebra, eland, warthogs, bushbucks, and various bird species.

Optional activities:

• A 1-2 hour boat safari on the lake to spot crocodiles, hippos, and numerous water birds ($30 per person)
• Nature walks in the park accompanied by an armed ranger ($15 per person)

Drive from Lake Mburo to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park

Bwindi Impenetrable National Park - Enjoy an early morning game drive as you exit the park, then proceed to Western Uganda through rolling hills, tea plantations, and tropical rainforest. The majestic chain of the Virunga Volcanoes awaits you at the end. Pass through the towns of Mbarara and Kabale before reaching Nkuringo, on the edge of Bwindi Impenetrable Forest. The drive takes about 5-7 hours.

Afternoon optional activities (time and weather permitting):

• Relax at the lodge while enjoying stunning views of the volcanoes and the forest.

Gorilla tracking in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park

Bwindi Impenetrable National Park - After breakfast, at around 7:45 am, with packed lunch and drinking water, you will be transferred to the National Park Headquarters for a briefing on the dos and don’ts while with the gorillas. You will then continue to the forest to start the actual gorilla tracking.

The beauty of this rainforest is spectacular. The area offers a dramatic, steeply forested landscape and is incredibly dense, but crisscrossed by numerous animal trails allowing access to tourists. The time taken and the terrain vary according to the movements of these great primates. The thrill of spending time observing these gentle and endangered giants is an awesome, exciting experience to be long savored. Many find it to be a rare and moving opportunity. The tracking can take place at Nkuringo or at Rushaga (1-hour drive from Nkuringo), depending on the gorilla permits obtained.

Whole day spent at the lodge with Optional activities

Bwindi Impenetrable National Park - On this day, you can either relax at the lodge while enjoying the stunning views of the volcanoes and the forest, or you can opt to engage in some of the many optional activities available. Some examples:
(NETT RATES)

• Nombe Pocket Forest for a hike and bird watching ($55 per person)
• Walk around Nkuringo community to visit the blacksmith, the traditional herbalist, etc. ($46 per person)
• Buninga Forest Trail Walk ($50 per person)
• Hike & Canoe at Lake Mutanda ($88 per person): After breakfast, drive to Rubuguri Junction (10 km – 1 hour) to start a nice hike across beautiful landscapes to the boat starting point, which is Sheeba’s camp. Guests decide.

Drive from Bwindi to Queen Elizabeth National Park

Queen Elizabeth National Park - This morning, depart for Queen Elizabeth National Park with an en route game drive through the Ishasha sector, with chances of sighting the resident tree-climbing lions. Possible afternoon game drives in search of encounters with the abundant wildlife, including herds of buffaloes, antelopes, elephants, and, if you are lucky, lions and leopards. The drive takes approximately 6-7 hours.

Queen Elizabeth National Park

Queen Elizabeth National Park - A day dedicated to game drives in Queen Elizabeth National Park and a boat trip on the Kazinga Channel - the 36 km waterway connecting Lake George and Lake Edward, which allows special viewing of game and birds on the riverbanks as the boat passes through pods of hippos. Crocodiles have only recently been seen in the Channel; they disappeared for 8,000 years after being eliminated from Lake Edward by toxic ash from local volcanoes.

Drive from Queen Elizabeth National Park to Kibale Forest National Park

Kibale Forest National Park - Game drive through the northern sector of Queen Elizabeth National Park and continue to our lodge in Kibale via the town of Fort Portal. Time permitting, take a late afternoon hike to the ‘Top of the World’ to enjoy fantastic views of the Rwenzori Mountains, crater lakes, tea plantations, and local villages. The drive takes about 3 hours (180 km).

Chimpanzee tracking and Bigodi Wetland Sanctuary

Kibale Forest National Park - In the morning, go chimpanzee tracking in Kibale National Park. The density and diversity of primates in this park are the highest in all of Africa. The most well-known of its 13 species are the chimpanzees, our closest relatives. Kibale’s 1,450 chimpanzee population is Uganda’s largest. Additionally, Kibale is home to the uncommon L’Hoest’s monkey as well as East Africa’s largest population of the endangered red colobus monkey. The black & white colobus, red-tailed monkey, blue monkey, olive baboon, grey-cheeked mangabey, bush baby, and potto are among the other primates that can be seen here.

Bigodi Wetlands Sanctuary - Optional Extra: Afternoon excursion to the Bigodi Wetland Sanctuary ($25), a great example of a community-based approach to natural resource management that benefits local residents and the tourism industry. This sanctuary is a paradise for bird watchers - skilled birders can spot up to 50 new species on a bird list. To date, 138 species of birds have been recognized within the sanctuary, including the Great Blue Turaco. Bigodi is also regularly visited by a diverse number of primate species from the nearby national park. The hike is 10-12 km on flat terrain.

Drive from Kibale National Park to Murchison Falls National Park

Murchison Falls National Park - After an early breakfast, depart for Murchison Falls National Park. Located at the northern end of the Albertine Rift Valley, where the sweeping Bunyoro escarpment tumbles into the vast palm-dotted savannah, the park is bisected by the Victoria Nile. The “mythical” river plunges 45 meters from the rift valley wall, creating the dramatic Murchison Falls, the centerpiece of the park and the final “event” in an 80 km stretch of rapids. The mighty cascade drains the last energies from the river and transforms it into a broad, placid stream flowing quietly across the rift valley floor into Lake Albert. This stretch of river provides one of Uganda’s most remarkable wildlife spectacles. The drive takes about 7-8 hours (400 km).

Murchison Falls National Park

Murchison Falls National Park - A full day dedicated to discovering this unique national park. After breakfast, enjoy a game drive with views of giraffes, elephants, lions, hartebeest, and various bird species, on the way to the morning delta boat ride to the bottom of the waterfall. Look out for the Nile crocodile, hippos, waterbucks, and a variety of bird species. Upon reaching the bottom of the waterfalls, disembark and hike up to the Top of the Falls (water level permitting) where you will be rewarded with amazing views of the Nile. Also, be on the lookout for different bird species. Look out for mammals like the graceful Rothschild Giraffe, Jackson’s Hartebeest, Uganda Kob, Defassa Waterbuck, buffaloes, elephants, warthogs, hippos, oribi, and, if lucky, a leopard and lion among others. Hike up to the top of the falls and enjoy the magnificent view before retiring back to the lodge.

Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary and travel to Entebbe

Murchison Falls National Park - After an early breakfast, depart for Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary for rhino tracking. Located in Nakasongola, it is the only place in Uganda where southern white rhinos can be tracked. In 1983, both black rhinos and northern white rhinos were declared extinct throughout Uganda, so the purpose of the NGO Rhino Fund Uganda is to return rhinos to the country through a program of breeding and release. The first six rhinos were translocated in 2005-06 (four from Kenya and two from the USA), and it was five years before the first healthy calf was born, making him (“Obama” is his name) the first rhino born in Uganda in almost 30 years!

• Support of a 4x4 safari landcruiser with fuel and an experienced English-speaking guide
• Accommodation and meals as per the itinerary
• AMREF Evacuation Insurance cover
• 1 Gorilla & Chimpanzee tracking permit per person
• Boat safari in Kazinga Channel and Murchison to waterfall

• Alcoholic drinks (available to purchase)
• Gratuities
• Souvenir photos (available to purchase)
• All optional activities such as Mabamba Shoe bill excursion on day 1 (150$ pp),