Upon arrival at Entebbe International Airport, you will be met by a Great Lakes Safaris’ representative and transferred to Kampala, (35 Km/approx. 30 minutes - depends on the traffic) and check in at Lake Victoria Serena, your home for this night. Lunch is on own account.
In the afternoon, depending on your flight, you can enjoy a boat ride stationed at the hotel.
Today we will depart for the most beautiful protected area in Uganda: Murchison Falls National Park. En route we will make a stop at Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary, home to the only wild rhinos in Uganda. The reserve was created to reintroduce rhinos to the country which had been extinct since 1982. Together with a guide you will track the rhinos and observe them in their habitat at a very close and safe distance. Have lunch at the Rhino sanctuary and thereafter we will drive to Murchison Falls National Park and drive for an hour deeper into the National Park to the site of Murchison Falls after which the park is named– one of Uganda most beautiful sights. If time allows, you will be able to visit to Top of the Falls for a first view of the magnificent waterfalls.
After an early breakfast we start the day with a game drive on the northern bank of the Nile, with chances of seeing Rothschild Giraffe, elephants, lions, Jackson Hartebeest, Oribis, Waterbucks, different species of the savannah woodland birds, and if lucky even the elusive leopard to top the Africa’s “The Big 5” amongst a multitude of African plains game. Afternoon, you will do site inspection of Paraa Safari Lodge before returning to Baker’s Lodge for lunch.
In the afternoon, enjoy a Nile launch cruise to the bottom of the water falls for game viewing at close quarters, after the launch cruise, get off from the bottom of the falls and hike up to the top of the falls where you will be rewarded with amazing views of the Nile. End your day with a sun downer before dinner and overnight.
Murchison Falls - Kibale Forest National Park (441 km /7- 8 hr) or Charter a flight to Kasese and drive for only 2 hrs (at an extra cost).
After breakfast, check out and drive south to Fort Portal, with lunch (packed) en-route. Fort portal rests in the shadow of the fabled ‘Mountains of the Moon’ and is famous for her many tea plantations. You will continue into Kibale National Park arriving at Primate Lodge Kibale in time for dinner and overnight.
Today the forest opens its doors for a sensational chimpanzee tracking experience.
Following the pre-tracking briefing, you will walk or drive to the trail head for the start of an unforgettable adventure – hiking in the footsteps of the habituated family of chimpanzees. En-route, your guide will enthrall you with stories and facts about the forest and her other inhabitants including other species of primates and birds and other big mammals.
Upon sighting the chimpanzees, you will spend an unforgettable one hour with them as they go about their daily life - feeding, playing, grooming, taking care of their young, howling and screeching, in their natural habitat.
Return back to the lodge for lunch then in the afternoon enjoy a guided nature walk through the Bigodi wetland.
Bigodi Swamp Walk is an initiative of the local community and is known for its rich diversity of birds and primates. The path and board walk maybe flooded and muddy after heavy rainfall and gumboots are recommended. The walk is about 4 km in length taking 3-4 hours at birding pace with local community guides. All proceeds from eco-tourism go back to into the community, a conservation project well worth supporting.
Optional: Hot Air Ballooning in Queen Elizabeth National Park
Arise at dawn and transfer to the park gate to meet your ballooning crew
and drive to the launch site by the first light. With coffee on site, witness
the gigantic balloon being inflated. You will attend a safety briefing before
being invited to get on board for a smooth ascension to a bird’s view
position.
View the Kasenyi plains, the famed mating grounds of the Uganda Kobs,
and a haunt for the predators. Enjoy the aerial views of the Kazinga
Channel, the Mweya Peninsula and Lake George as well as far down
towards Ishasha. Queen Elizabeth is truly famous for magnificent
topography and milliard species of wild game, flowers, plants and birds.
The one hour long flight at different altitudes culminates with an amazing
wilderness. Afterwards you are joined by your regular driver/guide and
able to enjoy more game viewing en route back to your lodge where you will have time to relax before lunch and your planned afternoon activity. All in all, an unforgettable African experience that we highly recommend!
NB: Children below 7 years old or under 4 feet (1.20 meters) tall are only carried on parents request and at the discretion of the operator. Booking in advance required.
After an early breakfast, drive to Queen Elizabeth National Park with scenic views of crater lakes and the surrounding rolling hills, you will go through banana farmlands, After wards, you will proceed south alongside the majestic Rwenzori ‘Mountains of the Moon’ to Queen Elizabeth National park. You will arrive at Mweya Safari Lodge in time for dinner and overnight.
In the morning become a researcher for a day, as you learn to use telemetry to find the different lion prides who roam the savannah of Queen Elizabeth. We can honestly state there is no better way to find and photograph lions in all of Uganda. The lion is one of the most sought after safari species, and one of the most impressive to observe. Living in prides of around 15 individuals, lions adhere to strict social structures. Groups consist of related females and their cubs, who are often born around the same time and raised communally. During the drive, the guides and researchers will discuss human animal conflict in communities around the park, veterinary issues within the park, and lion family dynamics as part of a very in depth game drive. You will come face to face with the King of the Jungle and you will have stories for a life time . picnic breakfast and return to the lodge for relaxation.
In the afternoon we take on a scenic boat cruise along the Kazinga Channel, a 33 km long natural and pre historic canal that joins Lakes Edward and Lake George. Formed by tectonic activity millions of years ago during the formation of the rift valleys, the canal, 2 to 3 kms at its widest, is now the most dominant feature of Queen Elizabeth National Park and one her key tourist attractions.
On a scheduled boat ride over a 12 km stretch from Mweya to the bird sanctuary (2 hrs), guests are almost always guaranteed excellent wildlife sightings including large schools of hippopotamus, Nile crocodiles, wallowing buffaloes on its reedy banks, elephants, multitudes of birds including many endemics as well as numerous other plains game that come to drink at its water’s edge all day long. Later return to the lodge for dinner and overnight.
After your Exquisite breakfast, you will depart the northern part of QENP and drive to the southern section of Queen Elizabeth National Park in search of the tree climbing lions, with a game drive through the Ishasha side in search of the tree climbing lions.
It is a beautiful route with the Rwenzori Mountains on your right side and the green valley on the left this is one of the most amazing scenic views you will experience, getting there in time for lunch and some rest.
Later on you will enjoy another game drive in search of the tree climbing lions, returning back in time for a beautiful sun downer at the lodge as you watch the sun go down.
After breakfast, drive 15 mins to Kihihi airstrip for a scheduled flight to Kisoro, on arrival at Kisoro airstrip you will be met by a Great Lakes Safaris’ representative and transferred to the Uganda and Rwanda boarder, drive to Ruhengeri the base for Gorilla trekking at the Parc National des Volcans. Ruhengeri town itself, located only 25 km from Uganda border, is relatively a small city. The constant flow of humanity is quite remarkable. The Town has great views of the surrounding volcanoes. People are very friendly here and although a former Belgian colony (and thus French speaking), many people speak English here.
Early breakfast at your lodge;
0600 hrs: transfer to the Volcanoes National Park HQs
0700 hrs: Registration, where the park staff determines which group of gorillas you will visit. The park staff discusses your fitness level and advises you of the trekking times and conditions to the various groups based upon their location in the park the previous evening. There are a total of 80 gorilla permits available each day with a maximum of eight trekkers visiting any one group.
Once the trekkers are put into groups, each group’s Lead Guide briefs the trekkers of the trekking procedures as well as the “do’s and don’ts” while in the presence of gorillas. After the briefing, trekkers return to their respective vehicles for the drive up the mountain to the starting point.
Porters may be hired for the trek to carry your backpack and gear. The cost, US $10 per person/per day. We advise that you utilize this service.
Please remember to bring your passport for registration, appropriate, water proof hiking boots and a light rain coat. To protect from stinging nettles, we recommend long pants and long sleeved tops. A pair of old gardening gloves can help grabbing onto the vegetation while most hotels/lodges provide a walking stick that come in very handy especially when hiking downhill. A small waterproof backpack is an excellent idea to carry a light snack, bottled water as well as protection for your camera.
Early breakfast at your hotel;
0630 hrs: transfer to the Volcanoes National Park HQs
0700 hrs: Registration at the Volcanoes National Park Offices followed by a transfer to your Trail head. Golden Monkeys are among the most endangered primates in Africa and is believed the only viable population of these monkeys is in the Virunga Volcanoes. The golden monkey is a distinct species of guenon - Cercopithecus Kandti and is endemic to the Albertine Rift. Two groups each with over 100 individuals are being habituated for visitors in the Virungas.
The Kabatwa group, found in the east of the park on the flanks of the Sabyinyo volcano and the Musongo group higher up on the flanks of the Karisimbi volcano at an altitude of about 2800-3000 meters.
After the trek, join your driver guide for a transfer back to your lodge.
Today you will enjoy the scenic drive back to Kigali, then take up a city tour of Kigali including a visit to the Genocide Memorial site, a grim reminder of a senseless massacre of innocent’s lives in 1994. Learn about Rwanda’s history from pre colonial times to the 1994 genocide; learn about other genocides in the world and how this country has dealt with that past. Tour more and see the new developments in Rwanda; the recovery has been incredible, a testament to humankind’s resilience and proceed to the airport for your departure flight.
