African Travels: 10 DAY UGANDA PEARL OF AFRICA SAFARI AND TOUR (ECONOMY)

Welcome to Uganda, the pearl of Africa.!!

Your driver/guide will be ready to pick you up from your morning flight or hotel at 8 am. Here he will introduce himself & go through with you a thorough briefing of your tour. Then it's off on your drive from Entebbe to your Hotel for Overnight.

After your breakfast,  the guide will go through with you for the tour of the day. Then it's off on your drive from Entebbe to Kibale National Forest. It’s around a 6-7 hour drive through farmlands, savannahs & forests. Lunch will be taken halfway at the township of Mubende. After lunch, it’s a final 3-hour drive to your accommodation, in plenty of time to freshen up relax & enjoy the sunset.

Dinner & overnight at your accommodation.  

After breakfast,  your driver-guide will transfer you to the nearby Bigodi wetland sanctuary swamp walk before your transfer to Queen Elizabeth national park.   

BIGODI WETLAND SANCTUARY SWAMP WALK 

Rich in biodiversity and scenic beauty, the Bigodi Wetlands Sanctuary is a must-visit. A 4,5km long walk will take you through this important wildlife corridor of Kibale Forest and will take up to 3hours return walk.

The “Home of the Great Blue Turaco” is a real bird watcher’s paradise. This wonderful place shelters over 200 species of birds including Hornbills, Turacos, Parrots, Cranes, Kingfishers, and many more swamp endemics. Furthermore, the sanctuary is the home of 8 species of primates, including the Black and White Colobus, Red Colobus, Red-Tailed Monkey, Grey Cheeked Mangabey, Olive Baboon, L’hoest Monkey, Vervet Monkey, and the Blue Monkey.

The swamp is also a haven for other mammals such as sitatungas, bushbucks, and otters. Local and knowledgeable guides will take you on an interpretive tour as they escort you through the lush vegetation. This is the perfect opportunity to view the wildlife from the forest pathways, boardwalks and atop a tree house tucked high in the canopy.

Visitors may tour the wetlands only when accompanied by a trained Sanctuary guide. After the walk, your driver will be waiting for you at the endpoint to transfer you to your accommodation for a quick freshen up, grab your hot packed lunch and embark on your vehicle for a 1.5hours transfer to Queen Elizabeth National Park.

Queen Elizabeth National Park with her 200 kilometers of well-maintained game viewing tracks. We advise you to be alert and pro-active on your game drive to help the guide spot as many animals as possible. With an astonishing 5000 hippos, 2500 elephants, and over 10,000 buffalo thriving in its grasslands and shorelines, this park guarantees sightings of some of Africa’s most iconic species. 

You will drive through the foothills of the magnificent Rwenzori Mountains as you head to Queen Elizabeth National Park, where you will stop for 3 nights. After park entrance fees registration you will proceed with the game drive as you head to your lodge for lunch and check-in.

In the afternoon you may decide on relaxing with the lodge facilities or proceed with the game drive to the nearby savanna park looking for more animals you will have missed in the morning. 

After the game drive, you will return to your accommodation for dinner and Overnight stay. 

Today after your breakfast you will carry your parked  Lunch for your half-day game drive. During this game, drive expect some sightings of the various animals like huge herds of Uganda cobs, elephants, lions, hippos, & warthog.  Queen Elizabeth National Park is an Elephant lover’s dream & we are sure you will have plenty of close encounters. For the extremely lucky you might even catch a sight of the impressive but very shy leopard.  After our game drive, you will have your lunch and later proceed for an amazing experience of tracking Mongoose and Kazinga Channel boat Safari early evening.

Banded Mongoose.

They are ten species of Mongoose recorded in Uganda with the banded Mongoose regularly seen around the Mweya Peninsula in Queen Elizabeth National Park. The Banded Mongoose experience is based around the park in Western Uganda and the Peninsula also supports a population of 400 banded mongooses living in twelve or more social groups. Tracking of Mongoose is normally done using a locator device while you are with your expert guides, have a closer look at their unique long tails and behavior, and later embark to your vehicle with a game drive through the park you will get to view most animals such as Kobs, lions and many more.

Kazinga Chanel Boat Safari

After this experience, you will proceed to catch up with the sundowner boat safari along the Kazinga Channel. Here, you will see a lot of hippos (more than you can possibly imagine), as well as a variety of other animals that come to the waterhole to drink or bathe. You can expect to see: Buffalo, Crocodile, bathing Elephant, and a range of beautiful birds. This will undoubtedly be one of the highlights of your tour. After the boat-safari, you will drive back to your lodge for dinner and Overnight.

CHIMPANZEE TREK

After an early breakfast, we shall head off to Kalinzu Forest Reserve where the rangers will give you a trek briefing before we head off to find our closest living relative. The Kalinzu Chimpanzees are considered extremely reliable with a trekking success rate of over 95%.

In Uganda today, Efforts to actually conserve the chimpanzees are extensively acknowledged and well supported.  Actually, The Jane Goodall Foundation has played a major role in the overall conservation of not only these Chimpanzees but the Gorillas as well found in Uganda.

You will most likely finish around 11 am.  From there be transferred to your lodge for a freshen up, Lunch and later we shall proceed the game drive in the Ishasha sector. This region is also well known for Birdlife, herds of elephants, buffaloes, and antelopes are regularly spotted. Vervet monkeys, baboons, black- and white colobus have become residents to this region of Queen Elizabeth.

You will retire at your accommodation for a freshen up and relaxation with the lodge facilities.

Dinner and Overnight at your accommodation

The day begins early as we start with game drives. As we head towards Bwindi, driving through the Ishasha sector.  We shall proceed with a game drive in the Ishasha sector in search of Tree climbing Lions as this part is famous for its’ unique tree-climbing lions. While lion cubs around the world frequently climb trees for fun, adults rarely do. However, these lionesses enjoy spending the hot afternoons snoozing in fig trees to get away from the tsetse flies and to enjoy a cool breeze.

This region is also well known for Birdlife, herds of elephants, buffaloes, and antelopes are regularly spotted. Vervet monkeys, baboons, black- and white colobus have become residents to this region of Queen Elizabeth.

You will retire at your accommodation in Bwindi National Park in the Buhoma region, home of the endangered mountain gorillas. You will check-in for lunch, have a freshen up and relax with the lodge facilities as we prepare the next adventure as well as the highlight of the tour, of course, this is Mountain Gorilla Tracking. Dinner and Overnight at your accommodation.

MOUNTAIN GORILLA TREK

Today is the big day… Prepare yourself for an encounter with one of Bwindi’s gentle giants: the rare Mountain Gorilla. For most people, this is the absolute highlight of their tour in Uganda. 

Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is a highlight for many visitors as this is where they will be visiting the home of the gentle giants. The Rare Mountain Mountain Gorilla

The park lies in southwestern Uganda on the edge of the Rift Valley. Uganda's oldest and most biologically diverse rainforests lie on the mist-covered hillsides. This magnificent forest dates back over 25,000 years, even surviving the last Ice Age (most forests disappeared).

The Bwindi forest has an incredible diversity of flora and fauna and is the only forest in Africa that can make claim to hosting both mountain gorillas and chimpanzees. In fact, 1/3 of the worlds’ population of gorillas live here divided into 15 habituated family groups.

Also, 5 other primate species, 120 species of mammal, over 220 butterflies, and 360 birds species call Bwindi home. This is one of the three places to see the critically endangered mountain gorillas up close for your very own ‘Gorillas in the Mist’ moment in the world.

The gorillas you will trek belong to one of fifteen family groups who can tolerate the presence of humans for a brief period every day. Your trek will be an exciting (for some also challenging) journey along forested (sometimes slippery) slopes, entwined vines, bushes, and bamboo before you eventually reach the gentle giants.

En-route, your guide will point out signs of previous gorilla activity. Think of dung, nests, and chewed bamboo shoots. The time to complete the gorilla trekking can be as little as 2 - 6 hours! Once the family of gorillas has been located, you will be allowed a maximum of one hour observing them. Coming face-to-face with the mountain gorillas is a truly humbling and emotional experience.

This is a fantastic part of your tour you will definitely remember for the rest of your life. Return to your lodge for a freshen up, lunch, and relaxation with the lodge facilities.

Dinner and overnight stay at your accommodation

Batwa Experience

Have a most enjoyable breakfast regaling your stories & encounter with the Mountain Gorillas. After breakfast, we head off to meet the Batwa. The Batwa are the original inhabitants of these forests, however today they are a displaced minority since the early 1990s. This cultural tour is a re-enactment but a very real one as many members still recall living as forest dwellers & these tours now help them earn income, ensure their traditions & skills are practiced as well as pass on these traditions to the next generation.

Their bush skills are a delight & their small stature will amaze. Thought to be an adaptation over thousands of years to living & moving in the thick rain forest conditions. After the Batwa, we will head off for Lake Mburo National Park. Arrive for a late lunch later we will then check-in & refresh before heading out for an afternoon game drive.

Game drive in Lake Mburo

Lake Mburo will amaze you with its density of animals especially Kob, Waterbuck, Zebra’s & more. This is because there are hardly any predators at Lake Mburo & the other animal populations are thriving. This is your chance to spot the Rothschild Giraffes recently re-introduced to Lake Mburo. Dinner & overnight at your accommodation.

This day, after your breakfast you will proceed for a morning game drive where you will have a chance to view most of the games that Lake Mburo Host. A lot of Zebra, Impala, and herds of Buffalos, Giraffe, etc. Later in the day, you will head back to your lodge for a freshen up and lunch. After your lunch, you will embark on your vehicle for an afternoon Walking Safari

Lake Mburo National Park is one of the two parks in Uganda where it is permitted to go for a safari walk with an experienced ranger. Footprints and animal droppings tell which animal has been here and for how long. It is exciting to approach the wildlife at such a close range. Get active and get close to zebra, gazelle, eland, and sometimes even giraffe. Return to your lodge for a freshen up dinner and overnight stay at your accommodation.

After breakfast why not try one of the different kind of safaris that  Lake Mburo offer. Because of their low predator count, you can do Horse Riding Safaris, Bike Riding Safaris or a Boat Safari & get up close to the birdlife & hippos. Or you can take a traditional game drive in your 4WD, the choice is yours as you have almost a full day before we leave at 2 pm to get back to Entebbe by 8 pm in plenty of time for your International Flight connection in the late evening.

We wish you safe travels & many great memories that will last long after you arrive home.