8 days uganda wildlife holiday

Overview

This Uganda wildlife holiday safari takes you on a gratifying journey to see gorillas, chimps, and the abundant wildlife in Uganda’s wild savannahs.

Get up close with chimpanzees in Kibale Forest National Park, spot elephants, lions, and hippos on classic game drives in Queen Elizabeth National Park, and trek through the dense rainforest to witness the majestic mountain gorillas in their natural habitat in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park.

With cultural experiences, breathtaking scenery, and special wildlife experiences, this safari is the adventure of a lifetime.

Take a closer look at the detailed itinerary and get a better idea of how this safari would work for you. Keep in mind that our trips are fully customized and can be personalized to meet your specific needs.

Detailed Itinerary

Day 1: Airport pickup

Our driver/guide will be waiting at Entebbe International Airport to pick you up and then transfer you to your accommodation for the night.

Accommodation: Papyrus Guesthouse

Meal plan: Dinner

Day 2: Drive to Kibale National Park

After your breakfast, you will leave Kampala for Kibale National Park in western Uganda. The drive takes around 8 hours including a stopover for lunch in Fort Portal town.

Along the way, you will pass many small towns, villages, tea farms, and roadside markets all of which make the Ugandan countryside full of beauty. You will reach Kibale with enough time to relax and unwind from a day of travel.

Accommodation: Kibale Forest Camp

Meal plan: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

Day 3: Chimpanzee Tracking Kibale Forest National Park

After early morning breakfast, your driver/guide will drive you to the Kibale National Park office where you will be briefed about the activity of tracking chimpanzees in the wild.

You will then go on a guided primate walk in search of chimpanzees and 12 other primates including l’ Hoestes, Red colobus, blue, red-tailed monkeys, brown monkeys, and grey-cheeked mangabey.

The park rangers will provide detailed explanations, not only on primates but on all the forest fauna and flora, and will ensure that your walk is informative and enjoyable.

After finding the chimps, you will spend 1 hour with them before heading back to the park offices. You will go back to the lodge for lunch & refreshments.

After lunch, you will visit the community and take a walk in Bigodi Swamp – which is the home of the great blue Turaco bird. The swamp is home to around 200 bird species and 8 primate species. Later, return to your accommodation for dinner & overnight stay.

Accommodation: Kibale Forest Camp

Meal plan: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

Day 4: Visit Caves & Crater Lakes, drive to Queen Elizabeth NP

After breakfast, you will start the day with a cultural tour of the ‘Amabere Ga Nyina Mwiru’ caves – a great historic site located 10km out of Fort Portal town.

You will be accompanied by an informed guide who knows more about this place. Remember to carry along a flashlight, hiking boots, long trousers, etc since you are going to enter the caves. Thereafter, you will hike the explosion crater lakes surrounding this area and then return to Fort Portal town for lunch and a visit to the Tooro Kingdom Palace.

In the evening, drive to Uganda’s second-largest park, Queen Elizabeth National Park while enjoying the changing views of the mystical Rwenzori Mountain ranges.

Accommodation: Bush Lodge

Meal plan: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

Day 5: Wildlife game drives in Queen Elizabeth National Park

After breakfast, you will go for an early morning wildlife safari game drive in this park. Queen Elizabeth National Park’s diverse ecosystem of grassy plains, tropical forests, rivers, swamps, lakes, and volcanic craters is home to an incredible abundance of wildlife.

With the massive Rwenzori Mountains as a backdrop, you will have excellent opportunities to see lions, leopards, giant forest hogs, cape buffalos, elephants, defassa waterbuck, Uganda Kobs, Topi, and bushbuck.

After lunch, you will go for a 2–3-hour boat cruise along the Kazinga Channel and into Lake Edward. This take will take you through possibly the highest concentration of hippos. Many animals may be seen drinking at the water’s edge.

This launch cruise offers great opportunities for photography, bird watching, and game viewing. The prolific bird life is colorful and stupendous with more than 600 different species.

Accommodation: Bush Lodge

Meal plan: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

Day 6: Drive to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park

After your breakfast, you will be driven from Queen Elizabeth to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. This is a 6 hours journey passing through the Kigezi Highlands an area known as the “Switzerland of Africa”.

The journey takes you through terraced hills and winding roads to the Bwindi Forest. You will have a stop-over in Kabale for lunch.

Accommodation: Rushaga Gorilla Lodge / Buhoma Community Rest Camp

Meal plan: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

 Day 7: Gorilla Trekking in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park

Today is the big day! Prepare yourself for an encounter with the gentle giants; the rare mountain gorillas.

For most people, this is the absolute highlight of their tour. You will go into the forest in groups of not more than 8 in search of mountain gorillas. En route, your guide will point out previous signs of gorilla activity such as dung, nests, and chewed bamboo shoots.

Your trek will be an exciting journey along forested slopes, entwined vines, bushes, and bamboo. Upon finding the gorillas, you will spend a maximum of 1 hour with them after which you will be led back to the starting point.

In the evening, you will go for a community visit and cultural experience of the local Bakiga and Batwa tribes that live close to Bwindi. You will learn about their lives, history, and traditions.

Accommodation: Rushaga Gorilla Lodge / Buhoma Community Rest Camp

Meal plan: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

Day 8: Drive to Kampala or Entebbe

After an early breakfast, your driver/guide will drive you from Bwindi to Kampala. This is a long drive of approximately 9 hours that will take you from the cooler mountainous altitude of the Kigezi Highlands to the lower undulating landscape of Ankole and Buganda, with large farms and plantations dotted with villages and small towns.

You will have several stopovers along the way including the equator crossing in Kayabwe for some pictures. Depending on the schedule of your next flight, a few more stopovers can be added by your guide.

You should reach Kampala in the early evening hours with enough time to freshen up before your flight out of Uganda.

Accommodation: None (Last day)

Meal plan: Breakfast & Lunch