Luxury Safari through Uganda
On this 18-day trip you will experience Uganda with its diversity of wildlife and nature. You travel in a private Landcruiser with your highly trained guide. He will show you the big and small animals of Uganda. You will experience the gorillas in Bwindi National Park up close, sitting peacefully in the undergrowth. And you will hear the calls of the chimpanzees as they penetrate the jungle.
The highlights of Luxury safari through Uganda
- Activities in Lake Mburo National Park
- Gorilla tracking in Bwindi National Park
- Game drive in the Ishasha area
- Boat safari and game drive – Queen Elisabeth National Park
- Crater region around Fort Portal
- Activities in Semliki
- Murchison National Park with game drive and boat safari
Itinerary and highlights of Luxury Safari through Uganda
Day 1 Luxury Safari through Uganda – Airport Entebbe and drive to Kampala
Your driver will pick you up at Entebbe airport and take you to your hotel in Kampala. Depending on your arrival time you will have the opportunity to visit the sights of the capital, the Royal Palace or one of the various museums or to relax after the long flight in the lodge.
Day 2 Luxury Safari through Uganda – Kampala – Lake Mburo NP
After breakfast your safari starts on a well maintained tarred road to Lake Mburo National Park. In Kampala there is a lively bustle. Traders sell clothes, fruit, fish and much more. The further you get out of the city, the quieter and greener it gets. In the afternoon you reach your lodge at Lake Mburo National Park. Distance: 300km Vehicle: approx. 6h
Day 3 Luxury Safari through Uganda – Activities in Lake Mburo NP, Walking Safari
The first game drive begins in Lake Mburu National Park. The long-horned Ankole cattle are the first to catch the eye. Zebras, impalas and reedbucks are often seen beyond the park boundary. Along the centrally located lake you can see river perds, crocodiles. Lake Mburo National Park is one of the two parks in Uganda where walking safaris are allowed. Together with an experienced ranger you will go on an exploration tour. The footprints tell you which animal has moved on your path. Alternatively you can go on a boat safari on the lake, you will be amazed by the many hippos, crocodiles and birdlife. The lodge offers horseback safaris, mountain bike tours for an extra charge.
Day 4 Luxury Safari through Uganda – Drive to the Bwindi Impenatrable National Park
The day begins with a beautiful view over the wide landscape. Then you leave Lake Mburo and continue your journey. Destination of the day is the Bwindi Impenatrable National Park. On the way you will have another opportunity to photograph the wildlife in Lake Mburo National Park. After you have left the park you drive towards Mbarara and from there to Kabale. The well developed mountain roads to Kisoro wind through the landscape. Steep slopes dominate. From the village of Kisoro it is only a few kilometres to your lodge high above the beautiful Lake Mutanda.
Day 5 Luxury Safari through Uganda – Gorilla Tracking
Face to face with the gorilla! Gently the group stalks through the thicket together with the ranger until suddenly the time has come to see the first specimen of the up to 200 kilogram heavy giants. Heart and pulse are beating. Adult animals are sitting on the ground, a few young animals are shimmying through the branches of the dense rainforest, through whose canopy of leaves only a few rays of sunlight can penetrate. They observe and notice: They are being observed too. The scenery is strange, yet familiar. The gorillas sit together in a familiar atmosphere, gleefully eating the green leaves, listening to the sound of the wind and continuing their walk through the forest.
Optional: After an exciting gorilla tour, Chameleon Hill Lodge offers you the possibility of various activities on and around Lake Mutanda for an extra charge. Enjoy an exciting island tour or let the lodge arrange a personal and unforgettable trip according to your wishes. A visit to Skeleton Island will be unforgettable, you can take a local canoe on an island tour. Alternatively there is a combined tour, consisting of a boat trip and a village tour. Visit 2 islands along the way and discover the way of life of the locals.
Day 6 Luxury Safari through Uganda – Drive to Ishasha
Today we drive through Bwindi National Park to the south of Queen Elisabeth National Park. This part of the park is called Ishasha. Surrounded by game reserves, Ishasha is home to a conspicuous number of large mammals, including elephants, lions, buffalo, lions and leopards. The unpaved road leads through the rainforest with its mist-covered valleys and gigantic tree population. In the afternoon you will reach the savannah of the Ishasha region.
Day 7 Luxury Safari through Uganda – Ishasha Gamedrive
The golden yellow savannah of Ishasha is located south of Queen Elisabeth National Park. Today we start for a game drive in the area. Topian antelopes and Uganda kobs share the same grazing grounds. Besides numerous bushes, where bee-eaters and the African Hoopoe like to spend time, some fig trees stand out especially. Between their branches there are usually lions and leopards. With a bit of luck you can see a whole pride of lions lying in the crown or a leopard.
Day 8 Luxury Safari through Uganda – Drive to Queen Elisabeth National Park
After breakfast you leave the lodge and drive to the north of Queen Elisabeth National Park. Queen Elizabeth National Park is situated on the western foothills of the great African Rift Valley in western Uganda. On almost 2000km² many different natural areas merge into each other: Lakeland landscapes, savannah, swamps and the crater land in the north of the park are home to almost 100 species of mammals. Besides a large elephant population, lions, zebras, antelopes and buffalos can also be observed. In the early afternoon you reach your lodge in front of the seemingly endless scenery at the foot of the Rwenzori, the third highest mountain range in Africa.
Mweya or Katara
Day 9 Luxury safari through Uganda – Queen Elisabeth National Park Gamedrive, boat safari
Today you undertake a game drive and a boat safari in the Queen Elisabeth National Park. The heart of the national park are the two lakes Lake Edward and Lake George, which are connected by the 32 km long Kazinga Channel. Hippos are the stars of the canal. The hippos eye all other animals that approach them. Local fishermen are usually out at night when the hippos graze on land. But you can also observe other scenes well from the boat. Elephants and buffalos troll along the shore and stubbornly make their way, scaring away birds with a rumbling sound. In addition to pelicans, cormorants and ospreys, about 600 bird species cavort along the Kazinga Channel.
Day 10 Luxury safari through Uganda – drive to the crater region
Take a breath and enjoy the land that Churchill once said was the “Pearl of Africa”. Enjoy the dawn when the first rays of the sun bathe the horizon in a bright light. Today you leave Queen Elizabeth National Park and drive near Fort Portal. In this area there are more than 54 crater lakes. The hilly green landscape reminds of the Swiss Alps. In the afternoon you reach your lodge, fantastically situated between 2 crater lakes. Let the day pass in review – the encounters with the locals in the remote villages, as well as the wonderful moments in the wilderness of Uganda.
Day 11 Luxury Safari through Uganda – Chimpanzee Tracking
Today you drive to Kibale Forest National Park. This has the highest number of primate species in the world. In Uganda there are about 5,000 chimpanzees in the wild, perfect for observing them today. You will start your tour in the morning with an experienced ranger. There is no guarantee of actually seeing the chimpanzees, as they live in the wild. However, your ranger will be very keen to show you these wonderful animals. Be prepared for a strenuous hike through the dense bush and keep your rain gear handy. In addition to the countless tropical birds, the forest is also home to various species of monkeys, such as the colobus monkey.
Day 12 Luxury Safari through Uganda – Drive to the Semliki
Today we start after an extensive breakfast to Semiliki. On the way you can visit the market in Fort Portal. The colourful fruits and the hustle and bustle are very contrasting to the European supermarket. A centrally located cafe offers good internet and fresh juices. Afterwards we continue to the Semliki National Park. In the early afternoon we reach our lodge in the park.
Day 13 Luxury Safari through Uganda – Activities in Semliki
The Semliki National Park with its unique primate species, numerous bird species will allow you to go on hikes and nature walks, game drives, game viewing and bird watching. One of the main attractions in Semliki Wildlife Reserve are the Hot Springs. A short guided walk from the Information Centre will take you to the hot springs in Sempaya. This site has its largest geyser spouts, up to 2 m high, from a low-salt sculpture opening. Be careful with the water coming out of the hot spring, which has a temperature of more than 100 degrees. On the way to the hot springs through a section of forest you will encounter the red-necked monkeys, grey-cheeked manes and black and white colobus monkeys, which are very common here. You will also see birds such as the Forest Hornbills, Blue-Breasted Kingfisher, Red-Rumped and Yellow-Throated Tinker Birds.
Day 14 Luxury Safari through Uganda – Semliki – Murchison National Park
The best for last! The Murchison Falls National Park is the most impressive park in Uganda and today’s destination. You leave Semlik National Park and drive via Fort Portal to Hoima. There you will have time for a snack, then continue through small villages along Lake Albert to Murchison Falls National Park. In the afternoon you reach your lodge and enjoy the fantastic view of the Nile.
Day 15 Luxury Safari through Uganda – Murchison NP, game drive, boat safari
In the early morning you have the opportunity to take a game drive through the beautiful Murchison National Park. The vegetation is dominated by savannah and floodplain forest. You can see lions, leopards, elephants, giraffes, hartebeests, oribeests and the typical Uganda kobs. In the afternoon you undertake a boat safari on the Nile. Under the watchful eyes of crocodiles, hippos and water birds you will drive to the famous waterfalls (Murchison Falls). If you like you can get out of the boat a few meters before the gorge and start the 1 hour walk to the upper course of the river. Of course you also have the possibility to go back by boat. Enjoy the spectacular view of the longest river in Africa, watch how it falls 43 meters into the depth.
Day 16 Luxury Safari through Uganda – Drive to Rhino Ziwa Sanctuary
The Murchison Falls National Park is one of the few places where the rare prehistoric looking shoebill pairs still live today. When standing, the shoebill measures the enormous height of 1.20 meters. Today you will go by boat to the Albert Nile Delta. Lake Albert is the 7th largest lake in Africa. Papyrus is lined up along the shore. Whistling geese like the wobbly plant islands and pied kingfishers drill their nests in the earth of the shore. After lunch at the lodge you leave the park and drive towards Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary.
Day 17 Luxury Safari through Uganda – Drive to Entebbe
This morning you have the opportunity to visit the rhinos. You will go on a short bush walk, together with an experienced ranger you will walk through the bush and visit one of the huge rhinos. In any case you should keep quiet. You can observe the magnificent animals at close range. Afterwards you will start the drive towards Kampala. In the afternoon you will reach your comfortable hotel directly at Lake Victoria.
Day 18 Luxury Safari through Uganda – departure day Entebbe
Today on the last day of your Uganda trip you have the opportunity, depending on your departure time, to go on a city tour in Kampala with a visit to the royal tombs or the Ethnological Museum. (Optional) Or you can enjoy one of the offers of the resort (Optional). In time for your departure, your driver will take you to Entebbe Airport or to your connecting program.