17 Days Best of Uganda safari tour
17 days best of Uganda safari tour: 17 days best of Uganda safari tour includes 17 days and 16 nights. Spending 17 days on a Uganda safari is such a rewarding and fascinating adventure offering both primate viewing safaris where you will encounter chimpanzees, gorillas and other different primates in their natural habitats, game viewing safaris to encounter the big 5 game and other wildlife species, birding safaris to watch the most beautiful, rare and unique species of birds, cultural safaris to encounter with the some local community members in different locations among others without forgetting fascination mountain hiking safaris and a visit to the source of River Nile.
This 17 days best of Uganda safari tour starts from Entebbe international airport taking you through different destinations including River Nile, Mt Elgon national park, Kidepo valley national park, Murchison falls national park, Kibale forest national park, queen Elizabeth national park, Bwindi impenetrable national park, Lake Bunyonyi, lake mburo national park and complete your circuit in Kampala to Entebbe international airport for departures.
Highlights of 17 days best of Uganda safari tour
- Day 1: Arrival at Entebbe international airport
- Day 2: Visit source of the Nile and Hike Sipi falls
- Day 3: Hike Mount Elgon
- Day 4: Transfer to Kidepo valley national park
- Day 5: Full day game viewing in kidepo valley national park
- Day 6: Transfer to Murchison falls national park
- Day 7: Game drive and boat cruise in Murchison falls national park
- Day 8: Transfer to Kibale forest national park
- Day 9: Chimpanzee trekking and Bigodi wetland nature walks
- Day 10: Connect to Queen Elizabeth national park
- Day 11: Game drive in kasenyi plains and boat cruise on kazinga channel
- Day 12: Game drive in Ishasha sector and transfer to Bwindi Impenetrable national park
- Day 13: Gorilla trekking in Bwindi and transfer to Lake Bunyonyi
- Day 14: Canoeing and nature walks
- Day 15: Transfer to Lake Mburo national park
- Day 16: Game drive and afternoon boat cruise
- Day 17: transfer to Kampala for City tour and departures
DETAILED ITINERARY
Day 1: Arrival at Entebbe international airport
Arrival: Upon arrival at Entebbe on day 1 of 17 days best of Uganda safari tour, you find our company representative waiting for you. You will be briefed about your 17 days best of Uganda safari tour as you head to your prepared hotel where you will check in for a meal and spend the remaining hours on a relaxed leisure awaiting dinner and have an overnight sleep.
Day 2: Visit source of the Nile and Hike Sipi falls
Visit source of the Nile: on day 2 of 17 days best of Uganda safari tour, after breakfast you will leave Kampala /Entebbe depending on where you spent an overnight and embark on a journey to Jinja with a stopover at mabira forest to spend at least 2-3 hours on a nature walk. You may also enjoy the only Zip inning in the pearl of Africa then have an enroute lunch before proceeding to Jinja for a boat cruise to visit the source of the Nile that was discovered by Speke.
Hike Sipi falls: After the visit to the source of the Nile, exit Jinja and be transferred to Kapichorwa to spend some few hours hiking the Sipi falls starting with the highest falls at 100m, followed by 85m and finally 75m. After this hike, you will be driven to your lodge in Mbale for dinner and overnight stay.
Day 3: Hike Mount Elgon
Hike Mount Elgon: On day 3 of 17 days best of Uganda safari tour, enjoy an early breakfast then be transferred to the headquarters responsible for Mount Elgon safari along with your packed lunch box and drinking water. Since you only have a one day hike, you will be offered a short hiking trail depending on the choice of attractions you need to encounter such as Sipi River, caves among others. After the hike, you will later on descend and be transferred to your lodge for dinner and overnight.
Day 4: Transfer to Kidepo valley national park
Transfer to Kidepo valley national park: After enjoy breakfast at the lodge on day 4 of 17 days best of Uganda safari tour, check out of the lodge, and meet your driver to Exit Mount Elgon national park and embark on a ride to Kidepo valley national park, a wilderness of wonders via Kitgum. Once at the park, you will be welcomed by a beautiful scenery of green lush filled with wildlife that will catch your eyes. Proceed for check in at the lodge, have lunch and meet your driver for a game drive since you ought to utilize any given moment within Kidepo valley national park in order to maximize sightings. Later in the evening, you will be driven back to the lodge for dinner and overnight.
Day 5: Full day game viewing in kidepo valley national park
Full day game viewing: Day 5 of 17 days best of Uganda safari tour is set for you to spend a full day excursion within this beautiful park. After breakfast, meet your driver and be driven with in the park for an early morning game drive to spot the hunters, nocturnal mammals , and other wildlife that arise very early to feed on fresh and moist vegetation cover. Return for a lunch break at the lodge and embark on an evening game drive to the remaining parts of the park to view more wildlife since Kidepo valley national park is known for harboring a huge population of wildlife species. After the drive return to the lodge for dinner and overnight.
Day 6: Transfer to Murchison falls national park
Transfer to Murchison falls national park: On day 6 of 17 days best of Uganda safari tour, be served with your breakfast , check out of the lodge and be transferred from Kidepo valley national park to Murchison falls national park. Have an enroute lunch along the way and dinner will be at the lodge. Probably you will arrive in the evening for lodge check in, dinner and overnight.
Day 7: Game drive and boat cruise in Murchison falls national park
Game drive and boat cruise: On day 7 of 17 days best of Uganda safari tour, after breakfast, you will be picked by your driver from the lodge and transferred to spend a half day on a game drive to sport the lions, elephants, buffaloes and many more. After game drive, you will be returned to the lodge for lunch. Upon lunch completion, be ready for yet an afternoon boat cruise where you will sail on this powerful Murchison fall while watching Hippos, water birds, crocodiles among others. After the boat cruise, you may proceed with a hike to summit top of waterfall then be transferred to the lodge for dinner and overnight.
Day 8: Transfer to Kibale forest national park
Transfer to Kibale forest national park: On day 8 of 17 days best of Uganda safari tour, after breakfast check out of the lodge and embark on a journey to Kibale forest national park a home to 13 species of primates with the major primate species being the chimpanzees. Kibale forest national park is the best destination for chimpanzee trekking and even chimpanzee habituation. Lunch will be enroute while dinner will be at the lodge.
Day 9: Chimpanzee trekking and Bigodi wetland nature walks
Chimpanzee trekking and Nature walk: After enjoying an early breakfast on days 9 of 17 days best of Uganda safari tour, pack enough drinking water and snacks then be transferred to the park headquarters for a briefing, porter hiring and later trail into the wilderness of kibale forest to search for the habituated chimpanzees available for trekking. Alongside chimpanzee trekking, be sure to spot other wildlife species such as more primate species such as monkeys, mammals including forest elephants, warthogs, and forest hogs among others. After trekking chimpanzee, you will be driven back to the lodge for lunch and set off for a guided nature walk in bigodi wetland sanctuary that was preserved to protect different botanical species and other wildlife that reside within. Later on, you will be driven to the lodge for dinner and overnight.
Day 10: Connect to Queen Elizabeth national park
Queen Elizabeth national park: After breakfast on day 10 of 17 days best of Uganda safari tour, you will be driven to exit kibale forest national park and connect to Queen Elizabeth national park the only park in Uganda that harbors tree climbing lions in Ishasha sector. More tree climbing lions apart from Queen Elizabeth national park are found in Lake Manyara national park in Tanzania but the population in Queen is higher than that in Lake Manyara. On day 10 of 17 days best of Uganda safari tour, you will have to stopover for lunch and once at the lodge, you will check in for dinner and overnight.
Day 11: Game drive in kasenyi plains and boat cruise on kazinga channel
Game drive in kasenyi plains: An early game drive in Queen Elizabeth national park on day 11 of 17 days best of Uganda safari tour is such a fascinating one. After breakfast, meet your driver for a ride to Kasenyi plains where you will be driving with in a highest concentration of wildlife including mammals, birds, butterflies and many more. You will spot Uganda kob, lions, buffaloes, elephants etc. after the game drive, return to the lodge for a lunch break.
Afternoon boat cruise on kazinga channel: after lunch on day 11 of 17 days best of Uganda safari tour, you will be driven to another amazing sector in Queen Elizabeth national park for an afternoon boat cruise on the kazinga channel. During the boat cruise, keep your eyes wide open to spot lots of wildlife including crocodiles and Hippos. After the boat cruise, you will be driven on an evening game drive as you return to the lodge for dinner and overnight.
Day 12: Game drive in Ishasha sector and transfer to Bwindi Impenetrable national park
Game drive and transfer to Bwindi: Another game drive after breakfast on day 12 of 17 days best of Uganda safari tour will be carried out in Ishasha sector. You will check out of the lodge after breakfast and be transferred to Ishasha sector with some packed lunch or you may enjoy your lunch from any hotel within Ishasha sector. After lunch, you will then exit Queen Elizabeth national park and start the drive to the home of endangered mountain gorillas, Bwindi Impenetrable national park where you will spend your overnight.
Day 13: Gorilla trekking in Bwindi and transfer to Lake Bunyonyi
Gorilla trekking: after breakfast on day 13 of 17 days best of Uganda safari tour, pack enough drinking water, snacks and grab your gorilla trekking gear ready for a transfer to park headquarters for a briefing with other trekkers. You will be provided with the best information regarding gorilla trekking, the dos, don’ts, later on hire a porter and be transferred deep into the forest in search of habituated mountain gorillas in the jungles of Bwindi impenetrable national park. While in the wild, endeavor to fallow all your guidelines offered by park officials and the rangers and remember that the more you keep quiet, the more you see since most wildlife species can decide to hide in case of noise. Well, upon an encounter with the gorillas, you will spend only one hour with them and later on be returned to the headquarters to obtain a gorilla trekking certificate and be driven to the lodge for a meal and relaxation.
Transfer to Lake Bunyonyi: You will check out of the lodge in the evening of day 13 of 17 days best of Uganda safari tour and be transferred to Lake Bunyonyi the deepest lake in Uganda and second deepest in Africa. As you arrive at the lake, you will check in at the lodge for dinner and overnight.
Day 14: Canoeing and nature walks on Lake Bunyonyi
Canoeing and nature walks: On day 14 of 17 days best of Uganda safari tour, wakeup for breakfast at the lodge next to the shores of Lake Bunyonyi and later on engage in a canoe ride to explore different islands situated on Lake Bunyonyi while watching plenty of bird species, encountering local communities of bakiga in their farms. After canoe ride, you will enjoy lunch then embark on a nature walk along the shores as you watch different birds jumping over the hills. This is the most scenic place for nature lover due to the beautiful and green vegetation cover. After the nature walk you may spend the remaining evening hours relaxed at the beach and return to the lodge for dinner and overnight.
Day 15: Transfer to Lake Mburo national park
Transfer to Lake Mburo national park: on day 15 of 17 days best of Uganda safari tour, you then check out of the lodge and be ready for a ride to Lake Mburo national park with a stopover in Mbarara for lunch at Igongo Cultural hotel. At Igongo you will be in position to visit Igongo cultural center which harbors a lot of attractions including the Museum, the bookshop among others. After a visit to Igongo cultural center, you will proceed your journey to Lake Mburo national park for dinner and overnight.
Day 16: Game drive and afternoon boat cruise
Game drive and boat cruise: On day 16 of 17 days best of Uganda safari tour, after breakfast, enjoy an early morning game drive to spot the zebras grazing amidst Ankole cattle, you will spot more wildlife species including other mammals, birds, and the vegetation cover. After the game drive, you will be driven to the lodge for lunch and embark on afternoon boat cruise to encounter other mammals at the shores of the lake and different water birds among others.
Day 17: Transfer to Entebbe, Visit Ngamba Island and departures
Transfer to Entebbe: this is the last day of your 17 days best of Uganda safari tour. After breakfast, check out of the lodge and embark on a 4-5 hours’ drive back to Entebbe. Once in Entebbe, you will enjoy lunch and later on have a visit to Ngamba Island to watch the orphaned chimpanzees in a sanctuary.
After visiting the chimpanzees, you will return cruise over Lake Victoria back to the ground where you will spend few hours on a nature walk with in Entebbe zoo before the drive to the airport for departures.
END OF 17 DAYS BEST OF UGANDA SAFARI TOUR
