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Day 1: Arrival and explore Entebbe       

Our representative will pick you up from Entebbe International Airport and take you to the Protea Marriott Hotel, just a five-minute drive from the airport. Depending on the time you have on your hands, your guide can give you a tour of Entebbe, the town that plays host to State House.

You can browse through local craft shops, visit the Uganda Wildlife Education Centre and the Uganda Snake Village or delve into local markets and enjoy the aroma wafting from food stalls.

If time allows, you can later in the evening visit some of the town’s trendy bars for a little bit of camaraderie with some of the world’s friendliest people before you retire to bed.

Day 2: Transfer to Jinja – the source of River Nile

It’s in Jinja, Uganda’s second-largest city, where the mighty River Nile, the world’s longest river, begins its journey from Lake Victoria all the way down to the Mediterranean Sea.

You will be a guest at The Haven, an exquisite lodge that will blow you away with its quietude and breathtaking views of the river rapids. This is also a wonderful spot to watch various bird species and local fishermen paddling dugout canoes.

Today’s activities include white water rafting, a horseback safari, quad-biking, whitewater kayaking on the river, as well as a visit to the source of the Nile and Jinja Market.

Day 3: Drive to Sipi Falls

After breakfast, a six-hour drive further east will lead you to the beautiful Sipi Falls, located on a plateau 1800m above sea level. You will be checked in at the Sipi River Lodge, which will wow you wonderful views of one of the waterfalls.

The Sipi River flows over the foothills of Mount Elgon, forming a spectacular series of waterfalls (some nearly 100m high) and it’s surrounded by village walking trails and lush green hills that are laden with coffee plantations.

Day 4: Kidepo Valley National Park

Today you will travel to Kidepo Valley National Park, a long, 5hr but rewarding journey with some of the most beautiful sceneries Uganda has to offer.

If you are lucky and your journey is on a Wednesday, you’ll get the chance to experience an authentic Karamajong cattle market, where herders walk for five hours to be able to buy or sell their goats, cows or chicken. It’s a colourful and stunning sight, one of the few remaining authentic African experiences.

After this thrilling experience it is time to enter into the most remote and pristine national parks in the country, Kidepo Valley National Park.

Regarded as the most beautiful in Uganda, Kidepo has some of the most amazing scenery in the country, its beauty still untouched by mass tourism.

Here you will stay in one of the Uganda Wildlife Authority’s bandas — simple, but clean bandas that make you feel close to nature. Meals of your choice will be prepared from the banda by one of the chefs here. But you can also prepare it yourself, if you like.

Day 5: Game viewing in Kidepo

In Kidepo Valley National Park you will find zebras, giraffes, elephants, lions and leopards. This is also the only place in Uganda where you can find the cheetah and ostrich.

Kidepo is famous for its lions that usually relax on the rocks and you might even be very lucky to spot a leopard or cheetah! Besides the 4×4 safaris you can also take a bush walk in the park with an armed ranger. Up to you.

Day 6: Self drive to Murchison Falls National Park

Today you continue your journey by crossing to the west of the country to Murchison Falls National Park. It’s a tiring eight-hour journey so there will be no adventure activities today. You will be a guest at the picturesque Fort Murchison, right in the park.

Day 7: Full day Murchison Falls National Park Exploration

Welcome to the wild animal kingdom! Wild animals are most active in the morning so an early rise will give you an opportunity to come face-to-face with Uganda’s best: elephants, giraffes, buffaloes, lions, leopards, and a variety of antelope and bird species that roam this park. Morning is the best time to explore the park because the sun is not yet so bright and temperatures are cooler.

After lunch in the afternoon you will take a boat safari up the River Nile to Murchison Falls. Carefully watched by crocodiles, hundreds of hippos, buffaloes, water birds, monkeys and all the other thirsty wildlife that the Nile attracts, you will reach the base of the 43-metre high waterfalls that culminate in a magical thunderous sound.

After the boat safari you will hike to the top of the falls, from where you’ll have a wonderful view of the falls and fantastic photo opportunities as the sun sets!

Day 8: Travel to Kibale Forest National Park

On Day 8 you will be driven to the Kibale Forest National Park, an eight-hour journey that is sure to whet your eyes as you pass through an incredibly scenic countryside.

You’ll make a stop in Fort Portal town, seven hours into the journey, where you’ll have lunch and, maybe even, take a walk around town and visit local markets. One more hour on the road will lead you to the Kibale Forest National Park where you will be a guest at the Kibale Forest Camp, one of the best lodges in the park.

You will spend the afternoon lazying around and enjoying views of the beautiful forest.

Day 9: Chimpanzee Tracking and Bigodi swamp walk

For the uninitiated, Kibale Forest National Park harbors the highest number of primate species in the world, including over 5,000 chimpanzees. You can choose to track the chimps either in the morning or in the afternoon.

Once you locate them, you will be allowed one full hour of eye-to-eye contact with them.

After that you can take a two-hour walk through the swamp, which will reward you with views of the beautiful scenery, local people going about their day-today tasks, and views of about four other primate species, though the highlight is usually a chance glimpse of the great blue turaco, a chicken-sized bird with garish blue, green and yellow feathers.

Day 10: Drive to Queen Elizabeth National Park

You will begin very early in the morning with a three-hour trip to the mighty Queen Elizabeth National Park, Uganda’s second largest park which is located at the base of the majestic Rwenzori Mountain range, adjacent to Lake Edward and Lake George. The park offers incredible game viewing: gazelle, Uganda kob, lions, giraffes, elephants, warthogs, waterbuck, hippos, leopards, antelopes, etc. Lions are often sighted both in and at the entrance to the park.

Queen Elizabeth National Park is home to so many wild animals that many of them can actually be spotted right at the entrance of the park!

After lunch, you will spend most of the afternoon viewing these animals before retiring to the artistic Marafiki Safari Lodge, which is located within the park and overlooks Lake George. This majestic lodge offers private safari tents on raised wooden floors and canvas walls that can be rolled up to allow you to sit comfortably and enjoy the breathtaking views across the Park and the Rwenzori Mountains. In fact, you will be able to watch a variety of wildlife from your verandah and fall asleep to the roaring of lions in a distance.

Day 11; Transfer to Bwindi impenetrable National park via Ishasha sector of Queen Elizabeth National Park

On this day you will drive to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park  – home to half of the world’s species of mountain gorillas. There 4 gorilla trekking sectors where you can track mountain gorilllas andthese are Rushaga, Nkuringo, Ruhija and Buhoma. Each sector has specific gorilla families and you can choose a sector depending on your level of fitness as they are situated at different altitudes.

On this day you drive through the Ishasha of Queen Elizabeth where you will spot the tree climbing lions which got such a skill to have a clear view of their prey and also escape insect bites on ground.

Day 12: Gorilla Tracking in Bwindi

Today you are in for a real trailblazing experience! This is the real big deal, the highlight of your trip to Uganda. Bwindi Impenetrable Forest is the only forest on the continent that is home to both the unique mountain gorillas and chimpanzees. It’s also home to five other primate species, 113 mammal species, over 200 butterflies and 360 birds. Today you will track one of the nine habituated gorilla families that are accustomed to human presence.

It can take between 2-7hrs to locate the gorillas, depending on how lucky you are today. But once they are located, you will only be allowed to be with them for a maximum of one hour to avoid stressing them. Still, coming face-to-face with these endangered species, mankind’s closest relatives, will no doubt be the most humbling and memorable experience of your trip!

Day 13: Transfer to Entebbe

After breakfast at the lodge, you will be driven back to Entebbe just in time to catch your flight back home, making sure to stop over at the Equator for a photo opportunity. If your flight is the following day, we’ll book you one more night in Entebbe or Kampala, depending on your choice.