Fly in Wildlife safari Gorilla trek chimps Safari – 13 Days  

Program for Uganda Fly-in Safari – 13 Day Fly Wildlife safari Gorilla trek chimps Safari

• Day 1: Start Uganda fly in safari with flight form Entebbe (or Kajansi) to Kidepo Valley NP, enjoy an evening game drive in the Narus Valley.
• Day 2: Kidepo Valley NP with Game drive in the park all day
• Day 3: Kidepo Valley Park: Guided Nature walk and game drive
• Day 4: Drive to Murchison Falls National Park, evening game drive (There’s an opton to fly in from Kidepo to Murchison Falls too on request).
• Day 5: Game drives, boat safari in Murchison Falls National Park looking for lions,  leopards, buffalo, giraffe, elephants, hyenas, rhinos, zebra, warthog, etc
• Day 6: Fly in safari to Kasese, onward transfer to Kibale National Park
• Day 7: Chimpanzee tracking in Kibale National Park, afternoon primates walk in Bigodi Wetland Sanctuary
• Day 8: 2 hours drive to Queen Elizabeth National Park, game drives in the afternoon
• Day 9: Safari in Queen Elizabeth National Park looking for lions,  leopards, buffalo, giraffe, elephants, hyenas, rhinos, zebra, warthog
• Day 10: Game drives in Ishasha Sector for tree-climbing lions, elephants and plenty of other wildlife;
• Day 11: Transfer to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest
• Day 12: Gorilla trekking in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park
• Day 13: Transfer to Kihihi Airstrip for flight to Entebbe International Airport, departure back home

Day 1: Start Best of Uganda Fly in Safari from Entebbe with Flight to Kidepo Valley National Park, Game Drive through the Narus Valley

You will be transferred to Entebbe International Airport for your 2-hours flight to Kidepo by Alpha Adventure Safaris.

From  Kidepo Valley Airstrip and transfer to Kidepo Valley Lodge that is a real oasis in the midst of this rugged and untamed landscape of Kidepo Park where you receive a warm welcome and are led to your luxurious room where no effort has been spared and thought off to make you most comfortable.

Relax after lunch, drinking in all the splendor of nature, the stillness of the wild only broken by the sound of an animal near or far – welcome to Kidepo Valley National Park.

Late afternoon game drive through the Narus Valley where you will see herds of buffaloes, elephants, giraffes, zebras and hopefully some lions, leopard and the elusive cheetah.  Besides, there are the many birds you might find along the way.  This is a slow drive so that you do not miss anything, stopping wherever you wish to take pictures of the fabulous wildlife and birds, fauna and flora along the way.

One of the things that you will readily see that one thing that makes this park so very different is that there are no other vehicles, it is African wildlife without the crowds.  Simply amazing – in this remote and unvisited part of Uganda’s wild.

Enjoy the sunset and a delightful dinner at the lodge in the heart of Kidepo Valley National Park surrounded only by the sounds of the African wild in the Bush.  There is nothing like going to sleep with the sounds of a roaring lion in the distance and awakening to the trumpeting of an elephant.

• Accommodation (all meals included):
• Upscale: Adere Safari Lodge (or upgrade to Apoka Safari Lodge)
• Medium: Kidepo Savannah Lodge

Day 2: Full Day Game Drives, Safari in Kidepo Valley National Park,

Sunrise in the Bush and to top it off a fabulous breakfast and a cup of coffee or tea while you peruse the landscape and wildlife around you in the remotest corner of Uganda and yet it is in class and style.  The perfect African dream vacation.

After breakfast it is off to another exciting game drive across savannah, hills, small forests, dry river beds and always the rings of mountains around you.  Animals and birds to see, plants and trees that will amaze you as they exist in this semi-arid region of Uganda.

We are off to Karankorog Hot Springs with lots of wildlife along the way.  No game drive is the same even if you took the same route twice, there is always something new to seen and found.  The scenery, animals, birds will amaze you and it is best to keep the camera close at hand to get the best shots along the way.

Then it off for an afternoon with Karamajong people for a cultural tour as to how this proud tribe that has refused most influences for change.  Their love for cattle is comparable to the better known Maasai of Kenya and Tanzania. Their ways are unique to them and they are a proud warrior like people who believe that is their God-given right to cattle, even cattle belonging to others.  You will see how they live, how they prepare food, dance, enjoy life and what their cattle means to them.

Here you will have an experiential visit with the Karamajong, see their homesteads which are called Manyattas and also the Kraal’s where the animals are kept. Simply an enriching, cross-cultural time.  Like the landscape, the Karamajong are a rugged people who for the most part continue in their cultural lifestyle.

Return to the lodge for a time of relaxation, dinner and enjoying the company of other travelers at the lodge.

• Accommodation Options:
• Upscale: Adere Safari Lodge (or upgrade to Apoka Safari Lodge)
• Medium: Kidepo Savannah Lodge

Day 3: Kidepo valley national park: Guided Nature walk and game drive

Go for a morning guided walk and see unique plants found only this part of the country, birds and crocodiles on the river banks. After this, enjoy a buffet breakfast. Late afternoon, high tea and then a game drive.

• Accommodation Options:
• Upscale: Adere Safari Lodge (or upgrade to Apoka Safari Lodge)
• Medium: Kidepo Savannah Lodge

Day 4: Ground Transfer from Kidepo to Murchison Falls NP (or request for option for fly in from Kidepo to Murchison)

After your breakfast, we drive to the west of the country to Murchison Falls NP via Lira Kotido road with a lunch break in Lira town.

 This route gives you an opportunity to enjoy the scenery of Labwor hills and in particular the massive and bare Alerek (Kidi Rwot) rock about 55 km from Kotido.

Murchison Falls National Park is the largest in Uganda at 3,840 square kilometres. Here is the awe inspiring Murchison Falls where the River Nile hurls itself in convulsions through a narrow crevice and then plunges 40 metres in one breathtaking leap.

The park has a variety of vegetation ranging from riparian forests and swamplands to broad savannah, and provides visitors the opportunity of seeing large concentrations of wildlife including lion, leopard, civet, hyena, elephant, giraffe, buffalo, hippo, crocodile, a host of smaller game, small primates and many bird species, including the rare shoebill stork. The park is especially famous for crocodiles and hippos.

• Accommodation Options (Full Board)
• Up-market: Cottage at Murchison River Lodge| Paraa Safari Lodge
• Moderate: Fort Murchison Lodge | Pakuba Lodge

Day 5: Murchison Falls National Park – Safari Game drives and boat safari

Murchison Falls – Uganda Habituation Tours gorilla habituation, chimps habituation golden monkeys primate habituation tour

Boat Trip to the Bottom of Murchison Falls

After breakfast head to the Delta in search for bird life and enjoy the game drive to look for lions, giraffes, herds of elephants, buffaloes and many more.

We will then go for an afternoon boat cruise to the foot of Murchison Falls. This boat trip along the Nile is often cited as being the highlight of a trip to Murchison since it allows you to get up-close and personal with the animals. Along this stretch of the river, there are reported to be around 4,000 hippos in addition to some enormous Nile crocodiles. The birdlife is stunning with brightly colored kingfishers and bee-eaters darting along the riverbanks. If lucky, you may see the rare and prehistoric-looking shoebill, which is a cross between the dodo and a dinosaur. The boat takes you to the base of the falls which only adds to their impressiveness.

• Accommodation Options (Full Board)
• Up-market: Cottage at Murchison River Lodge| Paraa Safari Lodge
• Moderate: Fort Murchison Lodge | Pakuba Lodge

Day 6: Fly in to Kibale from Pakuba (or Bugungu) via Kasese

Leave Murchison Falls National Park for Kibale Forest National Park via the Lake Albert escarpment, having a good view of the lake.

You will literally be flying along the Nile river but at a very low altitude which allows you a fabulous game viewing opportunity. At the later part of this flight, we shall be flying towards the mystical Rwenzori Mountain Range and finally land at Kasese airstrip – please keep an eye out for the most amazing views of the farmlands, rivers, savannahs, evergreen forests, and crater lakes.

At Kasese Airstrip, we have our safari guide waiting to receive you. before you proceed to Fort Portal driving through the shadow of the fabled “Mountains of the Moon.” Head out to Kibale forest driving through farmlands and homesteads.  In the afternoon, you have an option to take a bird walk around the lodge. Meals and Overnight accommodation included.

• Accommodation Options (Full Board)
• Upscale: Kyaninga Lodge | Ndali Lodge | Crater Safari Lodge
• Midrange: Isunga Lodge| ensuite tents at Kibale Forest Camp

Day 7: Chimpanzee Tracking in Kibale National Park & Bigodi Wetland Sanctuary

Chimp, Kibale Forest chimpanzee habituation experience gorilla tour uganda

Assemble at Kanyankyu River camp at 08:00 hours to go for the most popular activity in this park which is chimpanzee tracking.

Chimpanzees are man’s closest cousins though they are one of the most threatened primate species. More primates like black and white colobus monkeys, L’Hoest monkeys, grey-cheeked mangabey, red-tailed monkeys, bush babies, pottos, and many bird species like the yellow-spotted nicator, rumped tinker bird, little greenbul, green breasted pitta, the crowned eagle, black bee-eater, and mammals like elephants can be seen in this walk.

Kibale National park, which averages about 3,300 feet in elevation, is an extension of the great rainforests of central Africa. It is inhabited by three large communities of chimps, each numbering more than 100 individuals. Each community has a complicated social structure. The big adult males dominate the group and defend the community territory against incursions by male outsiders; the females usually wander in small family groups.

Typically, we locate the chimps by listening for their pant-hooting calls, then hustle to the area from which they are calling. We get to observe them as they feed in fruiting trees, lounge, and socialize with each other, or even, occasionally hunt.

In the afternoon we visit a nearby forest swamp that is excellent for viewing primates and other forest animals. At the eastern edge of Kibale Forest is Bigodi Wetland Sanctuary which is maintained by the local community. You will expect birds like the great blue turaco, blue monkeys, baboons, otters, mongoose, bushbucks, bush pigs, and others.

• Accommodation Options (Full Board)
• Upscale: Kyaninga Lodge | Ndali Lodge | Crater Safari Lodge
• Midrange: Isunga Lodge| ensuite tents at Kibale Forest Camp

Day 8:  Safari in Queen Elizabeth National Park

Crater Lake, Uganda tour habituation gorilla primate chimp Queen Elizabeth National Park

Leave the national park after breakfast and drive to Fort Portal.

We incorporate some Crater Lake hikes into this program. You will be simply amazed by the beauty of these ancient and not ancient crater lakes found in the Fort Portal area.

After you have witnessed all these amazing landscapes, you will be transferred to Queen Elizabeth National Park.

• Accommodation Options (Full Board)
• Up-market/Luxury: Elephant Plains Lodge | Katara Lodge
• Mid-range: Ihamba Safari Lodge| Enganzi Lodge | Queen Elizabeth Bush Lodge | Buffalo Safari Resort
• Meals included: Breakfast, lunch, and dinner

Day 9: Safari in Queen Elizabeth National Park

Uganda gorilla habituation experience, intimate habituation experience for chimps habituation & golden monkey habituation, lions &rhino tracking, Chimp Caregiver.After breakfast, we depart to Queen Elizabeth National Park which is dominated on its northern border by the snow-capped 16,000-foot Rwenzori Mountains – the famed “Mountains of the Moon”. This 767-square-mile conservation area is bordered on the northeast by Lake George and on the southwest by Lake Edward; its western border adjoins the Congo Parc du Virunga.

As we drive through the park, expect to spot teeming herds of impala-like Uganda kob, as well as topi, elephant, Cape buffalo. There are also several soda lakes filling ancient volcanic calderas where flamingos reside seasonally.

In the afternoon we will go on a boat trip along the Kazinga Channel. This gives you the opportunity to view wildlife up close: hippo’s huff and spray at very close range from the boat, buffalo linger in the shallows. The shores of the channel are also home to an array of birds including pink-backed pelicans, pied and malachite kingfishers, saddle-billed stork, and many others.

• Accommodation Options (Full Board)
• Up-market/Luxury: Elephant Plains Lodge | Katara Lodge
• Mid-range: Ihamba Safari Lodge| Enganzi Lodge | Queen Elizabeth Bush Lodge
• Meals included: Breakfast, lunch, and dinner
• Optional activity: Lion Tracking:

For visitors who yearn to get up close to wild African fauna, a research trip is a rewarding adventure. This new and unique experience allows visitors to actively participate in monitoring some of the lions in the park, using locator devices, and learn habituation calls, as well as monitoring weather, surroundings, and behavior. The results are added to researchers’ databases, contributing valuable information to the overall understanding of wildlife ecology – and helping to conserve this wonderful ecosystem. This will as well gives you a 95% chance to see the lions!

The number of people on each outing is limited in order to reduce stress on the animals and to increase the quality of the experience for visitors.

For visitors who yearn to get up close to wild African fauna, a research trip is a rewarding adventure. This new and unique experience allows visitors to actively participate in monitoring some of the exotic birds and mammals that fill the park, using locator devices and learn habituation calls, as well as monitoring weather, surroundings, and behavior. The results are added to researchers’ databases, contributing valuable information to the overall understanding of wildlife ecology – and helping to conserve this wonderful ecosystem.

The experiential tourism activities currently available are Mongoose Tracking, Lion Tracking, Hippo Census, and Bird Counts. The number of people on each outing is limited in order to reduce stress on the animals and to increase the quality of the experience for visitors.

Experiential tours last between one and three hours. They usually take place in the early morning or evening, or occasionally at night. All activities must be booked through the Visitor Information Centre in Mweya at least 24 hours in advance.

For visitors who yearn to get up close to wild African fauna, a research trip is a rewarding adventure. This new and unique experience allows visitors to actively participate in monitoring some of the exotic birds and mammals that fill the park, using locator devices and learn habituation calls, as well as monitoring weather, surroundings, and behavior. The results are added to researchers’ databases, contributing valuable information to the overall understanding of wildlife ecology – and helping to conserve this wonderful ecosystem.

The experiential tourism activities currently available are Mongoose Tracking, Lion Tracking, Hippo Census, and Bird Counts. The number of people on each outing is limited in order to reduce stress on the animals and to increase the quality of the experience for visitors.

Costing: $124 US dollars p.p.

Day 10: Tree climbing lions in Ishasha & Maramagambo Forest Bush Walk

Tree climbing lion, Uganda

Another early start for a bushwalk through the Maramagambo Forest.

This is one of the largest forests in Uganda and forms a habitat for a number of primates and forest dwellers. Due to its location, Maramagambo also has a great diversity of butterflies and birds. The walk culminates in a visit to volcanic caves that are home to thousands of bats. Pythons are often observed in the crevices of the bats’ cave as they prey on bats. In this walk, you will see the picturesque blue lake Kimeranjojo which got its name after swallowing an elephant. Other trails will lead you to the Crater Lake and habitats of the wild chimps and forest birds.

In the afternoon you will proceed to Ishasha Sector. Drive along the deep and wide dry craters that are occupied by savanna grasses and acacia. The drive takes you through the unique western rift valley escarpment and the (southern part of Queen Elizabeth National Park) Ishasha sector where you will take on yet another game drive in search of tree climbing lions in the afternoon and evening.

• Accommodation Options (Full Board)
• Up-market/Luxury: Ishasha Wilderness Campsite
• Mid-range: Enjojo Lodge | Ishasha Ntungwe River Camp
• Meals included: Breakfast, lunch, and dinner

Day 11: Game drives for Tree climbing lions in Ishasha, Drive to Bwindi

After your breakfast, you will proceed to Ishasha Sector. Drive along the deep and wide dry craters that are occupied by savanna grasses and acacia. The drive takes you through the unique western rift valley escarpment and the (southern part of Queen Elizabeth National Park); thereafter proceed to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park.

The journey takes about 2-3 hours but driving through interesting features. We shall be arriving in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park in the evening. This park is home to the rare mountain gorillas plus 11 other primates species including the blue and red-tailed monkeys. The forest itself is lush and green and there are streams running through it.

• Accommodation Options (Full Board)
• Up-market: Buhoma Lodge | Mahogany Lodge
• Moderate: Engagi Lodge

Day 12: Gorilla Trekking in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park

After breakfast, proceed for the morning briefing before enjoying the highlight of the trip – gorilla trekking, which may last the entire day.

We trek through the rainforest and bamboo-covered slopes, accompanied by a guide and trackers, in search of a mountain gorilla family. The walking can sometimes be tough and long, but when you catch a glimpse of the magnificent silverback, any discomforts will be quickly forgotten. When sighted, visitors will be guided to within 6 meters from the gorillas, sit around them for a whole hour while gazing into their big round eyes.

Gorilla trekking is unpredictable. It’s difficult to foresee how many hours you will hike. The gorilla excursion can take from 2 up to 8 hours. Expect to walk a long distance in steep and muddy conditions, sometimes with rain overhead, before you encounter any gorillas. A good physical condition is recommended. For conservation purposes, time spent with the gorillas is limited to one hour. A ranger will brief you on how to behave with the gorillas.

• Accommodation Options (Full Board)
• Up-market: Buhoma Lodge | Mahogany Lodge
• Moderate: Engagi Lodge

Day 13: Transfer to Kihihi Airstrip for flight transfer to Entebbe

On this morning we shall depart from Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park and travel to Kihihi for your flight to Entebbe International Airport. 

If you plan to spend additional time in Uganda, this safari can be tailored to your wishes to include some of the many activities available in Entebbe and throughout Uganda. You could explore Kampala; visit Ngamba Island Chimpanzee Sanctuary or the Uganda Wildlife Education Centre; have a luxury sunset boat cruise on Lake Victoria or take a short trip to Jinja, the Adventure center of East Africa, offering grade 5 white water rafting, and quad biking.

  Included:

• All domestic flights and accompanying ground transfers in Uganda
• All accommodation on full board basis as indicated
• All transport in a 4WD vehicle customised for safari game viewing
• Park fees and game drives as indicated on the itinerary
• Boat trips in Murchison Falls, Kazinga Channel and Lake Mburo
• One gorilla tracking permit per person
• Chimpanzee tracking in Kibale National Park
• Bottled water in the vehicle
• The services of a professional trained English speaking driver guide