On arrival at Entebbe International Airport, a representative from Journey Africa Wild Limited will receive you and transfer you to your booked hotel in Entebbe or Kampala. They will give you a briefing on our 8 day Uganda safari with focus on the next day’s program. You will have dinner and an overnight at the hotel.

Meal plan: Dinner

Accommodation: Forest Cottages (budget), Pineapple Guesthouse (midrange), Kampala Serena Hotel (luxury)

We start our day with a leisurely breakfast at the hotel, meet our safari guide for this 8-day Uganda tour, and set off to Kibale forest. It is a scenic drive taking us through Mubende district which has one of the major highway stop points for mouthwatering during travel between Kampala and the western region of Uganda. As we get closer to Fort Portal town, our eyes are lost in the vast tea plantations. This region is one of the big tea producers in Uganda. We shall have lunch in Fort Portal town and later on proceed to Kibale where we shall stay for the overnight.

Meal plan: Full board

Accommodation: Chimpanzee Forest Guest House (budget), Kibale Forest Camp (mid-range), Primates Lodge (luxury)

We shall start our day with morning breakfast at the lodge and head to the park offices for the morning session of chimp tracking which starts at 7 a.m. with a briefing. With a ranger guide, we set off for the trek to look for chimpanzees. When they have been spotted we shall be allowed to stay with them for a maximum of one hour. Chimps are playful apes and we could have a chance to see them have fun together, play on the tree branches, or perhaps relax. The walk through the forest offers an opportunity to come across other wildlife such as the grey-cheeked mangabey, black and white colobus monkey, L’Hoest’s monkey, and forest elephants among others. Different bird species will also be spotted. After the trek, we shall return to the park offices, meet our safari driver, and transfer to Queen Elizabeth National Park with an en-route lunch.

Check in at the lodge, relax, and later on go for an evening game drive. There is a chance to see some wildlife residents here such as lions, elephants, waterbucks, Uganda kobs, and leopard among others. We shall return to the lodge for dinner and overnight.

Meal plan: Full board

Accommodation: Bush Lodge or Simba Safari camp (budget), Marafiki Safari Lodge (mid-range), Mweya Safari Lodge (luxury)

By 6:20 a.m., we are expected to be prepared and step out to the restaurant for a cup of coffee before going for the game drive. The activity takes us to Kasenyi plains in the northern part of Queen Elizabeth National Park and it often features a lovely sunrise. Animals we expect to see on the game drive are Uganda kobs, buffaloes, elephants, waterbucks, warthogs, and lions. Leopards are occasionally seen and mostly in the cactus trees where they hide their food from hyenas.

We shall return to the lodge and relax, and later on have lunch and go for the afternoon boat cruise on the Kazinga channel. It is a 2-hour launch cruise that rewards with views of hippos, crocodiles, buffaloes and sometimes elephants which visit the water channel to drink and cool their bodies. Lots of birds on the shores of the Kazinga channel. Dinner and overnight at the lodge.

This is another somewhat long day after a tiring drive; our next destination is Bwindi and we’ll leave Queen Elizabeth National Park in the morning, and connect to the southwest through the Ishasha sector where we shall also spend some little time for a chance to spot the tree climbing lions. Proceeding with the journey, we shall have an en-route lunch and arrive in Bwindi in the evening. Check in at the lodge, have dinner, and rest.

Your accommodation in Bwindi depends on your trekking sector

Day 6 of the safari is the gorilla trekking day. It starts early with morning breakfast and lunch is also packed for us at the restaurant. Our safari driver will drop us at the park offices for briefing, hand in our details and permits for registration, and a gorilla family will be allocated to us. We set off for the trek with a ranger guide, and when we spot the gorillas, we shall have an hour with them. Watch these great apes as they go about their day; feeding, playing, or relaxing. The guide will share facts about the gorillas and we shall also take photos for this memorable experience. The duration of the trek depends on the location of the gorillas; it can be a short or long trek stretching to the afternoon. After the adventure, we return to the park offices to pick our trekking certificates and drive back to the lodge.

Optional evening activity: Batwa community walk

Meal plan: Full board

Dinner and overnight at the lodge

We shall wake up early and transfer to Lake Mburo National Park. This is the smallest savannah park in Uganda but it amazingly has large herds of antelopes and other mammals which make the drive fascinating. We shall go on a boat cruise in the afternoon on Lake Mburo and this will give us a chance to see wildlife including hippos, crocodiles, and birds. On a lucky day, we can spot a shoebill stork around the wetlands.

Drive to the lodge, check in, have dinner and rest.

Accommodation: Mihingo Lodge (luxury), Lake Mburo Safari Lodge (midrange), Eagles Nest Camp (budget)

Make sure to pack all your luggage as we are checking out this morning after breakfast. We shall head for a game drive through the plains and woodlands where we highly expect to see giraffes, zebras, impala, Defassa waterbuck, elands, buffaloes, topi, and oripi among others. After about 4 hours of the drive, we shall exit the park and return to Entebbe.

End of 8 days Uganda safari