Explore 3 of Uganda’s savannah parks rich in wildlife and spend a day with the chimps in Kibale Forest.
Murchison Falls • Queen Elizabeth National Park • Lake Mburo • Kibale ForestWhile mountain gorillas are undoubtedly the biggest draw in a Ugandan safari, the country has so much more to offer.
This trip takes you to three of Uganda’s savannah grassland parks - Murchison Falls National Park, Queen Elizabeth National Park and Lake Mburo National Park. You will witness the beauty of the Nile and its power when it forces through a tiny slit and plummets down to form Murchison Falls, the most powerful waterfall in the world.
The multiple morning and evening game drives across the three parks will expose you to a huge variety of wildlife such as elephants, zebras, giraffes, warthogs, waterbucks, buffaloes, different antelope species, and several hundreds of bird species. All these parks host a handsome population of various primates species too. Besides the game drives, each of these parks offer boat cruises to see the stunning landscape from water.
Apart from game viewing in the savannahs, you will spend time with the chimpanzees in the Kibale Forest National Park.
Upon arrival at the Entebbe airport, you will be received and transfered to your hotel in Kampala so you can relax and be well rested to take on the trip from the following day.
After breakfast, begin your trip towards Murchison Falls National Park via the famous Luwero triangle with a lunch stopover. The drive takes 7-8 hours and while traveling, you could choose to take a nap, enjoy the scenery, have conversations with your guide/driver who is extremely knowledgable about the bush. When you get to the top of the falls, you will have ample time for taking pictures and enjoying the grandeur. It's here that Nile, the world’s longest river, forces its way through a narrow gorge in the rock just 7 meters wide, before ferociously plunging down 43 meters to the rocks below.
The game drives in this unspoiled land offer a truly magical and intimate experience. It's common to spot most of the Big Five - Lion, Elephant, Buffalo, and Leopard. The park is also home to giraffes, hartebeests, oribis, Uganda kobs, chimpanzees, and many bird species including the rare shoebill (which grows to 1.5 metres!). The afternoon boat cruise brings you up close to the magnificent falls. Watch the banks being thronged by hippos, crocodiles, waterbucks and buffaloes. You could also choose to hike to the top of the falls.
Head early to Budongo forest for chimpanzee tracking. After getting briefed, you will begin your trek. Once you locate the chimpanzees, you will get an entire hour to observe them. The forest is also home to other primates such as the vervet monkey, blue and red-tailed monkey, black and white colobus and baboons. After the activity, head south to Kibale Forest National Park (about 4 hour drive).
On the day of chimpanzee tracking in Kibale, head early to the Kanyanchu Visitor Center to get briefed first and start your trek. Watch the chimps playing around, feeding and be prepared to take lots of pictures. Also, check out the grey-cheeked mangabey, L’Hoest's monkey, red-tailed monkey, and the vervet monkey. In the afternoon, enjoy a guided nature walk in the Bigodi wetlands, home to a variety of bird species and primates.
After breakfast, we will start our day with a visit to "Amabeere ga Nyina Mwiru" cultural site, Toro King’s palace and Karambi tombs / traditional healers. Lunch will be en route and we will reach Queen Elizabeth National Park in time for an evening game drive.
An evening and a morning game drive will not only give you the chance to see the park at different times but also explore the different sections. With an astonishing 5,000 hippos, 2,500 elephants and over 10,000 buffaloes thriving in its grasslands and shorelines, this park guarantees sightings of some of Africa’s most iconic species. Other common herbivores include warthogs, waterbuck, Uganda kob and topi, as well as the sitatunga antelope. The park is also home to 10 primate species and over 600 bird species and big cats such as lion and leopard. During an afternoon boat cruise in the Kazinga channel, expect to see great numbers of migrant bird species and animals such as hippos, crocodiles, buffalos and monitor lizards among others.
After breakfast at the lodge, hit the road to Lake Mburo National Park. Arrive in time for lunch followed by a boat ride to explore the beauty of the lake. You will see hippos, crocodiles, antelopes, buffaloes, and over 3 types of otters that inhabit the lake. The birding is fantastic here - malachite kingfisher, African fish eagle, blue headed weaver, rufous long tailed starling, pied kingfisher, hammerkop, heron, pelican, the rare shoebill and cormorant are commonly seen.
Wake early for a game drive in search of zebra, oribi, Uganda kob and sitatunga. We'll also be treated to fantastic birding. After a late breakfast, we'll head back with a stop at the equator for pictures. You'll be transfered to Kampala or the Entebbe airport depending on your return flight. It's time to say goodbye.