The Ultimate Ugandan Safari

Have early morning breakfast and go for an 8 hour ride to the South west of Uganda. The journey is insanely scenic, passing through beautiful rift valley plains, natural tropical rainforests, tea plantations and settlements of the people who battled fiercely with the British colonialists for nearly 30 years! You’ll have packed lunch which you will enjoy on the way. Spend the late afternoon relaxing and enjoying a lovely view of the Kibale forest and its wildlife.

Have breakfast and set off to Queen Elizabeth National Park, driving alongside the foothills of the Rwnzori Mountains, at the base of the Great East African Rift Valley. Have a stop-over at Mabere ga Nyinamwiru, stalactites and stalagmites forming as a result of underground water dissolving limestone rocks. You will learn about the ancient people’s interpretation of nature, and how society has evolved in this part of the world. You will hike three hills to have the most beautiful view of Fort Portal – the hilltop gives a spectacular view of three lakes, the Rwenzori ranges, volcanic hills and settlements. There is nothing more beautiful than this spot! Continue to Queen Elizabeth National park for overnight stay.

Have early morning breakfast and set off for the morning game drive in the grazers mating area. Carefully search for lions, hyenas, elephants, buffaloes and many more wild animals. Be prepared for huge numbers of hippos and birds, and keep your eyes peeled for a leopard lazing in the sunshine.

Return to lodge for lunch and take an afternoon boat cruise on the on the Kazinga Channel, connecting between lakes Edward and George. Your eyes will be treated to varieties of bird species, wild animals, including dozens of schools of hippos. This cruise is ranked by many as one of the most exciting activities in Uganda.

Optional activity: Lion Tracking

At an extra fee of US$100 p.p., you can join the research team for a unique lion monitoring experience. Here you have a 95% chance of seeing lions up close. This new and unique experience allows you to actively participate in monitoring some of the lions in the park, using locator devices. You will learn habituation calls, as well as monitoring weather, surroundings and behavior. The results will be added to researchers’ databases, contributing valuable information to the overall understanding of wildlife ecology - and helping to conserve this wonderful ecosystem. Because the number of people on each outing is limited to reduce stress on the animals and to increase the quality of the experience for visitors, you need to let us know of your interest in advance.  

Optional activity: Kyambura Gorge

You could also visit the Kyambura Gorge for a hike which will give you the opportunity to see habituated chimpanzees and other types of primates including red-tailed monkey, black-and-white colobus, baboons and vervet monkeys. Although the chance of spotting chimpanzees is only 50%, the landscape is among the most remarkable in Uganda and is absolutely worth it! 

After early morning breakfast, we shall set off for Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park in the south, carefully driving through the southern part of Queen Elizabeth National Park for more wild animals and importantly, tree climbing lion. Driving through rural Uganda, with sights of green hills marked by agricultural terraces are truly refreshing. Reach Bwindi late afternoon and have good rest for the big day, gorilla sights and sights.

Have an early morning breakfast, after which you will get to the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest information centre for briefing. You will then set off into this tropical rainforest, hilly and soggy, to track the mountain gorillas. It’s a fairly tough walk but one you’ll never forget – the sight of these apes as they feed, play and relax is not only a humbling and emotional experience but a privileged opportunity to get up close and personal with Uganda’s very own “Gorillas in the Mist”. Besides the gorillas, you will encounter hundreds of bird species, small mammals, primates and lots of plant life. Bwindi Impenetrable Forest boasts both mountain gorillas and chimpanzees - the only forest in Africa that can make this claim. It also hosts five other species of primates, 113 species of mammals, over 200 species of butterflies and 360 species of birds. The gorillas you track belong to one of nine habituated family groups who can tolerate the presence of humans for a brief period every day. You will be allowed a maximum of one hour with the gorillas but tracking them can take up to 7 hours. 

Have morning breakfast and set off for Kampala with a stop-over at Igongo cultural museum for lunch and cultural museum experience. Proceed to Kampala with another stopover at the equator for some photos as you cross from the south to the northern hemisphere. Check into your hotel for overnight stay.

You will be picked by our representative guide from your accommodation in Kampala. Set off to Jinja located in Eastern region of Uganda. Enroute to Jinja, you will visit Hamu Mukasa Museum, a site which is a former home of the men who shaped Uganda's history in the early 19th Century. 

Hamu Mukasa produced a daughter, Kawalya Kagwa who was the the 1st Ugandan woman to drive a car. Mukasa went into active service during the religious wars on the Anglican side and later into the royal army during the Nubian rebellion in 1897 at Bukaleba. He gained distinguished service commendation and was consequently appointed private secretary to the Prime Minister of Buganda Apollo Kaggwa (later Sir) in 1900. It was in that capacity that he accompanied the Prime Minister to England on the coronation of King Edward VII in 1902. Hamu Mukasa was appointed county chief of Kyaggwe (Ssekiboobo) in 1905 a post he held until 1933, being the longest serving county chief in Buganda’s history. Sir Apollo Kaggwa and Hamu were the co-founders of Gayaza girls’ school in 1905 and King’s College Buddo in 1906. Hamu was the founder of the Boys’ scouts in Uganda. Hamu had been a Vice President while his wife Sarah was Honorary Governor for life of the Church Missionary Society. 

The museum showcases artefacts that portray the legacy of Ham (1868-1956). Some of this history is kept in hand-written and dated books and letters in which he wrote minutes of meetings, his letters to Captain Sir Daudi Chwa II, Buganda’s king between 1897 and 1939, as well as to British royals. The relic of the car (an old Dodge K7835 model) which was used by Ham Mukasa is also at the museum and is functional. There is also the Hamu Mukasa’s Library which contains all Hamu Mukasa’s original documents. At the museum you will further find Hamu Mukasa’s reception which has three doors i.e. the first door was used by the people from Mengo, the second door was used by the people of Kyaggwe and the third door was used by the people from Busoga. Inside the living room you will experience, first hand, the close relationship Hamu Mukasa enjoyed with the royal family and the perks that come with it, one of such being his journey to the United Kingdom.  You will see pictures of Lady Sarah Nalule Kisosonkole, mother of Kabaka Ronald Edward Frederick Muwenda Kimera Mutebi II, whose photographs are also patched on the wall as well as those of his father, Kabaka Edward Frederick Walugembe Mutebi Muteesa II. In the midst of the living room is his old piano which is still functional.

From the museum, you will proceed to Jinja. Lying just under two hours’ drive, Jinja is commonly regarded as the adventure capital of East Africa. This is because of the many activities one could engage in. You will start with the visit to the Source of the Nile, a spot where the World’s longest River starts it journey to Egypt. You will also engage into  a unique horse ride which goes through a typical Uganda village and a stunning section along the banks of the Nile. This will take 1 hour. After enjoying the horse ride you will head for Quad biking which goes besides the river Nile. This will consume only 30 minutes.

Once you have finished all these activities you will either head for optional activities or go relaxing at the lodge. The optional activities include the city tour of Jinja town, or Bungee Jumping.

Have early morning breakfast. You will then head for half day water rafting on River Nile. This is an extremely adrenalin testing adventure which takes you through the roaring waters of the Nile. You are guaranteed of enjoying yourself!

After Rafting it will be time to head back to Kampala/Entebbe for departure.