16 Days: Exploring Uganda’s Mammals, Primates, Judaism and Cultural tourism

 

Day 1 : Arrival
Meet and greet at Entebbe International Airport by our Guide who will warmly welcome you and facilitate seamless arrival formalities.  After a short transfer to your hotel you will be briefed about your safari. Depending on the time of arrival e.g if your flight arrives in the morning, you are advised to have money changed this day. To get to know Kampala, you can visit some of the landmarks in town with the help of our driver/guide over night stay at Golf Course Hotel. BB

Day 2 : Transfer to Murchison Falls National Park
Drive northwest early morning through the famous Luwero Triangle and Masindi Town to Murchison Falls National Park, arriving Masindi town in time for lunch.  In the afternoon visit the top of the Falls where you can see the Nile’s beauty perfected!  Marvel at the Nile, compressing from up to one km squeezed through a 7-metre canyon dropping 150 metres with a thunderous roar, creating a beautiful rainbow.  Marvel at ‘The Murchison Falls’ and enjoy the sunset as we check in our lodge.  Over night at Paraaa, Sambiya River Lodge or Red Chilli. FB for two nights.

Day 3 : Game drive and launch cruise
Early morning game drive on the northern bank.  Your guide will help you spot elephant, lion, cape buffalo, Roth child’s giraffe, hartebeest, waterbuck, oribi, bushbuck, bohor reed buck, hyena and if you are lucky, the leopard.  After a lunch, go for a boat safari upstream the calm Victoria Nile to the base of the falls stopping just tens of meters from the ‘Devil’s Cauldron’, marvel at the toothsome hippos, crocodiles and over the 17km stretch you may see elephant, waterbuck and Uganda Kob.  This is also the zone of many birds, species like goliath heron, Egyptian goose, pelican bee-eater, kingfisher, hornbill, cormorant and many more. FB

Day 4
All day drive south via Hoima to Fort Portal through the countryside and pass traditional homesteads and farms. Fort Portal rests in the shadow of the fabled ‘Mountains of the Moon’.  The drive takes approximately 8 hours. Dinner and overnight at Primat Lodge, Ndali or Ataco Country Resort. For two nights  FB

Day 5: chimp Tracking and nature walk
Depart early after breakfast for chimp tracking.  You will also see other primates including l’hoestes, red colobus, blue, red tailed and gray cheeked mangabey.  Enjoy the services of our guide who will give you detailed information on primates, forest, flora and fauna. Afternoon visit to Bigodi swamp, see other mammals and primates including the rare red Columbus monkey and the sitatunga . Back to our lodge for dinner and over night stay. FB

Day 6 : Transfer to Queen Elizabeth
After breakfast, we visit the Toro palace as we proceed to Queen Elizabeth National Park following the mystical Rwenzori Mountain Range.  A game drive enroute as we enter the park may be rewarding. In the afternoon we enjoy the unique 2-hour boat cruise on the Kazinga Channel into Lake Edward.  This trip passes through possibly the highest concentration of hippos.  This launch/cruise offers and excellent platform for photography, bird watching and game viewing.  The prolific bird life is colorful and stupendous, with well over 550 resident species.  Dinner and overnight at Mweya, Jacana Safari Lodge or Kingfisher Lodge Kichwamba. FB

Day 7: Chimp tracking and evening game drive
Early morning chimp tracking in the chambura gorge  the later enjoy Queen Elizabeth National Park’s diverse eco-system of grassy plains, tropical forest, rivers, swamps, lakes and volcanic craters which  is home to an incredible abundance of wildlife.  Have an early evening Game drive where you have an opportunity to view the massive Rwenzori as a backdrop, which provides excellent opportunities to see lion, leopard, giant forest hog, cape buffalo, elephant, defassa waterbuck, Uganda Kob, topi and bushbuck.  These two game drives and the boat trip (taken prior) are memorable ways of discovering a vast array of Ugandan wildlife. Dinner and overnight at Mweya, Jacana Safari Lodge or Kingfisher Lodge Kichwamba. FB

 

 

Day 9: Tree Climbing Lions
Drive through the ‘Switzerland of Africa area known as the Kigezi Highlands with its terraced hillside and winding roads to Bwindi through the Ishasha sector where you will have chances to see the tree climbing lions.  Dinner and overnight stay at Gorilla Resort for two nights or Buhoma Community Bandas. FB

Day 10: Gorilla Tracking
Early morning entry into the gorilla sanctuary.  The rainforest is spectacular.  It offers a dramatic, steeply forested landscape and is incredibly dense, but crisscrossed by numerous animal’s trails allowing access to tourists.  Mammals recorded include the endangered Mt. Gorilla, rare golden monkey, buffalo, elephant, black-fronted duiker, bushbuck, leopard, giant forest hog and others.  This park is best known for the fascinating gorillas. The time taken and the terrain varies according to the movements of the marvelous primates.  The thrill of spending time and observing the gorillas is a rare moving, awesome and exciting adventure.  The gorilla is a shy and peaceful animal and it is an unforgettable experience to watch and photograph them as they interact. FB

Day 11
As an option, we can have a guided nature or village walk in Bwindi  visiting the pygmy community and learning more about the local cultures of the people around the park, later we transfer to lake Bunyonyi for some relaxing moments on the shores of this peaceful lava dammed lake. The options here are birding, cycling, swimming or canoeing depending on the time we arrive, a boat ride to visit the local communities and the different historical islands is worthy while. Dinner and overnight at Arcadia Cottages or Bunyonyi Overland Camp. FB

Day 12: Transfer to Jinja
After an early morning breakfast, we transfer to Kampala driving through Mabira forest which extends more than 300km2, which is primarily composed of moist semi-deciduous forest in which more than 200 tree spp have been identified and the best birding spot within central Uganda then to Jinja where we shall have our Dinner and overnight at Jinja Nile Resort or Gately on the Nile. FB

Day 13
Today we start with a visit to the source of the longest river in the world ‘The Mighty Nile’ and a visit to the Bujjagali falls, lunch will be in Jinja, we shall watch the real sparkling white water of the Nile as it forces its way through the stones to the Mediterranean sea, on lucky days we receive entertainment by the Budondo cultural group, learn the mysteries that surrounds Bujjagali falls by your cultural tourism guide later continue with our journey to Mbale where we stay at Mt Elgon Hotel for two nights. (BLD)

Day 14
Today we have two option. We either interact with the Jewish community in Uganda Called the Abayudaya or we  start early and drive to Sipi Falls which is a stunner and arguably the most beautiful waterfall in Uganda. The falls are about 55km north of Mbale, at the foothills of Mt Elgon and not far from the town of Kapchorwe.
Not only are the falls spectacular, so too are the views of Mt Elgon above them, and the wide plains of eastern and northern Uganda disappearing into the distance below. There are three levels of falls, but the two upper levels are fairly small compared with the main drop. It is well worth doing a hike to visit these falls as they seem appealing to visitors. The walk is on a network of well-maintained local trails, and beautiful scenery in every direction which will be done this day. Later we drive back to Mbale for dinner and overnight stay. (BLD)

Day 15
Transfer to Entebbe International Airport to catch your flight back home. Travel with us again.

EXTRA INFORMATION
Our safaris normally include;
- All meals and accommodation mentioned in the Itinerary
- Mineral water per person per day
- All entrance fees required
- Professional driver/guide Germany or English speaking
- All activities chosen at the destination areas
- One Gorilla and chimpanzee Permit
- All ground transportation in 4WD vehicle, also air port pick up and drop offs where need be

They exclude:
- Tips
- Charter fees and air tickets
- Telephone calls
- Internet fees and any other items of a personal nature
We highly value your interests and our services are custom-made to meet all clients needs, therefore, do not hesitate to seek your satisfaction with Shalom Safaris Ltd.