16 Days Uganda Safari : The best national parks in Uganda are included in this Uganda safari itinerary for first-time visitors, offering incredible experiences and breathtaking scenery.
Brief Itinerary
Day 1: Arrival at the airport and Pickup
Day 2: White water rafting on the Nile
Day 3: Boat cruise on the Nile and transfer to Sipi Falls
Day 4: Sipi Falls Hike and cultural experience
Day 5: Transfer to Murchison Falls National Park
Day 6: Game drive and boat cruise
Day 7: Transfer to Fort Portal
Day 8: Semuliki hot springs visit and Nyakasura hike
Day 9: Chimpanzee tracking, Bigodi swamp walk, and cultural visit
Day 10: Transfer to Queen Elizabeth National Park – Katwe salt mine
Day 11: Game drive and boat cruise on Kazinga channel
Day 12: Transfer to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park via Ishasha
Day 13: Gorilla tracking and Batwa experience
Day 14: Transfer to Lake Bunyonyi – boat ride
Day 15: Transfer to Lake Mburo National Park – boat cruise
Detailed Itinerary
Day 1: Arrival at the airport and pick-up.
A representative from Pieland Gorilla Safaris will welcome you when you arrive at the airport. Depending on how tired you are, you can either head straight to the hotel or take a behind-the-scenes tour of the Uganda Wildlife Education Centre, where you can get up close and personal with animals like feeding giraffes and chimpanzees and observe one of the oldest non-evolving birds, the shoebill. After that, you can drive to a Kampala hotel for some rest, dinner, and overnight.
Day 2: Kampala/Entebbe – Jinja.
You will drive to Jinja for a full-day rafting experience after breakfast. After arriving, you will drive to the briefing destination in time for your full-day white water rafting experience. You will bring a packed lunch with you. You will receive a briefing regarding the activity prior to engaging in a being acquainted exercise to help you mentally prepare. After that, you’ll begin this incredible adventure that will take you rowing through the choppy Nile rapids. Along with providing an adrenaline rush, this activity allows you to unwind, observe birds, and watch local fishermen as they fish along the banks of the river. After dinner, you will make your way to the hotel to spend the night.
Day 3: Jinja – sipi falls.
You will head by boat to the source of the longest river in the world, the River Nile, after breakfast. You will have up-close encounters with additional bird species along the Nile cruise, including African darters, giant egrets, little egrets, Green-backed Herons, and the renowned Nile monitor lizards. A breathtaking view of the Nile is another benefit of the cruise. After the cruise, you’ll drive to Mbale for lunch before arriving at Sipi for the night and check-in.
Day 4: Sipi falls.
You will leave for the Sipi falls walk after breakfast. One of the best things to do on a tour to Uganda is to visit the Sipi falls, which are a set of three waterfalls. Depending on each person’s fitness level and pace, seeing all three falls takes about three hours. Beginning with the first and second waterfalls, you will proceed to the main waterfall after stopping for a rest. The walk passes through nearby farms and climbs steep terrain while the guides provide background information on the region’s geology and history. You’re going to take a coffee tour after lunch. In the Bugisu and Sabiny regions, coffee is one of the most widely grown cash crops. You will visit a coffee plantation during the tour to see how coffee is grown, processed, and roasted. You finish this experience with a cup of coffee. Later on, you’ll spend the night and dinner back at the lodge.
Day 5: Sipi falls – Murchison Falls National Park.
You will travel through stunning eastern plains today on an occasionally lengthy drive that will pass through various cultural settings, such as thatched houses made of grass. You can choose to eat lunch in Gulu or Pakwach, depending on the route. After that, we’ll head into the park and check into the lodge for dinner, relaxation and an overnight stay.
Day 6: Murchison Falls National Park.
Get up early, have breakfast, and then drive through the savannah in search of rare animals like side-stripped jackals, blue duiker, leopards, and lions. Lelwel’s hartebeest, Common warthogs, Bohor’s Reedbuck, lions, spotted hyenas, Savannah elephants, Nubian giraffes, Lake Chad buffalos, Uganda kobs, Blue-headed coucal, Black-headed Lapwing, Blue-headed kingfisher, Swamp flycatcher, Red-throated bee-eater, and Black-billed barbet are among the other animals to keep an eye out for. Before returning to the lodge for lunch, you will also visit the hippo pool. You’re going to go on an exciting boat ride on the Nile after lunch. During the launch cruise, you will be able to witness a unique perspective of the Nile while also getting up close and personal with large Nile crocodiles, hippos, and various other species that inhabit the lakeshore, including African skimmers. Later on, you’ll spend the night and dinner back at the lodge.
Day 7: Murchison Falls National Park>Fortportal.
You will check out and make your way to Fort Portal Town after breakfast. Travelling through the escarpment and stopping at the Bugungu fishing village are just a couple of the experiences that await you on the route to the Mparo tombs and the rich history of the ancient Bunyoro kingdom. Lunch will be at Hoima, and then you’ll head to Fort Portal for dinner and the night.
Day 8: Semuliki hot springs/Nyakasura hike – Kibale Forest National Park
You will leave for to the hot springs located in Simuliki National Park, one of the oldest tropical rainforests in the Congo basin, after an early breakfast. After reaching the park, you’ll go on a guided nature walk to see the male and female hot springs. Along the way, you’ll pass through a forest and see monkeys like black and white colobus monkeys, grey-cheeked mangabeys, and red-tailed monkeys. You’ll walk the Nyakasura hills after lunch. The hike is challenging but worthwhile because the top of the hills offers breathtaking views of the lovely crater lakes below, as well as a broad perspective of the Rwenzori mountain ranges, Fort Portal town, the King’s palace, and the nearby villages. After the hike, you will make your way to Kibale Forest National Park, where you will spend the night.
Day 9: Kibale Forest National Park.
You will travel to the chimpanzee briefing point after eating an early breakfast, where you will receive information about the chimpanzee trekking experience. For your protection and security, armed men and a game ranger will be assigned to you. In a little while, you will stroll through the forest while the ranger communicates with the ground-based monitoring team. You will have an hour to observe the chimpanzees as they play, eat, and go about their daily lives after you locate them. You will later make your way back to the lodge for lunch and get ready for the community experience and walk through the Bigodi Swamp. Making local spirits, weaving baskets, participating in traditional dances and seeing the cultural doctor are a few of the exciting things to do here. After dinner, you’ll make the drive back to the lodge to spend the night.
Day 10: Kibale – Queen Elizabeth National Park.
Following breakfast, you will depart the lodge and make your way via Rwimi to Queen Elizabeth National Park, stopping along the way to take in breathtaking views of various crater lakes, including Lake Nyinambuga, Kasenda, and Kifurukwa. Upon nearing Kasese town, you will be treated to breathtaking vistas of the Rwenzori mountain ranges. In time for lunch, we will arrive in Kasese town in the afternoon. You will travel to the Lake Katwe salt mine to witness the salt mining procedure after lunch. After that, you can drive through the queen’s pavilion on your way to the lodge for check-in, dinner, and overnight. Afterward, you can also take a crater drive to the baboon cliff and enjoy a sundowner.
Day 11: Queen Elizabeth National Park.
After breakfast, you’ll go on a game drive through the Kasenyi plains, where you’ll see animals like lions, leopards, African elephants, African Cape buffaloes, Uganda Kobs, and the park’s 600+ bird species. You will then take a boat ride on the Kazinga Channel and drive back to the lodge for a hot lunch. A 42-kilometer section of the Kazinga channel connects Lake George and Lake Edward and is home to numerous species of birds, including the rare African skimmers and Lesser Flamingos, as well as abundant herds of buffalo, schools of hippos, and Nile crocodiles. Following the cruise, you have the choice of returning to the lodge for some downtime, dinner, and overnight, or having a sundowner at one of the crater lakes.
Day 12: Queen – Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park.
Following breakfast, you will travel south through more peaceful foliage to reach Queen Elizabeth National Park’s southern region. A quick game drive will be conducted to look for various wildlife species, including giant forest hogs, spotted hyenas, defassa waterbucks, Uganda kobs, tree-climbing lions, topis, and red river hogs. After that, you’ll have lunch in Kihihi and continue on to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park, where you’ll spend the night and dinner.
Day 13: Gorilla trekking in Bwindi.
You’ll be prepared your packed lunch after breakfast and head to the park headquarters for a briefing prior to the gorilla trekking experience. After that, you’ll be put in a group to follow a specific family of gorillas. An armed ranger will lead you into the forest and stay in constant communication with the ground monitoring team so that you can easily find the mountain gorillas. Depending on the gorillas’ movements, the activity can take three to seven hours to complete. You will have an hour to observe the gorilla family in their natural habitat as they play, eat, rest, and go about their daily lives after you have located them. You will go to the Batwa pygmy community later. The first inhabitants of the forest were the Batwa. Starting with a nature walk, the trail leads you on a walk through the forest where you can learn from the original forest keepers. The experience depicts how they hunted small game for food while living in caves and houses that were thatched with grass. Additional activities include gathering honey, performing traditional dances, singing, and storytelling, as well as gathering and gathering herbal medicine from the leaves and roots. You will spend the night and dinner back at the lodge after this experience.
Day 14: Bwindi – Lake Bunyonyi.
After breakfast and check-out from the lodge, you will head to Lake Tanganyika in Tanzania, which is the second-deepest lake in Africa and the deepest in Uganda. You can stop frequently along the way to engage in more local activities, like corn roasting. You will check into the hotel later to have a hot lunch. Following lunch, you will go on a boat ride around Lake Bunyonyi’s various islands, including Punishment Island, Zebra Island, Leprosy Island, and Upside-Down Island. Every island has a unique and fascinating origin story. A variety of bird species, such as the Grey-crowned, Levillant Cuckoo, Baglafetch, weavers, African Harrier Hawk, and African Fish Eagle, can be seen during the cruise.
Day 15: Lake Bunyonyi -Lake Mburo National Park.
After breakfast today, you will depart and make your way to Lake Mburo National Park, the smallest savannah park in Uganda, home to large herds of Burchell’s zebras and other antelopes. The park is covered in acacia woodland. You are going to make a lunch stop at the Igongo Cultural Centre and Museum in Biharwe. You’ll head to the park for an afternoon boat ride after lunch. In addition to the stunning scenery and easy joy of being out on the water, you will see animal species like hippos, crocodiles, and bird species like the African Fish Eagle, Pied King Fisher, and African Finfoot while on the boat cruise. Drive to the lodge later for dinner and an overnight stay.
Day 16: Lake Mburo National Park -Kampala.
After breakfast, you’re going on a walking safari. Walking safaris accompanied by armed rangers are permitted only in this park. You can get a close-up look at the animals and experience the park’s natural beauty by going on the walk. It’s possible that you’ll see different antelopes, zebras, and buffaloes. After lunch, head back to the lodge to check out and start your journey back to Kampala. Before continuing on your journey and arriving in Kampala in the afternoon, you will stop for a photo opportunity at the equator. You may also buy some souvenirs made by hand. optional drop-off for your flight at the airport or hotel.
