10-Day Best of Uganda – Exclusive

Uganda is all about its friendly people and the diversity in landscapes and activities. This trip will show you the best of what Uganda has to offer. Queen Elizabeth National Park features grassland savannah teeming with wildlife and in Lake Mburo N.P. you can make a bush walk or even a horseback safari. All of this is on top of all main highlights like gorilla tracking, chimpanzee tracking and the boat safaris. You will stay in luxury and Uganda’s very best lodges!

Welcome to Uganda – 1st day

A representative of Hotel No.5 will be present at Entebbe Airport to pick you up from your flight.

He will take you to the semi-luxurious Hotel No.5 in Entebbe. This lovely boutique hotel is the perfect choice for a restful stay in this bushling city.

Depending on your time of arrive, you will meet on arrival or the early next morning a representative of Matoke Tours who will brief you about your trip and will give you all the necessary documents.

Main Destination: Entebbe
Accommodation: Hotel No 5
• Luxury hotel located in or near Entebbe
Meals & Drinks:
• Meals at own expense
• Drinks not included

To Fort Portal – 2nd day

After an early breakfast, you will have some time to change money or go to an ATM before heading to the West of Uganda. The drive is incredibly scenic, passing through villages, lush green forests and hills dotted with tea plantations which characterize this part of Uganda.

You will stay at a wonderful lodge, just outside the town of Fort Portal, with spacious rooms and amazing views over one of the crater lakes in this area!

Main Destination: Fort Portal
Accommodation: Papaya Lake Lodge
• Luxury lodge located in or near Fort Portal
Meals & Drinks:
• All meals included
• Drinking water (Other drinks not included)

Chimpanzee trekking and Bigodi Swamp walk in Kibale forest – 3rd day

Kibale Forest National Park boasts the highest number of primate species in the world, including our delightful cousins, the chimpanzees. Today, in Uganda, there are approximately 5,000 chimpanzees in the wild, which makes it a perfect place to spot them!

An experienced forest ranger will take you chimp tracking in the morning or afternoon. En route you might also see other monkey species that live in this forest. Once located, you will spend a full hour with the chimps. Since they are wild animals we can never guarantee that you will see them. You might have to settle with hearing their hoots and hollers.

Your swamp walk (2-3 hours) will take you through grassland, small communities and some beautiful scenery, where the locals are likely to greet you with enthusiastic waves. It is usual to spot three to four different primate species during this walk, though the highlight is catching a glimpse of the great blue turaco!

Main Destination: Kibale National Park
Accommodation: Papaya Lake Lodge
• Luxury lodge located in or near Fort Portal
Meals & Drinks:
• All meals included
• Drinking water (Other drinks not included)

To Queen Elizabeth National park – 4th day

In the morning, you can either relax at your lodge, make a crater lake hike or visit a nearby tea plantation. You will then continue your journey to Queen Elizabeth National Park.

Queen Elizabeth National Park is Uganda’s second largest park, located at the base of the majestic Rwenzori Mountain range, adjacent to Lake Edward and Lake George. The park has prolific game, including Gazelle, Uganda Kob, Warthog and Waterbuck.

You stay overnight at the beautiful Mweya Safari Lodge, located in the heart of Queen Elizabeth National Park on the Mweya peninsula. Watch wildlife from your private verandah and fall asleep to the roaring of lions on the distant savannah. This truly is Africa! You will not stay in the standard rooms, but in the very exclusive and private luxury safari tents

In the late afternoon you will go for a game-drive into the park.

Main Destination: Queen Elizabeth National Park
Accommodation: Mweya Safari Lodge
Luxury lodge located inside Queen Elizabeth NP
Meals & Drinks:
All meals included
Drinks not included

Game drive and Boat safari – 5th day

Today you wake up early. A little before sunrise coffee, tea and donuts will be served in the lounge before we head out for a long game drive in time to see the first rays of light. You will search for all the wildlife in the park and are likely to come across Elephant, Buffalo, Lion, Waterbuck, Leopard, Uganda Kob, and many Warthogs.

A well-deserved brunch will be served back at the lodge in the late morning.

In the afternoon you will take a boat safari along the Kazinga Channel which joins Lake George and Lake Edward.

Here, you will see a lot of hippos (more than you can possibly imagine!), as well as a variety of other animals which come to the waterhole to drink or bathe. You can expect to see buffalo, crocodile, bathing elephant, and a range of beautiful birds. This will undoubtedly be one of the highlights of your tour.

Main Destination: Queen Elizabeth National Park
Accommodation: Mweya Safari Lodge
• Luxury lodge located inside Queen Elizabeth NP
Meals & Drinks:
• All meals included
• Drinking water (Other drinks not included)

To Ishasha and its tree-climbing lions – 6th day

This morning you have plenty of time to do one of the optional activities listed on day 5 or simply make another game drive. After lunch you will proceed to the southern part of Queen Elizabeth National Park, to an area called Ishasha. The Ishasha area is famous for its tree-climbing lions.

To escape from the heat during the day, the lions here have learned how to climb the fig trees. If you are lucky you might spot a few during your game drive, so keep your eyes open and look up! Besides these famous lions, there is other interesting wildlife to be seen, like buffalo and the Uganda kob.

After you gamne drive, looking for the tree climbing lions in Ishasha, you will head for Ishasha Wilderness Camp, a very luxurious lodge with wonderful views over the savannah and a river packed with hippos! After a well-deserved lunch at the lodge, you will go on an afternoon game drive.

Main Destination: Ishasha Sector (Queen Elizabeth NP)
Accommodation: Ishasha Wilderness Camp
• Luxury tented bush camp (with rustic facilities) located in or near Ishasha
Meals & Drinks:
• All meals included
• Drinking water (Other drinks not included)

Game drive in Ishasha – To Bwindi forest – 7th day

After breakfast you will game drive on your way out of the park for a last chance at spotting those tree climbing lions.

Lunch will be provided at the lodge in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest; home of the Mountain Gorillas.

Bwindi Safari Lodge eight bandas overlook the forest canopy, each with a private terrace from which guests can watch birds and monkeys in the tree tops. The main lodge building also maximizes on the beautiful views of the forest canopy, with both open and covered terraces providing optimum viewing platforms facing the forest.

Get a good night’s sleep because tomorrow you have to be fresh for the Gorilla trekking.

Main Destination: Bwindi Impenetrable National Park
Accommodation: Buhoma Community Haven Lodge
• Mid-range lodge located just outside Bwindi NP
Meals & Drinks:
• All meals included
• Drinking water (Other drinks not included)

Gorilla trekking in Bwindi forest – 8th day

Today is the big day… prepare yourself for an encounter with one of Bwindi’s gentle giants: the endangered mountain gorilla. For most people this is the absolute highlight of their tour in Uganda.

Bwindi Impenetrable Forest boasts both mountain gorillas and chimpanzees – the only forest in Africa which can make this claim. It also hosts five other species of primate, 113 species of mammal, over 200 butterflies and 360 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.

The time taken to track the Gorillas can be as few as 2 hours to as many as 7 hours. Once the Gorillas have been located, your group will be allowed a maximum of one hour with them. Coming face-to-face with a mountain gorilla is a truly humbling and emotional experience. This is a fantastic and privileged opportunity to get up close and personal with Uganda’s very own ‘Gorillas in the Mist’.

Main Destination: Bwindi Impenetrable National Park
Accommodation: Buhoma Community Haven Lodge
• Mid-range lodge located just outside Bwindi NP
Meals & Drinks:
• All meals included
• Drinking water (Other drinks not included)

To lake Mburo National park – 9th day

After breakfast, you travel to Lake Mburo National Park, one of Uganda’s smallest parks. But it is certainly not to be underestimated; it is the only Ugandan national park home to zebra, eland and impala, as well as an abundance of other wildlife. The lake itself is teeming with hippos and crocodiles! Upon entering the park, you drive along tracks searching for animals on your way to your accommodation.

Mihingo Lodge features ten rooms built on wooden platforms with stilts. From the dining and pool area, you can enjoy the view of a west-ward oriented valley and its stunning sunsets over Lake Mburo N.P.

Optional activity Night game drive

A night game drive in Lake Mburo national park is absolutely great! You have chances of seeing Hyena, different nocturnal animals and it’s probaply your best chance to spot a leopard. Your night safari is either just before dinner or just after dinner and takes about 2 hours.

Main Destination: Lake Mburo National Park
Accommodation: Mihingo Lodge
• Luxury lodge bordering Lake Mburo NP without fences
Meals & Drinks:
• All meals included
• Drinking water (Other drinks not included)

Walking safari – To Entebbe – 10th day

This morning you will go for a bush walk.

Lake Mburo N.P. is one of two parks in Uganda where bush walks with an experienced ranger are permitted. This opportunity should not be missed. From footprints and animal droppings the ranger will be able to tell you which animal has left it and how long ago. It is exciting to approach wildlife at such close range.

Optional activity: Mountainbike Safari

It’s very exciting to make a safari by mountain bike. Get active and get close to zebra, gazelle, Eland and sometimes even giraffe!

After brunch at the lodge, you will drive back to Kampala or Entebbe (Airport) stopping at the equator for the requisite snapshot and a bit of souvenir shopping.

Main Destination: Entebbe International Airport
Accommodation: No accommodation (End of tour)
Meals & Drinks:
Breakfast (Lunch & dinner not included)
Drinks not included

Included

• Park fees(For non-residents)
• Gorilla permits(One per person, non-resident)
• Chimp permits(One per person, non-resident)
• All activities(Unless labeled as optional)
• All accommodation(Unless listed as upgrade)
• A professional driver/guide
• All transportation(Unless labeled as optional)
• All Taxes/VAT
• Roundtrip airport transfer
• Meals(As specified in the day-by-day section)
• Drinks(As specified in the day-by-day section)

Excluded

• International flights(From/to home)
• Additional accommodation before and at the end of the tour
• Tips(Tipping guideline US$10.00 pp per day)
• Personal items(Souvenirs, travel insurance, visa fees, etc.)
• Government imposed increase of taxes and/or park fees
• Some meals(As specified in the day-by-day section)