15 Days Ugandan Odyssey

After an early morning breakfast, you will start your tour by driving to the North western part of Uganda. You visit the Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary en-route to the park. This is home to the Southern White Rhinos that were re-introduced to Uganda after extinction. The Sanctuary now has 22 Rhinos which you will get an opportunity to see in their natural habitats. An experienced ranger guide will guide you on foot to where the Rhinos are on the day of your visit. The duration of the activity depends on the location of the Rhinos. Thereafter proceed to your destination overnight. 

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Drive to Kidepo National Park, one of the remote national parks in Uganda but it is undoubtedly the finest wildlife area in Uganda not miss out while on an adventure. It is the best place for most of Uganda’s Wildlife and is home to some wildlife species that cannot be found in any other national park in Uganda. You will enjoy remarkable views of the Savannah grasslands on your way to the park. Once you have settled in, you will go for a game drive. 

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Start the day with an early morning breakfast and thereafter head out for an exciting game drive in the rolling sun-bleached savannah grasslands and acacia-sprinkled bushes. The park is home to 88 mammal species and 28 are only endemic to the Kidepo Valley. Most of the biggest game is resident here. While on a game drive, you will be able to see large herds of Elephants and Buffaloes, lions, cheetah, leopard, maneless zebras, kudus, Oryx, gazelle, giraffes, elands, roan antelopes, striped hyenas, jackals, hyenas, zebras, reedbucks, waterbucks, Uganda kobs, Nile crocodiles, duikers, and many others. Later in the afternoon, you will visit the Karamajong community. These lived and herdsmen are indigenous to the Karamoja region. They lived a highly nomadic lifestyle and used to roam around the Karamoja region with their large herds of cattle. Most of them used to raid the neighbouring communities of their livestock in order to increase the size of their herds as it was a sign of wealth. But all this has come to an end with sensitization but the Karamajong still hold their customs and beliefs in high esteem. You will learn about their ways of living and participate in their traditional dances. 

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A nature walk in Kidepo is one way of enjoying the beautiful views of the flat Savannah grasslands. A nature walk will allow you to see wildlife within the adjacent valleys. You will be accompanied by an experienced ranger guide. Thereafter return to the lodge and choose to have the rest of the afternoon at leisure while relaxing the lodge. Later in the evening, you will enjoy a night game drive under the stars.

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Start the day with an early morning game drive and thereafter drive to the next highlight of your Ugandan tour – Murchison Falls National Park which is the oldest and largest national park in Uganda. The park derives its name from the famous Murchison Falls where the river Nile crushed through a 7-metre gap. You will proceed to the lodge. Once you have settled in and time allows, you will go for a game drive in the park.  

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Today you will head out into the wild for an exciting early morning game drive. Murchison Falls is one of Uganda’s first protected areas that harbors a variety of wild animals for example; Elephants, Lions, Cape buffalos, Rothschild’s giraffes, hartebeests, Waterbucks, Oribis, Bushbucks, Bohor reedbucks, hyenas. Lucky guests also get a chance of spotting a leopard. Later in the afternoon, you will go for a boat ride upstream the calm Victoria Nile to the base of the falls stopping just tens of meters from the “Devil’s Cauldron”. En route, marvel at the toothsome hippos, and crocodiles, and over this 17km stretch, you may see elephants, waterbucks, Uganda Kobs, and crocodiles. This is also a zone of many bird species like Goliath heron, Egyptian goose, bee-eaters, kingfisher, hornbills, African darter, cormorants and the rare shoebill stork. There you leave the boat and hike to the Top of the Falls (approx. 1 hour). See where the world’s longest river explodes violently through a narrow cleft in the Rift Valley escarpment to plunge into a frothing pool 43m below. Return to the lodge for an overnight.

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After breakfast, you will start your journey to Kibale Forest National Park through verdant countryside and past traditional homesteads and farms. Rapidly becoming a must-do destination in Uganda, Kibale Forest offers an accessible and enlightening insight into life in a tropical rainforest. Large mammals aren't so easily seen but the clouds of dazzling butterflies and gorgeous forest birds more than make up for it, besides, Kibale is most famous for its primates and is commonly known as the primates' capital with about 13 species of primates. The commonest being the Chimpanzees. After that, proceed to your accommodation overnight. 

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After having breakfast, you will be transferred to the headquarters of the park where you will be briefed by the rangers, and by around 8:00 am the search for the amazing chimpanzees begins. Kibaale Forest is where the greatest variety and highest concentration of primates in East Africa are exceptionally represented. As you track the chimpanzees you will have an opportunity to see other wildlife species such as the rare I’Hoest’s monkey, the black and white Colobus, the Blue monkey, the Grey-cheeked mangabey, the Red-tailed monkey, and the Olive baboon among others. In the group, the adult males dominate the group and protect the territory against the rest of the males from other territories. The chimps are located by listening for their pant-hooting calls and then head to the place they replied from. Here you can observe them as they feed, play, and socialize with each other. The tracking takes 2-3 hours depending on the location of the Chimpanzees. You will later drive to Queen Elizabeth National Park named after Her Majesty the Queen of England Queen Elizabeth II. for an overnight.

Rise up early to go for a morning game drive.  It is covered by Savannah vegetation, humid forests, lakes, and fertile wetlands which makes it the ideal habitat for a variety of wildlife species like buffaloes, elephants, warthogs, baboons, and Lions. It also has over 600 bird species. You will catch up with the early risers and predators returning to their hideouts. You will most likely meet grazing Hippos, Elephants, Lions, spotted Hyenas, bushbuck, waterbuck, stripped jackal, comical warthogs, and the elusive leopard. You will visit the Katwe salt lake. Later in the afternoon, you will go for a boat ride on Kazinga Channel. The Kazinga Channel is home to many of the captivating species that inhabit the park and taking a boat ride along it gives tourists a chance to cruise just meters from the enormous hippos and buffalos while elephants linger on the shores. Later return to your accommodation for an overnight.

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After breakfast, you will drive to Ishasha which is the southern part of Queen Elizabeth National Park. The place is famously known for its very exceptional residents – The tree-climbing Lions. These are usually a major highlight attraction for most of the guests that visit this park. You will go for a sundowner game drive where you might be able to see the tree climbing Lions lazily relaxing in the huge fig trees. There are plenty of other wildlife species to see like Elephants, buffaloes, and many other antelopes.

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On this day you will proceed to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. This park is home to over half of the remaining population of the rare mountain Gorillas and offers visitors an excellent Gorilla tracking experience. Once you have settled in, you will visit the Batwa community which will expose you to their culture based on how they live; dance, and also hear stories concerning their culture which will leave you amazed. These lived as hunters and gatherers who depended on the forest for food, shelter, and clothing.

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After breakfast, with your packed lunch, your guide will drive you to the park headquarters for a briefing about the dos and don’ts during your gorilla trekking. Your gorilla family tracking will start immediately after the briefing. This is a memorable and amazing experience watching the Mountain gorillas feed, play around, and do their day-to-day activities. This activity can take 2 hours or even up to 8 hours depending on the gorillas' location and movement. Also, expect to walk long distances in muddy and steep conditions- this will require you to have a walking stick. On meeting the gorillas, you will spend one hour with them as you take photos and watch them play and swing on tree branches. Later, they return to the lodge and choose to relax in the afternoon or visit the Ride for a Woman community project that was started to help women earn a living from making crafts.

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Start the day with an early morning breakfast and after that drive to Lake Mburo National Park. The park is the smallest of Uganda’s Savannah National Parks and is home to several wild animals some of which are not found anywhere else in Uganda, especially Impalas. You will also see Oribis, buffalos, waterbucks, and hippos. It also harbors quite several bird species totaling up to 350 species. You will have a game drive. The beauty is that you can see some animals even as you enter the park. Once you have settled in, you will either choose to do horseback riding in the park or go for an evening game drive.

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After early morning breakfast, you will drive back to Entebbe. You will stop by the Equator where you will get the opportunity to take some pictures and buy a few souvenirs. Thereafter after proceeding to Entebbe for your flight back home.  

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