8-Day The Big-5 Uganda Tour

Have an early breakfast, then tour the northern section of Murchison, which carries a high concentration of wildlife. Enjoy game viewing and photography of elephants, buffaloes, waterbucks, giraffes, Uganda kobs, lions, and leopards plus a variety of bird species. Return to your accommodation for lunch as you prepare to have a 3-hour boat trip to the base of the falls. This trip is said to be the highlight of the safari in Murchison Falls since it allows you to get up close to the animal species in the water. Cruise past huge hippo pods, crocodiles and numerous aquatic birds adorning the north bank on the way to the mighty waterfalls.

Optionally, proceed for a hike to the top of the falls. The hike is a strenuous one but the thrill of reaching the top is unforgettable. Return to your accommodation for dinner and your overnight stay.

After breakfast at your accommodation, drive to the top of the falls (if you didn’t hike), where you will have a spectacular view of the falls. Otherwise, depart directly for Kibale Forest National Park after breakfast.

Kibale is popular for its primates like chimpanzees, Colobus monkeys, mangabeys and red-tailed monkeys. On your chimpanzee trails, these are regularly seen swinging in the forest trees and others feeding on the wild fruits. You will reach your accommodation and do little but check in. Enjoy dinner and your overnight rest.

You will head to the forest head office for a briefing. Thereafter, start your trek with a ranger as early as 8:00 am. Kibale Forest National Park boasts the highest number of primate species in the world, including chimpanzees. Approximately 5,000 chimpanzees live in the wild in Uganda, which makes it a perfect place to spot them!

Once you locate the chimpanzees, you will have a full hour with them. You will return to the lodge for lunch after which you will head out to Queen Elizabeth National Park. You will arrive in the evening and overnight at your booked accommodation.

Today, you will have a game drive and a boat trip on the Kazinga Channel. Early in the morning, you will go out for a game drive through the park, with magnificent views of the plains, valleys, terraced hills and an abundance of wildlife. The animals include reedbuck, bushbuck, kob, warthog, elephant, lion, buffalo and so much more. Have a break and relax as you have lunch served at the lodge.

The afternoon adventure entails a boat cruise on the Kazinga Channel, a natural water stream joining Lake Edward and Lake George. The channel attracts a large school of hippos and Nile crocodiles, besides the variety of birds that flock to the reed shores like the pelicans, kingfishers, saddle-billed storks and sometimes the crowned cranes. Return to your accommodation in time for your dinner.

Have breakfast, then set off for Bwindi Impenetrable National Park through the Ishasha Sector of Queen Elizabeth National Park, famously known for its resident tree-climbing lions. The chance of spotting these lions is about 70%, though sometimes they are really hard to spot.

Continue to Bwindi National Park. Bwindi is a large habitat for mountain gorillas in Uganda, harbouring an estimated 1,000 mountain gorillas, roughly half of the world’s population. It includes several habituated groups, which can be tracked. Its mist-covered hillsides are blanketed by one of Uganda's oldest and most biologically diverse rainforests, which dates back over 25,000 years and contains almost 400 species of plants. With a strenuous day ahead, you will do less on arrival but just check into your accommodation and relax as you prepare for the Bwindi gorilla trekking experience the following day.

After an early breakfast and a briefing by a ranger guide, you will enter the impenetrable Bwindi Forest. The beauty of this rainforest is spectacular! The area offers a dramatic steeply forested landscape and is incredibly dense, but crisscrossed by numerous animal trails allowing access to tourists. The time taken and the terrain varies with the movements of these great primates. Once you locate a gorilla group, you will be allowed an hour in their presence. The thrill of spending time observing these gentle and endangered giants is an awesome, exciting experience to be long-savoured.

Afterwards, return to your lodge. Have your lunch and thereafter, check out for a transfer to Lake Bunyonyi. Lake Bunyonyi is framed by lush, green-terraced hills that reach a height of 2,200 – 2,478m, but it’s the 29 islands of various shapes and sizes scattered across the water that make it most magical—you could admire them all day. It's also considered the 3rd deepest lake in Africa at 900m deep.

Have a relaxed breakfast at the accommodation with a spectacular view of the little islands of Bunyonyi just right in front of you. Thereafter, embark on your return journey to Entebbe Airport. Expect en-route stopovers for lunch along the way as well as at the Uganda equator line. Proceed with the journey, arriving in the late afternoon/evening for drop-off at the airport. This will mark the end of your amazing tour in Uganda.