6 days in Uganda in search of “The Big Five”

Table of contents

Trip map

Travel itinerary

Please note:

Each element can be tailored to your needs and interests, from duration to type of accommodation and activities.

Day 1: Arrival in Entebbe and transfer to the hotel

Upon arrival at the airport you will be met by our English-speaking driver (or Italian- speaking on request) who will take you to the hotel. In anticipation of the adventures that await us in the coming days, we suggest you take advantage of the remaining hours to visit
the city, taste typical local dishes and take a break.

• Mid-range/low-cost accommodation: Lake Victoria View Guest House
• High-end accommodation: Cassia Lodge
• Meals included: none

Day 2: Entebbe – Ziwa rhino ranch – Murchison Falls NP

Transfer to the north in the morning, stop half way at Ziwa Rhino sanctuary, where we will trek with these animals; stop for lunch and in the afternoon arrival at Murchison falls National Park where we will have a photographic safari before checking in at the lodge.

The Ziwa sanctuary, which is currently home to around 25 white rhinos, is designed to allow them to be seen in their natural habitat. The two native subspecies, the northern white rhino and the eastern black rhino, have both been extinct in the wild since 1982. The area on which Murchinson Falls National Park is located is the largest in Uganda, about 5000 square kilometres, and also includes the Bugungo, Karuma and Bugongo reserves. The Park is characterized by typical savannah and forest vegetation. The name of the Park comes from the beautiful waterfalls that rise at a point where the Victoria Nile crosses a crack in the rocks and falls about 45 metres, creating a spectacle of power and rare beauty. In the Park there are about 76 species of mammals: elephants, buffaloes, giraffes, lions, leopards, antelopes, Uganda kobs and many others; there are also about 450 species of birds, some of which are very rare.

• Low cost accommodation: Fort Murchison Lodge, fixed tent, shared bathroom
• Mid-range accommodation: Pakuba Safari lodge
• High-end accommodation: Paraa Safari lodge
• Meals included low cost and medium level: breakfast and dinner – half board
• Meals included high level: breakfast lunch (at ziwa rhino ranch) and dinner – full board
• Hours spent on the road: about 6 hours and 15 minutes – 420 km
• Planned activities : Rhino trekking – Game drive Murchison Falls

Day 3: Game drive – Boat ride – Trekking to the waterfalls

Wake up at dawn and go on a photo safari in the northern part of the Nile. Here you will find Uganda kobs, buffaloes, elephants, waterbuks, jakson’shartbeests, hyenas, hippos, giraffes different types of monkeys and birds, and if you are lucky lions and leopards. You will also enjoy the beautiful scenery of the Savannah and the Albert Nile. Packed lunch on
the banks of the Nile.

In the afternoon at about 2 pm you will take a ‘cruise’ on the Victoria Nile. Here you can expect to see many hippos, crocodiles, buffalo, antelopes, elephants bathing in the river and many species of birds. This boat tour will take you about 500m from where Murchison Falls flows into the river and you will be able to admire its power and beauty. From there you will disembark and, together with a specialist guide, take a trek along the banks of the falls to the highest point, where you will be able to see a second hidden waterfall, the Freedom Falls.

• Low cost accommodation: Fort Murchison Lodge, fixed tent, shared bathroom
• Mid range accommodation : Pakuba Safari lodge
• High-end accommodation : Paraa Safari lodge
• Meals included low cost and medium level: breakfast and dinner – Half board
• Meals included high level : breakfast lunch (at the lodge) and dinner – full board
• Programmed activities : Game drive Murchison Falls Np – “Boat trip” Victoria Nile – Trekking to Murchis Falls

Day 4: Murchison Falls – Queen Elizabeth NP

Departure in the morning towards Queen Elizabeth NP, you will have a picnic lunch or you’ll be able to eat at a restaurant near Hoima, the road will be long but absolutely scenic, you will see beautiful views of Lake Albert and the rift valley Albertina, tea plantations, coffee and tobacco and many local villages. Arrival in Queen Elizabeth in the late afternoon. Full day transfer.

Queen Elizabeth National Park is home to a huge number of animals, about 95 species of mammals, including lions, elephants, leopards, Uganda kobs (impala), hyenas, buffalos and several species of primates such as chimpanzees, blue, red, white, black and baboons. There are also some 600 species of birds, one of the highest concentrations in Africa, and expanses of pink flamingos along the volcanic Katwe Lake.

• Low cost accommodation: Bush lodge, fixed tent, shared bathroom
• Mid-range accommodation: Bush lodge, bandas, private bathroom
• High-end accommodation : Kyambura Gorge lodge
• Meals included low cost-medium : breakfast and dinner – half board
• Meals included high level: breakfast, lunch (box lunch) and dinner – full board
• Hours spent on the road: about 8 hours – 450 km

Day 5: Chimpanzee trekking at Kyambura – Boat trip in Kazinga channel

In the morning we will trek with the chimpanzees in the Kyambura Forest, a cleft in the Savannah of the park that offers an incredible variety of vegetation, a forest rich in biodiversity still different from those that you will find in the next and that hosts a large community of Chimpanzees that you can see very close. Lunch at the lodge. In the afternoon you will take a cruise on the Kazinga Channel, which connects Lake Edward and Lake George. During these three hours we will observe many hippos, buffaloes, elephants drinking from the river, antelopes and very rare birds. Your trip will end when the canal flows into Lake Edward. This is definitely one of the most exciting activities of the trip, as seeing the bustling savannah life near the waterways is spectacular.

• Low cost accommodation: Bush lodge, fixed tent, shared bathroom
• Mid-range accommodation: Bush lodge, bandas, private bathroom
• High-end accommodation: Kyambura Gorge lodge
• Meals included low cost-medium: breakfast and dinner – half board
• Meals included high level: breakfast, lunch (at the lodge) and dinner – full board
• Planned activities: Chimpanzee trekking Kyambura gorge – “Boat trip” Kazinga chan

Day 6: Transfer to Entebbe

Transfer to Entebbe in the morning, departure time will be decided according to the flight schedule that you have chosen. Possibility of a photographic safari in the Park. Stop for lunch on the equator line where you can buy souvenirs. Arrival at the airport in the afternoon. Return flight to be scheduled after 5pm. Lunch and dinner not included.

• Meals included: breakfast
• Hours spent travelling: about 7 hours – 410 km

Prices and services included

Terms of payment:
50% at the time of booking, 50% 40 days before departure.

Cancellation terms:
– up to the second payment tranche full refund except for gorilla and
chimpanzee permits;
– after making the final payment and up to 10 days before departure, 50% refund;
– from 10 days to departure date nothing is refundable.

Please note:

Each element can be tailored to your needs and interests, from duration to type of accommodation and activities. Ask for a quote for this trip

Ask for a quote for this trip

Sea getaway – Possible extension