DAY 1: Arrive at Entebbe Airport

On arrival, you will meet, greet and be transfered to Entebbe town for your overnight on Bed and Breakfast. Entebbe is a small town located just 5 minutes from the Entebbe International Airport. Entebbe is becoming Uganda’s top tourism city due to the high numbers of mushrooming Hotels and Guest Houses. There are optional activities for those that arrive early to participate in. You may choose to tour the town of Entebbe on foot, visit the Botanic gardens, take a boat excursion to Ngamba Island or visit the Uganda Wildlife Education Center.

Meal Plan: Breakfast

Lodging: Secrets Guest House Entebbe

DAY 2: Jinja Source of the Nile

This morning, you will drive to Jinja town, also known as the ‘adventure capital of Uganda’ via Kampala. The journey will take you through small towns, Mabira forest, a tropical rain forest, road side markets, tea and sugar plantations. You will arrive in time for a lunch break and a boat ride to the Source of the River Nile. It would really be unfair for you to visit Uganda and then you miss out on visiting the Source of the River Nile. River Nile is the second longest river on planet earth.

Drive time: Approximately 2-3 hours

Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Lodging: Source of the Smile

DAY 3: Jinja to Zziwa Rhino Sanctuary.

Drive from Jinja to Nakasongola vie Kampala, towards north of Uganda to visit the Zziwa Rhino Sanctuary for Rhino tracking. This is a perfect opportunity to track White Rhinos in the wild. Rhinos became extinct in Uganda in the 1970s due to over poaching for their treasured horns. They have now be reintroduced in the Zziwa Rhino Sanctuary in the hope that when their population improves then they can be reintroduced in some of Uganda’s National Parks. Have an opportunity of tracking these endangered species and learn more about them. Overnight at Amuka Safari Lodge

Drive time: approximately 4-5 hours

Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Lodging: Budongo Eco Lodge

DAY 4: Budongo Chimp trekking

After breakfast, you will walk to the forest headquarters for briefing about Chimpanzee trekking Dos and Don’ts. Thereafter, start your primate walk in the Budongo Forest guided by well-trained and experienced ranger guides. Your walk will expose you to other primates, birds and different plant species in the forest. Once you get into close proximity with the Chimps or one community/party of habituated chimpanzees, you will be allowed one hour of observations and photography before you return back to the Lodge. You may carry packed lunch or order for hot lunch which you can have when you return to the lodge. In the afternoon, you will drive to Murchison Falls National Park for a brief game drive via the top of the falls to see how the Nile waters squeeze through a narrow gorge only later to explode into what has been refereed to as one of the strongest and most powerful waterfalls on planet Earth. There after you will proceed to Murchison River Lodge or Pakuba Safari Lodge for overnight.

Drive time: Approximately 2-3 hours

Mealplan: Lunch and Dinner

Lodging: Murchison River Lodge or Pakuba Safari Lodge

DAY 5: Game Drive and boat cruise to the bottom of the Falls

After breakfast, you will set off with your guide to catch some of the nocturnal animals before they return to their hide-outs. Make your way down to the Nile Delta where you may spot giraffe, elephant, different varieties of antelope, buffalo, a wide range of birds and if you are lucky, you may spot lions and leopards. You will return to the lodge for lunch. After lunch, you will go for a boat cruise to the bottom of the magnificent Murchison Falls. From the jetty point, as you head towards the bottom of the Falls, you will spot several herds of buffaloes, crocodiles, hippos, different species of water birds and many other animals as they flock the banks of the River Nile to drink water. You will continue upstream to the bottom of the falls to observe how water squeezes through a narrow gorge only later to explode in what has been referred to as the strongest and most powerful falls on planet earth. Return to the Lodge for overnight.

Drive time: Approximately 2 hours

Meal Plan: Breakfast, Packed Lunch and Dinner

Lodging: Murchison River Lodge or Pakuba Safari Lodge

DAY 6: Morning game drive and late afternoon delta cruise

After an early breakfast you will return to the northern bank of the River Nile for yet another game drive in search of some of the wild animals that you could have missed seeing during your previous game drives. Return to the lodge for lunch and thereafter go for a late afternoon boat cruise to the Albert delta. Depending on how lucky you are, there are chances that you may find elephants, buffaloes and hippos crossing the delta while crocodiles are also taking opportunity of this crossing to catch the vulnerable animals. There are also high chances that you will spot the rare Shoebill stock. Return back to the lodge for overnight:

Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Lodging: Murchison River Lodge or Pakuba Safari Lodge

DAY 7: To Kibale National Park.

As part of your 18 Days Safari, you will drive to Kibale Forest National Park via Fort Portal town. You will have a stop in Fort portal town for Lunch before proceeding to check-in at Chimpanzee Forest Guest House. No major activity on this day but if time allows, you may drive around Fort Portal town for sight seeing.

Drive time: Approximately 4 hours

Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Lodging: Chimpanzee Forest Guest House or Isunga Lodge

DAY 8: Chimpanzee trekking and Bigodi Wetland Walk

After breakfast, you will be transferred to Kibale National Park headquarters located at Kanyanchu. Here, you will join other trekkers for briefing before you proceed into the forest for chimpanzee trekking. You will be led by a well-trained and experienced ranger/guide who will take you for a guided primate walk inside Kibale Forest National Park. This forest provides an opportunity to visit one of the habituated communities of chimpanzees. You are allowed to spend an hour with these Great Apes while observing their behaviour. You are allowed to take photographs. So make sure your cameras are nearby. Kibale National Park is also home to other 13 primate species which can also be spotted while trekking the Chimpanzees. Of course there are also numerous species of forest birds. In fact, this is another haven for bird lovers.

Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Lodging: Chimpanzee Forest Guest House or Isunga Lodge

DAY 9: To Queen Elizabeth National Park

After breakfast, your will drive for 3-4 hours from Kibale National Park to Queen Elizabeth National Park. You will have an opportunity of passing through small towns while seeing several foothills of the magnificent Rwenzori Mountain. You will as well as cross the Equator at Kikorongo.Of course you will also see several small rivers that originate from the Rwennzori mountain ranges. You may head to the lodge for lunch or drive directly to Mweya jetty for an afternoon boat cruise on the Kazinga Channel. This two hour boat cruise is one of the highlights of Queen Elizabeth National Park. It provides you with an opportunity to view over 300 out of the 600 water bird species recorded here. There are also antelopes, crocodiles, elephants, buffaloes and hippos which can be sighted while on the boat.

Drive time: Approximately 3-4 hours

Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Lodging: Elephant Hab Lodge or Pumba Safari Lodge

DAY 10: Game drive and Boat Cruise

After an early morning cup of coffee, you will drive back to the Kasenyi plains for a game drive to catch up with what you could have missed out on your earlier game drive. It is at this time of the morning that big cats are out hunting for their prey and as such chances of spotting lions and or leopards are slightly high. Never the less, you will be guaranteed to see buffaloes, hippos, several species of antelopes, and many others. You may return to the lodge for lunch or drive directly to Mweya jetty for an afternoon boat cruise on Kazinga Channel. This two hour boat cruise is one of the highlights in Queen Elizabeth National Park. It provides you an opportunity to view over 300 out of the 600 water bird species recorded here, antelopes, crocodiles, elephants, buffaloes and hippos. Return to the lodge for overnight.

Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Lodging: Elephant Hab Lodge or Pumba Safari Lodge

DAY 11: Kyambura Chimp trekking and Katwe salt mines.

After breakfast, you will be driven to Kyambura to join other trekkers for briefing and their after start you chimpanzee walk in the gorge. Your experienced ranger guide will help you identify several flora and fauna species resident in this gorge. Once you find a community of chimpanzees, you will be allowed to spend one hour with them for photography. Return from the trek for lunch and short relaxation at the lodge before moving out for a visit to Lake Katwe salt mines. Lake Katwe is an explosive crater which is gifted with salt. The local community have been mining/extracting salt from this lake for decades. You will meet a local guide (from the community) who will take you for a tour around the salt mines while explaining how salt extraction is done, the challenges faced as well as the opportunities available. Lake Katwe salt extraction project is one of the living examples of man and biosphere reserves or conservation areas in the whole world where man is harmoniously co-existing with wildlife. Return to the Lodge for overnight.

Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Lodging: Elephant Hab Lodge or Pumba Safari Lodge

DAY 12: To Bwindi Impenetrable National Park.

After breakfast, you will drive to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park, located in southwestern Uganda and shared between three districts of Kabale, Kanungu and Kisoro. Your journey to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park will take you through the rolling hills with terraced gardens of Irish potatoes and sometimes tea. You will arrive late afternoon for overnight at the Lodge. Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is home to almost half of the world’s endangered mountain gorillas and the only National Park where wild chimpanzees co-exist with mountain gorillas.

Drive time: Approximately 5-6 hours

Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Lodging: Rushaga Gorilla Havens Lodge or Trekkers Tervan Lodge

DAY 13: Gorilla tracking and Village walk

After breakfast, you will transfer to the park headquarters to join other trekkers to be allocated a Gorilla family that you will trek. Of course the park staff will first give you a full briefing concerning the Dos and Don’ts while with the gorillas. After that, you will be driven to the starting point of your allocated gorilla family to start your trek into the beautiful Impenetrable Bwindi Forest. This trek may take between 30 minutes to three quarters of the day, depending on where the Mountain Gorillas will be found. Please noted that gorilla trekking can be strenuous and as such a certain level of fitness is required. Once you find the gorillas, you will be allowed to spend one hour to observe them and take photographs. Although this time may seem too short a time, the experience you get will be worth it. Thereafter, you will return to the park headquarters where you will be awarded a certificate in recognition of your effort in contributing to the conservation of these endangered mountain gorillas. Return to the lodge for relaxation followed by a village walk in the evening to learn more about the local people living around Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. This walk will enable you appreciate the effort of these people in conserving the forest and the gorillas. You can choose to support them through donation in kind. Please note that this is a voluntary act.

Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Lodging: Rushaga Gorilla Havens Lodge or Trekkers Tervan Lodge

DAY 14: To Lake Bunyonyi

Drive from Bwindi Impenetrable National Park to Lake Bunyonyi in Kabale District. Lake Bunyonyi is one of the three Lava damned Lakes in Uganda. The Lake was formed when lava flowing from one of the volcanoes blocked a river channel and water was forced to flow back hence filling the space to create the Lake Bunyonyi. Bunyonyi locally means small birds. So the Lake got its name because of the abundance of small birds in this area in filled the area. Lake Bunyonyi is said to be the deepest lake in Uganda and the second deepest in East Africa. The beauty of this Lake Bunyonyi will surely not disappoint you. It is one of the best places in Uganda to relax after your gorilla trek.

Drive time: Approximately 3-4 hours

Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Lodging: Birdnest Resort

DAY 15: Canoeing or Hiking

After breakfast, you are free to admire the beauty of the lake and its surrounding hills. You will have a choice of either taking a canoe ride on the lake to explore the different Islands with exciting histories behind them. For example, you will visit the Punishment Island. The story about this Island, it is the place where girls who were known to have conceived babies out of legitimate traditional marriage would be dumped and left to die. This is a whole day activity and you will surely enjoy it. Alternatively, you can hike one of the hills around the Lake Bunyonyi. Encounter Africa Safaris supports some projects around this area, which is part of our Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). So, for those who want to do something in the communit-y while on their tour, this is another opportunity for you to go for volunteer work. Return to the Lodge for overnight.

Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Lodging: Birdnest Resort

DAY 16: To Lake Mburo National Park

After breakfast, drive to Lake Mburo National Park via the Great Lakes Museum or Igongo Cultural center to learn more about the cultures of the ethnic groups in western Uganda. Lunch will be served en route. You will arrive at Lake Mburo National Park just in time for an evening game drive. Lake Mburo National Park is popular for animals such as Impalas, Giraffes, Zebras and so much more. Return to the Lodge for overnight.

Drive time: Approximately 6 hours

Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Lodging: Lake Mburo Safari Lodge or Rwakobo Rock

DAY 17: Walks and Game Drives

After breakfast, you will head out for a morning walk in the park, its a nature friendly park and hence allows walking, later return for lunch and then head out in the evening for a game drive in search of wildlife that is further and can not be reached on foot hence look for wildlife and enhance your chances as well.

Drive time: NA

Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Lodging: Lake Mburo Safari Lodge

DAY 18: Drive to Entebbe International Airport [End Of Safari]

Today marks the end of your 18 Days Safari with Encounter Africa Safaris. But, depending on your flight time, you can have a morning walking Safari or just embark on your journey to Entebbe International Airport. Of course you will have a stop at the Equator crossing in Kayabwe for photography and stretching.

Drive time: Approximately 5-6 hours

Meal Plan: Breakfast and Lunch