Uganda 12-Day Luxury Private Tour

Welcome to Uganda. Your driver meets you at Entebbe International Airport and takes you the short distance to your hotel on the shores of Lake Victoria. The rest of the day is free to rest after the flight, walk in the gardens or watch the light change over the lake. If you arrive early, the Entebbe Botanical Gardens are close by and lovely for a slow stroll among old trees and birds. Your local team is on hand for anything you need before tomorrow’s journey. Dinner can be at your hotel or by the water. Tonight’s welcome dinner is included, timed around your arrival.

After breakfast, your driver takes you to the airport for a scheduled light-aircraft flight north to Murchison Falls National Park, about an hour over farmland and forest. Baggage allowances are limited, so we advise you on packing before the trip. Your guide meets you at the airstrip and takes you to your lodge above the Nile. Have lunch, settle in and spend a slow afternoon by the pool or on the terrace. Toward sunset, the river turns gold and the calls of hippos drift up from the water. Dinner is at the lodge.

Cross the Nile by ferry early and head out on a private game drive across the grasslands of the northern bank, where Rothschild giraffes, elephants, buffalo, antelope and sometimes lions roam down toward the shore of Lake Albert. Return for lunch and a rest. In the afternoon, take the scheduled boat trip upriver from Paraa, included in your tour, past hippos, crocodiles and waterbirds, to the foot of Murchison Falls, where the whole Nile forces through a gap in the rock. It is a powerful sight, and the light is lovely on the way back.

After a leisurely breakfast and, if you like, a short morning game drive, your guide takes you to the top of Murchison Falls. A short path leads to the edge of the gorge, where the river thunders through a channel only a few meters wide and the spray hangs in the air. Return to the lodge for lunch, then keep the afternoon free for the pool, a nap or a drink on the terrace above the river. It is a calm day to enjoy the lodge and the sounds of the Nile.

After breakfast, your guide takes you to the airstrip for scheduled light-aircraft flights to Kasese, in the west, usually connecting through Entebbe, so allow most of the morning for the journey. Baggage limits are the same as before. Your driver and vehicle meet you in Kasese, where the Rwenzori Mountains rise to the west if the clouds allow. From there it is about two hours by road, past tea estates and the crater lakes near Fort Portal, to your forest lodge. Settle in and hear what to expect from tomorrow’s chimpanzee tracking.

After breakfast, drive to the Kanyanchu visitor center for the ranger briefing, then walk into the forest in a small group to look for a habituated chimpanzee community. Trackers usually find them, though the walk can take a few hours over uneven ground, and your time with the chimpanzees is limited to one hour once you reach them. Listen for their calls and watch for monkeys and turacos above. The permit is included. After lunch, the afternoon is free to rest at the lodge or stroll to a crater lake viewpoint nearby.

Travel south through tea country and the crater lakes, about two and a half to three hours with stops, and cross the Equator as you descend to Queen Elizabeth National Park. Check in to your lodge and have lunch with a view over the plains. In the late afternoon, if conditions allow, set out with your private guide for a first game drive, looking for elephants, buffalo, Uganda kob and perhaps lions. The evening is quiet, with dinner at the lodge and the sounds of the bush around you. The Rwenzori Mountains may show on the northern skyline.

Head out early for a private game drive across the Kasenyi plains, when the air is cool and predators are most active. Look for elephants, buffalo, Uganda kob and perhaps lions. Return to the lodge for lunch and a rest through the warmest hours. In the afternoon, join the scheduled boat trip on the Kazinga Channel, included in your tour, along the natural waterway between Lakes George and Edward. Hippos crowd the shallows, elephants and buffalo come down to drink and the birdlife is rich. Sightings depend on nature, which makes each outing different.

After breakfast, continue south through the Ishasha sector of the park, known for its tree-climbing lions, though they are not always in the trees. A game drive here breaks the journey, with a picnic lunch under the fig trees, before the road climbs into steep green hills with views over terraced farms. The whole day is about five to six hours, including the game drive and lunch. We book your gorilla permit in a sector that suits this route, so you arrive at your lodge by mid-afternoon. Enjoy a quiet evening with the forest outside your window.

After an early breakfast, join the ranger briefing at the park office for your sector. Your group of up to eight visitors then sets off into the forest to find an assigned gorilla family. The walk can take from one to several hours each way on steep, muddy trails, so reasonable fitness helps, and a local porter is worth hiring. Once you find the family, you spend one quiet hour with them. Sightings are very likely but never guaranteed. A packed lunch comes with you, and the afternoon is for rest at the lodge.

After breakfast, your driver takes you to Kihihi airstrip for a scheduled light-aircraft flight to Entebbe of about an hour and a half, sometimes with a short stop. The same baggage limits apply as on the flight out. Your driver meets you on arrival and takes you to your hotel by Lake Victoria. The rest of the day is free to repack, rest and enjoy a final dinner by the water. If you arrive in time, a slow walk in the Botanical Gardens is a calm way to end the journey. Pack light, and keep a warm layer handy. Your farewell dinner tonight is included.

Enjoy a relaxed breakfast and a slow morning as your flight time allows. Your driver takes you the short distance to Entebbe International Airport with comfortable time for check-in. If your flight leaves late in the day, extra hours at the hotel can be arranged and quoted in advance. Spending this last night in Entebbe means your international connection never depends on a same-day bush flight. You leave with memories of the forests, the savanna and that hour with the gorillas. Safe travels, and we hope to welcome you back to Uganda.