RU 07: 5 Days Safari to Queen Elizabeth & Murchison Falls National Park

Day 1

After breakfast, we will set off on the southern bound road, have a stop over to look at the Royal Drum makers, stand on the Equator and be in both hemispheres at once and thereafter proceed to Queen Elizabeth National Park. We will continue through savannah grasslands seeing banana plantations and herds of Ankole cattle with their incredible long curving horns. Queen Elizabeth is host to a large variety and volume of wildlife. It boasts one o the highest bio diversity ratings of any game park in the world, from the open Savannah to Rain forest, dense swamps and beautiful crater lakes to the vastness of Lake Edward. Almost 100 species that include Hippos, Lions, Buffaloes, Leopard, Spotted Hyena and the elusive giant forest hog. The primates include Chimps, Black and white Colobus Monkeys, Blue, Black Faced Red Colobus, and Red Tailed monkeys and Olive Baboons.

After checking in and having some time to relax, we will go for an afternoon game drive to Kasenyi Area of the Park. Here you will be able to see numerous elephants as well as water hogs, lions, hyenas, Uganda kobs, waterbuck and bushbuck as well as the salt lakes. Overnight at Mweya Safari Lodge/Institute of Ecology (FB)

Day 2

This morning we will leave for the 08.00am chimpanzee trekking in Kyambura Gorge. Expect to see various primates most especially Chimpanzee of different species, Black and white Colobus monkeys and other animals like antelopes, hyenas, Lion and many others in the middle of savanna grassland. This gorge is a home of very many bird species.

We will return to the lodge for lunch and a chance to relax before taking an afternoon boat trip along Kazinga channel. This will give you the opportunity to view wildlife up close: hippo’s huff and spray mere feet away from the boat, buffalo linger in the shallows. The shores of the channel are also home to an array of birds including pink backed pelicans, pied and malachite kingfishers, saddle billed stork and many others. After this wonderful afternoon, a slow drive back to the lodge. Overnight at Mweya Safari Lodge/Institute of Ecology (FB)

Day 3

Following a morning game drive, we will depart for Murchison Falls National Park. We will pass close to Lake Albert. On a clear day, the view on the top of the Albert rift is spectacular. We will arrive in time for dinner. Overnight at Paraa Safari Lodge/Red chili Camp (FB)

Day 4

After breakfast, we will go for a morning Chimpanzee tracking in Kaniyo Pabidi Forest. This is an undisturbed area of natural forest within Budongo Forest Reserve where you can walk beneath mature mahogany and iron wood trees. Chimpanzee tracking is the most famous activity. You will certainly see many forest birds, including the chocolates-backed Kingfisher, the white-thigh hornbill and puvel’s illadopsis found nowhere else in East Africa.

We will drive back to the lodge for lunch before taking an afternoon boat trip to the foot of Murchison Falls. This boat trip along the Nile is often cited as being the highlight of a trip to Murchison since it allows you to get up-close and personal with the animals. Along this stretch of the river, there are reported to be around 4,000 hippos in addition to some enormous Nile crocodiles. The bird life is stunning with brightly colored kingfishers and bee-eaters darting along the riverbanks. If lucky, you may see the rare and prehistoric looking shoebill, which is a cross between the dodo and a dinosaur. The boat takes you to the base of the falls which only adds to their impressiveness. Overnight at Paraa Safari Lodge/Red chili Camp (FB)

Day 5

After breakfast, we will depart with our packed lunch to Kampala. We will stop at the top of the falls which is a fantastic sight. Here the Nile, the longest river in the world, is forced through a narrow gap in the rock (only 7 meters wide), before ferociously plunging down 43 meters. We will then continue to Kampala late afternoon.