20 Epic Days Of Uganda

Day 1: Arrival At Entebbe.

You’ll be received at the airport by a representative of Silverbird tours that will be your guide for your stay in Uganda.

• He’ll introduce the country to you and brief you as you drive to your hotel.
• You’ll check into your hotel for meals, relaxation and accommodation with an option of a community walk in the Entebbe area to get accustomed to the new community.

Day 2: Kampala City Tour And Transfer To Jinja.

Check out of your hotel after breakfast for the day’s activities starting with a visit to the Buganda king’s palace in Mengo. Kampala is the home of the famous Buganda kingdom’s palace. Buganda is the most organized kingdom in East Africa with a special history.

• You’ll journey to Mengo palace in the heart of Kampala, a journey that will take 1hr max depending on the traffic.
• Mengo Palace that was built in 1922, this palace was a home to the king of Buganda, it has remained empty since 1966 when Prime Minister Milton Obote ordered an attack to banish Kabaka Mutesa II the president of Uganda then.
• The building’s interior cannot be visited, but the notorious underground prison here is open to tours. An adjacent site the in accessible main building became a prison and torture-execution chamber built by Idi Amin in the 1970s.
• You’ll be led to the dark concrete tunnel with numerous dark, damp cells, which were separated by an electrified passage of water to prevent escape.
• Original charcoal messages written by former prisoners on the walls are still seen as one reads ‘Obote, you have killed me, but what about my children!’.
• Continue to Bulange Royal building. This is the perfect place for culture of the Buganda Kingdom. Move inside the parliament building, providing interesting stories and details about the 56 clans.
• Buganda Parliament is held twice a month on Monday mornings, though it is conducted in Luganda.
• Buy your ticket at the adjacent Buganda tourism center which also sells bark-cloth clothing and books on Buganda culture. A few yards from the Palace lies a man-made lake locally called Akayanja ka Kabaka (The king’s small lake).
• The kabaka’s lake is the largest manmade lake in Africa made by Kabaka Mwanga and was supposed to connect to Lake Victoria as an escape route for the Kabaka in case of any attack to the throne but was not finished and only remained as a royal lake near the Palace.
• Proceed for a local meal to have a feel of the Ugandan delicacies as presented by Enjovan restaurant close to Namugongo Uganda martyr’s shrine. Proceed to the You’ll then transfer to Jinja for dinner and overnight.

Day 3: Rafting And A Sunset Boat Cruise.

This beautiful day begins with breakfast after at your hotel of residence and a briefing on rafting.

• You’ll then drive for about 15 minutes from your residence to Bujagali falls where the rafting will begin. Enjoy the picturesque scenery by the river as the tubes are being air filled and inspected.
• You’ll be provided with life jackets and helmets that you’ll MUST wear as safety is paramount. It’s now time to get intimate with the world’s longest river.
• The start point is calm allowing for a test rafting as you’ll be taken through a practical briefing on how to paddle back and forth an exercise that will relieve you of any nerves and fear regarding this activity, the paddling behind as you sail along this great river.
• Open bill storks, egrets, fish eagles et al will fly over you as teals and king fishers will be at arm’s length. The first rapid is only a few miles away as it tests whether you grasped the briefing.
• Your marine guide will perform a capsizing trial in a way to give you a hand on very safe lesson on how to respond to capsizing, or tough rapids.
• Certain courses of the river are gentle and you’ll be allowed to swim with your life jackets. You’ll raft for a distance of approximately 21km and several rapids, a challenge so amazing that you won’t think of a better way to get intimate with river Nile.
• You’ll then drive back to the hotel for lunch and preparation for the sunset boat ride at the source of the Nile.
• The origin of the mighty Nile River here the water spills out of Lake Victoria on its journey to the Mediterranean flowing fast from the get-go. It’s estimated no more than 5% of water here will end up in Egypt.
• Get on the river for a sunset boat cruise as you enjoy the bird life on this river. The fading rays of the shine over the water as the Malachite kingfishers, weavers and doves sing.
• The graceful water appears to rekindle the vanishing sunlight as you sail over the peaceful water of the Nile.
• Look out for birds like the shoebill, open bill stock, Herons, starlings, teals, pelicans, cormorants.

Return to your accommodation for dinner and an overnight.

Day 4: Transfer To Mbale And Nabugoye Synagogue (Abayudaya Community).

Start the day after breakfast and set off for Mbale and arrive in time for Lunch.

• Check into your hotel, have lunch and rest in preparation for the visit to Nabugoye synagogue later in the day.
• This synagogue is a simple, yet appealing, rustic red-brick building. The Jewish Abayudaya community in the outskirts of Mbale on Nabugoye Hill dates from the early 20th century.
• It was founded by military leader Semei Kakungulu in 1913 by creolizing elements of Judaism and Christianity with a disbelief in Western medicine leading to fallout with British rulers.
• During the 20th century the group withstood widespread persecution, particularly under Idi Amin, who outlawed Judaism and destroyed synagogues.

You’ll depart from the Nyabugoye and transfer to your hotel for dinner and overnight.

Day 5: Sipi Falls Hike.

You’ll have breakfast and depart from your hotel for Kapchorwa sipi falls.

• You’ll drive 54km north of Mbale to Mt Elgon region that boasts of a number of rivers, waterfalls and beautiful scenery.
• You’ll meet your guide for the day that will take you through a series of waterfalls through trails that have been naturally endowed.
• Sipi Falls, in the foothills of Mt Elgon is a stunner, debatably the most beautiful waterfall in all Uganda.
• The amazing 95m drop will leave you bewildered as the gashing water strikes the rocks causing a rainbow in the afternoon sunshine.
• This hike pays off when you reach the base of this 95m drop as the water squelches over your heads making your hair appear grayish.
• You’ll only glare at the third water fall from a distance as access to this waterfall is yet to be established.
• You’ll have lunch after this hike and drive back to your accommodation in Mbale with an option to visit the market to interact with the community in the local market.

Return to the hotel for dinner and overnight.

Day 6: Transfer To Murchison Via Soroti.

Check out of the Lodge after breakfast and transfer to Murchison falls with your first stop in Lira where you’ll have lunch and rest.

• You’ll then drive by Karuma falls formed by river Nile, a second crossing and proceed to Masindi for another stop for coffee and shopping.
• You’ll then access Murchison falls from the southern section through Budongo forest and proceed to the top of the falls for view. Initially, when the water levels are normal, it’s possible to hike from the bottom of the falls where the boat leaves you.
• An enthusiastic view of the magical Murchison falls. Depending on your levels of fitness, the hike should take about 45 minutes.
• Listen to the sound that water makes as it strikes the rocks as it goes through the narrow gorge to plunge 43M.
• You may be interested in learning that you are following in the footsteps of Winston Churchill and Sir Samuel Baker, who also explored the area.
• The 1951 film ‘The African Queen’ starring Humphrey Bogart and Katharine Hepburn, was filmed at Murchison Falls.
• You’ll view all this from the top of the falls upon driving there. You’ll then drive to your lodge for dinner and overnight to prepare for the activities of the next day.

Day 7: Game Drive And Boat Cruise.

After breakfast, you’ll drive to Para to meet your game drive armed guide that will brief you before the activity.

• Start your morning game drive where you will view wildlife like giraffes, buffaloes, antelopes, hippos, probably cats such as lions and leopards.
• The morning drive will take you through different habitats. On the drive, you will have an opportunity to watch some of Africa’s intact Savanna and may also see some of the BIG 5 game including lions, elephants, buffaloes and leopards.
• Other wildlife to see includes giraffes, Hartebeest, Bushbucks, Jackal, hyena, oribis, Uganda kobs and many others.
• Return to the lodge for a late breakfast and lunch with an opportunity to relax before taking a boat trip in the afternoon, which takes around 3 hours and sailing to the bottom of the falls along the river Nile.
• The Nile hosts large concentrations of Hippos and crocodiles. For the birders, Murchison Falls is a birder’s paradise with concentration is many birds including the rare shoebill stork, Fish Eagle, African Skimmer, Gray-crowned Crane, Black-headed Gonolek, Goliath Heron, Green-winged, Long-toed Plover, Saddle-billed Stork.

Return to the lodge for dinner and overnight

Day 8: Transfer To Via Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary.

Depart from your accommodation after an early breakfast and exit the National Park to embark on a journey to Ziwa Rhino sanctuary, a conservation area established to breed Rhinos.

• It’s because of this conservation site that the phrase big 5 returned to Uganda.
• While tracking rhinos on foot sounds a bit foolhardy, the fact that they’re in the company of armed anti-poaching rangers 24 hours, means they’re well and truly used to human presence.
• Other animals living inside the 6ft-tall electric fence include leopards, hippos, crocodiles, bushbucks and oribis.
• It’s also home to 350 species of bird. Depart from Zziwa Rhino sanctuary and transfer to Masindi with an option for a community walk later in the evening.

Check into your accommodation for dinner and overnight

Day 9: Transfer To Kibale National Park. 

Start the day after breakfast and transfer to the south of the country and your destination is Fort Portal with an enroute lunch.

• This route exposes you to beautiful hills some of which are covered with tea plantations as you approach Fort portal.
• Upon arrival, you’ll visit the crater lakes in Fort Portal before checking into your accommodation for dinner and overnight.

Day 10: Chimpanzee Trekking And Bigodi Swamp Walk.

After an early breakfast, you will depart for Kanyancu, the visitor’s briefing center and report to the ranger station at 08:00 am in Kibale Forest National Park to track habituated Chimpanzees.

• Javelins of light flicker through the trees as you set off chimpanzee trekking. Soon you will notice a colobus troop, the shy monkeys that inhabit the upper realms of the canopy.
• Then the elongated tail of a Sykes monkey will appear, cautious yet inquisitive as you pass.
• You will wander beneath the awning, and your guide will clear a route with a machete as the undergrowth of the forest becomes thicker.
• The chimpanzees have been located, but they never stick to the park’s open trails, so the final part of any primate trekking experience is a walk into the unknown and the sweeps of untrammeled green.
• You will hear them, and it will feel as though you can smell them too, but perhaps it’s just the whiff of something that contrasts with the forest’s freshness.
• Walk slowly and further through the branches, the full troops will eventually come into view. There will be a couple of babies as they playfully test their climbing skills beneath their mothers’ watchful gaze.
• A larger male will have a slightly frightening stare; although that’s just his wild way of saying don’t mess with the boss around here.
• The chimpanzees continue their eating from the trees and interacting with human-like actions, and will occasionally swing through the branches above your head.
• More than anything else, you will see emotion as you analyze the eyes and faces to read the story behind the expressions.
• Watch their eyes change when a branch snaps and a youngster fall, and then compare these with the equanimity of the older females.
• While you will be snapping photos and watching individual chimpanzees, the experience is very much about the dynamics of the troop.
• Head for lunch and later visit Bigodi wetland sanctuary; a community based conserved effort for a village walk to immerse you into the interesting cultures of the community besides Chimpanzees.

Day 11: Transfer To Bwindi Impenetrable National Park.

Have breakfast and depart from your lodging and drive through the Ishasha sector of Queen Elizabeth National Park, a home of tree climbing lions.

• You could be able to view them in trees pensive as you drive by. Feel free to take photos of these wonderful kings of the jungle as you near the exit of this great national park.
• You’ll have en-route and continue to Bwindi impenetrable national park. A string oh Hills ushers you into the fortress of Gorillas as boundless hills dominate your vicinity.
• An appealing community will wave at you as a sign of reception to this beautiful community.
• You’ll have a simple walk to the top of any nearby hill to enable you to have a panoramic view of the great Bwindi Forest.

Check into your accommodation for dinner and overnight.

Day 12: Gorilla Trekking Experience.

Wake up very early and have your breakfast before heading to the park offices of a briefing at 8:00AM.

• Colobus and vervet monkeys will chant in the trees as they traverse the tree canopies.
• Feel free to take photos of them as you join a group of trekkers to make a group of 8 and you will hereby be accompanied by ranger guides in the forest to search for the Mountain Gorillas.
• You will trek through the forest, slashing at the undergrowth, parting thick creepers, to track gorillas. The time taken to track the Gorillas is unpredictable since it depends on their movements in search for food and shelter.
• However, it can take three quarters of the day and 90% chances of viewing them. Upon reaching the Gorillas, you will have one hour with them and this will enable you to sit down and watch them as they interact with each other, communicate and you are also free to take photographs and Videos.
• Upon accomplishing this memorable experience, you’ll have an opportunity to visit the community for an hour before having lunch and proceeding to Lake Bunyonyi where you’ll check into your hotel for dinner and overnight

Day 13: Lake Bunyonyi Canoeing And A Boat Trip.

The yellow sun rays emerge from the east as the birds sing, the water is still as a fresh breeze goes over this lake as you have breakfast by this beautiful lake.

• You’ll not only feel this at a distance but also with a canoe and paddle as you sail on this peaceful lake.
• Lake Bunyonyi is the deepest lake in Uganda and is relatively stable throughout the year thanks to the few waves.
• Paddle your canoe to visit the twenty-nine (29) islands in this lake including floating islands and the punishment island where young girls who would get pregnant before marriage would be dumped and left to die as they tried to swim to the shore.
• Each island has history attached to it.
• Lake Bunyonyi is a home to 200 bird species and the morning canoe session will unveil to you amazing bird species like White tailed blue monard, African Harrier Hawk, gray crowned cranes, Herons, egrets, the cardinal woodpecker, the levaillant’s cuckoo, slender-billed baglafecht, weavers, levillant cuckoo and many more bird species.
• Return to the shores for lunch after which you’ll take a boat trip to the pygmy’s village, a group of batwa that were displaced from the Bwindi Forest.

Return to the shores for dinner and lodging.

Day 14: Transfer To Lake Mburo National Park.

Depart from your Lodge parked coffee and head for Lake Mburo national park. Your first stop will be in Mbarara at Igongo Cultural center for breakfast before proceeding to Lake Mburo National Park.

• Lake Mburo area was only a controlled hunting area and was upgraded to a game reserve in 1963. The region was settled by BanyankoleBahima pastoralists who traditionally herd long horned cattle.
• It was then upgraded to a national park in 1983 expelling all the inhabitants in this protected area. It’s one of the smallest savanna national parks in Uganda yet endowed with enormous species of wildlife.
• You arrive in time for lunch at the lodge where you’ll check in and prepare for horse riding in the afternoon. When horse riding, zebras come close to you with their black and white stripes but still keep a distance.
• You’ll return to the point of origin and prepare for a night game drive. This is an opportunity to view nocturnal animals as they traverse the park for food.
• Look out for hyenas, Zebras, leopards, topis, elands and reintroduced Rothschild’s giraffes.
• The park is also rich in birds with 325 bird species including martial eagles and red-faced barbets in the acacia-wooded savannah, and papyrus yellow warblers and African fin foots in the wetlands.

Return to your lodge for dinner and overnight.

Day 15: Transfer To Ssese Island.

Arise very early for light breakfast and a transfer to SSese Island with Stops in Masaka for breakfast.

• Drive on to Bukakata landing site for a ferry crossing to Ssese Island. You’ll cross by ferry from Bukakata to Kagulube village of Lugala island Kalangala district.
• You’ll then drive 26km to your hotel for dinner and overnight.

Day 16: Golfing Experience And A Community Walk.

Experience a perfect welcome to this amazing Island with undisturbed forest cover. Upon having breakfast, grab your tees, Golf balls, ball markers, gloves, shoes and any other provided equipment and depart from the lodge to the golf course.

• Enjoy a basic golf experience as you look out for a splendid view of this great island. You’ll return to the hotel for Lunch and relax.
• Later in the afternoon, you’ll have a community walk for a first-hand native experience.
• You’ll visit a typical Island Ugandan home where you have to interact, and indulge in some of their day-to-day activities.
• Feel free to inquire about the economic activities of this region and how they’re executed. It’s factual that this region of the country thrives on coffee, fishing and food crop farming.
• It’s also important to note SSese Island is situated in Buganda region and is one of the counties under Buganda Kingdom.
• This shows how great a Kingdom Buganda is in this country. The native language in this region dominates conversations.

Return to your hotel for dinner and overnight.

Day 17: Zoo Paradise Park, Forest Walk And Sunset Canoeing .

Upon having breakfast, you’ll visit the zoo to be in the company of small animals and bird species that will amaze you.

• It’s an opportunity to be closer to wildlife and livestock. It’s a type of habituation experience.
• You’ll then proceed to the forest walk as you’ll go through beautiful trails of these natural forests of hard and soft wood.
• You’ll walk through trials of natural bio habitats of over 312 tree species, some of which are endangered species forinstanecordiamillenii, maliliaexcelsa, warburgiaugandensis a medicinal tree.
• You’ll have a picnic lunch at the course of your nature walk with BBQ or vegetarian dishes in the forest.
• Return to the hotel where you freshen up for a sunset canoe trip. You might’ve heard about the famous Lake Victoria sunset. We save the best for the last.
• You’ll be provided with life jackets and paddles before getting to the canoe. You’ll paddle your way by the shores of Lake Victoria as king fishers, teals, pelicans; gees will be at arm’s length as the sun rays turn coffee brown.
• The fisher men begin to lay their nets as the day has just begun for them. There isn’t any harm in having your drink by you as you enjoy the deeming sun rays.
• The sun appears to diminish in the lake as darkness looms.

Return to the lake shore by the hotel.

Day 18: Transfer To Entebbe. 

Check out of the Hotel upon having breakfast in time for a ferry crossing back to Bukakata in Masaka and drive to Entebbe with a stop in Kayabwe at the Equator crossing.

• This latitude that bisects the earth into two hemispheres several experiments have been arranged by the hosts to prove the dissection.
• Feel free to take amazing photos and grab a beverage before returning to your transport and proceed with the journey to Entebbe.
• Upon reaching Entebbe you’ll have lunch and check into the hotel.

Relax for the rest of the afternoon with an option for a community walk in Entebbe before dinner and overnight.

Day 19: Ngamba Island Chimpanzee Sanctuary.

You’ll have breakfast and proceed to the lake shore where you’ll take a boat to the island of Chimps to the Surrounded by the tranquil waters of Africa’s largest lake and third to the Caspian Sea and Lake Superior in the world called Lake Victoria, Ngamba Island Chimpanzee Sanctuary is home to 50 rescued chimpanzees from across East Africa.

• These orphaned chimpanzees are caged and taken good care of to foster habituation and enhance visitor experience.
• The mission of this sanctuary is to sustainably conserve Chimpanzees in their habitats and provide captive care to those who cannot survive in the wild.

Return to the shores for lunch and relax as you prepare for your flight the next day.

Day 20: Relaxation And Airport Transfer.

You’ll have an opportunity to relax at the beach or the hotel as you wait for a complimentary airport transfer depending on your flight schedule.