Urban Jay Exclusive: Mid-Range
Nine days is the optimal duration for experiencing the full breadth of Uganda's extraordinary wildlife diversity, from the thundering cataracts of Murchison Falls in the north to the ancient misty forests of Bwindi in the southwest. This itinerary adds two powerful experiences to the seven-day circuit: a visit to the Zziwa Rhino Sanctuary, where Uganda's only free-roaming white rhinoceros can be tracked on foot, and two days at Murchison Falls National Park with its legendary game drives and Nile launch safari. The addition of Kibale Forest for chimpanzee tracking, Queen Elizabeth National Park for the Kazinga Channel experience, the Ishasha tree-climbing lions, and the gorilla trekking of Bwindi makes this a comprehensive introduction to Uganda's complete wildlife offering.
Day 1
Entebbe to Murchison Falls National Park via Zziwa Rhino Sanctuary
Departing Entebbe International Airport in the early morning, your guide drives north through Kampala and the lush Buganda heartland before joining the highway toward Gulu. Approximately two and a half hours from Kampala, a stop at the Zziwa Rhino and Wildlife Ranch introduces you to Uganda's remarkable conservation success story: the reintroduction of the southern white rhinoceros to a country where the species was hunted to local extinction. Walking on foot with an armed ranger through the open grassland, you track the resident crash of rhinos by their movement patterns and grazing signs, approaching to within close comfortable distance for extended observation and photography. Continuing north and crossing into Murchison Falls National Park in the late afternoon, a short walk to the summit of the falls where the entire Victoria Nile forces itself through a seven-metre gap in the rift wall completes a remarkable first day.
Lunch,Dinner
Day 2
Murchison Falls National Park Morning Game Drive and Afternoon Nile Launch Safari
The northern game circuit of Murchison Falls National Park extends across vast savannah and riverine thicket on the Nile's north bank, supporting the largest elephant population in Uganda alongside giraffe, buffalo, oribi, Uganda kob, and waterbuck. A morning game drive with your guide covers the most productive areas of the circuit, moving quietly toward fresh tracks and taking time at each sighting to observe behaviour and capture photographs. After lunch at the lodge, you join the afternoon launch safari from Paraa up the Nile toward the base of the falls, passing through a corridor of wildlife that ranks as one of Africa's great boat-based wildlife experiences. Hundreds of Nile crocodile line every bank. Hippopotamus schools rest in mid-river shallows. Elephant and buffalo move down to drink in loose groups. A remarkable diversity of water birds accompanies the boat the entire way.
Breakfast,Lunch,Dinner
Day 3
Transfer from Murchison Falls to Kibale Forest via Bigodi Wetland Walk
The long drive south from Murchison passes through the northern townships and gradually descends into the fertile agricultural basin of central Uganda before rising again into the forested highlands of the Albertine Rift. Arriving at Kibale Forest in the mid-afternoon, an optional community walk in the Bigodi Wetland Sanctuary provides an excellent introduction to the forest's primate community. Moving through papyrus swamp and gallery woodland, the walk regularly encounters Red-tailed Monkeys, Grey-cheeked Mangabey, Olive Baboon, and occasionally the Red Colobus, while the extraordinary birdlife of the sanctuary provides a rewarding alternative focus for those whose primary interest is birds.
Breakfast,Dinner
Day 4
Kibale Chimpanzee Tracking and Afternoon Transfer to Queen Elizabeth National Park
An early morning assembly at Kanyanchu Visitor Centre marks the beginning of the chimpanzee tracking experience in Kibale Forest. Your ranger-guided group enters the forest and follows the habituated community through the dense understorey, navigating roots and fallen timber as the forest fills with the calls that signal the troop's location. The allocated hour of direct observation passes in a state of concentrated attention: watching an adult male strip bark from a branch with precise deliberate movements, observing juveniles engage in play behaviour that mirrors human children with unsettling accuracy, and meeting the gaze of an individual who regards you with evident curiosity. The afternoon drive south through the Albertine Rift delivers you to Queen Elizabeth National Park.
Breakfast,Dinner
Day 5
Queen Elizabeth National Park Full Game Circuit and Kazinga Channel Launch
A full day in Queen Elizabeth National Park covers both the open savannah of the Kasenyi plains and the volcanic crater landscape of the central sector, each habitat supporting distinctive species assemblages. Morning game drives are especially productive for lion, which are regularly encountered resting in the shade of acacia or moving across open ground in the cool early light. After a lodge lunch, the afternoon Kazinga Channel launch cruise provides two hours on the water along a stretch of shoreline renowned as one of the most accessible and dramatic wildlife viewing environments in Africa. The combination of a morning game drive and afternoon boat safari in the same day makes this one of the most rewarding days of the entire circuit.
Breakfast,Lunch,Dinner
Day 6
Ishasha Tree Climbing Lions and Transfer to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest
The southern Ishasha sector requires an early departure to maximise the morning game drive hours before the midday heat encourages the lions to find deep shade. The resident pride in this area of open fig woodland and river flood plain has maintained the extraordinary tradition of resting in the branches of large trees for decades, and the sight of two or three full-grown lions draped across the horizontal limbs of a fig tree remains one of the most photogenic and unusual wildlife scenes in all of Africa. After the game drive, the route climbs steadily into the Kigezi highlands, where the deeply terraced farmland and mist-laden ridges announce the approach to Bwindi.
Breakfast,Dinner
Day 7
Bwindi Mountain Gorilla Tracking Experience
The gorilla tracking experience at Bwindi Impenetrable Forest begins before dawn, when the forest is still dark and the air carries the cool moisture of the highlands. Your ranger guide leads the group from the sector headquarters into the ancient forest, navigating trails that descend and rise sharply through a tangled landscape of roots, fallen logs, and flowering understorey plants. When the trackers locate the gorilla family, the briefing rule of maintaining a minimum distance is quickly rendered irrelevant by the gorillas themselves, who approach, pause beside, and move among the human visitors with an ease born of years of habituation. The silverback, a male of enormous physical presence, anchors the family's movements while juveniles play nearby and mothers nurse infants in the dappled light. This is the experience that defines Bwindi.
Breakfast,Dinner
Day 8
Transfer to Lake Mburo National Park and Evening Game Drive
The morning departure from Bwindi carries you northeast and gradually downhill through the Kigezi highland landscape before entering the flat pastoral country of western Uganda. Lake Mburo National Park appears as a welcome transition to a lighter, more open atmosphere after the intensity of the gorilla forest: savannah dotted with acacia, open grassland alive with zebra, and a series of lakes and wetlands that bring an entirely different suite of wildlife to the evening game drive. Impala, topi, reedbuck, oribi, and African hare move through the grass as the vehicle follows the circuits toward the lake, where hippopotamus surface and the African Fish Eagle announces the close of the day.
Breakfast,Dinner
Day 9
Lake Mburo Morning Walk and Return Transfer to Entebbe International Airport
A guided morning walk through the park boundary woodland allows for quiet appreciation of the smaller details of the ecosystem: tracks pressed into the soft red earth, the industrious activity of weaver colonies, the alarm calls of vervet monkeys announcing a passing eagle. After a final breakfast and the formalities of checkout, the drive returns to Entebbe, completing a circuit of Uganda that covers the country from its northern Nile frontier to its southwestern forest highlands.
Breakfast
Safari Pricing Guide
Prices are per person depending on group size.
| Group Size | Price Per Person (USD) |
|---|---|
| 1 Person (Solo Traveler) | $5,740 |
| 2 People (Per Person) | $4,100 |
| 4 People (Per Person) | $3,772 |
| 5 People (Per Person) | $3,608 |
| 6+ People (Per Person) | $3,444 |
Included
- Airport pickup and drop-off transfers
- Transport in a customised 4x4 safari vehicle with pop-up roof
- All national park and reserve entrance fees
- All accommodation as detailed in the itinerary
- Full board meals as specified per day
- Services of a professional English-speaking driver guide
- Drinking water in the vehicle throughout
- All applicable government taxes and levies
- Emergency evacuation insurance cover
Excluded
- International airfares
- Visa fees and travel documentation
- Comprehensive personal travel insurance
- Gratuities for guide and camp staff
- Alcoholic beverages and soft drinks at properties
- Optional activities not listed in the itinerary
- Any costs arising from illness, injury, or force majeure
