13-Days Uganda and Tanzania safari
Overview
13-Days Uganda and Tanzania safari brings you closer to the mountain gorillas and the chimpanzees in their wild and also have a chance to visit Rwanda where you will catch a flight to you next destination Tanzania.
Day 1: Arrival in Uganda
Your 13-days Uganda and Tanzania safari starts after meeting our driver/guide who will transfer you to your hotel for dinner and overnight stay.
On this day, you will be warmly welcomed at the airport by one of our professional tour guides. From the airport, you will be transferred to your hotel for check in.
Depending on your arrival time, you may go for a short city tour to see how Entebbe looks like and also buy some few locally made items like Ugandan branded Jerseys, huts and other items that you may love at the Entebbe craft market. You will later head back to the hotel in the evening to have dinner and overnight stay.
You may opt to have a night out in one of the clubs in Entebbe to explore the night life in Enteebe town.
Accommodation: Via Via Hotel Entebbe
Meal plan: Dinner and Drinking water
Day 2: Transfer to Kibale forest national park
After breakfast, your journey to Kibale Forest is incredibly scenic, taking you through tea plantations, lively village markets and over rolling hills of lush green countryside that is so characteristic of western Uganda.
Kibale Forest National Park itself is an extensive tract of dense tropical rain-forest located just south of the town Fort Portal. The various ecosystems in this space are reputed to harbor the highest density of primates in all of Africa. The rare red colobus monkeys as well as the black-and-white colobus are just some of the primates you may encounter on your forest walks here. The highlight of a trip to Kibale Forest is of course to spend some time observing the wonderfully entertaining chimpanzees.
Accommodation:
Luxury : Primate Lodge Kibale/ Chimpundu Lodge
Mid-range : Turaco Tree Top lodge/ Isunga Lodge
Budget : Kibale Forest Camp/ Kibale Forest Lodge
Meal plan: All meals and drinking water
Day 3: Chimpanzee tracking and Bigodi swamp walk
We shall have early morning breakfast and head straight the headquarters for the briefing from the guides as you start on the chimpanzee tracking expedition by 7:30 am. You will head into the forest and look for these intelligent creatures that share over 90% DNA with humans, which makes them very intelligent and behave almost like humans. Meeting these animals will depend on the last nesting location of the previous night, and when you reach them you will be limited to one hour with them and continue with the adventure as you discover more of the secrets of the park. You will also view other primates especially monkeys floating in the trees and several bird species.
You may have packed lunch or transfer back to the lodge to have lunch and relax a bit as you wait for the evening activity.
Later in the evening you will head to the southern part of Kibale national park for an amazing birding experience. Bigodi swamp is located just 6km from Kanyanchu visitors center and it is such a fascinating area where you can find over 200 bird species including the famous shoebill which may be seen during guided walks along the boardwalk trail and viewing other various primates. Bigodi Swamp Walk is a 5-km, three-hour tour through this protected forest on the outskirts of Bigodi Trading Center. Later you’ll head back to the lodge for relaxation and overnight stay
Accommodation:
Luxury : Primate Lodge Kibale/ Chimpundu Lodge
Mid-range : Turaco Tree Top lodge/ Isunga Lodge
Budget : Kibale Forest Camp/ Kibale Forest Lodge
Meal plan: All meals and drinking water
Day 4: Transfer to queen Elizabeth National park and Evening Game drive
After a relaxed breakfast, you will transfer to Queen Elizabeth expecting a clear view of Rwenzori Mountains during your journey upon arrival, you will have your lunch served at the lodge and after you may opt to visit Lake Katwe or to relax as you wait for dinner and overnight stay.
Queen Elizabeth National Park is Uganda’s most visited game reserve and arguably the most scenic. The national park protects the vast savannah plains, bushland, wetlands and forests that lie at the base of the Rwenzori mountain range. Kazinga Channel, which flows through the park and connects Lake George in the east to Lake Edward in the west, attracts a rich array of birds and animals, including the infamous Nile crocodile and one of the world’s largest concentration of hippos. On your first game drive you will explore the park along a 200 kilometre network of well-maintained game viewing tracks.
Accommodation:
Luxury : Elephant Plains Lodge/ Mweya Safari Lodge
Mid-range : Twin Lakes Safari Lodge/ Buffalo Safari lodge
Budget : Irungu Forest Safari Lodge
Meal plan: All meals and drinking water
Day 5: Morning Game drive and afternoon boat cruise
After an early morning breakfast, you will head for a morning game drive in search for wildlife along the Kasenyi plains. Be on the look for Cape buffalos, herds of elephants, Bush bucks, warthogs, lions, and leopards (though hard to spot) among others. The kasenyi plains are well known for game drives in Queen Elizabeth National Park and are perfect grounds for spotting the predators (Lions and Leopards). These are big breeding grounds for the antelopes, which attracts predators to hunt down prey in these areas.
Later in the day when the sun is high in the sky and the animals make their way to the river for a drink, we will head to Kazinga Channel for an exciting boat cruise. You will spot more hippos today than you can possibly imagine. Herds of elephants and buffaloes will also wander down to the shoreline to bathe in the cooling waters. A boat cruise is a fantastic way to get close to wildlife and for many visitors and the highlight of Queen Elizabeth National Park.
Accommodation:
Luxury : Elephant Plains Lodge/ Mweya Safari Lodge
Mid-range : Twin Lakes Safari Lodge/ Buffalo Safari lodge
Budget : Irungu Forest Safari Lodge
Meal plan: All meals and drinking water
Day 6: Transfer to Bwindi Impenetrable National park via Ishasha Sector for Tree climbing lions
After your breakfast, you will check out of the lodge and head for a morning game drive to see the tree-climbing lions. The chance of spotting these lions is about 70% though sometimes they are hard to spot (most especially when they are down in the grassland looking for prey). Should you get to spot them, the sight is picturesque and memorable.
Ishasha is one of only two places in the world where you can see tree-climbing lions together with Lake Manyara in Tanzania and they spend almost the whole day in tree branches resting from a day hunt and also escaping from the hot ground during the dry season.
Upon arrival in Bwindi, you will check in at your lodge for relaxation and overnight stay as you wait for Gorilla tracking the following day.
Accommodation:
Luxury : Mahogany Springs Lodge/ Nkuringo Bwindi Gorilla Lodge
Mid-range : Gorilla Mist Lodge/ Bakiga Lodge
Budget : Gorilla Closeup lodge/ Broadbill Forest Camp
Meal plan: All meals and drinking water
Day 7: Gorilla trekking and Batwa cultural experience
On this adventurous day, you wake up on an early morning breakfast and report to Bwindi Park headquarters for a short briefing with the leader tracker/ ranger guide before you start on your day activity. From here you will head into the montane forest for an encounter with the mountain gorillas.
Always watch out for their voices and listen to them grumble and the young as they swing from tree to tree, and marvel at the sheer size of the dominant male; the silverback.
It is an extraordinary feeling sitting in the dense rain forest knowing you are with a few of the last remaining mountain gorillas. The beauty of this rainforest is spectacular and it offers a dramatic steeply forested landscape which is incredibly dense, but crisscrossed by numerous animal trails allowing access to tourists.
Gorilla Habituation safari
You will look for these endangered species and finding them will depending on the last nesting location of the previous night. The time taken to track the gorillas can be range from 4 to 7 hours or beyond. Once you locate a gorilla group, you will be allowed only one hour in their presence. The thrill of spending time observing these gentle and endangered giants is an awesome, exciting and one in a life experience to be long savored.
Later, you will have a community visit to the Batwa group that are the first people to live in these forest. These people still reside there regardless of the many years of civilization. You will be amazed by their traditional dance, homes, dress-code and way of life. You will then return back to the lodge for dinner and rest till the following day.
Thereafter, return to lodge for dinner and overnight stay.
Accommodation:
Luxury : Mahogany Springs Lodge/ Nkuringo Bwindi Gorilla Lodge
Mid-range : Gorilla Mist Lodge/ Bakiga Lodge
Budget : Gorilla Closeup lodge/ Broadbill Forest Camp
Meal plan: All meals and drinking water
13-Days Uganda and Tanzania safari
Day 8: Transfer to Kigali city (Rwanda) and catch up your flight to Tanzania
After an early breakfast, you will transfer to Kigali city where you will board your next flight to Kilimanjaro international air (Tanzania). Upon arrival at Kilimanjaro, you will be driven to Arusha town where you will spend your night that day. Upon arrival, will check into your hotel as you wait for dinner and overnight stay
Accommodation: Arusha Planet Lodge
Meal plan: All meals and drinking water
Day 9: Transfer to Lake Manyara national park
After breakfast, you will be met at your accommodations by your safari guide and then drive to Lake Manyara National Park. This is a relatively small but diverse park situated 120km west of Arusha. The park’s namesake is a shallow salt lake. It covers a large area of the park, floods and dries with the seasons, and is home to thousands of flamingos and over 500 other bird species. During your park explorations, you will see monkeys, giraffe, zebra, wildebeest, buffalo, elephant and, with some luck, lions lounging in the trees. The park is known for its diverse landscapes. It not only has grassy plains, but also primate-filled woodlands and baobab dotted cliffs.
After an extensive game drive through the park, you will head towards your nearby accommodations.
Accommodation: Manyara Wildlife Safari Camp
Meal plan: All meals and drinking water
Day 10: Transfer to Tarangire national park
After breakfast, you will drive to National Park. Tarangire is well known for its large elephant herds. From the open roof of the vehicle, you will experience the seasonal swamps, savannah, and Tarangire River in search of many animals – including zebra, wildebeest, buffalo, elephant, and giraffe. It’s possible on the lucky day that you may spot a glimpse of a lion stalking its prey or leopards watching and relaxing in the trees above. Your guide will stop at a nice picnic spot where you can enjoy your packed lunch in the still nature around you.
Accommodation: Sangaiwe Tented Lodge
Meal plan: All meals and drinking water
Day 11: Transfer to Serengeti national park
After breakfast, you will continue towards the fertile highlands where wheat, coffee, and corn are grown by the Iraqw people. Passing through the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, you will be able to see the breathtaking Ngorongoro Crater before traveling onwards to the Serengeti, which you will reach by mid-day.
Serengeti National Park is the largest park in Tanzania. It features diverse landscapes and habitats, such as grassy plains, swamps, lakes, savannah, and mountains. The biggest wildebeest and zebra migration takes place here and, depending on the season, you may witness thousands of animals on their search for food and water.
Accommodation: Serengeti Heritage Tented Camp/ Domel Wilderness Camp/ Pamoja Africa Luxury camp
Meal plan: All meals and drinking water
Day 12: Full day game drive
The entirety of today is set aside for game driving in Serengeti National Park. The Serengeti is the habitat for an abundance of wildlife, including impalas, buffalo, crocodiles, and hippos, but is best known for its great migrating herds of zebras and wildebeest. The animals’ trek is determined by the rainfall and varies from year to year. In November and December, the animals move from the northern region, dominated by woodlands and hills, to the grassy plains of the south. During the longer rainy season from April to June, they return to the north. Apart from the migrating herds, you might have the chance to see predators, such as leopards, cheetahs, and lions, always lurking close by which marks the climax of your 13-Days Uganda and Tanzania safari.
Accommodation: Domel Wilderness Camp/ Pamoja Africa Luxury camp
Meal plan: All meals and drinking water
Day 13: Transfer to Arusha for the drop off
After a relaxed breakfast, you will transfer to Arusha town with an en-route lunch where you will catch a plane back home hence the of your 13-Days Uganda and Tanzania safari.
Accommodation: End of Safari
Meal plan: Breakfast and Lunch with drinking water
End of your 13-Days Uganda and Tanzania safari
Includes:
- Park fees (For non-residents)
- All activities (Unless labeled as optional)
- All accommodation (Unless listed as upgrade)
- A professional driver/guide
- All transportation (Unless labeled as optional)
- All Taxes/VAT
- Round-trip airport transfer
- Meals (As specified in the day-by-day section)
- Drinking water (On all days)
- Flight from Rwanda to Tanzania
Excludes:
- International flights (From/to home)
- Additional accommodation before and at the end of the tour
- Tips (Tipping guideline US$10.00 pp per day)
- Personal items (Souvenirs, travel insurance, visa fees, etc)
- Government imposed increase of taxes and/or park fees
Why you should travel with Pamoja tours and travel Uganda Limited?
5% of the profits go to Pamoja health Initiative. Pamoja gives back to the community through its 5% share of profits which goes Pamoja health initiative a project of Pamoja tours and travel aimed at providing free health services to Vulnerable communities in Uganda.
Comfortable safe mileage. Pamoja aims at providing the most comfortable safe mileage to its clients so as to meet their satisfaction.
Reliability and trustworthy. Pamoja is credited with trustworthy and reliable employees who are determined to work together with you to deliver quality services.
Affordable quality services. Pamoja exists to offer pocket friendly services which are of a good quality to suite your taste and preference.
Hospitable employees/ guides with a broader knowledge about Uganda. Meet our hospitable employees/ guides all determined to make it to your travel destination. The employees are fluent English speakers.
