10 Days Best Of The West Uganda Safari

Arrival at Entebbe International Airport.  Meet and greet at the Airport by your Hallmark Travel Planners guide. You will be transferred to your hotel in Entebbe. (D)

Entebbe is a city in Uganda with a population of approximately 90,500. It is located on the shore of Lake Victoria 40 Km from the capital city of Kampala. The name Entebbe derives from the Luganda phrase Entebbe za Mugala (‘Headquarters of Mugala’, head of lungfish clan) and thus literally means Headquarters- somewhat prescient, given that it would later serve as the British administrative capital of Uganda.

The Boma (***)

After breakfast we drive to Fort Portal via Mubende. This is a long trip to Western Uganda with a break for a picnic after Mubende. A stop is also foreseen at  Fort Portal. After some shopping we will drive another hour to reach the Kibale area (B-L-D).

Fort Portal is a small and attractive city. The fort was built between 1891 and 1893 and named after Sir Gerald Portal, the British Consul General of Zanzibar who arrived in Uganda in 1892 to formalise the protectorate of Uganda. He died of malaria a few months after the fort was completed.

After breakfast you leave for Kibale Forest renowned for the greatest variety and the highest concentration of primates in East-Africa. The visitors centre of Kanyanchu is 45 minutes away from your lodge. At the visitors centre the rangers are ready to escort different groups of maximum 6 persons. They will brief you about your guided nature walk in the tropical forest in search of the wild chimpanzees. This is one of the great moments of your safari!

On your way to Mweya after leaving Fort Portal, you will have a good scenery of the Rwenzori Mountains. It’s during the wet season that you will have the best chances to have a clear view of the Ruwezories Mountains. On our way to Mweya you will pass Kasese town and stop at the equator for a traditional picture.

You will enter Queen Elizabeth NP at the Kabatoro gate and have a short game drive on our way to Mweya which lies on a peninsula. (B-L-D)

The best time for game-viewing is early in the morning! You will take the channel track which runs parallel with the Kazinga Channel and we drive slowly towards the Katunguru gate. The channel track is particularly rewarding with warthog, bushbuck, waterbuck and elephants. There are some chances in the morning hours to see the spotted hyena and leopard. We will cross the Mbarara-Kassese-Fort Portal road and drive to Kasenyi an area near to Lake George which is an interesting game viewing area. The wetlands surrounding the lake are of international importance protected by the Ramsar Convention.

You visit the Uganda Kob Mating Ground which is a defined area specifically used by Uganda Kobs for challenging, enticing and mating. Adult rams defend a circle territory (30 meters diameter) and depending on the season the mating ground can have 20 and more of this small territories each defended by a male. Ewes enter the territories for mating and move freely between rams.

We continue our game drive and we take the Kasenyi track when returning to Mweya lodge for lunch. In the afternoon you will take the launch trip on the Kazinga Channel which many consider as a highlight of the safari. The launch trip takes 2 hours.

The Kazinga Channel is a natural channel of 36 km long between Lake George and Lake Edward. The launch trip is the most popular activity at Mweya. From the safe boat you can see elephants, hippo, nile crocodile and many water birds. The water birds are plentiful along the channel: African skimmers, African fish eagles, cormorants, saddle-billed storks, pelicans, etc. The Kazinga Channel divides Queen Elizabeth in a northern (Mweya) and a southern part (Maramagambo, Kyambura, Ishasha). Landscapes will be different. The northern part is an euphorbia savannah while the southern sector is a typical acacia savannah.

After the launch trip you will enjoy from your lodge the splendid views of the channel. Alternatively your driver guide will take you for a late afternoon game drive! (B-L-D)

Early wake up because we need to drive to Kyambura WR, a one hour drive from Mweya. You will take the Channel track trying the last chance to see leopard. Kyambura lies in the southern sector of the park and we take the main road to Mbarara and cross the Kazinga Channel at Katunguru.

The Kyambura River, about 16 km long, flows into Kazinga Channel. On arrival, the rangers will lead us and we drive to the nearest point, where they (rangers) usually know the chimpanzees are approximately located. The rangers will give you a briefing before descending into the depths of the gorge. The nature walk takes a few hours and lunch will be served at Kyambura fig tree campsite before heading to Ishasha.

Ishasha is about 3 hours away from Kyambura and you will have a short game drive on your way to the camp. The first night at Ishasha is always the most impressive one for visitors. At night you might have a concert of black-and-white colobus monkeys, baboons, hyena, hippos and the roaring lions! (B-L-D)

You will explore Ishasha, the southern sector of Queen Elizabeth considered by some experts as one of the most alluring game viewing area of East Africa. It’s an off-the-beaten-track destination that you will surely enjoy.

We wake up early, of course, since this is the best time for observing nature.  You start from the southern circuit in search of the elephants and we will drive over the plains of Ishasha in the open savannah. The southern circuit has usually large herds of buffalo, Uganda kob and topi. Near to the swamps of the southern circuit you might see even leopard. We continue and drive to the northern circuit which is the area near the main road known for its tree climbing lions. We look particularly at the many fig trees where lions like to stay. But we also visit the Uganda kob mating ground which is their preferred hunting area.

In the afternoon you will have another game drive and during the dry season we will drive you to the Edward’s flats to see elephants, large herds of buffalo and different waterbirds. Occasionally we might find in this area the shoebill stork and by surprise some  hunting lions.

We return late in the afternoon to enjoy the last moments of the day on the Ntungwe river. After diner we sit around the campfire and enjoy the nature sounds of the woods. (B-L-D)

This is your last game drive in Queen Elizabeth. If you have missed the lions the previous days it will be the last opportunity to try again. You will start again with the northern circuit and finish your game drive with the southern part.

When returning from the morning game drive you will enjoy you last moment in the wilderness. After lunch we depart to Bwindi a journey that can take a max. of 2 hours. We shall have a stop over at Kihihi for refueling and some shopping at the local stores. The Muzungu (the white visitors) are an attraction for the children of the village!

Bwindi is not far away and you will arrive at Buhoma in the afternoon. Time to have a cool drink, enjoy the sight and sounds of the rainforest. Overnight at your lodge. (B-L-D)

Bwindi Impenetrable NP is a natural world heritage site. Hikers will love it, with the gorilla excursion as a high point of your safari!

Gorilla trekking is unpredictable. It’s difficult to foresee how many hours you will hike. The gorilla excursion can take from 2 up to 8 hours. Expect to walk along distance in steep and muddy conditions, sometimes with rain overhead, before you encounter any gorillas. A good physical condition is recommended. For conservation purposes, time spent with the gorillas is limited to one hour. A ranger will brief you on how to behave with the gorillas.

Once you are back from trekking before 5 pm, you can be entertained by  orphans of the Buhoma village, with their traditional Bakiga dances. For participants who want to contribute to the orphans, we advise them to bring some used clothes or school pencils/pens. (B-L-D)

The Bwindi orphans group was created in 1998 with the main objective of taking care of the orphans dwelling on the streets of Buhoma. The high aim of the organization is to provide education, teaching agriculture and handcraft skills, teaching basic hygiene and the importance of sanitation. Today there are more than 160 children from all ages.

After breakfast, we depart for Lake Mburo via Kabale, meandering driving along the Kigezi mountains. Kigezi mountains is another unique scenery for you to view during your trip. We stop at Kabale for lunch before continuing to Lake Mburo via Marara. The arrival is foreseen in the afternoon just on time to have the boat excursion on the lake. For bird lovers this will be the best place to see the African finfoot in Uganda! (B-L-D)

Lake Mburo is part of a much larger ecosystem that includes Akagera NP (Rwanda), Tanzania’s Ibanda and Rumanyika Game Reserve and rangeland areas north to the Katonga River (Uganda). This eco-system is different from the Albertine rift and explains why you will find here some animals that you have not seen in other parks like Impala, zebra and African Eland. This makes the Park very interesting to be visited.

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