African Lions – 9 Days Pearl of African Lion Safari

Your African lion safari will begin with a driver-guide picking you from Entebbe airport or any other location of your choice within Kampala. Your first encounter with Uganda’s wildlife will be at the celebrated Uganda Wildlife Education Center (UWEC), famously known as the ‘Entebbe zoo’. Only a few minutes drive from the airport, the zoo is the best place to begin an African lions adventure tour in Uganda. You will spend the entire afternoon exploring the zoo and its untamed wildlife residents.

After your adventure at the zoo, you will transfer to the nearby Mabamba bay. The wetland is situated on the edge of Lake Victoria, northwest of the Entebbe peninsula. You will see bird species like; the shoe bill stork, blue swallow, papyrus gonolek, yellow warbler, kingfisher, lap wines, herons and egrets. Mabamba bay is a habitat to over 150 bird species. As the day wanes, you will drive to a comfortable lodging in Entebbe for dinner and overnight.

After having breakfast, your African lion safari excursions will continue as you embark on a drive to Uganda’s celebrated Kidepo Valley National Park situated in Karamoja region in the North-eastern Uganda. On your way to the park, you will make a brief stop in Kumi district to explore the famous Nyero rock paintings. Although it is Uganda’s most remote national park, Kidepo Valley ranks among Africa’s finest wildernesses. It is a habitat to an innumerable number of mammals and wildlife species, including a good population of lions.

You will begin your day’s African lions adventure with an early breakfast before heading out for a game drive in the park’s famous Narus and Kidepo valleys. The park features a count of over 132 individual lions. The valleys attracts a high concentration of wildlife because of their water sources. The other great mammals to see on your African lions experience in Kidepo include; the African elephant, Rothschild’s giraffe, cape buffalo, bush bucks, zebras, oribi, Jackson’s hartebeest and Bush babies. You will also have a chance to sight the Kidepo and Narus rivers.

After having lunch, you will embark on a cultural trail to the native Karamojong community. An African safari excursion in Kidepo is incomplete without encountering the nomadic Karamojong community. Cattle keeping and pastoral-ism is the life of the Karamojong people. You will be inspired by their culture and way of life. Your day’s African lions safari adventure will end as you drive back to your lodging in the late evening.

Your day’s adventure will begin with a birding excursion in any of the park’s famous bird watching spots. Birding can be done at Apoka rest camp, on the fringes of the Narus river or in Namamkweny valley. You will see a variety of bird species including; the Purple heron, Abyssinian ground horn bill, Abyssinian roller, and Clapper-ton’s francolin, which are endemic to Kidepo Valley.

Your expedition will continue as you embark on a nature walk/hike to explore the park’s notable attractions. You can choose to hike up the Lomej Mountains or have a guided walk through the Narus valley, extending over a 5km radius from Apoka Tourism Centre. After the excursion, you will visit the park’s Kanangarok hot springs located at the extreme north of the park. After your adventures in Kidepo, you will embark on a transfer to Murchison Falls National Park.

Your day’s African lion excursion in Murchison Falls National Park will begin with a game drive at 6:30 am, after having a light breakfast. You will embark on a game drive in one of the park’s famous game viewing tracks. The park has a population of over 130 individual lion species found in its various regions. During the game drive, you will see numerous wildlife including four of the big fives; lions, elephants, leopards, and the cape buffaloes among other wildlife that make their abode in the park.

After having lunch, you will continue your African lion safari with a boat cruise on the Victoria Nile. The sight and sound of the gushing and rushing waterfalls is soothing and breath-taking. As you sail upstream to the bottom of the falls, you will spot herds of hippos and crocodiles along the river banks. The boat cruise is also the ideal adventure for the avid birder. Murchison Falls National Park is nature’s hub; you will enjoy the sight and sound of the abundant wildlife before retiring to your accommodation for dinner and overnight in the late evening.

Your next stop of the African lion safari will be a visit to Kaniyo – Pabidi eco-tourism site for a chimpanzee trekking excursion. You will have a briefing about chimpanzee tracking etiquette and then hit one of the trails to begin your quest for a habituated chimp family. Chimpanzees live in communities of about 100 individuals and tracking them can take between 2-6 hours. Once you encounter a community, you will spend an hour observing its members; how they interact with each other and undertake their daily routine.

After the excursion, you will report back to your lodging, have lunch and then embark on a guided birding excursion. Places to go for birding include; trails through Kaniyo Pabidi and Rabongo forests, the area around the Nile – Lake Albert delta, Mubako junction, the southern and northern banks of the Nile, Nyamusika cliffs, the various thickets and woodlands. While trailing through these areas, you will see many primate and bird species.

After having breakfast, you will depart from Murchison Falls National Park and drive to Queen Elizabeth National Park to encounter another series of awaiting African lions adventures. On your way, you will make a brief stop in the crater lakes region to specifically explore the famous Katwe crater lake – Uganda’s largest salt mine. After exploring the lake, you will proceed to Queen Elizabeth National Park and arrive their in the early evening, just in time for a game drive.

After having breakfast, you will head out to the park’s famous Ishasha region for another African lion safari excursion. Ishasha is situated in the southern part of the park and is most known for its resident tree-climbing lions. You will spot the notorious lions languidly stretched out in the tree branches. The region is dominated by acacia woodlands, scrubland and riparian forest at the banks of the meandering Ishasha river.

You will go on a boat cruise along the Kazinga channel in the afternoon. The launch cruise is one of the most popular safari activities in Queen Elizabeth National Park. You get to sit back and enjoy the sight of; elephants, buffalo, bush bucks, kobs and large herds of hippos on the riverbanks. Besides the various mammals, the channel is a habitat for various species of water birds.

On the last day of your African lion safari adventure, you will embark on a chimpanzee trekking excursion in Kyambura gorge. Besides the chimpanzees, the gorge is a habitat to many other primate species and an inexhaustible number of bird life. After the experience in Kyambura gorge, you will have lunch and then embark on a return drive to Kampala. Once you reach Uganda’s capital, your guide will drive you to your residence or to the airport if you have a flight to catch.