Luxury Holidays – 10 Days Best of Uganda Safari

Your 10 days best of Uganda luxury holidays safari will begin with a visit to the source of the Nile in Eastern Uganda. An experienced driver-guide will pick you from a location of your choice in Kampala at 8:00 am. You will begin your journey to Jinja – the home of Africa’s longest river, the celebrated river Nile. Before flowing out on its lengthy journey, the ‘endless’ Nile river has its beginning in the massive Lake Victoria.

Besides encountering its source, you will have a wealth of adventures to undertake on river Nile. You can choose to embark on; a boat cruise, bungee jumping, kayaking, or white water rafting. If you don’t want to get wet, you can go quad biking or horseback riding. The excitement at the Nile is endless.

A luxury holidays safari is incomplete without exploring one of Africa’s finest wildernesses – the eminent Kidepo Valley, situated in Karamoja region in the North-eastern Uganda. As your travel to the park, you will have the luxury of visiting the famous Nyero rock paintings found in Kumi district. These peculiar paintings date back to the stoneage and are believed to have been in existence before 1250 CE.

You will then continue with your drive to Kipedo, enjoying the heart-melting beauty of a rustic countryside. 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. When you arrive at the park, your guide will check you in at the prestigious Apoka Safari Lodge. Kidepo Valley National Park is the ideal luxury holiday safari destination for the avid adventurer.

The third day of your luxury holidays safari will begin with an early breakfast before you head out for a game drive in the Kidepo’s famous Narus valley. The valley attracts a high concentration of wildlife because of its water sources. A guided game drive through this prized region is your chance to see the; bat-eared Fox, aardwolf, striped hyena, cheetah, hunting dog, greater and lesser Kudu, among other carnivores species unique to Kidepo. The other great mammals to see during this luxury holiday safari experience in Kidepo include; the African elephant, Rothschild’s giraffe, cape buffalo, bushbucks, 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. A holiday safari excursion in Kidepo is incomplete without encountering the nomadic Karamojong community. You will be inspired by their culture and way of life. Your day’s adventures will end with a lavish dinner at your lodge in the late evening.

On the fourth day of your luxury holidays safari you will have breakfast, after which you will depart from Kidepo and drive to Murchison Falls National Park – Uganda’s largest national park and the location of the prized Murchison Falls. The park is a habitat to over 76 mammal species and 450 bird species. Once you reach the park, you will check in at your choice accommodation and then embark on a top of the falls hike. The 45 min – 1 hr hike along the falls is very thrilling; your face will be washed in the mist emanating from the raging falls and you will feel the ground beneath you shaking aggressive.

Your day’s luxury holidays safari experience will begin with a boat cruise on the Victoria Nile in the early morning. You will start riding just in time to watch the ancient African sun rising from her bed in splendid beauty. 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. The area around the Nile and the Murchison falls is a habitat to the shoebill stork, bee-eater, pelican, Egyptian geese, goliath heron, hornbill, kingfisher, saddle-bill stork, among other bird species.

You will retreat from the cruise in the mid-morning, return to your lodging for breakfast before packing and embarking on a transfer to Kibale National Park for an ultimate primate experience. Situated in Southern Uganda, the park is a habitat to 13 primate species including a jaw-dropping population of over 1450 individual chimpanzees. Once you arrive at the park in the evening, you will check in at your choice lodge to retire for the night.

Your holiday safari adventure will begin with a light breakfast before reporting to Kanyanchu Visitor Center for a chimpanzee trekking excursion. Chimp tracking is the major highlight of a safari to Kibale National Park. Prior to trekking, you will receive a briefing on chimp tracking etiquette from the park authorities. Chimpanzees live in large communities of about 100 individuals, and a typical tracking experience lasts between 2-6 hours. You will have the opportunity to watch the chimps go about their daily routine.

Optional activity: chimpanzee habitation experience
Being on a luxury holidays safari, you will have the liberty to indulge in every note-worthy adventure. At an extra cost, you can do a chimpanzee habituation experience instead of the regular chimp trekking. The experience lasts an entire day and while on it you get a chance to have a close up with a chimp community being habituated. You become part of the researchers and professional team working tooth and nail to get the chimpanzees adopted to their environment and get used to the presence of human beings.

Your luxury holiday safari expedition will continue as you embark on a journey to Uganda’s most visited national park – the eminent Queen Elizabeth situated in the Western region of the country. Your guide will ensure that you enter the park through it’s southern region; Ishasha – the home of the noteworthy tree-climbing lions. As you drive through Ishasha, you will spot the notorious lions stretched out lazily in massive tree branches.

Your day’s luxury holiday safari excursions will begin with a boat cruise on Kazinga channel in the early morning. The launch cruise along the channel is one of the most popular safari activities in Queen Elizabeth National Park. You get to sit back and enjoy the sight of elephants, buffaloes, bushbucks, kobs and large herds of hippos on the riverbanks. Occasionally, visitors are able to spot leopards, lions and forest hogs. Besides the various mammals, the channel is a habitat for various species of water birds. You will return to your lodge in the mid-morning, have breakfast, pack and launch out on a drive to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park.

A luxury holiday safari trip to Bwindi is incomplete without engaging in a gorilla trekking excursion. You will then be briefed about the ‘dos’ and ‘don’ts’ while on a gorilla trekking expedition.You will then hit one of the trail heads with a team of professional guides and trackers. A typical gorilla trekking excursion lasts between 2 – 8 hours. Hiking through the beaten trails in search of the potent giants is exerting but greatly rewarding. The hours you spend searching through the vast forest are not boring; you get to encounter a variety of mammal, primate and bird species as well as noteworthy floral and plant life.

Once you encounter a gorilla family, you will spend an hour observing its members; how the domineering male silver back displays his authority and ability. Besides the males, you will also see the intriguing females carefully tending their little ones. You will be allowed to take photos during the experience. It is the ideal luxury holiday safari destination for a mountain gorilla lover. After the excursion, you will return to your lodge, have lunch and then embark on a transfer to Lake Mburo National Park.

On the last day of your 10 days best of Uganda luxury holidays safari trip, you will have breakfast and then launch out for a game drive. With the aid of a park ranger, you will drive through the demarcated trails spotting various game along the way. A safari game drive in Lake Mburo is incomplete without seeing the; impalas, burchell’s zebras, elands, bushbucks, warthogs, reedbucks and topis. It is also very likely that you will see the elusive leopards, hyenas and jackals.

You will then go for a boat cruise on Lake Mburo in the afternoon after having lunch. As you sail on the lake, you will spot; herds of hippos, buffaloes, and crocodiles at the water banks. The area around the lake is also a habitat to many bird species including the rare shoebill stork. The other birds to see during this African safari excursion include; the red, yellow and black papyrus gonaleks, African fishing eagle, African finfoot, Abyssinian ground hornbill, saddle billed stork, red-faced barbet, grey-crowned crane, papyrus yellow warbler, and the brown-chested wattled plover.

You will return to your lodging, pack your bags and then embark on a drive back to Kampala – Uganda’s capital marking the end of your 10 days best of Uganda luxury holiday safari tour.