The Ultimate 2 Week Road Trip Adventure in Uganda
The absolute best way to experience Uganda in two weeks is a classic western circuit loop starting and ending in Entebbe. This 14-day route perfectly balances driving distances with iconic encounters, including tracking wild rhinos, chimpanzees, and endangered mountain gorillas.
Day 1: Entebbe, stop for rhinos and end the day in Murchison Falls.
After breakfast, you will be transferred to Murchison falls national park with a scenic drive to the park and lunch en route. An en route visit to Ziwa Rhino sanctuary for Rhino tracking is highly rewarding. A 2 hours drive to the top of Murchison falls will make your highlight of this day. A remarkable sight and sound of the Nile crushing through a narrow gorge is one of the world wonders. Dinner and overnight stay at Kabalega wilderness Lodge (luxury)/ Pakuba Safari lodge (deluxe)/ Red Chilli camp (budget).
Day 2: Murchison Falls
Wake up for an early morning game drive anticipating to see a variety of animals like buffalos, elephants, lions and several antelope species. Later return to your lodge for breakfast and lunch and in the afternoon a boat cruise up to the bottom of the falls brings you closer to Hippos, crocodiles and a plethora of migratory birds along the banks of Albert Nile. Return to the lodge in the evening for an overnight stay .
Day 3: Visit the top of the falls and Budongo forest.
After breakfast, you will drive to the top of Murchison falls for photography and then proceed to Budongo forest, The main event is a guided chimpanzee trek in the afternoon. You’ll walk through the forest with a guide to find the chimpanzees, and once located, you will have one hour to observe them. It is common to see other primates like black and white colobus monkeys and olive baboons, as well as various bird species. Guides will also share information about the forest’s flora and history.
Dinner and overnight at Budongo Eco Lodge.
Day 4: Murchison Falls to Kibale.
In the morning transfer to Kibale forest NP with a relaxed drive through the verdant country side enjoying views of the crop plantations and the rift valley escarpment. Overnight at Chimpanzee Guest house (budget)/ Turacco Tree tops (deluxe)/ Crater Safari lodge/ Papaya Lake lodge (luxury)
Day 5: Chimp trekking and a nature walk.
Proceed to Kanyanchu for briefing from the park warden as you prepare for chimpanzee tracking. Other primates you expect to encounter in this tropical rainforest include the grey checked mangabeys, L’Hoest, red-tailed and the vervet monkeys. In the afternoon a nature walk in the Bigodi Wetland Sanctuary mainly for birds such as the beautiful blue turaco is worth undertaking.
Day 6: Kibale to Queen Elizabeth National Park.
On this day transfer to Queen Elizabeth NP. On arrival in the park, a boat cruise along the Kazinga channel is a big highlight of this park as this offers a big opportunity to see varieties of wildlife including migratory and Albertine endemic birds and mammals such as hippos, elephants, buffaloes and some antelope species among others. Dinner and overnight at Katara Lodge (luxury)/ Park View lodge/ Enganzi lodge (deluxe).
Day 7: Queen Elizabeth National Park.
On this day a morning game drive to the northern sector (Kasenyi) will offer you an opportunity to encounter cats including leopards and lions, if you are lucky. This trail is gifted with big herds of elephants, buffaloes and different antelope species. Later return to the lodge for breakfast as you grace for afternoon activities which could be a boat cruise, chimpanzee trekking in Karinju forest or Kyambura Gorge.
Day 8: Queen Elizabeth National Park to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest.
In the morning after a relaxed breakfast, set off for game Drives in Ishasha sector in search of tree climbing lions. Depending on the day’s weather, you may be lucky to find lions near the road or enter deep in park in search for them. Proceed through the rolling beautiful hills of Kigezi to Bwindi NP. Overnight stay at Mahogany Springs (luxury) / Bwindi Lodge, etc
Day 9: Gorilla trekking adventure.
On this day, you will have a great time meeting with the mountain gorillas in Bwindi impenetrable forest! After a tasty breakfast, your guide will pick you up from the lodge, head for briefing and later enjoy the fullness of the mist forest as you see the gentle giants and other wild life species like buffaloes, elephants, monkeys, butterflies, and different bird species. Only one hour is permitted to you with the gorillas. Locating gorillas can take a few hours or the whole day depending on how far they moved from the place they spent the previous night. After the trek, in the evening you could go for a guided nature walk or a community visit.
Accommodation options; Chameleon hill lodge (Luxury), Four Gorillas lodge (Moderate)
Day 10: scenic drive to lake bunyonyi
Drive from Bwindi forest national park to lake bunyonyi in kabale district. lake bunyonyi is one of the three lava damned lakes in Uganda. bunyonyi locally means small birds. so the lake got its name because of the abundance of small birds in this area in filled the area. lake bunyonyi is said to be the deepest lake in Uganda and the second deepest in east africa. the beauty of this lake bunyonyi will surely not disappoint you. it is one of the best places in Uganda to relax after your gorilla trek.
accommodation options; Lake Bunyonyi overland camp, Hawks eye, Acadia cottages, Birdnest Resort
Day 11: canoeing or hiking
After breakfast, you are free to admire the beauty of the lake and its surrounding hills. you will have a choice of either taking a canoe ride on the lake to explore the different islands with exciting histories behind them, you will visit the punishment island. the story about this island is the place where girls who got pregnant before marriage would be dumped and left to die, you can hike one of the hills around the lake bunyonyi.
accommodation options; Lake Bunyonyi overland camp, Hawks eye, Acadia cottages, Birdnest Resort
Day 12: Transfer to Lake Mburo national park
After an early morning breakfast at the lodge, you will drive to lake Mburo national park which is the among Uganda’s smallest savannah national parks. It was upgraded as a national park in 1983 and it is a home to 332 bird species, animals like buffaloes, Oribis, kobs, warthogs, zebras among others.
Upon arrival at the park, you will check in at the lodge, have lunch and then you will have a preparation for evening game drive. Still a lot of animals will be seen like Zebras, impalas, kobs, antelopes, also bird species.
Accommodation options; Mihingo Lodge (Luxury), Rwakobo Rock (Moderate), Eagles nest/ Leopard’s rest camp (Budget
Day 13: Game drive and walking safari
In the morning, you will have breakfast at your lodge, thereafter set out for the game drive through the park where your eyes will be fed with amazing sights and wildlife such as impalas, kobs, antelopes, also bird species. Lake Mburo has a variety of antelopes including topi, duiker, Oribis, reedbuck and klipspringer and Rothschild giraffe have recently been reintroduced. However, the heights of the park have to be the Burch ells zebra and eland which are only found in two national parks in Uganda.
Day 14: Transfer to Entebbe
The day begins with breakfast after we shall drive back to Kampala with lunch. Proceed to Entebbe get to Entebbe by 6:30 pm. and this will mark the end of our 2 week road trip adventure tour