Murchison Falls, Kidepo Valley, Mt. Elgon Safari

After an early breakfast at Ziwa we head into Murchison Falls and to Budongo Forest. Here we will walk into this ancient tropical rainforest for two hours looking at the majestic flora including Mahogany, Fig trees, Mvuli. Bird species, some unique to this forest abound and there are also the secretive mammals of the forest including bushbuck, forest elephant and buffalo, leopard, hyrax, the rare blue duicker, and civets. Of course Budongo is home to a wide variety of primates with baboons, colobus and red tailed monkeys and, famously, chimpanzees. There is a chance you will hear or see the chimps on your forest walk but as an optional extra we can arrange the full chimp trekking experience. This is a walk of two to five hours with a 90% chance of seeing these wonderful cousins of ours in the oldest remaining forest in East Africa. The chimpanzee trekking guides here are trained by the Jane Goodall Institute and are the best in the business with a strong bond to ‘their’ chimps. After your forest experience we move a short distance down the dirt road before reaching the edge of the Albertine Rift Valley and the expansive views across the savannah and woodland of Murchison Falls NP. On the way keep an eye out for baboons, Uganda kob (the national animal), hartebeest, elephant, leopard and the birdlife, particulalry the irredescent forest kingfishers. We will take our packed lunch at the ‘top of the falls’, where the mighty Nile shakes the ground beneath your feet as it rushes, tumbles and froths its way through a seven metre gap in the escarpment. After exploring the area for a while we head deeper into the park before we meet the Nile again at Paraa (“place of Hippos”). Here we cross the river on a small ferry and head into the ‘delta area’ where the Victoria Nile enters Lake Albert. It is in this area that we will establish our camp for the next two nights. It is also the area with the highest density of wildlife. After pitching our tents we will cook dinner as the sun sets over the blue mountains of the Congo, always under the guidance of our driver, camp manager and armed wildlife ranger. We spend the evening chatting around our campfire under the African night sky, listening to the sounds of the African wilderness.

An early wakeup and a quick cup of coffee and some fruit before we take a look in the immediate vacinity to see what we can see. Maybe lions, elephant, giraffe, possibly leopard? We’ll call in at our campsite for a more substantial breakfast before heading further afield to see what mother nature will allow us a glimpse of today. After a packed lunch in the shade we board the Wild Frontiers river launch and begin our cruise to the foot of the falls. It take around an hour and a half to reach the falls and on the way we’ll scour the riverbanks, together with your first rate,highly experienced guide, for wildlife. You will see hippos and crocodiles naturally and a wide variety of spectacular waterbirds and on the banks there’s a chance of seeing buffalo, warthog, elephant and various antelope. Once at the foot falls we moor briefly to a large rock to wonder at the power of the mighty river before slowly drifting back down into the late afternoon sun, contemplating the explorers and adventurers who saw what we are seeing now. We’ll get back to camp as the sun is setting with dinner slow cooking in the embers of last nights fire before another peaceful evening spent in the African bush.

An early start and pack up camp. One last chance to see some wildlife as we head out of the north-eastern corner of the park en route to the bustling ‘capital of the north’, Gulu. After lunch in Gulu we take the road north to Kitgum and from Kitgum we head north-east to Kidepo. This is a stunning drive as we head into increasingly mountainous terrain before finally bursting through the mountain pass with the beautiful Kidepo Valley National Park laid out before us. We arrive at the campsite in time for lunch, prepared by our camp manager, and an opportunity to stretch your legs and take in the view. In the early evening we take a short game drive into the Narus Valley wetland to see what we can see before returning to the campsite to find your tents set up with all their bedding and the bbq being prepared. We’ll have time now for a warm shower and possibly a sundowner before dinner around the campfire and a peaceful evening listening to the sounds of the bush under the night sky.

Wake up in the middle of the action and watch the sunrise over the Morongole mountains with a coffee and some fresh fruit. Then we begin our day of game viewing with another visit into the Narus valley in search of lion, elephant, giraffe, eland, zebra, and leopard and to marvel at the sight of the huge herd of buffalo grazing in the wetland. We return to camp for a more substantial breakfast before heading towards the seasonla Kidepo river in search of cheetah and ostirch. We take a packed lunch among the Barassas palms at the Kidepo river, from which the area take their name before returning to camp in the mid afternoon. You can find a nice shady spot to relax or take the optional nature walk or community visit before a traditional African poike stew around the campfire in the evening.

Up in time for sunrise again and breakfast and packing up camp for the long journey ahead. One final chance to see some wildlife on our way out of the park and the reverse journey to Kitgum. After a short break in Kitgum we head south to Lira where we will stop for lunch. In the afternoon we head further south through the marshland of eastern Uganda before we climb into the foothills of Mount Elgon and our accommodation perched on the edge of the cliff overlooking the famous Sipi Falls. Time for a sundowner and dinner with a view of the falls and the Karamoja plains in the distance. Our accommodation is small dormitories in the local style.

After breakfast we take the short journey to the Mount Elgon NP forest exploration centre centre to meet you wildlife authority mountain guide. We set off on the 11km hike Tutum caves through tropical rainforest and bamboo forest. It’s a reasonably tough walk of around 6 hours to the caves and a fairly good level of fitness level is required. We take lunch on the way and then explore the caves and waterfalls. We have the option of camping in the caves behind the waterfalls or at the mountain huts where you will prepare your dinner. On the hike you will carry your own tents and food but you do have the option of hiring a porter (not included). Shorter (day outing) or longer walks are available.

After breakfast at Tutum caves we make our way back down the mountain on the look out for waterbuck, bushpig, forest hog, hyena, cerval and more likely a wide variety of primates. We will arrive back at the forest exploration centre where you will be met by your driver and taken back to Sipi Falls in time for lunch. In the afternoon is yours to relax, but if you still have the energy you can do one of many fairly short hikes around Sipi Falls or perhaps the coffee tour or mountain biking (optional extras).

In the morning we can hike to Sipi Falls if we did not do it the previous afternoon before we leave Sipi Falls for the last leg of our journey, back to Jinja or Kampala.

You can add two nights at Lake Bujagali, 8kms out of Jinja to experience your choice of adrenalin activities including whitewater rafting, horseback safaris, jet boating, mountain biking, quadbikes, bungee, sunset cruises and more.