15 Days Uganda Culture, BIG 5 Safari & Gorilla Trek

15 Days Uganda Culture, BIG 5 Safari & Gorilla Trek

From
2pax: per person sharing

Duration: 15 days/14nights

Destination: Sipi falls, River Nile, Moroto, Kidepo Valley NPK, Murchison falls NPK, Kibale Forest, Bwindi Impenetrable NPK

Highlights to Expect

  • Animals: lions, Buffaloes, cheetahs, antelopes on safari in remote Kidepo away from crowds.
  • Immerse into life of Karamojong warriors.
  • Walk or bike with the warriors.
  • Explore Uganda’s most scenic safari
  • Trek to encounter mountain gorillas
  • Walk to see chimpanzees in the wild
  • Roast & Taste your own Coffee the traditional style.
  • Meet native pigmy people.
  • Learn local customs of Hima herders
  • Water cruise safari in Murchison falls
  • Support rural women social enterprises
  • If you like join local cooking lessons
  • Reconnect with local smiling people

Route Map

15 Days: Uganda Culture, Big 5 Adventure Safari, & Gorilla Trek.

15 Days Uganda Culture, BIG 5 Safari & Gorilla Trekking tour re connects you with Uganda’s culture, safari adventure and mountain gorillas. Experience Uganda’s Nomad Warrior’s lifestyle. You will experience Karamajong nomad’s way of life in Moroto on your way to Kidepo Valley National park Safari. Visit Murchison falls, Uganda’s largest wildness where you’ll take boat safari on the river Nile.  You will visit the pigmy’s people – the original natives of the forested landscapes of western Uganda and Bahima herders in the South. On this tour you will discover over 13 different primates; monkeys and great apes. You will complete your journey with a memorable encounter with mountain gorillas of Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park. You’ll discover just how friendly and hospitable Ugandan people are.

Summary.

  • Day 0: Arrival at Entebbe.
  • Day 1: Kampala to Sipi falls – Eastern Uganda
  • Day 2: In Sipi Falls – Village walk & Coffee Tour
  • Day 3: Sipi Falls Tranfer to Moroto Town
  • Day 4: In Moroto Town:   Visit to the Karamajong warriors.
  • Day 5:  Moroto Transfer to Kidepo Valley National park via Nakaperimoru largest Warriors Village.
  • Day 6: Kidepo Valley National Park – All day Safari
  • Day 7: In Kidepo Valley National Park – Morning Safari
  • Day 8: Transfer to Murchison Falls National park
  • Day 9: In Murchison Falls National Park – All day Safari & Boat ride
  • Day 10: Transfer to Kibale Forest National Park Via Fort portal
  • Day 11: In Kibale Forest National Park – Chimp Tracking & Bigodi swamp walk
  • Day 12: Transfer to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park via Ishasha
  • Day 13: In Bwindi Impenetrable National Park – Gorilla Trekking & Explore Village.
  • Day 14:  Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park Transfer to Nshenyi Cultural Village
  • Day 15:  Transfer to Entebbe airport.

Things to know:

  • Minimum gorilla tracking age is 15 years.
  • A maximum of 8 people are permitted to visit a family of gorillas at one time/daily, so it’s likely on the real trekking day, you will be joined to other guests to make group of 8. If you’re travelling as a group larger than 8.  You will be split across different but equally amazing families.
  • Maximum time allowed with the gorilla family will NOT exceed One hour.
  • It is a requirement to have a gorilla permit before you are allowed on a Gorilla trek.
  • **Gorilla permits are 100% non-refundable. 

Is this trip for you? (safari)

This is an adventure for people who love culture, wildlife, want up-close, interactive experience. You should be comfortable with;

  • Driving long hours each day in 4×4 open roof safari car in the park, on sometimes rough, bumpy, dusty roads or on highway on windy dusty rural roads.
  • Getting up-close to wild animals like lions, elephants while in safari car with expert park guide.
  • Having an armed park ranger with AK47 with you all times on the trekking
  • Walking/trekking on uneven terrain for 2 to 6 or even 8 hours
  • May involve some high-altitude hikes or more strenuous activities, but accessible to most healthy travelers.

Activity level is moderately demanding: Gorilla trekking can be a physically strenuous activity. Trekking takes place at altitudes between 1160 to 2607m (3806 to 8553ft) above sea level. moderate physical fitness is required. The slowest member will be on the front and determines the groups’ speed. The pace will be moderate, with plenty stops to rest, ask questions, re-hydrate and enjoy the forest and views.  To trek gorillas and ease your walking, hiring a local helper (porter) is recommended. Porters are hired at a small fee ($15) to carry your backpack along the path. All come from local villages and not only do they can carry your day pack, but assist you with a welcome hand over difficult spots. Regardless of your fitness level, we highly recommend hiring a porter as some tracks can be very muddy and elevation can affect even the most fit person.

Uganda Culture, Big 5 Safari, & Gorilla Trek – 15 days

Day 0: Arrival at Entebbe

Arrival meet and great our representative & transfer to your hotel in Entebbe City.

You’ll choose your preferred accommodation. Our reservations expert will share hotel options in Entebbe.

Day 1: Kampala to Sipi Falls.

Transfer to Sipi falls: This morning after your breakfast, you will embark on a journey to the Eastern part of this beautiful country. You will have a stopover in Jinja where you will take a boat trip to the place where the world’s longest river starts its journey. Have lunch and then continue to sipi falls for overnight. Road type: Mostly Paved  

Day 2: In Sipi Falls – Village walk & Coffee Tour.

Today you will connect with the community in a village walk to view the spectacular Sipi falls – a series of three prominent waterfalls, with the longest dropping about 100m. Later in the evening you will go experience a complete Arabic coffee brewing process at a nearby family farm. You will pick the coffee berries, deshell, pound them and grind them with a traditional mortar and pestle, you will roast them yourself on an open wood fire, before tasting your own locally made coffee. Later retire back to your hotel.

Day 3: Sipi Falls to Moroto Town

After breakfast, you will transfer to Moroto, home to the pastoral herders of Uganda called the Karamajong people. Passing via Pian Upe game reserve, you will get to see some wildlife as you enjoy the lovely savannah and people from part of the country.

Accommodation at your hotel in Moroto (breakfast, lunch and dinner)

Day 4: In Moroto town:   Experience Uganda’s Nomad Warrior’s Community

This morning, you will have another day in the Karamoja region. You will Visit the Karamajong Kraals, Karamajong Manyattas and villages, you will have the greatest opportunity of meeting the warriors, herders of Karamoja with their cattle.

In a village tour, learn ancient traditions that have been passed into generations, visit kraals, see local cultural Karamajong dances, their communal homestead locally known as “Manyattas’. Learn how to sing and dance, learn how to prepare traditional meals, learn how to make beads, and how to play traditional board games or simply listen to their stories. Enjoy traditional music, dance and drama.

Today we have half day or full day off-the beaten track tour options for you to consider.

You could choose to go on bike ride tour on routes that only a local guide knows about, learn pastoral culture, get into rock outcrops, get yourself a tailormade art/craft. You could go hiking Mount Moroto, one of Karamoja’s small mountains for a day hike.

You could get on a bicycle tour, follow small paths in the community and learn about nomadic culture as you connect with indigenous Karamajong people. Enjoy views of this vast wilderness.

For the more adventurous it’s possible to add a night experience with the Nomads; a chance see real life of African nomadic warriors. You could help bringing the cows to the kraal, experience traditions as spearing a cow and get your own Karimojong name.  Accommodation at your hotel in Moroto (breakfast, lunch and dinner)

Day 5:  Moroto to Kidepo Valley National park via Kotido – Nakaperimoru Village

Today after breakfast, you’ll transfer to Kidepo via Kotido. Along the route you will stop at Nakaperimoru Village, visit the Karamojong traditional Manyattas (homesteads) this particular one is as comparable to a city once viewed from a higher elevation and known as the largest traditional village in East Africa and home to the Jié (fighters). The Karamonjong are a pastoral people and predominately breed cattle and goats, they are easily recognizable by their unique style of dress and beadings.

The community has grown over the years and culture has been preserved like the controversial facial and body scarifications. During the visit you’ll start with a climb to a nearby rock formation for an introduction about the village from above. Hereafter the local guide takes you to a homestead to learn about the differences and similarities with other clans and tribes in Karamojaland.

If this day happens to be a ‘Wednesday’, you will have chance to see “Kotido cattle auction market” The vibrant pastoral community and other local traders gather every Wednesday (Mondays in Moroto) at the cattle auction. This is the perfect place to meet the community, purchase authentic souvenirs. Accommodation at your safari lodge in Kidepo (breakfast, lunch and dinner)

Day 6: In Kidepo Valley National Park

After an early morning breakfast, catch up with the African sun rise proceed in a morning game drive; enjoy sightings of herds of Elephants, Cape buffaloes, Giraffes, Lions and plenty more lunch at place of accommodation. In the afternoon we are joined by an expert ranger guide for a nature walk to explore the park on foot away from the steel clad of safari car sharing his knowledge of the Eco-system and also bring you closure to the animals.

Accommodation at your safari lodge in Kidepo (breakfast, lunch and dinner)

Day 7: In Kidepo Valley National Park

Today we have another early morning game drive, later you return to the lodge for afternoon relaxation.

Day 8: Kidepo Valley National Park to Murchison Falls National Park

Transfer to Murchison Falls National Park.

After your breakfast, you will drive to Murchison falls national park. On your way, you will get to view local markets, community gardens and schools. Accommodation at your Safari Lodge in Murchison falls  (breakfast, lunch and dinner)

Day 9: In Murchison Falls National Park

Morning game drives and afternoon boat trip to the bottom of the Falls.

This morning you will depart for an early morning game drive across the rolling plains of Uganda’s largest National Park returning later to the lodge for breakfast.  The 3,893 sq km park is home to a range of animals, and you will have a chance of viewing some of the Park’s residents including.  Elephant, Cape buffalo, Rothschild’s giraffe, Uganda kob, hartebeest and waterbuck are commonly seen. You may also spot oribi, bushbuck, Bohor reedbuck, bush duiker, warthog and bushpig. Large carnivores include lion, leopard and spotted hyena. For the birders, these plains support the secretary bird and the black chested snake eagle, to name a few.

After lunch, go for a boat safari upstream the calm Victoria Nileto the base of Murchison Falls, where the Nile thunders through a small 7-meter gap plunging 43 meters into the Nile on the way to Lake Albert.  The banks of the Nile are densely populated with crocodiles, hippopotamus, and a range of other wildlife that come to the river to drink. Over this 17 km stretch you may see elephant, waterbuck and Uganda Kob. This is also a zone of many bird species.

In the afternoon, go for a boat trip. Accommodation at your Safari Lodge in the park (breakfast, lunch and dinner)

Day 10: Murchison Falls to Kibale Forest National Park Via Fort Portal

Transfer to Kibale Forest. This morning you will visit the Top-of-the falls to view these majestic waterfalls and later proceed to Fort Portal passing via Hoima City. You will check in at  your accommodation at Hotel by Kibale Forest (breakfast, lunch and dinner)

Day 11: Kibale Forest National Park

Today morning at 7am, we transfer to – Kanyanchu gate Kibale Forest National Park. Kibale National park is an extension of the great rainforests of central Africa. It is inhabited by three large “communities” of chimps, with over 120 individuals.

In Kibale, here you will find one of the largest populations of chimpanzees in Africa – about 1450 individuals. Today you will do Chimpanzee ‘tracking’.

Chimp walking time: 2 to 3 hours.

What to carry: Remember to carry bottled drinking water, rain gear, and walking/hiking boots plus backpack

It will be perfect opportunity to listen to the chimps as the grumble and feed. Only one community is allowed to be visited by tourists. Chimpanzees live in communities. Each community has a complicated social structure. The big adult males dominate the group and defend the community territory against other male intruders; the females usually wander in small family groups. Rangers locate the chimps by listening for their pant-hooting calls, following their eating trails.

There are chances of seeing other primates namely; the Guereza colobus monkey, red-tailed monkey, grey-cheeked mangabey, and olive baboons as well as the Red colobus monkey considered endangered and the rare L’Hoest’s monkey that is considered Vulnerable and…plentiful of forest bird life.

Today afternoon you will be to exploring Bigodi swamp & community in a village walk (3 hours). Search for other primates including: I’hoestes, red colobus, blues, red tailed and gray– cheeked mangabey, bird species like the Great blue Turaco, bees’ eaters and many more. Experience how primates and birds live with the community, amazing farm life experiences; basket weaving, farm life, banana beer/gin tour.

Day 12: Fort Portal to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park via Ishasha

This morning, you will transfer to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest for two nights.  Home to over half of the World’s mountain gorillas.  Interacting with these gentle giants is one of the most moving experiences that Africa has to offer and one that should not be missed.  Bwindi is also home to 90 mammal species, including a range of primates, as well as 23 Albertine Rift endemic bird species, including the African Green Broadbill and the Bar Tailed Trogon.

Relax and get ready for the next day’s gorilla trekking.

Accommodation at your lodge in Bwindi (breakfast, lunch and dinner). Please not the choice of lodging will depend on location of Gorilla permit available at time of booking.

Day 13: Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park – Gorilla Trekking

Gorilla Trekking and afternoon activities.

Today after an energizing breakfast, you will embark on your gorilla trek. You will report to the ranger station before 8 am registration and briefing by one of the rangers; the guides will then lead you through the undergrowth, parting thick creepers, to track the gorillas.

The trek can take anywhere from half an hour to 7 hours – a reasonable degree of fitness is required as well as a sturdy pair of walking boots. It is an extraordinary feeling sitting in the dense rainforest knowing you are with a few of the last remaining mountain gorillas – sadly enough there are only about 1063 of these beautiful creatures left.

If time permits there are a diverse range of activities which are unique to Bwindi which you can participate in late afternoon. These include;

“Pigmy Batwa Trail”: During this moving tour, the Batwa demonstrate hunting techniques; gather honey; point out medicinal plants and demonstrate how to make bamboo cups.

Village Walk: Overlooking the imposing hillsides of Bwindi Impenetrable forest, with the mist swirling over the summits, this is one of the most dramatic settings for your cultural tour! Among others, meet a traditional healer, who not only treats the sick, but uses his knowledge to conserve and educate about the various medicinal plants.

Accommodation at your lodge in Bwindi (breakfast, lunch and dinner)

Day 14:  Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park –  Ishaazi Farm Lodge

After your breakfast, you will then continue to drive deep into the countryside, passing by the local breed of cattle with long amazing horns representing the country’s symbol of farming. Arriving in the afternoon at the cultural village, you will have lunch.

Here, you will learn the traditional skill of setting out cows to graze “Okusetura” plus all the sophistication involved.  You may choose to experience the process of turning milk into ghee “Okuchunda” while sitting within an enchanting traditional hut. You can also spend some time in the field while grazing the cows where you also get to water the cows “Okweshera”. Experience the lifestyle of this traditional Bahima tribe and learn more about where they live, what they eat and their other native habits.

Accommodation at Ishaazi farm Lodge (breakfast, lunch and dinner)

Day 15: Transfer to Entebbe Airport.

The morning starts early as you go to the field to milk “okukama” the long horned Ankole cows. Return to the farm for breakfast, Later transfer to Entebbe  for your international flights.

You will stop at the Equator-where you will be able to stand in both hemispheres simultaneously. Later on, you will be transferred to the airport for your international flights.

Price Includes

  • Private transportation, on 4×4 safari vehicle with gas and English-Speaking driver/guide,
  • Accommodation with meals
  • All meals on Full Board – Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
  • Game drives in Kidepo Valley, Murchison falls
  • Park entries.
  • Visit to Karamajong village,
  • Sipi falls Village walk & Coffee tour
  • Cultural activities at Nshenyi Village
  • 1 chimpanzee tracking permit per person
  • 1 Boat cruise ticket per person
  • Visit to Pigmy community

Price Excludes

  • International air ticket
  • Uganda Visa
  • Drinks, drinks,
  • Tips, items of personal nature,
  • Entertainment,
  • Any other optimal activity like Night experience with warriors, Bike tour, Bicycle tour, Hiking in Moroto
  • Gorilla permit (we can arrange it for you)

2 nights at sipi falls
2 nights in Moroto
3 nights in Kidepo Valley NP
2 nights in Murchison falls NP
2 nights in Kibale Forest
2 nights in Bwindi Forest
1 night at Lake Mburo

Meals-Full Board: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner included

Additional accommodation before and at the end of the tour can be arranged for extra cost!

Lodging mentioned depends on availability of rooms at the time of booking. Reservations will be made after your confirmed booking with us.


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