classic uganda safari (11 days)

Arrive in Entebbe where you will be picked up by an Endless Safaris representative and get transferred to your hotel on the shores of Africa’s largest lake.

Depart Entebbe and fly to Murchison Falls National Park, one of the most scenic spots along the Nile and the location of the classic Humphrey Bogart film, The African Queen. After settling into your thatched
cottage on the banks of the Victoria Nile, join your guide for a visit to Murchison Falls, where invigorating spray — the collective force of the majestic Nile — pours down on a narrow ravine.

Today, a game drive takes you along the northern banks of the Nile in the heart of Murchison Falls National Park. You may see giraffes, buffalo, elephants, warthogs, leopards, lions and antelope. This afternoon, embark on a boat cruise up the Nile River to the base of the falls. Watch for hippos, crocodiles, elephants and the many bird species that inhabit the river’s papyrus-lined banks.

After breakfast, board a flight to Kibale and transfer to your lodge. Later, you may take an optional nature walk along the top of the Bunyaruguru Crater.

Kibale Forest is home to 11 species of primates, including chimpanzees and mangabeys, as well as 300 species of birds and a vast array of butterflies. Rise early this morning for the short drive to the start of your chimpanzee trek. Barks of baboons occasionally pierce the forest silence as you make your way along the trail. This afternoon, you may go on a guided primate walk in the Bigodi Forest swamp.

After breakfast, drive to Queen Elizabeth National Park, home to elephants, lions, hippos, buffalo and baboons. Participate in game drives this afternoon and the next day. While exploring, watch above for tree-climbing lions, a sight rarely to be seen anywhere else in Africa. You may also see some of Uganda’s largest elephant herds.

Make your way out of the Rift Valley through the Kigezi Highlands and on to the mountains of Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Here, take a game drive in one of the most biologically diverse areas in the world. Later today, visit Uganda Nursing School Bwindi.

Spend two days tracking endangered mountain gorillas, which share 97.7% of our DNA, spending up to an hour among them each day. See mothers keeping infants close as they knucklewalk on three limbs. Toddlers scamper around and get reined in by an attentive father, whose job is to protect his family. When you look into the eyes of a mountain gorilla, there is no mistaking the bond that exists between primate and man — and no escaping the poignant reminder that these creatures lie on the brink of extinction.

Fly to Entebbe and return to Lake Victoria Serena Resort & Spa, where a dayroom awaits until your international flight home.