7 Days Murchison Falls, Kibale & Queen Elizabeth National Park

The 7 days Murchison Falls, Kibale and Queen Elizabeth National Park safari is an interesting safari that starts and ends in Entebbe / Kampala.

This Uganda safari takes you to three national parks in Uganda, including Murchison Falls National Park, Kibale forest national and Queen Elizabeth National Park, where you will enjoy unique safari activities such as game drives, boat cruises, Chimpanzee trekking and nature walks.

Highlights of the 7-Day Murchison Falls, Kibale & Queen Elizabeth National Park

Day 1: Pick up and transfer to Murchison falls national park via Ziwa rhino sanctuary

Day 2: Morning game drive and afternoon boat cruise

Day 3: Transfer to Kibale forest national park

Day 4: Chimpanzee trekking and Bigodi swamp walk

Day 5: Transfer to Queen Elizabeth national park

Day 6: Morning game drive & afternoon boat cruise

Day 7: Departure to Entebbe / Kampala

Detailed itinerary

Day 1: Pick up and transfer to Murchison Falls National Park.

Depending on your location in Entebbe / Kampala, you will be welcomed by our driver guide, who will brief you about the safari and then start the journey to Murchison Falls National Park with a stopover at Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary, where you will engage in rhino tracking.

After an exciting rhino tracking, you will continue the journey with another stopover in Masindi town for lunch. After lunch you will proceed on the journey to Murchison falls national park and upon arrival you will check into the lodge for dinner and overnight.

Day 2: Morning game drive & afternoon boat cruise

Have breakfast, meet your driver guide and head out for a morning game drive where you will be rewarded with great views of animals like buffaloes, giraffes, Uganda kobs, Jackson’s hartebeest, waterbucks, and elephants, among others, which will be grazing in open plains with dew; view predators like lions, hyenas, and leopards looking for a morning hunt; and view different bird species, among others. After the game drive, return back to the lodge for lunch.

After lunch you will meet up with your driver/guide to go for an amazing boat cruise to the bottom of the falls. During the boat cruise, which takes about 2 to 3 hours, you will be able to view hippos in water, Nile crocodiles basking along the banks, and animals like elephants, buffaloes, waterbucks, and warthogs drinking water along the shores; view water birds like kingfishers, cormorants, fish eagles, hornbills, and bee-eaters, among others. After the boat ride you will return to the lodge for dinner and overnight.

Day 3: Transfer to Kibale forest national park

Take breakfast and embark on your journey to Kibale Forest National Park, also known as the primate capital. On the way you will have en route lunch, enjoy stunning views of the beautiful scenery, landscape, countryside, tea and banana plantations, and crater lakes and Rwenzori mountain peaks, and have stopovers to take pictures and stretch your legs. Upon arrival in the park, you will check into the lodge for an evening of relaxation, dinner and an overnight stay.

Day 4: Chimpanzee trekking & Bigodi swamp walk

Wake up early in the morning and meet up with your driver guide to transfer to the Kanyachu Visitors Centre for a briefing about the rules and regulations to follow during trekking. After the briefing you will be subdivided into groups of people, where each group will be allocated a habituated chimpanzee family to trek with and a park guide who is well conversant with trails in the forest.

Trekking of chimpanzees in Kibale National Park takes about 30 minutes to 4 hours depending on where the chimpanzees are located because they like to move from one place to another in search of food. During trekking you will be able to view other primates such as black and white colobus monkeys, blue monkeys, grey-cheeked mangabeys, and L’Hoest’s monkeys, as well as a variety of bird species, different plant and tree species, and others.

Once the chimpanzees are located, you will be allowed to spend one hour with them in their natural habitat, which gives you a chance to take photos, record videos, learn about their behaviors and habits, and watch them feed, breastfeed, hunt, fight, play, rest, mate, among other things. After the one-hour encounter with chimpanzees, you will trek back to the park headquarters, where you will meet up with your driver guide to return back to the lodge for lunch.

After lunch you will go for an interesting nature walk in Bigodi Swamp, where you will be able to view different wildlife species, including animals like bushbucks and sitatungas; primates like grey-cheeked mangabeys, vervet monkeys, L’hoest monkeys, and red-tailed monkeys; and different bird species like the great blue turaco and African paradise flycatcher, among others. After the nature walk you will drive back to the lodge for dinner and overnight.

Day 5: Transfer to Queen Elizabeth national park

Have breakfast, check out of the lodge and meet up with your driver guide to transfer to Queen Elizabeth National Park, which is the second largest national park in Uganda. On the way you will enjoy great views of farmlands, traditional homesteads, crater lakes, Rwenzori mountain ranges, among others. Upon arrival in Queen Elizabeth National Park, you will continue to check into the lodge for lunch and after lunch and relaxation.

In the evening you will go for a game drive in the park, where you will be able to view different animals like buffaloes, elephants, Uganda kobs, and waterbucks, among others, going back to their resting areas. After the evening game drive, you will drive back to the lodge for dinner and overnight.

Day 6: Morning game drive & Afternoon boat cruise

After an early breakfast, your driver guide will pick you up from the lodge to go for a morning game drive/lion tracking experience in the park.

Lions in Queen Elizabeth National Park

During the game drive, which is commonly done in the Kasenyi plains, you will be able to view animals like buffaloes, Uganda kobs, elephants, waterbucks, warthogs, bush bucks and predators like lions, leopards, and hyenas, among others, if you are lucky. After the game drive you will drive back to the lodge for lunch.

After lunch, embark on an interesting boat cruise at Kazinga Channel, a water channel that connects Lake Edward and Lake George. During the boat cruise, which takes about 2 hours, you will enjoy great views of animals like elephants, buffaloes, warthogs, and waterbucks, among others, drinking water along the shores; view large concentrations of hippos and Nile crocodiles in water; and see aquatic bird species such as cormorants, kingfishers, fish eagles, and hornbills, among others. After the boat cruise you will return to the lodge for dinner and overnight.

Day 7: Departure to Entebbe / Kampala

This is the last day of your safari. You will have a relaxed breakfast, check out of the lodge and meet up with your driver guide to start the journey back to Kampala.

On the way, you will enjoy great views of the countryside and plantations, beautiful scenery, and have lunch en route in Mbarara town. After lunch you will continue the journey with another stopover at the Equator in Kayabwe to take photos and buy souvenirs and later proceed to Kampala arriving early evening and upon arrival your driver guide will drop you off at Entebbe International Airport for your departure flight or drop you off at any place of convenience.

End of 7 Days Murchison Falls, Kibale & Queen Elizabeth National Park

The tour includes

• Chimpanzee trekking permit
• Rhino tracking fees
• Park entrance fees
• Game drives
• Bigodi swamp walk
• Boat cruise fees
• Services of a professional English-speaking driver guide
• Full board accommodation
• Pick up and drop off
• 4WD pop-up safari vehicle and fuel
• Bottled drinking water

The tour excludes

• Air flight tickets
• Visas
• Life insurance
• Optional activities not included on the itinerary
• Personal expenses like buying souvenirs, crafts, drinks, laundry services, hiring a porter, and tips, among others.