The 12 Days Uganda and Tanzania safari is an amazing 11 nights/12-day Uganda Tanzania offering Gorilla trekking, wildlife viewing, and beautiful scenery viewing safari package starting in Uganda’s Entebbe and ending in Tanzania’s Arusha.
The main activities in 12 days Uganda and Tanzania tour include Mountain Gorilla Trekking in Bwindi, Chimpanzee trekking in Kibale National Park, extensive wild game viewing in Queen Elizabeth National Park, Serengeti National Park, Lake Manyara National Park, and Ngorongoro Conservation Area including the Big five of African land animals.
Following the flight from your country of origin, you land at Entebbe International Airport enjoying the courteous welcome of our representative who might also be your driver-guide.
After this, you connect to the lodge for relaxation, dinner, and overnight.
Accommodation: Upmarket / Luxury: Lake Victoria Serena Resort / Sheraton Hotel Kampala, Mid-range / Standard: Cassia Lodge / Boma Hotel Entebbe, Budget / Basic: Banda Inns / Airport Guesthouse
Set off for the drive to Fort Portal 300km around 4 – 5 hours transfer exploring the countryside landscapes marked by lush flora, the inselbergs and extensive tea plantations.
You settle for lunch in Fort Portal town after which you visit the Amabere g’Nnyinamwiru Caves – the breast-like features believed locally to be breasts of Nnyinamwiru the daughter of Bukuku a self-imposed King of the Bachwezi.
The caves have got a seasonal river flowing over them creating scenic water fall. From the caves, you undertake a hike to Fort Portal Crater lake field which is one of the major explosion craters in Uganda.
The hike presents impressive adventure and amazing sightseeing opportunities. From the activity, you connect to Kibale for relaxation, dinner and overnight.
Accommodation: Upmarket / Luxury: Primate Lodge – Luxury Cottages / Ndali Lodge, Mid-range / Standard: Kibale Forest Camp – Safari Tent, Budget / Basic: Rwenzori View Guesthouse
At 8 am, you congregate at Kanyanchu Tourism Center for a briefing about Chimpanzee trekking encounters.
The Uganda Wildlife Authority Park rangers guide you through the lush tropical forest noted to have survived the last ice age and thus with great biodiversity including 375 species of birds, 351 species of trees, and 13 primate species.
The Chimpanzee trekking experience lasts 2 – 5 hours but for conservation purposes, the actual viewing is limited to one hour.
The views of Chimpanzees as they forage, much fruit, copulate, patrol, jump from branch to branch and from tree to tree coupled with those of other forest offers like Black and White Colobus monkeys, Red Colobus Monkeys and birds combine to generate ultimate Africa Safari memories. From the trek, you embark on 157km drive about 3 hours to Queen Elizabeth National Park.
Accommodation: Upmarket / Luxury: Mweya Safari Lodge / Katara Lodge, Mid-range / Standard: Enganzi Game Lodge / Kasenyi Safari Camp, Budget / Basic: Pumba Safari Cottages
You set off for the game drive early in the morning around 6 am for those that stay inside the park but that outside can only start after the gates open at 7 am.
The drive is conducted in Kasenyi plains one of the popular wild game viewing sectors in Queen Elizabeth National Park where possibilities of viewing Elephants, Buffaloes, Uganda Kobs, Leopard, Warthogs, Topis, Bush-bucks among others.
The game drive can last about 3 – 4 hours after which you spend the rest of the time resting at the lodge or keeping within Mweya peninsular.
After lunch, you gather at Mweya jetty on Kazinga Channel for a 2-hour boat cruise enjoying the soothing waters of the channel that connects Lake Gorge and Edward along with the views of the wild game drinking on the channel shore and the aquatics like Nile crocodile and Hippos.
From the boat, you undertake a game drive in the Mweya peninsular as you connect back to the lodge for relaxation, dinner, and overnight.
Accommodation: Upmarket / Luxury: Mweya Safari Lodge / Katara Lodge, Mid-range / Standard: Enganzi Game Lodge / Kasenyi Safari Camp, Budget / Basic: Pumba Safari Cottages
Set off for the transfer to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and an en-route game drive in the southern sector of Queen Elizabeth National Park offers rewarding possibilities of exploring the unique tree-climbing lions that tend to lie on fig tree branches in the mid-morning sun. From Ishasha, you proceed on the drive to Bwindi for relaxation, dinner, and overnight.
Accommodation: Upmarket / Luxury: Chameleon Hill Lodge, Mid-range / Standard: Gorilla Mist Camp, Budget / Basic: Broad-bill Forest Camp
Following breakfast at the lodge, you gather at the gorilla trekking assembly point for briefing at 8 am. The Impenetrable forest of Bwindi perched on a rugged terrain marked by steep hills and narrow valleys present a rather challenging trek than in other gorilla safari destinations.
The encounter with the gentle giants encountering them as they forage and socialize is very memorable. Direct viewing is limited to one hour while the whole Mountain Gorilla Trekking encounter can range from 2 – 8 hours.
You retreat from the tour and connect to the lodge spending the afternoon at leisure. An optional Batwa Community tour can be arranged in the evening to explore the traditions of these people noted to be among the last surviving groups of short people.
Accommodation: Upmarket / Luxury: Chameleon Hill Lodge, Mid-range / Standard: Gorilla Mist Camp, Budget / Basic: Broad-bill Forest Camp
Following breakfast, you connect to Kigali International Airport in Rwanda driving through the impressive hillside landscapes of Rwanda that have earned her a dub as the land of a thousand hills.
From Kigali, you connect by flight to Kilimanjaro Airport where you will be picked up and transferred to Arusha for overnight.
Accommodation: Impala Hotel / Iiboru Safari Lodge
Following breakfast, connect to Lake Manyara National Park where you will first encounter the Mto wa Mbu Eco-community which is a diverse ethnic concentration of various tribal groups with complex customs and traditions.
You explore the various foodstuffs and their preparation, the local beer brewing, the architectural design, and the famous Wood Carvings.
In the afternoon, you connect to the park for a game drive experience gaining possibilities of viewing tree climbing lions, Warthog, Zebras, Baboon, Elephant, Hippos, Wildebeest, Impala, and Giraffe among others. Retreat for relaxation, dinner, and overnight
Accommodation: Upmarket / Luxury: Lake Manyara Serena Safari Lodge, Mid-range / Standard: Manyara Kirurumu Camp, Budget / Basic: Manyara Wildlife Safari Camp
Proceed on the drive to Serengeti National Park which is one of the popular wildlife destinations on the African continent.
With over 1.5 Million Wildebeest, hundreds of thousands of Zebras, counts of Nile crocodile, and honey badger, the Serengeti National Park has a lot to offer to generate great African safari memories.
You take up a game drive in the evening upon entering the park for an extensive wild game viewing experience.
Accommodation: Upmarket / Luxury: Serengeti Sopa Lodge, Mid-range / Standard: Serengeti Kati Kati Camp, Budget / Basic: Kijereshi Tented Camp (Bungalow)
Also referred as the world’s famous wildlife safari park, Serengeti National Park’s endless plains feature the great count of animal population on earth including the great big cats like thousands of lions, Tanzanian Cheetah, leopards, Jackal species among others, Herbivores like millions of Wildebeest, hundreds of thousands of elephants, Zebras, Thompson Gazelles, Buffaloes not forgetting bird species.
Accommodation: Upmarket / Luxury: Serengeti Sopa Lodge, Midrange / Standard: Serengeti Kati Kati Camp, Budget / Basic: Kijereshi Tented Camp (Bungalow)
After a cup of coffee, you set off for the drive to Ngorongoro Crater exploring the beautiful countryside. You can make an optional stop at Olduvai Gorge – the cradle land of mankind following the discovery of the early man skull by Dr Leakey. Ngorongoro Crater stands as the World’s largest intact, inactive and unfilled Volcanic Caldera and also a World Heritage site as declared by UNESCO.
The afternoon is spent on sightseeing and game drive on the crater floor where the possibilities of exploring the Big five including the Black Rhinos exist.
Accommodation: Upmarket / Luxury: Ngorongoro Serena Safari Lodge, Midrange / Standard: Rhotia Valley Tented Lodge, Budget / Basic: Karatu Simba Lodge
You set off from Ngorongoro and transfer to Arusha to mark the end of the safari. From Arusha, you can consider an extension to Zanzibar or take a flight back home.