Day 1 - Arrive in Entebbe

Arrive Entebbe Airport. You will be met by our representative and transferred to Protea Hotel. 

Protea Hotel sits on the shore of beautiful Lake Victoria, giving its guests uninterrupted views across the waters. Staying at Protea is delightfully easy; only five minutes from the international airport and nearby several of the city’s most popular attractions, to which the concierge will help you arrange transport. The gorgeous views across Lake Victoria can be seen from many of the hotel’s 85 rooms – which include an executive, junior, and presidential suite. Guests can find plenty of space to relax at Protea, either whilst having a drink on the terrace overlooking the lake, or dipping their toes into the swimming pool surrounding by well-manicured grounds. There is also a modern fitness centre with complimentary classes for those looking for something a bit more energetic, and the possibility of renting kayaks or bikes. The great service and food from the hotel’s trendy restaurant, Tides, further enhances guests’ experience at Protea, allowing them just to sit back and enjoy the view.

Overnight: Protea Hotel

Meal Plan:

Day 2 - Fly to Kidepo Valley National Park

After breakfast, meet your driver guide at the hotel reception and transfer to Kidepo Valley National Park. On arrival at Kidepo airstrip you will be met by a Apoka Safari Lodge driver guide and transferred to the lodge.

Apoka Safari Lodge: The only lodge found within this pristine park and offers an exclusive experience second to none. Overlooking the Narus river, this luxury lodge comprises ten expansive rooms with sitting areas, private balconies and even outdoor baths from where guests can view game at a distance. The swimming pool has been carved out of a big rock and is a great place to relax after a day in the bush.

After settling in, embark on a game drive in the late afternoon.

Kidepo Valley National Park is in the rugged, dry country between Uganda's borders with Kenya and the Sudan. Located in the northeast of Uganda, the park is sprawling savannah, dominated by the impressive massif of Mount Morungole and traversed by the Kidepo and Narus rivers.

Identified as a national park in 1962, Kidepo Valley is Uganda's most remote and least explored national park, and those who take the trouble, wrote one travel editor, 'are rewarded with phenomenal wildlife sightings and a level of exclusivity that can rarely be got at any cost in neighboring countries'. In 2016 Kidepo Valley National Park was listed by CNN as a world Best Destination and described as 'Africa as it used to be'.

Kidepo is home to almost ninety mammal species, 28 of which are not found in any other park in Uganda: striped hyena, aardwolf, caracal, cheetah, greater and lesser kudu, klipspringer, Bright’s gazelle and Chandler’s mountain reedbuck to name a few. The park is rich in birdlife - 475 species - and considered to have an outstanding population of birds of prey.

Overnight: Apoka Safari Lodge

Meal Plan: B,L,D

Day 3 - Kidepo Valley National Park

This morning, go for an game drive followed by a bush breakfast. Later, venture out to meet the local community.

The original inhabitants of the park are the lk community, a small hunter-gatherer ethnic group that has closely guarded its unique culture and language so much so, that neighbouring communities don’t understand it too! Spend some time with an elder who will let you in on all the tribe's secrets!

Also found at the outskirts of the park are the Karamoja people, a pastoralist community similar to the Maasai in Kenya. Kidepo offers a perfect serving of an exclusive safari experience with amazing wildlife and fantastic cultural interaction.

Overnight: Apoka Safari Lodge

Meal Plan: B,L,D

Day 4 - Fly to Entebbe

Enjoy a late breakfast. You have the rest of the morning at leisure. After lunch, your lodge driver guide will transfer you to the airstrip for your flight to Entebbe. You will be met and transferred to Protea Hotel. Dinner under your own arrangements.

Overnight: Protea Hotel

Meal Plan: B,L

Day 5 - Drive to Jinja

After breakfast meet your driver guide at the hotel reception and take the scenic drive to Jinja.

Jinja Town is best known as the source of the mighty Nile, the world’s longest river, which winds its way through Uganda, Sudan and Egypt before disgorging its waters into the Mediterranean Sea.  In recent times however the town has come to be recognized as one of the best white water rafting locations in the world. Apart from rafting, guests can also go bungee jumping, horse riding and  ATV riding. 

Overnight: Jinja Nile Resort

Meal Plan: B,L,D

Day 6 - Jinja

Jinja is all about adventure! You have the day to engage in the activities offered in Jinja. Remember to breathe!

Overnight: Jinja Nile Resort

Meal Plan: B,L,D

Day 7 - Drive to Kibale National Park

Today drive to Kibale Forest National Park.

Kibale National Park is an enchanting place and one of the most varied tracts of tropical forest in Uganda. At a little under 800 square kilometers, the park is a mix of lowland tropical rain forest, mixed tropical deciduous forest and montane forest. All those trees means it's good monkey country: Kibale is famous for its thirteen resident primates including chimps, L'Hoest's monkeys with their white neck ruffs, Black and White colobus, Grey Cheeked Mangabeys and red colubus whose copper coloured backs gleam in the sunshine; the Forest is the last place in Uganda where large concentrations of Red Colobus can be found.

Kibale lends itself to trekking and after-dark walking is permitted. The seventy species of mammals here - including smaller forest elephants, bushbuck, Harvey’s red duiker, blue duiker, bush pig, giant forest hog and African civet - are partly supported because of the generous 180 kilometer wildlife corridor that runs from southern Kibale to Queen Elizabeth National Park. Birdlife is prolific as are butterflies; Kibale is home to a staggering 250 species of butterfly.

Overnight: Kyaninga Lodge

Meal Plan: B,L,D

Day 8 - Chimp tracking and habituation experience

Chimpanzee tracking is a very fascinating experience. You will be allowed to spend some time (at most an hour) with our mesmerizing relatives, as you observe them swing from one tree to another, feed, play about or progress speedily on the ground right in front of you.  It is in addition to the habituation experience, meaning that you can actually get a chance to spend the entire day with these impressive creatures!

Chimpanzee Habituation Experience is a lifetime experience that allows you to accompany Kibale’s researchers as they track chimpanzees. Habituation is the process where chimpanzees are introduced to human presence as they go about their daily activities, thereby getting them used to humans without altering their behaviour. During your tour, expect coming across the chimps de-nesting (in their nocturnal nests) from 05.30 to 06.30, before heading out throughout the day till they make new nests at night around 19.00.

Overnight: Kyaninga Lodge

Meal Plan: B,L,D

Day 9 - Kibale Forest National Park

Today you can choose to go for the Bigodi Swamp walk for bird and butterfly watching, or spend the day by Kyaninga's infinity pool which enjoys breathtaking views over the landscape.

The Bigodi Wetland Sanctuary, located in Magombe swamp. is recognized for its staggering biodiversity which includes a number of primates including the red colobus monkey, black and white colobus monkeys, grey cheeked, mangabey and the L’Hoest monkey. Other animals are often seen here too: chimpanzees, the swamp habituating antelope, Sitatunga and otters. It is also a paradise for bird watchers: over 200 species of birds are found here including the beautiful Blue Turaco so the whole area is redolent with birdsong.

The name, “Bigodi”, comes from a local word that means to walk wearily; it is believed that when visitors reach the swamp by foot, they’ll be too tired to go further so will opt to rest here.
What’s really special about a Bigodi Wetland Sanctuary walk though – which also offers the opportunity to witness local village life too - is that it offers an excellent and workable example of community-based conservation; each year it earns in the region of $150,000 in revenue from visits, part of this funds the Bigodi secondary school.

Overnight: Kyaninga Lodge

Meal Plan: B,L,D

Day 10 - Fly to Entebbe and depart

After breakfast your lodge driver will transfer you to the airstrip for your flight to Entebbe. A day room has been reserved for you at the Protea. Later you will be transferred to Entebbe Airport for your departure flight.

Overnight:

Meal Plan: B