Murchison Falls and Kibale Forest National Parks are among Uganda’s highly rated national parks and the two Parks are heavily visited all year round. When it comes to wildlife safaris, Murchison Falls is next to no other Park in Uganda and so is Kibale Forest when it comes to primate safaris. In these 5 unforgettable days, you can fully explore these top tier Uganda national parks; returning home with memorable escapades:
Day 1: Driving to Murchison Falls National Park – en route to Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary
Your first day will of course be driving to access these Parks. We choose to start with Murchison Falls National Park and on the way driving to the Park, you will stop at the only home for wild rhinos in Uganda – the Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary. It is less than 3 hours’ drive from Kampala to the rhino sanctuary and from the sanctuary; you will further drive 2 hours to access the legendary Murchison Falls National Park. The mighty Ziwa Rhino started with only two rhinos on course of re-introducing rhinos in Uganda’s national parks, which are now extinct, and it is a great milestone that the sanctuary now comprises of 30 rhinos. On your visit to this sanctuary, you will be narrated an amazing history of this sanctuary before even tracking the rhinos and by the time you leave the sanctuary, you will have acquired a very great experience about it! Your time here is certainly amazing!!
After tracking the rhinos, you will drive straight to Murchison Falls and on the way there are still very many attractions to catch sight of, such as; the Kafu River, just near the Rhino Sanctuary and many others. After you have arrived in the Park with your Park entrance fees all cleared, you will drive and visit the top of Murchison Falls…..amazingly this is the high spot of any visit in this Park! The views here are of course stunning and breathtaking, definitely one of the most ideal places for honeymooners and couples!! After your precious time here, you will then drive straight to your lodge for supper and the overnight.
Day 2: morning game drive and boat cruise
Wake up very early and make sure you have breakfast before going in the jungle. You can have breakfast at 6am and by a half past 6am you will be starting the thrilling morning game drives in Uganda’s largest national park. Game drives and game viewing in this Park is exceptionally impressive! There are several wildlife species to spot on game drives, among them are; savannah elephants, cape buffaloes, lions, waterbucks, warthogs, Jackson hartebeests, Rothschild’s giraffes, leopards, hippos, shoebill, and many other bird species. After spotting lions, elephants, buffaloes and leopards in this Park plus the rhinos you tracked in the Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary will see you have spotted all the treasured big five of Africa – what an extraordinary feeling this is!!!
After the excellent game viewing on your morning game drive, you will return to your lodge for lunch and taking a dip in the lodge’s swimming pool fresh waters to take off the warmth. After your delicious lunch, you will then drive to Paraa for the fascinating boat cruise on Africa’s longest River, Nile River. Here you will enjoy unrivalled views of Uganda’s greatest falls, Murchison Falls, below it as you spot various wildlife species like the Nile Crocodiles and Hippos along with buffaloes and elephants which regularly visit the shores to drink water plus the numerous colorful water birds.
Day 3: drive to Kibale Forest National Park
On your third day, you will definitely have to drive to your next destination – Kibale but you can first drive through Murchison Falls National Park before proceeding to Kibale; by chance to spot some other wildlife species which you might have missed. After there, you will then drive to Kibale with a brief stopover in Hoima for lunch. It is roughly a 6 hours’ drive from Murchison Falls National Park to Kibale Forest National Park via Kyenjojo – Hoima road.
Day 4: chimpanzee tracking in Kibale Forest National Park
Kibale is the best destination for chimpanzee excursions in East Africa and the only Park that you are fully guaranteed to see chimpanzees. The morning tracking session is more joyous and easier because you will find when the chimps have not yet left their habitats, where they spent their night, thus making the tracking easier for you. Tracking the chimpanzees is however eligible to only people above 12 years of age and the tracking permit remains costing US$ 150 for a while till July of 2020 when it will be raised to US$ 200 in the process of making the activity more fascinating and easier for trackers. With chimpanzee tracking in Kibale, you will be grouped into 6 individuals per group and then be given an experienced and professional Park Ranger to escort you in the rain forests of Kibale for an elated chimpanzee tracking excursion. On your tracking excursion, you will also have a great opportunity to spot more other primate species in these rain forests, some of which include; L’Hoest Monkeys, black and white colobus, vervet monkeys, blue monkeys, Uganda mangabeys, olive baboons, and many more.
Day 5: Return to the airport, Entebbe – Kampala
And this will be the end of your thrilling trip in Murchison Falls and Kibale Forests National Parks. If you are having a night flight, you can even opt to go for a last minute game drive in Lake Mburo National Park, on your way driving to Kampala, such that you don’t over wait at the airport!