15 days
Katana Tours is a young and innovative tour operator. Established in 2017, we strive to offer our clients authentic travel experiences.
Our experience and passion for travel allows us to fully understand travellers needs and design tailor-made tour packages that suit all kind of budgets and interests.
Whether you would like to get close to wildlife in one of Uganda's beautiful national parks, raft the river Nile, experience the local culture or have a close encounter with the famous mountain gorillas, Katana Tours provides you with individual tour packages that will make your journey an unforgettable experience.
We provide transport in a 4wd minibus with pop up roof. Of course all car costs like park fees, driver/guide, washing, fuel, etc. are included in the rate of your tour.
The cost of the tour includes most meals, have a look at the program for the details.
All journey times are close approximations, as you can never quite guarantee what will happen on the African roads… We could be in for a bumpy ride on parts of the route (which adds to the excitement of being on safari!); we may encounter road-works and of course, there are the photo stops. Either way, you can be certain that although you may be seated for long periods at times during the trip, you will be passing some spectacular countryside and there will always be something of interest to see along the way!
This will be your day of arrival. Your personal Katana Tours driver/guide will pick you up from Entebbe airport and take you to your accommodation in Kampala.
You will spend the night at Cassia Lodge a gracious and elegant hotel where tradition blends seamlessly with contemporary architecture.
Depending on your time of arrival, you might have some time to explore the city today or just relax in the hotel.
Journey time: 1 - 2 hours Meal plan: no meals included
Accommodation: Cassia Lodge
Today, you will drive to Murchison Falls National Park. The journey takes you across Uganda to the park in the North West of the country. En-route to the park you stop at Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary where you have a safari hike with an experienced ranger to see the rhinos from up close. Kidepo Valley and Murchison Falls National Parks once had both black and white rhinos; however widespread poaching during the Idi Amin era resulted in the disappearance of these majestic animals from the wild. Founded in 1998, Rhino Fund Uganda works to reintroduce black and white rhinos into Uganda and runs a breeding program, as well as work to educate communities on endangered rhinos, poaching and environmental conservation. You will then continue to Murchison Falls National Park. Your accommodation for tonight is Murchision River Lodge. The lodge is beautifully situated on the southern bank of the Nile with a stunning view overlooking the river. The Thatched Safari tents have a nice view overlooking the Nile.
Journey time: 5 – 6 hours Meal plan: Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Accommodation: Murchision River Lodge ( Safari tent)
Today you wake up to the beautiful sounds of birds and have an early morning breakfast before you proceed to the Game drive area in the park and go for your first morning game drive.
Expect to get close to Antelopes, Giraffes, Elephants, Buffalos, and many other wild animals. If you are lucky you may even spot some lions after a morning meal or still hunting before the day gets hot. After lunch you will go for a boat cruise on the Nile to the base of the powerful Murchison falls, a spot where the entire river Nile plunges through a narrow rock. With crocodiles lying on the rocks and king fisher’s catching a meal and so much wild life nearby, you will watch one of the most powerful water falls in the world, named after the 19th century president of the royal geographical society of England.
Meal plan: Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Accommodation: Murchision River Lodge (Safari Tent)
After an early breakfast you will depart for a wonderful boat safari on the Nile delta. The delta is the area where the Nile flows into Lake Albert. It offers a stunning landscape and countless different bird species. The grass lands and swamps provide good breeding places for many birds and if you’re lucky, you might even get to see the famous and extremely rare Shoebill Stork. Elephants love to come to the delta for a bath. So be prepared to see lots a big number of those grey giants.
In the afternoon, you will head to Lake Albert, where you can spend the rest of the day relaxing at the beautiful Lake Albert Lodge. The lodge is located on the shores of Lake Albert and offers a stunning view over the lake.
Journey time: 2-3 hours Meal plan: Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Accommodation: Lake Albert Lodge
Today you proceed to Kibale Forest National Park in the Western part of Uganda. The journey to the forest is incredibly scenic as you’re passing through tea plantations and a lush green countryside. After about 2 hours drive, you will reach Fort Portal. Here you can enjoy your lunch break, walk around the cozy town or visit the local market. You will then continue your drive for one more hour to the forest. Expect a green, lush environment, dozens of different birds and butterflies and of course the unique sounds of the forest. In the afternoon you will go for a swamp walk in the famous Bigodi Wetlands Sanctuary.The walk allows you to experience this unique jungle-like ecosystem as you venture through it with your guide. You will be surprised by its wide range of bio-diversity. Look out for primates such as Blue monkeys, Black and white colobus, Red colobus and Vervet monkeys. If you’re lucky, you might even see spot a famous bird, the Great Blue Turaco. The walk is operated by a registered community bases organisation called KAFRED and all profits go directly into the community.
Journey time: 2-3 hours Meal plan: Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Accommodation: Kibale Forest Camp (Safari Tents)
Today you will go for chimpanzee tracking in the beautiful dense Kibale Forest NP. You wake up to the beautiful sounds of birds and have an early morning breakfast before you proceed to the starting point of the tracking. The experienced and well informed rangers take you to a wild family of chimpanzees. These apes often live in groups and have been habituated to tolerate the presence of human beings for a certain period of time per day. You will encounter the closest relatives of human beings still living in the wild. Humans share up to 98% of genetic material with the chimpanzees. You will meet them as they feed, play and jump through trees to give you a memorable experience of a lifetime. While you enjoy chimpanzee trekking, you will also encounter lots of bird species, forest elephants (if lucky), and up to 13 other primate species which have earned Kibale the name “Primate City of Africa”. The ranger will explain everything about the chimpanzees and how they live with the local people, including how tourism has impacted the local communities. Optional: Chimpanzee Habituation Day Instead of the regular chimpanzee tracking you can choose to do a full chimpanzee habituation day. During the chimpanzee habituation day, you will spend an entire day with one of the Chimp communities; from the moment they leave their nests in the early morning till they create new nests and go back to rest in the early evening. Discover their daily habits, how they interact, feed, play and even de-flea! This will be a very special experience. For just one day you will be like Jane Goodall. Extra costs (on top of the regular chimpanzee tracking, which is inclusive in the trip) are USD 70 per person. Please inform us with your booking if you would like to do this activity. In the afternoon, you will drive to Queen Elizabeth NP where you will experience some more African wildlife in the next few days.
Journey time: 2-3 hours Meal plan: Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Accommodation: Ihamba Safari Lodge
Today you get up early to experience the wildlife in Queen Elizabeth NP. After breakfast you head into the park for a game drive. Expect to encounters elephants, lots of Uganda kobs, herds of buffaloes, bush backs, water backs and many other animals feeding in the beautiful plains. There are lions, leopards, hyenas and many other predators which you may encounter during the game drive. These carnivals are good at hiding but if you keep your eyes wide open, you might be lucky to spot one. In the afternoon you will go for a boat cruise along Kazinga channel. The channel connects two lakes, George and Edward. During the cruise, you will encounter lots of hippos and elephants drinking water, others taking a bath, and some basking on the banks of the channel. These will be accompanied by hundreds of beautiful bird species, some looking for ticks, others fishing and others merely enjoying the cool breeze.
The channel is so diverse with wildlife that you will see schools of hippos, crocodiles, elephants, buffaloes and many more literally living together – space is enough for everyone.
Meal plan: Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Accommodation: Ihamba Safari Lodge.
In the morning you can decide whether you would like to enjoy a few hours in the lodge or go for an optional Hot Air Balloon Safari.
Hot Air Balloon Safari (please sign up when making your booking) ($380 pp) Experience the wildlife of Queen Elizabeth NP in a new, unique way. Wake up early to catch the sunrise, as you silently fly over the plains of Queen Elizabeth National Park.
Admire the herds of buffaloes, elephants and enjoy the serene tranquility of the African bush… You will then continue to the Ishasha Sector of Queen Elizabeth NP. The Ishasha Sector is famous for its tree climbing lions. The lions in this area escape from the heat of the day by climbing up the numerous fig trees. Be prepared to lookout for lions and even little lion cubs high up on the tree branches. A truly unique experience.
You will spend the night at Enjonjo Logde a mid range accommodation with a great view over the savannah of Ishasha.
Journey time: 1-2 hours Meal plan: Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Accommodation: Enjonjo Lodge
Today you will continue to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. Located in South Western Uganda on the edge of the rift valley, it is home to the famous remaining mountain gorillas. It contains almost 400 species of plants, and also protects an estimated number of 320 mountain gorillas roughly half of the world’s remaining population, including several habituated groups which can be tracked.
The park also provides shelter to a further of 120 mammals, including several primate species such as baboons, chimpanzees as well as forest elephants and Antelopes. There are around 350 species of birds in the park which you can try to spot. For the next two days, you will stay at Silver Back lodge. You can enjoy the afternoon relaxing in the lodge or go for an optional guided forest walk.
Journey time: 5 - 6 hours Meal plan: Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Accommodation: Silver Back Lodge
Today is the day. You will wake up to the beautiful sounds of birds and have an early morning breakfast before heading to the starting point of the gorilla tracking. Your gorilla tracking adventure begins now! You will meet Uganda’s gentle giants. For most people this is the absolute highlight of their tour in Uganda. The gorillas you track belong to one of nine habituated family groups who can tolerate the presence of humans for a brief period every day. Some of the local guides will have already gone into the forest to locate where the gorillas slept the previous night and will have begun to track their movements.
The guides will communicate with your team through a park ranger who will then know which way to proceed. Locating the Gorilla can take a few hours or the whole day depending on how far they have moved from their resting place.
For conservation purposes you are allowed to spend 1 hour with the gorillas. This experience will bring you a once in a lifetime opportunity to exploit, discover and enjoy this memorable experience. These giants live in the dense tropical rainforest of Bwindi, and your hike will be spiced with sights and sounds of birds, colourful plants and flowers, other primates and fresh flowing rivers and streams.
Once you have completed the tracking you will return to the camp for a well-earned rest.
Meal plan: Breakfast, (packed) lunch, dinner
Accommodation: Clouds Mount Gorilla Lodge
After a relaxed morning you will head to Lake Bunyoyni, the ‘Place of little birds’. The lake is one of the most beautiful places in western Uganda and the drive there extremely scenic.
It is the second deepest lake in Africa and also one of the few places in the country where it is considered safe to swim (as it is bilharzia free). You can either choose to relax at the lodge and just enjoy the spectacular landscape or go for optional activities around the lake, such as a canoeing, hiking, or a cultural encounter with the Batwa, the last pygmy tribe of Uganda.
Journey time: 2 hours Meal plan: Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Accommodation: Birds Nest Bunyonyi
After a relaxed breakfast you will continue to Lake Mburo National Park located in Western Uganda. Lake Mburo National Park represents both wilderness and beauty with its diversity of ecosystems.
The park combines dry savanna and wetland vegetation systems which support a variety of organisms. On your game drive through the park tomorrow, you will encounter herds of zebra, Uganda Kobs, buffaloes, giraffes, lots of birds and the Impala, only found in this park in Uganda. There are also leopards and Tsavo cats in this park and if lucky, you will see them. For lunch you will stop at Igongo Cultural Center, you will have enough time to walk around and check out the museum as well. The museum offers a real experience of the history, life and evolution of life of the people of Western Uganda – including the QUEEN who is believed to be the founder of the Rastafarian movement! You will stay at Rwakobo rock Lodge which is a nice mid range lodge. From your own private verandah, you will be able to watch wildlife that comes to the nearby or simply find a quiet and shady spot to relax or read a book.
Journey time: 5 - 6 hours Meal plan: Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Accommodation: Rwakobo Rock
Today, you wake up to the beautiful sounds of birds and have an early morning breakfast. You will then proceed to the park for a morning game drive were you can expect to see beautiful planes filled with herds of zebra, Uganda Kobs, buffaloes, giraffes, lots of birds and the Impala, only found in this park in Uganda.
There are also leopards and Tsavo cats in this park, and if lucky, you will see them. You will come close to the Ankole cow, one that treks the whole day and produces cholesterol-free milk at the end of the day. These cows feed freely with the wild animals from the park and sights of this domestic-wild animal coexistence will be something worth telling your friends about back home! In the afternoon you will also have a boat ride on the down warped lake, Mburo to have sights of hippos, basking crocodiles and lots of kingfishers, doing what they do best – fishing. You will definitely taste the fish from the lake, if you choose to do so.
Meal plan: Breakfast, lunch, dinner Accommodation: Rwakobo Rock
Lake Mburo N.P. is one of the two parks in Uganda where you can go for a safari walk with an experienced ranger. Follow the footprints of different animals in the wildlife and be prepared for a close encounter with zebras and several other animals that live in the park. After lunch, the time has come to leave the park and return to Entebbe. You will stop at the equator for the requisite snap shot and a bit of souvenir shopping before your driver/guide takes you to your accommodation in Entebbe.
Journey time: 3 - 4 hours Meal plan: Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Accommodation: The Boma Entebbe
Today it your last day in the beautiful ‘Pearl of Africa’. Depending on your time of departure, you might be able to explore Entebbe a bit, visit the botanical garden or just relax in the hotel before taking your flight home. Your driver/guide will take you to the airport in time to catch your flight.
Meal plan: Breakfast, lunch (depending on time of departure)
Accommodation: Not included
This is the end of what we hope has been a fabulous trip!
Your guide will be a professional and experienced English speaking Ugandan.
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