Uganda is known for its Mountain Gorillas in the same way that Tanzania is famous for the great plains of Serengeti. We offer a safari that lets you to see both of these amazing highlights. If you want to combine two of the most remarkable things East Africa has to offer a combination safari of Uganda and Tanzania is a great choice. You get the primates of Uganda, with the mountain gorillas and chimpanzees, as well as game-drives on the great savanna of Serengeti and the special experience of Ngorongoro crater in Tanzania.
The safari adventure starts in Entebbe, Uganda, where you land at the airport and are met by your professional guide to make the short drive to the bustling city of Kampala for some relaxation before the journey takes off the next morning. In the morning you set off early and leave the city seeing its inhabitants on their way to work or school. The target for this day is the beautiful crater lakes area around Kibale Forest. Here the night is spent and the next day starts with a walk to explore the beautiful surroundings and hopefully seeing some primates like the black and white colobus monkey before continuing southwards to Queen Elizabeth NP. In Queen Elizabeth NP two nights are spent so there is time for chimps trekking in Kalinzu forest, a boat-cruise to spot hippos on Kazinga channel as well as a game-drive searching for tree climbing lions in the Ishasha sector of the park. The southern Ishasha sector of Queen Elizabeth NP is one of two places in the world where lions are known to regularly climb up into the trees to relax. It is an impressive sight to see a big cat up in a fig tree.
From Ishasha the journey goes south to the mountains of Bwindi Impenetrable NP, the home of the Mountain gorillas. It is a drive with beautiful views as the road goes from flat savanna, through villages, to cultivated hills before ending in the forest covered mountains of the gorillas. The next morning it’s time for the unforgettable highlight of trekking Uganda’s mountain gorillas. You head into the forest in a group with a specialized guide, enjoy an exciting walk and get to spend one hour with the mighty gorillas. When back from the trek your guide picks you to go for some relaxation time by Lake Bunyonyi, a lake in lovely setting and rare in the way that it is safe to take a swim. Here you can choose to stay two nights to take in all you have experienced so far or set off straight the next morning.
From Bunyonyi we cross over into Tanzania and by a flight from Entebbe. In Tanzania we try to tick off the “Big 5″ – lion, leopard, buffalo, elephant and rhino. To finish of the safari full of Uganda and Tanzania’s highlights we head over to Ngorongoro Crater. Sleeping at the edge of the crater before the next morning making the drive down to the savanna in the crater. Around 20kms across, 600 meters deep and 300 sq kms in area, the Ngorongoro Crater is a breathtaking natural wonder referred to as the world’s biggest wildlife zoo, due to its high density of resident game. The day is spent exploring this special place before we drive to Arusha from where you the next day take a flight on to other adventures or back home with memories of an unforgettable journey.
A journey like the one described above takes around 11-14 days from Entebbe to Arusha. If you have less time it can be trimmed to be a few days shorter and if you have more time there is almost endless possibilities. It is no problem to find other exciting places to add on like Murchison Falls NP, rafting on the Nile, Kidepo Valley NP, time for more culture or why not a visit to Mt. Kilimanjaro.
– Our Gorillas & Serengeti safari is an example itinerary for a safari combining Uganda and Tanzania’s highlights.
