Uganda with a difference. The country’s west is wild and wonderful enough. But this exploration of its obscure northeast offers a rare glimpse of this fascinating country.
Follow in the modern traditions set down by community-driven, sustainable travel on this brush with rural Uganda. We’ll sip in Sipi, learning how good coffee is grown and roasted, from crop to cup. On the lush, northwestern slopes of sleepy Mount Elgon, we’ll trek in the footsteps of few others to a Mesozoic world of tumbling waterfalls. At Pian Upe game reserve, enter golden grasslands broken abruptly by dramatic inselbergs where gazelle, cheetah, and the reintroduced giraffe blend seamlessly into a background that is forever Africa. Meet the Tepeth cattle herders and their corrals, and mingle with villagers going about their everyday life in Nakapelimora.
Our tour reaches its apex at Kidepo Valley National Park in Uganda’s extreme northeast. And what better way to compliment one of Uganda’s least-visited wilderness areas than to end the tour visiting one of its most beloved. Murchison Falls is a heavyweight among East Africa’s celebrated parks. Let the Nile roar you down the home straight on a trip to fire the imagination of the great explorers themselves. And if the crescendo of water isn’t enough, then end on experiences that immortalise memories. Hot on the heels of East Africa’s keystone species, track chimps and rhinos in their native habitat at Budongo and Ziwa. Authentic adventure travel as it should be.
Entebbe - Sipi - Pian Upe Nature Reserve - Mount Moroto - Nakapelimoru - Kidepo Valley National Park - Gulu - Murchison Falls National Park - Budongo Forest - Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary - Mabamba
Upon arrival at Entebbe International Airport, be met by your Travel the Unknown representative, who will transfer you the short distance to your Entebbe hotel. Rest easy on this your first day in the so-called ‘Pearl of Africa’.
Overnight in The Boma Entebbe, Entebbe
Meal plan: n/a
Wake up and smell the coffee goes the aphorism. Well, that’s not too far from the truth today, though you might have to wait until after lunch. Breakfast followed by a beautiful baptism into Uganda’s blessed landscape on a day drive to a small commercial coffee farm in Sipi. Upon arrival, first check into your lodge before an afternoon’s workshop, learning the process of coffee production ‘from garden to cup’. In season, try your hand at planting, picking, pounding and even roasting. And to top it off, enjoy the fruits of your labour with a nice brew.
Meal plan: Breakfast, lunch & dinner
Hang around to explore Sipi’s secluded natural charms. Over breakfast, select from one - or perhaps all three - of the local waterfalls that tumble down the lower slopes of Mount Elgon. With the largest base of any in the world, this immense and extinct shield volcano provides a stunning backdrop for a day’s hiking in backcountry forged by a true synergy of man and nature. Traverse local communities on the approach to the Falls. We place you at the centre of your East African experience, so should you choose the shorter hike you’ll have time enough later in the day to chill in the tranquil surroundings of your lodge. Uganda lays claim to an astounding half of all Africa’s bird species, so you might see a few posing on the branches of the lodge garden.
Meal plan: Breakfast, lunch & dinner
What we trust will be a fulfilling day lies ahead. Take breakfast before departing Sipi, first for the Pian Upe game park, followed by Moroto. The second largest conservation area in the country behind Murchison Falls, Pian Upe has grown in estimation to become a highly-respected grassland reserve, where iconic species roam free under the benign presence of Mount Elgon, including the recently reintroduced girae. End the day on a connecting journey to Mount Moroto in the more arid northeastern Karamoja district
Meal plan: Breakfast, lunch & dinner
Start with breakfast in the peaceful atmosphere of your camp. Led by your guide, hike out onto Mount Moroto to visit the tribal homeland of the Tepeth. Learning a little about the ways of this remote and long standing tribal community, spend a memorable day on the slopes of this ancient volcano. As evening falls, join Karamoja herdsmen at their kraal for a taste of their pastoral ways.
Meal plan: Breakfast, lunch & dinner
Decamp after breakfast on a scenic two-hour ride to East Africa’s largest ‘traditional’ village. Nakapelimoru is a living, vibrant community and home to the Jié people. Gain fascinating insights into key aspects of their everyday life, including farming, housing and animal husbandry. Let Man and nature walk hand and hand with an onward journey to Kidepo Valley National Park. Sporting around 450 avian species, this rugged savannah is a birder’s dream.
Check into your park safari lodge.
Meal plan: Breakfast, lunch & dinner
Join the privileged few in one of Uganda’s remotest biodiversity hotspots, roaming the savannah, first on a morning game drive, and later on foot with your trusted and locally-sourced guide. Aided by an expert eye, see if you can spot kori bustards, Verreaux’s eagle, Abyssinian rollers, Jackson’s hornbill, as well as the iconic ostrich. But Kidepo is not just about the birds. Spend your afternoon watching an embarrassment of riches: from the lumbering movement of cape bualo and elephant to the stealth of the lion, and the nimble grace of the zebra, antelope, eland and impala.
Return to base before evening to continue the wilderness experience from the comfort of your park lodge.
Meal plan: Breakfast, lunch & dinner
Breakfast amid the rustic charm of your safari lodge before committing to another day’s exploration of one of Uganda’s more unusual and exotic protected ecologies. Make the most of this golden grass opportunity to spot what eluded you yesterday. Given the hundreds of species of birds alone, you’re sure to be witnessing unheralded natural spectacles. Be guided by local specialists into the lesser-known quarters of this rare and precious park.
Return to your safari lodge by evening.
Meal plan: Breakfast, lunch & dinner
Enjoy breakfast to the backdrop of pure nature before taking a longish drive to the old slave entrepôt of Gulu, with stops on the way. After lunch, continue the last leg to wonderful Murchison Falls. As you’ll be staying within the perimeters of the park, allow yourself to be seduced by your first sight of the Nile and all that rustling in the undergrowth.
On arrival, check in and remain at leisure, soaking up the atmosphere.
Overnight in Twiga Safari Lodge, Murchison Falls National Park
Meal plan: Breakfast, lunch & dinner
Early doors for an action-packed day in Uganda’s largest, and arguably one of East Africa’s most esteemed, parks. Starting out at dawn for the best chance to see wildlife at its most active, let those who know the terrain best guide you into a wonderland of lions, elephants, giraffe, buffalos, leopard, hartebeest, antelopes, and tropical birds. In the afternoon, it’s all aboard for a boat ride to perhaps the best position from which to see 300 cubic metres a second of raging Nile water squeeze through a gap 7 metres wide and over a precipice 43m high in one of nature’s most potent, spectacular acts.
Return to your park safari lodge to reflect on a sight you don’t see every day.
Overnight in Twiga Safari Lodge, Murchison Falls National Park
Meal plan: n/a
Less than an hour from the Falls lies Budongo, a natural habitat for the chimpanzee. Another early start sees you gather at the gateway to Uganda’s largest remaining old growth forest where, after a briefing from the ranger, you’ll penetrate this dense, semi-deciduous, medium altitude bushland in search of our closest genetic relative. Following clues left by these highly intelligent apes, be guided to wherever the chimps may lead you. With luck, you’ll spend one hour mesmerised by their foraging, grooming, and complex interactions. Hopefully still buzzing from this unforgettable encounter, return to Murchison Falls to stand atop waterfalls that command sweeping views of the park as the sun starts to set. Bring your camera.
Relax back at your lodge later.
Overnight in Twiga Safari Lodge, Murchison Falls National Park
Meal plan: Breakfast, lunch & dinner
One last safari breakfast before hitting the road to Masindi. For tropical fruit lovers among you this is a dream sidetrip, for Masindi is a working mango farm. Oversee the process of turning this succulent fruit, one of the world’s most consumed, into not only juice but also, surprisingly, wine. Liberal tastings and lunch with the host before proceeding to a very special place in the hearts of wildlife lovers everywhere. Ziwa is literally a sanctuary for the only white rhinos now found in Uganda. Meet these horned pachyderms on a hour-long guided walk through bucolic surroundings, where not only they await you, but also birds aplenty. Ziwa’s astounding cast of feathered starlets include, Grey-crowned Crane, African Fish Eagle, African Jacana, Pied Kingfisher, African Grey Hornbill, African Pygmy Kingfisher, and the creepy-looking Marabou Stork.
Return to the sanctuary of your lodge, conveniently situated on the grounds of Ziwa.
Overnight in Amuka Lodge, Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary
Meal plan: Breakfast, lunch & dinner
A morning’s drive east brings you full circle back to Entebbe. Lunch there before a final wildlife excursion by canoe on Lake Victoria to the Mabamba wetlands for a genuine chance to find the prehistoric-looking shoebill, an endemic stork that fascinates all who see it. Recognise it, and other waders, on the world’s second largest freshwater lake. Then it’s back to Entebbe to visit a local craft village before transferring to the airport for your flight home.
Meal plan: Breakfast & lunch
All accommodation subject to availability. Final accommodation choices will be confirmed after booking.
The Boma Hotel is Entebbe’s original and most exclusive hotel, set in tropical gardens in a leafy suburb, a few minutes drive from Entebbe International Airport. Our rooms combine the modern comforts one expects today with the charm and character of the original 1940’s home. The Boma Hotel in Entebbe Uganda is an ideal stopover for all airline passengers, and we will arrange all your airport transfers. Our staff and management team ensure guests receive a personable service and enjoy hospitality standards which are in keeping with the tradition of this charming lakeshore town.
Twiga Safari Lodge is a mid-range lodge with 8 exclusive cottages situated on the bank of the river Nile in Mubaako Paraa opposite the Murchison falls National Park. The lodge is located at the heart of all the activities carried out in the park as it is a 5 minute drive away from the Paraa ferry crossing. Our guests are able to therefore enjoy a boat ride and or hike to the famous Murchison falls, sport fishing, bird watching at the lake Albert delta, and game drives through the national park across the river.
Twiga Safari Lodge aims at providing clients with comfortable accommodation in the serene and relaxing environment of Uganda’s wildlife. On site, guests are able see some monkeys and various birds freely moving through the grounds of the lodge
The Main Lodge, containing the restaurant, bar, walkways, and sun-deck, was almost entirely handcrafted using old, recovered mahogany beams and timber planks from a sawmill abandoned in Budongo Forest nearly 30 years ago. This gives the lodge a rustic and nostalgic atmosphere reminiscent of a well-worn farmhouse.
Maximizing the fusion of timber, natural stone and canvas, Amuka Lodge was created to blend with the natural beauty of the surrounding environment.
Currently there are ten units; four family chalets with three beds – perfect for families and, six standard chalets each with one bedroom and bathroom. Each chalet is named after one of the sanctuary rhinos and was constructed from hardwood timber and stone. All chalets are complete with large, personal verandas where visitors can lounge on safari chairs and take in the serenity of the surroundings. All chalets are tucked into the woodlands which provide complete privacy.
Gaze into the Pearl of Africa.
Venture into Uganda's remote wilderness
The Thomas's , Tailormade UgandaOur trip was truly a trip of a lifetime. Filled with breathtaking wildlife and nature moments throughout; the boat rides were very special, the gorillas fantastic, and Murchison Falls was an outstanding park with our favourite game drive. Our guide was fantastic, showing us all the best spots and answering any questions we had. We would thoroughly recommend to anyone.
The Martyn-Fishers , Ultimate Uganda & Tailormade ExtensionOur trip through Uganda was full of truly exciting experiences. Michael guided us wonderfully throughout with deep knowledge and an enthusiasm for wildlife and insights into the history and culture of the people and the country we travelled through. Highlights of course were the chimpanzees in Kibale, gorillas in Bwindi and Mgahinga, and golden monkeys but we experienced so much more that exceeded our expectations from Murchison Falls, through Queen Elizabeth NP, and finally Lake Mburo, along with a constant and, on the final evening, successful search for a Shoebill.