4 Days Uganda Big Five Safari & Chimpanzee Tracking Tour

Transfer to Murchison Falls National Park via Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary

After breakfast at your hotel or designated pick-up point in Kampala or Entebbe, you will meet your professional English-speaking safari guide who will brief you on the journey ahead. With luggage secured and cameras ready, your 4 Days Uganda Big Five Safari & Chimpanzee Tracking Tour drive to Uganda‘s largest and oldest conservation area—Murchison Falls National Park—will begin. The drive is scenic, stretching through rural villages, roadside markets, and lush plantations. One of the highlights along the way is the Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary, the only place in Uganda where you can track wild southern white rhinos on foot.

Arriving at Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary by mid-morning, you will be guided by experienced rangers through the savannah and acacia woodlands for an up-close encounter with these majestic animals. This one-hour rhino tracking experience allows you to witness the behavior of the rhinos in their natural habitat—part of Uganda‘s broader conservation effort to reintroduce all Big Five species back into the wild.

After your rhino tracking experience, proceed to Masindi Town for a delicious local lunch before continuing toward Murchison Falls National Park. As you enter the park’s southern sector, you may spot baboons, antelopes, and even warthogs grazing along the roadside. By late afternoon or early evening, you’ll arrive at your chosen accommodation—be it budget, midrange, or luxury—where you will check in, relax, and enjoy a delicious dinner as the sounds of the African wilderness surround you.

• Main Destination: Murchison Falls National Park
• Accommodation: Pakuba Safari Lodge
• Meals & Drinks: Lunch and dinner included; bottled drinking water provided

Game Drives

Wake up early to the sound of chirping birds and rustling wildlife in the bushes. After a hearty breakfast, you’ll head out for a morning game drive in the park’s northern sector, which lies across the Nile River. This area is celebrated for its dense populations of wildlife including lions, elephants, Cape buffaloes, Rothschild’s giraffes, leopards, hartebeests, oribis, and warthogs. Morning is the best time to catch predators on the prowl or large mammals grazing in the morning light. Your 4 Days Uganda Big Five Safari & Chimpanzee Tracking Tour guide will take you through varied ecosystems, from open grasslands to riverine woodlands, offering rich biodiversity and fantastic photographic opportunities.

Afternoon Boat Trip on the Nile

After an informative and thrilling game drive, return to your lodge for lunch and a short rest. Then, around 2:00 PM, head out for the afternoon boat cruise—one of the safari’s unforgettable highlights. The 3-hour cruise takes you upstream along the Victoria Nile to the base of the powerful Murchison Falls. As you glide along the riverbanks, watch for hippos, crocodiles, elephants, waterbucks, and a variety of bird species like the African fish eagle, kingfishers, and the elusive shoebill stork. The tranquil pace of the boat allows you to soak in the raw beauty of the Nile and the dramatic backdrop of the falls.

As you near the base of the falls, you’ll witness where the world’s longest river is squeezed into a narrow 7-meter gorge, plunging 43 meters below with thunderous force. After the cruise, you may return to the lodge or opt for a short evening game drive (optional and time-permitting). Dinner is served at the lodge, and you’ll overnight amidst the serenity of Murchison Falls.

• Main Destination: Murchison Falls National Park
• Accommodation: Pakuba Safari Lodge
• Meals & Drinks: All meals included; bottled drinking water provided

Hike to the Top of the Falls

After breakfast, prepare for a scenic hike to the top of Murchison Falls, the most powerful waterfall on the Nile River. The hike takes you along rocky paths, wooden walkways, and viewing platforms that offer panoramic vistas of the surrounding savannah. As you approach the roaring falls, you’ll feel the mist on your skin and hear the deafening sound of millions of liters of water crashing down the narrow gorge. This is nature’s raw power in its purest form—a spectacle that has drawn explorers and tourists for decades.

Transfer to Kibale National Park

The top of the falls offers incredible photo opportunities and a moment of reflection as you overlook the gorge below. After the hike, begin your 4 Days Uganda Big Five Safari & Chimpanzee Tracking journey south to Kibale National Park, a lush tropical forest known as the primate capital of East Africa. The drive is long but rewarding, with panoramic views of tea plantations, crater lakes, and the snow-capped Rwenzori Mountains in the distance.

You’ll arrive at your accommodation near Kibale by late afternoon or evening. Settle in, freshen up, and enjoy a delicious dinner. You may choose to sit around the lodge fire, sipping a warm drink while listening to the nocturnal forest awaken with sound. Tomorrow promises yet another adventure—tracking chimpanzees in their natural jungle home.

• Main Destination: Kibale National Park
• Accommodation: Turaco Treetops Lodge
• Meals & Drinks: All meals included; bottled drinking water provided

Chimpanzee Tracking in Kibale Forest and Return to Kampala

Your 4 Days Uganda Big Five Safari & Chimpanzee Tracking Tour final day begins with an early breakfast, after which you’ll be transferred to Kanyanchu Visitor Center, the headquarters for chimpanzee tracking in Kibale National Park. Here, expert rangers from the Uganda Wildlife Authority will conduct a safety briefing, discussing the dos and don’ts of trekking and how to behave around the chimps.

With your 4 Days Uganda Big Five Safari & Chimpanzee Tracking Tour guide leading the way, you’ll trek through the dense forest for 2-4 hours, depending on the location of the chimpanzee troop. Along the way, learn about Kibale’s exceptional biodiversity, which includes 13 primate species and over 375 bird species. Your guide will help you spot red colobus monkeys, grey-cheeked mangabeys, olive baboons, blue monkeys, and more. The forest floor is alive with sounds—chirps, hoots, and distant echoes of chimp calls.

Once you find the chimpanzees, you’ll spend one unforgettable hour observing them up close—watching them groom, feed, and swing from branch to branch. This connection with our closest relatives is an emotionally powerful experience and a major highlight of your safari.

After the trek, return to the lodge for lunch and refreshment. Then, begin your drive back to Kampala or Entebbe, marking the end of your epic 4-day Big Five and Chimpanzee Tracking Safari. You’ll be dropped at your hotel or airport in the late evening.

• Main Destination: Kampala/Entebbe (End of Tour)
• Accommodation: None
• Meals & Drinks: Breakfast and lunch included; bottled drinking water provided