Your 5 Days Semuliki and Queen Elizabeth safari will take you to two gifted Savannah national parks in western Uganda “Queen Elizabeth National Park and Semuliki National Park” for an amazing wildlife experience. Queen Elizabeth National Park is one of the 10 savannah national parks in Uganda and famous for wildlife viewing, during the game drives, boat cruise, nature walks and many other park activities. The park is also known to host 4 of the 5 members of the big game animals and these include the Lions, Leopards, Buffaloes and Elephants. The park has the Kazinga channel which connects lake Edward and Lake George where the boat cruise takes place and you can’t miss out on the big mammals (Elephants and Buffaloes) feeding and relaxing in the water.
DETAILED ITINERARY
Day 1: Transfer to Queen Elizabeth National Park
You will start you trip with a pick up by our driver guide from your hotel after having breakfast, and drive through the roads of Kampala heading west to Queen Elizabeth national park. You will drive through the western route of fort portal and have lunch as you reach the city, and proceed to the park reaching early evening. On arrival, you will check in at your lodge and head for an evening game drive to view some of the game animals like the buffaloes, elephants, antelopes and many others. You then drive back at the lodge for dinner and rest till overnight.
Queen Elizabeth National Park is Uganda’s most visited game reserve and arguably the most scenic. The national park protects the vast savannah plains, bushland, wetlands, and forests that lie at the base of the Rwenzori Mountain range. Kazinga Channel, which flows through the park and connects Lake George in the East to Lake Edward in the West, attracts a rich array of birds and animals, including the infamous Nile crocodile and one of the world’s largest concentrations of hippos. On your first game drive, you will explore the park along with a 200-kilometer network of well-maintained game viewing tracks. Dinner and overnight
Accommodation: Buffalo Safari Lodge
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Day 2: Morning game drive and afternoon boat cruise.
On this day, after your breakfast, you will head to the northern section of the park “Kasenyi planes” where you will interface with the wildlife.
On your morning game drive, expect to see a good number of animals since you will be in the Kasenyi sector which is a breeding ground for the antelopes. This makes predator come around this area to hunt down food and feed on these antelopes. Expect to see other animals like Buffaloes, Elephants, Ugandan Kob, hippopotamus, Topis, waterbucks, warthogs, giant forest hogs, spotted hyenas and leopards on a lucky day.
You will have lunch, and after you will head to Mweya peninsular at Kazinga channel for a boat cruise. A boat cruise along the Kazinga Channel will offer you one of the greatest wildlife experiences in Africa and Uganda in particular. Prepare to see countless hippos, crocodiles, buffaloes, elephants, water birds and many of the other park animals drinking from the channel. You will return to the lodge with a short evening game drive as you end your day with a sunset view while resting at your accommodation.
Accommodation: Buffalo Safari Lodge
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Day 3: Transfer to Lake Katwe for salt exploration experience and crater drive.
On this day, you will wake up with a warm meal and drive to Lake Katwe for the salt mining experience. Lake Katwe is a customary lake on which salt mining is done, formed through long ago volcanic eruption close to 10,000 years back. There are two activities that take place there, Rock salt activity and salt winning. Rock salt activity is carried out in the main lake by only men whereas salt winning is carried out in the salt pans by both sexes.
Alternatively, you can go for chimpanzee tracking in Kalinzu Forest which to interface the chimpanzees. This is also an amazing experience where you get to see the chimpanzee in the forest and have to learn about their way of life.
Thereafter you will head for a visit to the crater lakes in the park and enjoy a game drive as you appreciate the beauty of the nature formations. Later you will transfer to Fort Portal town via Kasese. On arrival at your hotel, you will have dinner and rest till the following day.
Accommodation: Nyaika Hotel “Fort Portal”
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Day 4: Transfer to Semliki National Park
After breakfast in the morning, transfer to Semliki National Park found at the western border of Uganda and the Congo Republic. The park is near to Lake Albert northwards and covers the eastern part of the Ituri forest joining Uganda and the Congo River separated by the Semliki River. Semliki is an ornithologist’s haven having about 400 bird species. Check-in at the lodge have lunch and proceed to the most eye-catching item in Semliki, the Sempaya hot springs. These natural springs have a geyser shooting up from an 8m-wide hole at a hot temperature. It’s the largest of its kind in the country. Along the same trail, you can recognize quite a number of bird species like blue–breasted kingfisher and Frasier’s ant-thrush and primates like the grey-checked mangabeys and red-tailed monkey. Later return to Fort Portal town to your hotel for relaxation, dinner, and overnight stay.
Accommodation: Nyaika Hotel “Fort Portal”
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Day 5: Transfer back to Kampala
Enjoy breakfast at leisure and head off to Kampala not forgetting to stop over in Mityana for lunch where you will be served the local delicacy of Uganda. After the sumptuous meal, you will continue your journey to Kampala where you will be dropped off at your hotel or drive to the airport.
Meals: Breakfast and Lunch
End of you 5 Days Semuliki and Queen Elizabeth Safari