This 12 Days Mount Kenya & Uganda Safari is tailored for travelers interested in climbing Mount Kenya and explore Uganda. This combined Uganda and Kenya safari takes you to Mount Kenya for a climbing adventure, then head to Uganda for game viewing safari and trekking the endangered mountain gorillas.
Detailed itinerary of 12 Days Mount Kenya & Uganda Safari
Day 1: Transfer from Nairobi
You will be warmly welcomed by our safari guide and transfer from Nairobi to Mountain Rock Lodge where you will have your first rest. If time allows you will enjoy the village walks and also visit one of the moving mountains schools that are nearby.
Also pick your mountain trekking permit from Naor Moru Park Gate since Burguret doesn’t have an official park gate.
Day 2: Mountain Rock to Giant Bamboo
After your early morning breakfast, drive about 15 km to Gathiuri forest where you will start your hike to Giant Bamboo Camp which takes about 4-5 hours. During the trek, you will pass through different vegetation zones including montane forests, Hagenia and giant bamboo. You will also spot several species including animals like elephants, buffaloes and various bird species.
Day 3: Giant Bamboo to Highland Castle
Wake up for your early morning breakfast as you prepare for the 5 hours hike to Highland Castle passing through montane and onto moorland. You will continue with the route passing past the famous giant lobelia and groundsels until you reach the campsite which is close to the lava cliffs of the Highland Castle.
Day 4: Highland Castle to Shiptons Camp
In the morning after your breakfast at the camp, prepare for 6 hours hike to Shiptons Camp passing over the Hausberg Col through the moorland and high alpine desert providing the scenic views of Volcanic peaks, beautiful tarns and the high glaciers around.
Day 5: Point Lenana and Descend to Nithi Camp
In the morning, ascend to Point Lenana – the highest point of Mount Kenya. Have a great opportunity of taking beautiful photography since you will have a clear view of the amazing landscape, vegetation and other mountains in the country. Later, you will move down to Nithi Camp. The total will take approximately 10 hours including the hike to the summit and the slope to Nithi Camp. You will pass by different amazing features like waterfalls, landscapes of chasms, lava flows and others.
Day 6: Meru Bandas
From Nithi Camp, you will descend to Meru Bandas a hike that takes a few hours. Here you will spot plenty of wildlife species. You can decide to have a night here or transfer back to Nairobi for a dropoff at the hotel or at the airport to catch your flight to Uganda’s Entebbe International Airport. On arrival, you will be welcomed by our guide and transfer you to your hotel in Kampala.
Day 7: Entebbe to Bwindi
After a morning cup of tea, transfer to Entebbe international airport for your flight to Kihihi Bwindi, you will be met by our company driver guide at the airfield who will transfer you to Buhoma for your lunch and afternoon relaxing
Optional Community walk to the Batwa People.
Meal Plan Breakfast, lunch and Dinner
Day 8: Bwindi (Gorilla trekking)
After breakfast set off early with guides to track mountain gorillas in Bwindi. The thrill of your encounter will erase the difficulties of the potentially strenuous trek. Bring jungle boots and rain jackets because the park is often wet. Spend time in awe watching the gorillas go about their activities. Each gorilla safari encounter is different and has its own rewards, but you are likely to enjoy the close view of adults feeding, grooming and resting as the youngsters frolic and swing from vines in a delightfully playful display.
Bwindi Impenetrable Forest is a magnificent green swathe of dense rain forest, so ancient that survived the last ice age. A recently proclaimed World Heritage site, it’s one of the most biologically diverse areas on earth and its unique, precious flora sustains roughly half of the world population of mountain gorillas believed to number just 720. There’s also a substantial chimpanzee population and research shows that Bwindi is the only forest in Africa in which these two apes live together.
Time permitting, spend the afternoon on a community foot safari to explore the life style of the people living and surrounding the park. Learn their culture, way of life and storytelling. Return to camp exhilarated to relieve the encounter with friends over a drink. Dinner and overnight stay.
Meal plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Day 9: Bwindi to Queen Elizabeth
With previous day’s memories proceed to Queen Elizabeth via Ishasha. Drive along the deep and wide dry craters that are occupied by savannah grasses and acacia. The drive takes you through the unique western rift valley escarpment and the (southern part of Queen Elizabeth National Park) Ishasha sector where you will take on yet another game drive in search of tree climbing lions and other game then after in mid-morning drive to Mweya Penassula . Check in our hotel for lunch and some afternoon relaxing or go for evening game drive to catch-up with the early risers and predators returning to their hideouts. You will most likely meet grazing Hippos, Elephants, and Lions, spotted Hyenas, bush buck, water buck, stripped jackal, comical warthogs and the elusive leopard.
Meal plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Day 10-11: Queen Elizabeth National Park (Chimp trekking and Afternoon Boat)
Rise very early for your breakfast drive to Kyambura where you will have briefing from the rangers have beautiful view of the gorge from the top before we descend down to the gorge for the Chimpanzee trekking. This will take between two to 4 hours depending on the movement of the Chimps then after return back to the lodge for lunch.
After lunch, take on an afternoon Launch cruise along Kazinga Channel one that joins Lakes Edward and George. The cruise is a wonderful way to see hippo, buffalo, kob and the occasional Nile crocodile (which up until recently did not inhabit this area) and a spectacular bird watching on the water bank. Many who experience the launch cruise consider it the high light of their entire African safari.
Meal plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Day 12: Queen Elizabeth to Entebbe
After morning cup of coffee we can have brief Game drive in Kasenyi for what we missed then drive back to Entebbe for our flight back home.
End of the 12 Days Mount Kenya & Uganda Safari
