5 Days Queen Elizabeth, A Valiant’s Epic Wildlife Safari in Uganda

Our company safari guide will pick you up from Entebbe International Airport and transfer you to your hotel in Kampala or Entebbe. Depending on your time of arrival, you will take a city tour of Kampala or Entebbe.

Entebbe is a small but scenic town with a great deal of attractions to explore, such as the Uganda Wildlife and Education Centre, aka UWEC Zoo, botanical gardens, and Lake Victoria. Your safari guide will also brief you about the next day’s travel arrangements.

Dinner and overnight: Papyrus Guesthouse Entebbe/Gately Inn Entebbe/Anderita Beach Hotel

Wake up early, enjoy a quick breakfast, and get ready to embark on a 6-hour scenic road trip to Queen Elizabeth National Park, southwestern Uganda. Expect to catch sight of crater lakes, parts of the East African rift valley, amazing tea plantations, great views of the Rwenzori Mountains, and other remarkable features along the way.

Take time to observe the beautiful countryside, the amazing Ankole long-horned cattle, and the locals working in their gardens or trading in small towns. The trip will be broken up at the equator crossing for amazing photos and to buy souvenirs before proceeding.

You’ll arrive in the late afternoon, check in to your lodge, and enjoy a delicious lunch before embarking on an afternoon game drive in the Kasenyi sector. You will see a diversity of wildlife, such as waterbucks, lions, kobs, hyenas, giant forest hogs, elephants, bush bucks, and buffaloes, among others. Keen birders should look out for pelicans, jacanas, herons, egrets, and cormorants.

Accommodation & meals:

• Luxury: Mweya Safari Lodge
• Mid-range: Bush Lodge/Enganzi Game Lodge.
• Budget: Bush Lodge in the Tents/Simba Safari Camp.

Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner 

Wake up for a sumptuous breakfast and embark on a morning game drive in the Kasenyi plains. This game-rich section of Queen Elizabeth National Park yields some of the best animal sightings, such as Uganda kobs, lions, elephants, cape buffalos, spotted hyenas, waterbucks, giant forest hogs, and many more. The morning escapade mostly aims at sighting early morning risers and predators going back to their dens after hunting in the night.

After the morning game drive, you’ll return to the lodge for lunch as you prepare for the afternoon launch cruise on the Kazinga Channel. This is one of the most anticipated activities while on a safari in Queen Elizabeth National Park. The channel connects Lake Albert to Lake George and has a great diversity of wildlife in Africa. You will spot the largest concentration of hippos and numerous Nile crocodiles, buffaloes, elephants, antelopes, predators, and a variety of bird species.

Wake up early for a sumptuous breakfast and prepare for chimpanzee tracking in Kyambura Gorge. Your safari guide will drive you through long stretches of the savanna grassland and suddenly approach the remarkable gorge. The gorge shelters an underground forest that is home to a band of chimpanzees, smaller primates, and birds.

After a safety briefing, you will descend into the gorge to begin the search for a troop of chimpanzees. Although the chance of seeing the chimps in the gorge is lower than in Kibale National Park, a walk in the underground forest exposes you to a scenic landscape and incredible biodiversity.

After spending sufficient time with the chimps, you will have lunch and then transfer to Lake Katwe in the Mweya Peninsula, a leading source of salt production in Uganda. Although the lake is too salty to support wildlife, it is a great source of livelihood for communities in the area. You will return to the lodge after interacting with the locals.

After a hefty breakfast, you will drive to the Ishasha sector of Queen Elizabeth National Park to spot the special tree-climbing lions. Although this section is not as rich as the Kasenyi Plains and Mweya Peninsula, it is the only place to find tree-climbing lions. These agile cats spend most of their afternoons on top of fig and acacia trees.

There are about four prides in Ishasha. Visitors here also never lose sight of elephants, Uganda kobs, topis, warthogs, and many more antelopes, which these lions prey on.

After spotting the lions, you will check out of the lodge, leave the park, and transfer to Kampala or Entebbe. You will have a lunch break in Mbarara, and when you arrive, you’ll be dropped off at your lodge or airport for your departure flight.

End of 5 Days Queen Elizabeth Wildlife Safari