25 Days Uganda, Serengeti & Zanzibar

Duration

25 days, 24 nights

Countries

Uganda & Tanzania

Starts

Entebbe, Uganda

Ends

Zanzibar, Tanzania

Pace

Steady, with rest days built in

ENTEBBE, UGANDA

Arrival in Entebbe

Your guide meets you at Entebbe International Airport and takes you the short distance to Protea Hotel Entebbe, on the shore of Lake Victoria. The afternoon is yours to settle in, followed by a full briefing on the journey ahead over dinner.

ENTEBBE, UGANDA

Shoebill search at Mabamba Swamp

An early start for Mabamba Swamp, a papyrus wetland on the edge of Lake Victoria and one of the most reliable places on earth to find the shoebill — a prehistoric-looking stork that stands over a metre tall. You search by dugout canoe, threading through the channels with a local guide. The afternoon is deliberately unhurried.

LAKE MUTANDA, UGANDA

South-west to Lake Mutanda

Today you travel south-west through the Ugandan highlands to Lake Mutanda, a body of water ringed by steep hills with the Virunga volcanoes rising behind it. You arrive at Chameleon Hill Lodge in the late afternoon, in time for sunset over the lake.

BWINDI & MGAHINGA, UGANDA

Gorilla trekking in Bwindi & the Batwa Trail

The day the journey was built around. You set off early into Bwindi Impenetrable National Park — a UNESCO World Heritage Site holding close to half the world's remaining mountain gorillas — and hike until your trackers find the family. You are given one hour with them. The walking can be strenuous and the forest lives up to its name, but nothing else in wildlife travel comes close. Afterwards, a picnic lunch in the forest, then the Batwa Trail in Mgahinga Gorilla National Park: a walk along a jungle footpath to Garama Cave, led by Batwa guides whose community lived on these slopes for centuries before the park was gazetted.

KIBALE FOREST, UGANDA

Lake Mutanda by boat, then north to Kibale

A boat trip onto Lake Mutanda at first light, out among its islands with the volcanoes on the horizon. Then you check out and head north, stopping in the Ishasha sector of Queen Elizabeth National Park to look for its famous tree-climbing lions, draped in the fig trees. You reach Chimpundu Lodge on the edge of Kibale in the evening.

KIBALE FOREST, UGANDA

Chimpanzee trekking in Kibale Forest

Kibale holds the highest density of primates in Africa, and its habituated chimpanzee community is the reason most people come. You head into the forest in the morning with a ranger, following the calls. The afternoon turns local: a visit to a village brewer to see how banana beer is made, and a coffee experience on a working smallholding.

KIBALE FOREST, UGANDA

Bigodi Wetland, hot springs & tea country

A morning walk in the Bigodi Wetland Sanctuary, a community-run swamp famous for its birdlife and eight species of primate. Later, a guided walk through forest alive with monkeys and hornbills brings you to the palm-fringed Sempaya Hot Springs, which spout up to two metres into the air. The day closes with a tea factory visit and tasting.

MURCHISON FALLS, UGANDA

Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary & on to Murchison Falls

You travel north-east, breaking the drive at Ziwa Rhino and Wildlife Ranch — the only place in Uganda where you can track southern white rhino on foot. Lunch at Ziwa, then on to Paraa Safari Lodge on the north bank of the Nile, inside Murchison Falls National Park.

MURCHISON FALLS, UGANDA

Morning game drive & the Nile launch cruise

Out early on the Delta road circuit, when the light is soft and the animals are moving: Rothschild's giraffe, lion, elephant, oribi, patas monkey. Back to the lodge for lunch, then an afternoon launch cruise upriver to the foot of Murchison Falls, past hippo pods, crocodiles and a wall of waterbirds.

MURCHISON FALLS, UGANDA

Nile Delta cruise & the top of the falls

This morning's cruise runs the other way, downstream to the Nile Delta where the river opens into Lake Albert — the second great shoebill site of the trip, along with Goliath herons and skimmers. A packed lunch, then up to the top of the falls, where the entire Nile is forced through a gap seven metres wide.

MURCHISON FALLS, UGANDA

White-water rafting on the Nile & a night game drive

A full day on the Upper Nile, rafting the jungle-lined stretch below the river's source at Jinja. Experienced guides, a proper safety briefing, and a barbecue lunch on the riverbank at the end of it. Back at the park, the evening brings a night game drive — spotlights picking out the eyeshine of leopard, genet, porcupine and bushbaby.

ENTEBBE, UGANDA

Return to Entebbe

A relaxed breakfast, then the drive south to Entebbe with a packed lunch en route. You arrive in the afternoon with time to repack before the Tanzania leg begins.

ARUSHA, TANZANIA

Fly to Arusha, Tanzania

A morning transfer to Entebbe International Airport and a flight to Arusha, the gateway to Tanzania's northern circuit. You check in at Arusha Gran Melia, with the rest of the day free — a deliberate pause between two very different halves of the journey.

TARANGIRE, TANZANIA

Game drive into Tarangire National Park

You drive to Tarangire, a park defined by two things: enormous baobabs, and elephants in family bands numbering in the dozens. Lions and cheetah are a real possibility, and wildebeest, giraffe, hippo, buffalo and zebra are close to guaranteed. A picnic lunch in the park, then game viewing continues into the afternoon before you reach Mwamba Lodge.

KARATU, TANZANIA

Lake Burunge, Mto wa Mbu & a Maasai boma

A nature walk on the shores of Lake Burunge to start, then a cultural tour of Mto wa Mbu village — a market town where more than a hundred ethnic groups live side by side. You walk the local farms and eat what is grown there. In the afternoon, a visit to a Maasai boma. You reach Ngorongoro Farm House in Karatu for the evening.

KARATU, TANZANIA

The Hadzabe & Datoga of Lake Eyasi

An early drive to Lake Eyasi to spend the morning with the Hadzabe, one of the last hunter-gatherer peoples on the continent, joining them as they hunt. Later, the Datoga — pastoralists and skilled blacksmiths who forge arrowheads for the Hadzabe. The afternoon is free at the lodge.

CENTRAL SERENGETI, TANZANIA

Ngorongoro Crater & into the Serengeti

You climb to the crater rim at dawn, then descend six hundred metres onto the floor of the Ngorongoro Crater — a collapsed caldera holding around 25,000 large animals, including some of the last black rhino in Tanzania. Lunch on the crater floor, then the drive north-west into Serengeti National Park, arriving at Kubu Kubu Tented Lodge in the evening.

CENTRAL SERENGETI, TANZANIA

A full day in the Central Serengeti

A full day out on the Seronera plains — classic savannah, acacia-dotted, and the most reliable big cat country in East Africa. Lion prides, leopard in the sausage trees along the river, and cheetah on the open ground. You return to the lodge in the late afternoon.

NORTHERN SERENGETI, TANZANIA

North to the Serengeti's wild frontier

A half-day game drive in the central Serengeti, then the long transfer north — game viewing the whole way — to the Northern Serengeti. It is quieter here, greener, and structured around the Mara River. You arrive at Mara Mara Tented Lodge in the evening.

NORTHERN SERENGETI, TANZANIA

The Mara River crossings

Out early, then a day spent working the banks of the Mara River in search of a wildebeest crossing. Nothing about it is scheduled — the herds gather, hesitate, and then go, sometimes after hours of waiting. When it happens, it is the single most dramatic thing in African wildlife. Packed lunch by the river.

NORTHERN SERENGETI, TANZANIA

Hot air balloon & bush breakfast

A very early start for a hot air balloon flight over the Northern Serengeti, lifting off in the dark and drifting over the plains as the sun comes up. You land to a champagne toast and a full bush breakfast set out under an acacia. The rest of the day returns to the Mara River for another chance at a crossing.

ZANZIBAR, TANZANIA

Fly to Zanzibar

A transfer to Kogatende airstrip and a flight east to Zanzibar, where you are met and driven to Diamonds Mapenzi Beach on the island's north-east coast. The rest of the day is for doing nothing at all.

ZANZIBAR, TANZANIA

Zanzibar at your own pace

Entirely yours. Diving and snorkelling on the reef, a dolphin trip, a deep-sea fishing excursion, or a day trip into Stone Town's alleyways and spice markets — all can be arranged. Or you can stay exactly where you are.

ZANZIBAR, TANZANIA

A final day on the Indian Ocean

A last full day on the coast, with no fixed plans. After three weeks of early starts, this one is meant to be slow.

ZANZIBAR AIRPORT, TANZANIA

Departure

Breakfast, then a transfer to Zanzibar Airport for your onward flight. Twenty-five days, two countries, and a great deal to think about on the way home.