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Peter *******
DE
Visited:
January 2024
Reviewed: Jun 28, 2024
Email Peter ******* | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Best Safari ever😍
We left almost on time on January 24th shortly after 11 a.m. from Nuremberg's Albrecht Dürer Airport via Istanbul to Entebbe. When we arrived there, we were met by our two guides Elli and Joseph at around 6 a.m. and taken to the Seven Seasons Hotel to relax. In the afternoon we went on our first trip to the Entebbe Botanical Garden. This was founded by the English in 1902 during the colonial period and has a large variety of plants, shrubs and trees. We were also able to observe the first species of monkeys such as mantled monkeys and vervet monkeys.
The next day we set off early in the morning to the Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary. In this great park we were able to admire 13 rhinos while tracking with a local ranger. The sight was simply indescribable, we got to within about 20m of these wonderful animals. After a short night at the Bomah Hotel in Gulu, we continued to the Zebra Lodge in Kidepo Valley National Park
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for 2 nights.This park is located across borders in the drier north of Uganda on the borders with Kenya and South Sudan. On the game drives we were able to see huge herds of buffalo, lots of elephants, bumbas (warthogs), some giraffes and various types of impala. This savannah landscape there is simply indescribably beautiful. A highlight was the visit to Idi Amin's former residence in the Katurum Lodge park.
After another night at the Bomah Hotel, due to the longer distance, we went to Murchison Falls National Park. Here the Pakuba Safari Lodge was our accommodation for 2 days. It is located in the middle of the park with a small waterhole and a wonderful pool that gave us our first slight sunburn. On our game drives we had lots of animal sightings, saw our first lions in Uganda and, as a highlight, a leopard in its tree hideout. We ended the evening by the campfire with guitar music and singing from our new Canadian friends Beggi and Tom.
It can really continue like this!! The next day, after the morning game drive and lunch in the lodge, we went to the Nile for a boat trip upstream to the Murchison Falls. Along the Nile we saw buffalo, elephants, monitor lizards and some large crocodiles, as well as many species of birds. But the view of the waterfall from below was already very impressive, but it was about to get even better.
The trip directly to the falls was only planned for the next day, but Elli, our guide, had a feeling and after a short drive and a short walk we arrived at the top of the waterfall. The rushing and roaring, the spray, the play of light until sunset, just amazing, fantastic and indescribably beautiful. An impression that will last forever!!
Early in the morning when we left the Pakuba Lodge, a herd of elephants was standing almost directly in front of our room, leisurely making their way around the grounds, which delayed our departure a little. But we reached the Kibale Forest Camp in time for lunch. In the afternoon we went on an excursion to the “country and its people” including a medicine man, coffee roastery, basket weaving and banana beer brewery. A must if you want to get to know the culture of these great people. In addition to the beer tasting, there was also a great homemade banana schnapps. The way back to the camp took a little longer!!
The next morning we set off for a wonderful walk in the forest before going chimpanzee trekking in the Kibale National Park in the afternoon. After a few mud holes, wet shoes and dripping trousers, there they were, the chimpanzees. It was wonderful to be able to observe our closest relatives up close, simply unforgettable moments!!
On the 10th day of our tour through Uganda we continued across the equator to the Queen Elizabeth National Park. Here we stayed at the Buffalo Safari Lodge. During the game drives we were able to see a lioness with her 4 cubs, but the absolute highlight was a bull elephant who visited us while we were swimming in the lodge's pool and drank a few liters of water from the pool with his trunk. Another highlight that you won't forget!!
The next day we went on a boat trip on the Kazinga Channel, which connects Lake Edouard with Lake George. Here too we were able to see lots of elephants, buffalo, many species of birds and hippos. This time we only saw small crocodiles. But a boat trip like this is just awesome, highly recommended!!
After 2 nights in the Buffalo Lodge, we went to the highlands, to the rainforest of the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, to the Rushaga Gorilla Camp. The temperature difference was really big, in the evening hot water bottles were put in our beds so that we were nice and warm.
After breakfast and a very short drive, the lodge is about 300m from the starting point of the gorilla trek. We were greeted by a dance group and after a detailed briefing we set off. In total we were on the road for about three and a half hours, up and down hills, through the thicket, over small streams and mud holes, but after about 80 minutes of extreme conditions we were able to see them. A mountain gorilla family, the silverback with about 14 family members, we were sometimes only about 2 meters away from these amazing creatures. Unfortunately, after 10 minutes it started to rain very heavily and the animals hid under a large bush. I quickly threw on a ponch and followed the family. We overlooked the fact that the poncho was over our feet and we had to go headfirst into a mud hole. After about 30 minutes of heavy rain, the gorillas came out of their hiding place again and we were given an extra hour to take photos before heading back to the starting point. A small detour was necessary because our path crossed that of an elephant. After receiving our gorilla certificate, we went back to Rushaga Camp to shower and change before we reflected on our experiences in the evening around the campfire.
Day 14 of our trip had already arrived, and we headed to Lake Bunyonyi with incredibly heavy legs and sore muscles. There we were taken by boat to a small island called Habuhdro Island. A wonderful gem for relaxing, where you could just unwind with a good, cold Nile beer. A dream island that you could walk around in just under 15 minutes.
After a good night's sleep, we took the boat back to civilization the next morning after breakfast and then on to Lake Mburo National Park. Here, too, we had a wonderful lodge with a view of the park's wide valley, the Kigarama Wilderness Lodge. On our last game drive in the park, we saw lots of giraffes, buffalo, antelopes and also some hippos. We were also able to leave our jeep and get within about 4 meters of the giraffes, who were watching us curiously.
But unfortunately our adventure slowly came to an end the next day. We stayed at the Seven Seasons for a few more hours and then drove to the airport at 3 a.m. the next morning where we flew back home to Nuremberg on time with Turkish Airlines via Istanbul.
Special thanks go to our two guides Joseph and Elli!! We had a lot of fun with them during the 16 days. They took us safely and reliably across Uganda and brought us much closer to the wildlife, nature and culture through their knowledge.
Also Sedrick, the boss of Ngoni Safaris who planned this unique tour for us, and all the staff at the hotels and lodges. We were warmly welcomed and entertained everywhere. We will definitely travel to this great country again!!
To paraphrase Hemingway:
“If I’ve ever seen magic, it was in Africa”
(automatic translation from German)
David Tredinnick
AU
Visited:
May 2024
Reviewed: Jun 2, 2024
Email David Tredinnick | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
The pearl of Africa lives us to expectations
Murchison national park & waterfall where an amazing experience. So beautiful and amazing to see all the animals and birds in their natural surroundings. Tour operators was first class & very knowledgeable about everything
Paal Stroem
NO
Visited:
April 2024
Reviewed: May 26, 2024
Email Paal Stroem | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Gorilla Trek
I went trekking for Gorillas and the experience was amazing. Once in a lifetime stuff. Great people and service and the travel logistics went really smoothly. Highly recommended.
Sabine Reichow
ES
Visited:
April 2024
Reviewed: May 18, 2024
Email Sabine Reichow | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Unique experiance Uganda
We booked through a local company we had chosen through safaribooking.com ( safarisbyjon) and flew to Entenbbe with exitment . I must say that the week was even better than we had dreamed of……… it was just perfect!!!! We stayed at Murdgison Falls National Park and did the trekking to see Rhinos( amazing) we visted the Waterfall ….. spectaculous, and we met sooo many friendly people! All the locals, guides, rangers, staff atcthe lodges were super friendly , helpful, had good knowledge of their job and always a big smile ! We of course did the chimpanzee and gorilla trekking, and the fact that you walk through the jungle ( great nature) and suddenly see them face to face is a one liftime experiance! I can only highly
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recommend Uganda and the experiance of trekking by foot to anybody! It is such a special experiance! Nature in Uganda is great, as we went end of the rainy season ( it just rained one day and not heavy rain) tourism was low and so the trekkings were and safari we did were not at all overpacked with tourists……… and everywhere peolpe todl us how greatfull they were that we had chosen Uganda for our holidays…..that was so sweet……… we will definitly come back some day!!!! Thank you Uganda for an unforgettable holiday !!!!!!
Matthew Montanari
US
Visited:
April 2024
Reviewed: May 15, 2024
Email Matthew Montanari | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
A Lush Oasis with So Much to See
Even though we visited during the rainy season, we were lucky enough to have beautiful weather during our trip. The drive to QENP was interesting because you drive through many small towns where you can see the local vendors selling produce on the side of the road. Our guide was happy to stop whenever we requested, so long as it was safe. The further you go, the landscape begins to change. It was beautiful.
QENP was absolutely stunning. We saw nearly all the animals we wanted to see and Francis went above and beyond to make sure we fully enjoyed our experience. We were even lucky enough to see the chimpanzees when we went chimpanzee tracking on our 2nd day.
On our way to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, we drove to the Ishasha sector, which was unique in its own way
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and we were able to observe a tree climbing lion resting in a tree.Gorilla tracking in Bwindi was incredible. We were lucky, where it only took us 30 minutes to find the gorilla family we were looking for, but apparently it can sometimes take up to 3 hours to find the gorillas. It was such a unique experience. I will never forget it.
Our last night was at Lake Bunyonyi, which was beautiful and a perfect way to wind down to end our trip.
We were very impressed by all of the lodges we stayed at. Everything was clean and very nice (We opted for Mid-Luxury). All of the staff and locals we encountered were so friendly and spoke great English.
In my opinion, Uganda is a must visit in Africa. Our guide Francis was fantastic. His experience and knowledge made us feel safe the entire time and he also answered any question we had.
Uganda has so much to offer and we didn’t even get to see everything due to our safari only being 5 days.
Such an unforgettable trip. I highly recommend.
Levi Jacob Morris
US
Visited:
March 2024
Reviewed: Apr 22, 2024
Email Levi Jacob Morris | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
A country with a rich diversity of landscapes, people, and wildlife.
I explored Uganda for 12 days with Buyaga Safaris. The country is very diverse the culture, landscape, and wildlife can change a lot when traveling from one region to the next. The biggest highlights for myself as a wildlife photographer where the primates. I had the opportunity to photograph several monkey species, chimpanzee, and mountain gorillas.
Mette Lund Hougaard
DK
Visited:
October 2016
Reviewed: Nov 4, 2016
Email Mette Lund Hougaard | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
A big experience
Uganda is a very beautiful and safe contry. Wildlife is a very big experience. We saw elefanter. Giraf. Krokodiller. Leons and many other animals. Also many very beautiful births.
Divesh
GB
Visited:
July 2016
Reviewed: Jul 16, 2016
Email Divesh | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Beautiful Uganda
Uganda has a rich variety of landscapes. Its people are very friendly and helpful. It has hands down the best birding watching of any place I have visited. Murchison Fall National Park has to be the number one game drive location in the country - the abundance of wildlife and landscapes within the park are breath taking. I would recommend Murchison Falls National Park over Queen Elizabeth National Park as it had less wildlife (although more birds). The landscapes in the north of Queen Elizabeth National Park aren't as dramatic as in the southern Ishasha sector. If I were to return I would focus my time and game drives in the southern sector of Queen Elizabeth National Park. In general Uganda would have to be the most beautiful country I have visited - I have never seen such a diversity of landscapes... savannah, mountains, tea plantations, rainforest, mixed arable, lakes, on and on, just amazing. I would recommend Uganda as a birding and safari location. We had very close encounters with many animals and often we were the only ones spending that time with the animal/herd.
pummel
GB
Visited:
August 2010
Reviewed: Sep 25, 2011
20-35 years of age
Excellent for mountain gorillas, and for a good not too touristy safari experience
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trekking and of course the gorilla trekking. It might not be somewhere you consider unless you are either a birder (Uganda is meant to be great for birds) or going to see the Gorillas, but for me it was a perfect place for mixing safari and trekking.
Chrissy Olson
US
Visited:
October 2007
Reviewed: Sep 8, 2011
Email Chrissy Olson | 35-50 years of age
The jewel of East Africa, a MUST-SEE travel destination!
The weather was perfect, cool in the mornings and evenings and warm throughout the day (never hot). The Ugandan country side is simply stunning….green patchwork covers the mountainous terrain and the people are some of the
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friendliest I have ever encountered. We also had incredible food throughout our journey including a delicious tilapia dinner on the shore of Lake Victoria (for the low price of $1.30).The gorilla trekking was the highlight of our week but we also did a boat tour of the Kazinga channel which was wonderful!
I've travelled all over the world and I can honestly say that Uganda was my absolute favorite destination. The friendly people, incredible scenery, affordability and abundant wildlife make Uganda a “must-see”!!
