13 DAY ADVENTURE LAKE MBURO

Day 1: Depart Jinja for Lake Mburo
Leave Jinja early and head towards Kampala, Uganda's vibrant capital city. Spend some time there visiting the bustling fruit and drum markets before arriving at the Equator for some memorable photographs.

Later in the afternoon you'll enter Lake Mburo National Park - a protected wilderness area known for its large hippo population - where you'll camp the night on the lake shore.

Day 2: Travel to the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest
Enjoy an early morning game drive in the Lake Mbruo National Park before leaving for Bwindi. Travel through the lush countryside, a landscape of rolling hills, banana plantations and herds of Ankole cattle. The afternoon will take you along rough mountain roads, through remote villages shrouded in mist, and finally toward the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park, where you'll camp for the night.

Days 3-4: Track Wild Mountain Gorillas
This is one of the highlights of the tour: trek through the thick vegetation of Bwindi in search of the mountain gorillas. As permits are limited, your group will be split up over two days so as to allow everyone a chance to spend time with these impressive animals. Expect to walk for a number of hours in often muddy and rainy conditions, but it will all be worthwhile when you suddenly come across a troop in the undergrowth.

When not trekking through the forest, you'll enjoy village walks and search for some of the beautiful birds that inhabit the fringe of the Bwindi forest.

Days 5-6: Look for Lions in Ishasha
Leave the mountains and forests behind you and head to the Queen Elizabeth National Park, where you'll spend two nights camping under canvas.

Wildlife and birdlife is abundant in the park, which is also known for the tree-climbing lions in its Ishasha region. Spend time on game drives in the area and be on the lookout for lions in the low-lying fig trees.

Day 7: Spend time with Chimpanzees
Pack up early and travel across the park and through the Maramagambo Forest where you might encounter wild chimpanzees and a variety of colourful birds. Your group will arrive at Kyambura Gorge in the afternoon and spend a few hours hiking into the gorge with a local guide, in the hope of spending time with a habituated family of wild chimpanzees.

As there is a limited number of visitors to the gorge, some of the group may do this activity on the following morning. Spend the night camping in the park.

Day 8: Walk to Rwenzori Lookout Point
This morning you'll explore the Queen Elizabeth National Park a little further before continuing north to Rwenzori, known as the 'Mountains of the Moon'.

After setting up camp at a local community centre, your group will enjoy a lengthy walk through numerous rural villages, interacting with the locals, before arriving at the Rwenzori lookout point. Although these mountains are so close to the Equator, the peaks - at 5000m above sea level - are often snow-capped, a stark contrast to the tropical forest covering the slopes.

Day 9: Cross Uganda to Murchison Falls
Leave the mountains early in the morning and descend into the tea plantations surrounding Fort Portal, an important market town near the crater lakes. Today you'll cover a considerable distance, and mostly on rough gravel roads.

Arrive in the late afternoon at the Kaniyo-Pabidi Camp located in the Murchison Falls National Park. The camp is managed by the renowned Jane Goodall Institute, known for its exceptional work with chimpanzees. You may opt for a second chimp trek here at your own expense.

Day 10: Cruise down the Nile River
Your first stop today is above the Murchison Falls, a narrow gap through which the Nile River falls 40m into the Rift Valley. Spend some time here taking photographs, enjoying the scenery and exploring the falls before travelling downstream.

At this point, your group will board a boat and head down the Nile on a game cruise to your campsite near the junction of the Victoria and Albert Nile. Depending on water levels, a truck may drive you to camp instead. Camp wild in a big game area, a truly memorable experience.

Day 11: Travel to Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary
After a leisurely breakfast, you'll explore more of the surrounding delta area before returning to the vehicle for your trip to the Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary.

This project was established to restore rhino to their natural habitats in Uganda's protected areas, and is now currently breeding both black and white rhino. Camp the night.

Day 12: Spend Your Last Night in Jinja
In the morning you may participate in tracking rhino on foot (own expense), or just relax at camp. After packing up for the last time, your group will travel back to Jinja to spend one final night in comfort, at adrift camp.

Enjoy an own expense dinner at the restaurant with your group, and celebrate a great Ugandan adventure.

Day 13: Relax at the 'Source of the Nile'
The tour ends after breakfast, but you are welcome to stay and enjoy some of the wildest whitewater rafting in the world - on the Nile River. From the Adrift Camp you are also able to spend a day working in a local community project. However, each of these activities are optional and at your own expense.