This 4-day Murchison Falls game and chimpanzee trekking tour gives you a full experience in Uganda’s largest national park. Murchison Falls National Park covers 3,840 km² and offers a wide range of activities. Book this tour for game drives, birdwatching, a boat cruise, and views of Murchison Falls.
The tour also includes a visit to Ziwa Rhino and Wildlife Ranch, giving you a chance to see all of the Big Five: lions, leopards, elephants, buffaloes, and rhinos. You may also see Jackson’s hartebeests, Rothschild’s giraffes, warthogs, and bushbucks.
In Budongo Forest, you go on a chimpanzee trekking adventure. These primates share about 98% of our genes, making the encounter one of the closest wildlife experiences available. A nature walk in the forest also gives you a chance to see other primates and birds.
This 4-day tour starts and ends in Kampala or Entebbe. You travel in a well-maintained 4×4 safari Land Cruiser, driven by an experienced guide, with other vehicle options including saloon cars, minivans, buses, and drones. The tour includes meals, accommodation, park entry, guides, and all listed activities.
4-Day Murchison Falls Safari Highlights
- Visit Murchison Falls National Park in western Uganda
- Drive through Uganda’s largest national park
- See the Big Five including lions, elephants, buffaloes, leopards, and rhinos
- Track southern white rhinos on foot at Ziwa Rhino and Wildlife Ranch
- Enjoy morning and evening game drives in the park
- Look out for giraffes, hartebeests, warthogs, bushbucks, and other animals
- Go on a boat cruise on the Victoria Nile toward Murchison Falls
- See hippos, Nile crocodiles, and birds along the riverbanks
- Visit Budongo Forest for a chimpanzee trekking experience
- Spend one hour with a chimpanzee group in the forest
- Spot other monkeys like black and white colobus, red-tailed monkeys, and olive baboons
- Travel by 4×4 safari vehicle with an experienced guide
- Start and end your tour in Kampala or Entebbe
Brief 4-Day Murchison Falls Safari Itinerary
- Day 1: Arrival and pick-up
- Day 2: Transfer to Murchison Falls, rhino tracking, and evening game drive
- Day 3: Morning game drive, boat cruise, and transfer to Budongo Forest
- Day 4: Chimpanzee trek in Budongo Forest and return to Kampala/Entebbe
Detailed 4-Day Murchison Falls Safari Itinerary
Day 1: Arrival and Pick-up
On your first day, you arrive at Entebbe International Airport, where your driver-guide welcomes you and gives a short briefing about your 4-day Murchison Falls game and chimpanzee tour. You are then taken to your booked hotel in either Entebbe or Kampala for dinner and overnight rest.
Day 2: Transfer to Murchison Falls, Rhino Tracking, and Evening Game Drive
After an early breakfast, your driver begins the journey to Murchison Falls National Park, about 234 km northwest of Kampala along the Kampala-Gulu highway.
On the way, you stop in Nakasongola District to visit Ziwa Rhino and Wildlife Ranch, going on foot with a guide to see southern white rhinos up close. You continue to Masindi town for lunch.
From Masindi, you enter Murchison Falls National Park and head to your lodge to check in and freshen up. In the evening, a game drive brings sightings of lions, leopards, elephants, buffaloes, baboons, bushbucks, and Jackson’s hartebeests. After the drive, you return to your lodge for dinner and overnight stay.
Day 3: Morning Game Drive, Boat Cruise, and Transfer to Budongo Forest
You wake up early, pack breakfast, and head out for a morning game drive in the park’s northern sector, the best time to see active wildlife, including lions, elephants, giraffes, leopards, buffaloes, warthogs, antelopes, and many birds.
After the drive, you return to your lodge, freshen up, and have lunch. You then check out and head to the Victoria Nile for an afternoon boat cruise, giving a close view of Murchison Falls from a safe distance. Along the river, crocodiles, hippos, birds, and other animals are also visible.
After the 2-hour boat cruise, you head south to Budongo Forest, a drive of under 2 hours. On arrival, you check in to your lodge, relax, and have dinner before overnight stay.
Day 4: Chimpanzee Trek in Budongo Forest and Return to Kampala/Entebbe
After breakfast, you check out and go to the Kaniyo Pabidi Ecotourism Site by 7:00 a.m. A ranger gives a short briefing on trekking chimpanzees safely, then you enter the forest with ranger guides to find a habituated chimpanzee group.
Once found, you spend one hour observing the chimpanzees in their natural habitat, with other primates such as black and white colobus monkeys, red-tailed monkeys, and olive baboons also possible. The whole trek takes 3 to 4 hours.
After the trek, you begin the journey back to Kampala, with a lunch stop in Masindi town. Once in Kampala, you are dropped off at your hotel or residence, with an option to continue to Entebbe International Airport for your flight.
Book this 4-day Murchison Falls game and chimpanzee trekking safari to combine rhino tracking, game drives, a Nile boat cruise, and chimp trekking in one complete trip.
