6 Days Queen Elizabeth & Murchison Falls Safari

Drive southwest via Mbarara (approx. 6–7 hours) to Queen Elizabeth National Park. Equator stop at Kayabwe for photos and lunch.

Check in near Mweya or Katwe. Evening at leisure overlooking the Kazinga Channel or crater lakes.

Queen Elizabeth entry via Katunguru gate — the Equator at Kayabwe is 30 minutes south of Kampala on the Masaka highway. Check-in at Mweya or Enganzi lodges by afternoon.

Queen Elizabeth's Mweya Peninsula offers views over the Kazinga Channel — check-in here or at Enganzi Lodge on the park escarpment above Katunguru gate.

Pre-dawn game drive on the Kasenyi Plains — lion, leopard, elephant and Uganda kob at first light. Return for breakfast.

Safari activity | Kazinga Channel boat safari

Afternoon two-hour cruise on the channel — dense hippo pods, elephant and buffalo on the banks, outstanding birding.

Afternoon 2-hour Kazinga Channel boat safari — hippo pods, buffalo and elephant at the banks.

Queen Elizabeth's elephant population exceeds 2,500 individuals — herds cross the Kazinga Channel at low water. Spotted hyena whoop at dusk from the Kasenyi grasslands.

Kazinga Channel links Lake George (2,505 km²) to Lake Edward — the 32-km waterway concentrates hippo and waterbird life. Morning Kasenyi drives target lion on the open plains.

After breakfast, drive north via Fort Portal and Masindi (approx. 7–8 hours) toward Murchison Falls National Park. Lunch in Fort Portal with Rwenzori foothill views on clear days.

Overnight near Masindi or at the park southern gate — early entry tomorrow for the top of the falls.

The Fort Portal–Masindi road crosses the Albertine Rift escarpment with views over Lake Albert on clear days. Overnight near Masindi breaks the 7–8 hour Queen Elizabeth–Murchison transfer.

Fort Portal's Ndali-Kasenda crater field has 20+ volcanic lakes — optional 1-hour viewpoint stop on the Queen Elizabeth–Masindi transfer. Tea estate scenery dominates the Hoima approach road.

Visit the top of the falls viewpoint, then check in at Paraa. Pre-dawn or afternoon game drive on the Buligi circuit — elephant, buffalo, Rothschild's giraffe and Uganda kob.

Safari activity | Nile boat cruise to Murchison Falls

Launch on the Victoria Nile toward the base of the falls — hippos, crocodiles, elephant at the water's edge.

Afternoon Nile launch cruise toward the falls base. Goliath herons along the papyrus banks.

Murchison's ferry at Paraa operates on a schedule linking the southern gate to the northern game-drive circuits. Nile lechwe are absent here but sitatunga occur in papyrus swamps near the delta.

Murchison's Rothschild's giraffe population exceeds 1,000 individuals — among the world's most important remaining herds for this endangered subspecies.

Dawn game drive on the northern bank — lion and leopard at first light, Jackson's hartebeest and oribi on the plains. Return for breakfast.

Revisit the top of the falls or optional delta boat cruise at Paraa. Afternoon at leisure at the lodge.

Second Murchison game drive targets species missed on Day 4 — leopard and hyena are more active at dawn. Delta boat cruises (separate fee) run to the Nile–Lake Albert confluence.

Murchison's second game drive targets species missed on Day 4 — oribi, hartebeest and patas monkey favour different zones. Top of falls revisit at sunset is spectacular in dry season. Paraa ferry last crossing is approx. 19:00 daily.

After breakfast, drive south to Kampala/Entebbe (approx. 5–6 hours). Lunch en route; airport drop-off for evening flights.

Masindi to Kampala (approx. 4 hours) completes the southern circuit. Optional Ziwa rhino stop on the return adds 3 hours north of Nakasongola.

Murchison to Kampala (5–6 hours) via Masindi completes the western-to-northern circuit. Ziwa rhino stop adds 3 hours if booked as a morning extension on the return. Evening international flights from Entebbe require checkout from Murchison lodges by 08:00 on this departure day.