Rafiki's Northern Uganda Adventure

Rafiki's Northern Uganda Safari is a 22-day interesting adventure that awaits you. You will visit women projects, communities and two National Parks, Murchison Falls and Kidepo National Park. Enjoy the waterfall scenery, game drive and boat ride at Murchison falls National Park. At Kidepo, you will have the chance to see ostriches in the wild and many more wild animals like the lions, cheetah, and buffaloes. Later on, visit the community Karamojong Manyattas and participate in traditional dances.

Day 4: Bugondo Agro-Tourism Farm Stay – Goat farming

After breakfast, you will travel from Soroti city to Serere district at the shores of Lake Kyoga where Valley farm is located. The trip to Valley farm can take between 2 to 3 hours.

At Valley farm, activities will include:-

Goat Interactions. You can participate in goat feeding routines, also play with the goats and take a guided walk with the goats through the farm or nearby trails.

A Goat Breeding & Care Workshop: The focus of this workshop is goat husbandry, breeding, and health care.

Farm-to-Table: you will participate in the preparation of meals and later enjoy the food. The meals will feature goat meat (nyama choma), plantain etc

Goat-themed Games: Photo ops with the goats!

Nature Walks: you will explore the surroundings, spotting local wildlife and plants.

Camping: you will set up their tents at the farm for overnight accommodation.

Camp fire: There will be a camp fire set up as guests sample the millet brew (Ajon)

Akoogo tunes: Camp fire, Ajon and storytelling are all complemented with listening to tunes from the thumb piano (Akoogo)

Overnight: Tented accommodation at the farm

Day 5: Lake Kyoga and Bird Island Excursion

On this day, you will be guided by the farm's daily schedule and local conditions. Highlights include an excursion to Lake Kyoga, one of Uganda's major freshwater lakes.

You will enjoy a canoe ride to the Bird Island, a peaceful sanctuary known for its birdlife and scenic views. Activities will be spread across the morning, afternoon, and evening, allowing time for relaxation and reflection. If we spot any trash lying around, we will help to pick it up to help keep the sanctuary clean for the animals who live there.

Later in the day, you return to Soroti.

Overnight: Soroti

Day 6: Community Conservation - Atigo Forest Reserve Restoration Initiative AFRRI -Tree Planting Project

This day is dedicated to community conservation and restoration of degraded landscape through a collaborative forestry management CFM program. Visit AFRRI Tree Planting Project, a community-led initiative supporting reforestation and income diversification to reduce poverty.

The project involves over thirty community groups working in partnership with the National Forestry Authority and private landowners. You will have the opportunity to visit:

Arise Forestry Enterprise – Tree Nursery site

Plant trees at Angutawele – AFRRI conservation site. We will cycle from Arise Forestry Enterprise to the conservation site.

Visit the Community woodlot demonstration site

Meet the conservation group members as they showcase their income generating enterprises ( Poultry, beekeeping, grain marketing and cassava value chain)

This experience highlights the link between environmental stewardship and sustainable livelihoods. At the satellite store where you will meet with the conservation group, you will enjoy performances of traditional dances from community members.

Lunch today will be at the Eco-tour site.

Overnight: Soroti

Day 7: Museums, Heritage and Cultural Farewell

On your final day in Soroti, explore the rich heritage of the Teso people through museum visits:

Soroti Regional Museum, managed by the Government of Uganda

Ateker Museum, a community-managed cultural centre.

Both museums showcase artifacts, traditions, and historical narratives of the Teso and wider Ateker communities, each offering a unique perspective. At the Ateker Museum, you will engage in a crafts workshop at the Ateker Youth Heritage Hub (AYHH). This is an initiative to skill vulnerable youth with artisanal life skills. Participants at the hub are mostly teenage parents and other out of school youth. The 4-hour crafts workshop will include:

An introduction to the hub, its overall aim and prospects;

Practical sessions in beading, weaving, crocheting, tailoring and garment cutting, string art and tapestry – at the end of the 4 hours, guests will have handmade products such as earrings, necklaces, bracelets, crowns, sandals, door mats, and other creative products which you can take back as gifts to your family and friends.

In the evening, you will be hosted at the Ateker Museum for a cultural farewell dinner that includes a cultural quiz and reflection; an intimate and memorable conclusion to the day.

Overnight: Soroti

Day 8: Visit Upendo Women Community

Travel to Lira Mid Northern Uganda for your community tour. Arrive mid-morning. You will then Visit Upendo Art and Crafts Centre and their village centre in ICEME where most of their activities are centered. This is a women group that has come together to promote the Lango culture through the making of crafts, storytelling and traditional dances. These ladies are mostly women who lost their husbands during the Kony insurgency in Northern Uganda. The group facilitates empowerment of the rural person through development of skills, talent and creativity to improve their quality of life. The group was started in 2003. The art and crafts works produced are sold both on the local and international markets. We will engage in a workshop bag making so you learn all about how to make bags and support these women at the same time. A donation to the construction work for a village cultural center on your behalf is included in the visit.

Overnight at Pauline Hotel or Lilian Towers or similar.

Day 9: Lango Culture and historical sites visit

Visit Ngetta Hill, the first Lango settlement. It is believed that the first Lango forefathers settled here where the rock stands today. Later, visit Aboke girls school, a school ransacked by rebel Kony (only available on school days). We will visit the school after lunch and gift some snacks to the students as well as washable menstrual pads so that girls in their periods are still able to go to school. For this, we collaborate with Malaika Pads.

We then visit the Barlonyo site that serves as the World Monument site for Peace and later the Lango cultural centre.

Overnight at Pauline Hotel or Lilian Towers

Day 10: Travel to Gulu

Today travel to Kidepo with a stopover in Gulu another northern Uganda town. This region was once hit by the LRA Kony insurgency but it has quickly recovered from the scars of war. Tour Gulu and also visit the nearby community projects. Visit Wawoto Kacel Cooperative Society Ltd – which means "Walking together".

The cooperative facilitates the empowerment of the rural person through development of skills, talent and creativity to improve their quality of life. The cooperative was created in 1997. The women produce a wide range of products in the different categories of embroidery, tailoring, tie and dye, weaving, beads and wishing cards. The art and crafts works produced are sold both on the local and international markets. You will receive a workshop on how to create your very own wishing cards to support the cooperative. And we will invite the women to enjoy our lunch together with us (please note that this can be arrange only when booked well in advance).

Spend the night in Gulu at Gulu Churchhill Courts.

Day 11: Community visit

Today you visit the villages where the displaced women were resettled. You can participate in helping some of them in the their daily chores, such as helping to clean the area and cooking, as they share their stories.

Overnight in Gulu

Day 12: Gulu City Tour and Cultural visits

Meeting time with our Acholi Tour at 7:00 am for briefing.

Set off time from Gulu City 7:40 am

Today you continue with another Gulu City tour that includes the Acholi Community homesteads are relatively distance between 30 minutes, 45 minutes and 1 hour's drive on road by car. We will get to meet our Acholi Community Tour guide to take through the activities on site. In the Acholi village, you can choose one of the following activities:

A meet and great with Acholi village members for a cultural exchange;

A Moo Yaa workshop making shea butter.

Overnight in Gulu

Day 13: Kidepo -Narus Valley

Travel to Kidepo Valley National Park, arrive early afternoon and relax at your hotel. To support the rangers of the park, we will gift them some supplies that we've purchased earlier in your journey.

Later on in the evening, go for a game drive through the rolling grassland plain in Narus valley a common evening spot for animals.

Stay at Kidepo Savannah Lodge.

Day 14: Kidepo National Park

Kidepo Valley National Park has been described as the Hidden Gem by CNN with a herd of 2,000 to 3,000 buffaloes, the largest in Africa. It is home to 550 bird species and 77 different mammals that roam the savannas. During today's game drive, you will see a collection of ostriches, giraffes and sometimes cheetahs, elephants, herds of Buffaloes, Jackals, and Jackson's Hartebeest, Klipspringer, wild dogs, Dik Dik, Mountain Reed Buck and Lions plus many other mammals.

We will also help with some of the daily activities where possible, and if a trainee guide is available, we will ask them to join us on our game drive so that they can learn on-the-job with us.

Stay at Kidepo Savannah Lodge or equivalent

Day 15: Karamojong tribe Community

On this day, you will visit the Karamojong communities to have a real taste of this warrior tribe. Dance with the community and later on visit their Manyattas (homes). Historically they were known as "expert" cattle rustlers, but they have since stopped that activity, thanks to government support and community stakeholders.

Today, we will make lunch for the dancers as a kind gesture and a way to connect. Enjoying a shared meal gives you some more time to speak to the dancers about the meaning and traditions of dancing for the tribe and their daily lives.

In the evening, depending on the community program of the day, we will invite some of the tribe's elders for a storytelling exchange (please note that this can be arranged only when booked well in advance).

Stay at Kidepo Savannah Lodge or equivalent.

Day 16: IK Tribe visit

This is an all-day community experience on Mt.Morungule. Two routes lead you the IK community. One is a short drive with a longer walk of 6 hours and the other one is a long drive with a steep shorter walk lasting 2 hours. On both walks, if we find any trash lying around, we will pick it up to help keep nature clean.

Also along the way, we will purchase some chickens or supplies for the community. At the community, we will also engage in some daily farming activities, such as planting or harvesting depending on the season.

Overnight at Morungule Eco Camp or Timu Eco Camp near Mt. Morungule.

Day 17: Travel to Kotido

On this day you embark on another wild journey to Kotido.

In Kaabong town, you will provide a 1h workshop to participants of a community skilling project about your choice of the following topics: entrepreneurship, conservation, personal finance management or arts & crafts and hobbies you are passionate about.

Stay at Karamoja Arts Eco lodge or equivalent.

Day 18: Cultural experience

Today you travel very early (6am) to the community to catch up with their morning traditions. Visit the Jie Community known to have the largest Manyatta ie home for the Jie sub tribe.

With the Bokora subtribe, since this community is a cattle herding community, we will participate in some daily local activities like milking the cows and herding to experience daily life within the tribe.

Stay in Moroto at Kara-tunga Safari Camp or equivalent

Day 19: Matheniko Game Reserve near Moroto

Game drives in the area are quite enriching. The resident animals in the area include Ostrich, Cheetah, Roan Antelope, Giraffes, Lions, Elands, Buffaloes.

Stay in Moroto at Kara-tunga Safari Camp or equivalent

Day 20: Sipi Falls

Today after breakfast travel to Sipi, transcend the foothills of Mountain Elgon to the spectacular falls. Later continue to the surrounding village hiking trails and fertile slopes for Arabica coffee growing. The waterfalls is named after an indigenous plant 'sep' along the banks of the Sipi river. If we see any trash lying around, we will pick it up to help keep this area clean. And together with a site guide, we will help to plant some sep plants (when plant material is available).

Also, you have the option to engage in one of the following activities:

• Coffee experience (2-3h);
• Sabiny cultural & cooking experience (4h);
• Cave experience (1.5h)
• Stay at Sipi river lodge or equivalent

Day 21: Sipi Falls to Kampala City

After breakfast, you travel to Kampala with a stopover at Jinja. Here you will have a chance to visit the Jinjas tourist sites that mainly include the source of River Nile.

There will be plenty of time for you to look around.

In the afternoon, we will put on our chef's hats and enjoy a cooking workshop. And we are not cooking for ourselves alone, but we are cooking also for some children and volunteers of a street children organization. We will enjoy the meal together with them to learn more about the organization and the daily lives of the children. And you can share stories with them as you enjoy your homecooked meal. A donation on your behalf will also be made to the organization.

Overnight in Jinja

Day 22: End of tour, Entebbe

Today you travel back home with travel memories for family and friends. However, if your departure time is in the evening, you will have a chance to visit some cultural, religious and historical sites in Kampala.