9 Day Gorillas, Chimps and Lions Uganda Wildlife Safari
Overview
This mid-range trip will show you the best of what Uganda has got to offer. You will experience a perfect combination of nature, culture, animals and so much fun. The tour will be guided by a local professional safari guide. You will stay in beautiful lodges with great views
Day 1 AIRPORT PICKUP
Your guide will be at Entebbe Airport to pick you up from your flight and take you directly to your lodge in Kampala. Depending on the time of your arrival, you may be able to explore the sites in and around Kampala.
DAY 2 TRANSFER TO MURCHISON FALL VIA ZIWA RHINO SANCTUARY
Today’s journey will take you north from Kampala to Murchison falls national park. You will also visit Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary where you will go for guided rhino tracking with an experienced ranger, which gives you a unique opportunity to view the rhinos from a close distance. They are rare species that will blow you when you see them.
Murchison Falls National Park is the largest conservation area in Uganda covering an area of over 3,840 km², The Park’s name derives from its famous waterfall: the mighty Murchison Falls, which are formed where the Victoria Nile powerfully forces its way through a narrow cleft before plunging 43m down with a thunderous roar.
DAY 3 MORNING GAME, HIKE TO THE FALLS
You will wake up very early morning, After an early breakfast you will go on a game drive to explore the northern part of the park. During this time, the animals are active, the sun is not yet so bright and temperatures are cooler. It offers the best time to spot wild animals when they are looking for their prey. After an early breakfast you will go on a game drive to explore the northern part of the park.
You will be in proximity with the African animals like elephants, giraffes, buffaloes, lions, leopards, different species of antelopes and many tropical birds may all be spotted during the game drive. So keep your eyes open.
In the afternoon you will take a boat safari up the Nile River to Murchison Falls. While you the ride, you will see crocodiles, hundreds of hippos, buffaloes, water birds, monkeys and many more at the Nile, you will reach the base of the 43-meter high Falls which approach with a thunderous sound.
After the boat safari you will hike to the top of the falls. From here you will have a wonderful view and fantastic photo opportunities.
DAY 4 TRANSFER TO KIBALE NATIONAL PARK
You will begin your journey to Kibale Forest N.P. The long drive is incredibly scenic, passing through Agriculture farmlands with beautiful plantations and the lush green countryside which characterizes so much of Uganda.
Kibale Forest National Park is located in western part of Uganda close to the town of Fort Portal. Kibale is popular for its primates like the chimpanzees, colobus monkeys, vervet monkeys and red tailed monkeys. On your chimpanzee trails, these are regularly seen swinging in the forest trees and others feeding on the wild fruits. Kibale Forest is one of the last remaining expanses to contain both lowland and montane forests and forms a continuous forest with Queen Elizabeth National Park.
The journey is about 8 hours but worthy exploring the green environment and the scenic features along the way.
DAY 5 CHIMPAZEE TRACKING AT KIGODI SWAMP
Wake up early to go to the park head offices to be briefed about your chimp tracking experience. Kibale Forest National park boasts the highest number of primate species in the world, including the chimpanzees. Approximately 5,000 chimpanzees live in the wild in Uganda, which makes it a perfect place to see them.
An experienced ranger will take you chimp tracking chimp in the morning or afternoon; you might also see other monkey species that live here. Once you locate the chimpanzees you will have a full hour of eye-to-eye contact with them. Since they are wild animals, we can never guarantee you to see them and might have to settle with hearing their hoots and hollers.
In the afternoon after lunch, you will go for the guided swamp walk. The walk (2-3 hours) will take you through grassland, small communities and some beautiful scenery, where the locals are likely to greet you with enthusiastic waves.
DAY 6 QUEEN ELIZABETH NATIONAL PARK
After breakfast, your guide will drive you to Queen Elizabeth National Park, home to a high concentration of Uganda’s mammals that include tree climbing and savanna lions, elephants, wart hogs, Uganda Kob, water buck, cape buffalo, hippos, leopards, as well as more than 600 species of birds that include the African spoon bill, pied kingfishers, fish eagles, pelicans, vultures.
Queen Elizabeth National park is Uganda’s second largest park, located at the base of the majestic Rwenzori Mountain range, adjacent to Lake Edward and Lake George. Lions are often sighted both in and at the entrance to the park. Be ready to see huge numbers of hippos and elephants, and keep your eyes on the lookout for a leopard lazing in the sunshine.
You will have lunch in the park and relax at the best hangout watching the Elephants migrating and the Buffaloes swimming in the Kazinga Channel
In the afternoon you will take a boat safari along the Kazinga Channel which joins Lake George and Lake Edward.
Here you will see a lot of hippos more than you can possibly imagine as well as a variety of other animals which come to the waterhole to drink or bathe. You can expect to see buffalo, crocodile, bathing elephant, and a range of beautiful birds. This will undoubtedly be one of the highlights of your tour.
DAY 7 TRANSFER TO BWINDI IMPENETRABLE FOREST
After breakfast, you will embark on the journey to the south-western part of Uganda which is the most beautiful part of the country also referred to as the “Switzerland of Africa” close to Rwanda and Democratic Republic of Congo.
You will be able to see a great country-side, Lake Bunyonyi stretching in the hills, bamboo forest and have great views over the Virunga Mountains. For lunch you will stop at a local restaurant and we recommend you have one of the local dishes.
The journey is about 8 hours but worthy exploring the green environment and the scenic features along the way.
DAY 8 GORILLA TRACKING
Today after early breakfast, you will be transferred to the park offices for briefing about gorilla tracking. You will encounter one of Bwindi’s endangered mountain gorillas. For most people this is the absolute highlight of their tour in Uganda.
Bwindi Impenetrable national park boasts both mountain gorillas and chimpanzees – the only forest in Africa that can make this claim. It also hosts five other species of primates, 113 species of mammals, over 200 species of butterflies and 360 species of birds. The gorillas you track are habituated and can tolerate the presence of humans for a brief period of time, every day.
The time taken to track the gorillas can be as few as 2 hours to as many as 7 hours. Once the gorillas have been located, your group will be allowed a maximum of one hour with them. Coming face-to-face with a mountain gorilla is a truly humbling and emotional experience.
DAY 9 TRANSFER BACK TO ENTEBBE
After breakfast at the lodge, you will drive back to Entebbe (Airport). As you pass through the equator, there will be a stop for the requisite snapshot and a bit of souvenir shopping.
Included
- Park fees
- Gorilla permits
- Chimp permits
- All activities (Unless labeled as optional)
- All accommodation
- A professional driver/guide
- All transportation (Unless labeled as optional)
- All Taxes/VAT
- Meals
- Drinks
Excluded
- International flights (From/to home)
- Additional accommodation before and at the end of the tour
- Personal items (Souvenirs, travel insurance, visa fees, etc.)
- Government imposed increase of taxes and/or park fees
- Some meals (As specified in the day-by-day section)
INTERESTED IN THIS TOUR, SEND US AN INQUIRY
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EMAIL: gorillaexplorers@gmail.com