7 days Primates and wildlife

Day 1: Entebbe – Kampala. Meet and greet at Entebbe International Airport. our representatives will warmly welcome you and facilitate seamless arrival formalities. Transfer to your hotel where you will be briefed about your adventure safari.

Day 2: Kampala – Kibale Forest National Park. After your morning breakfast, begin your journey to Kibale Forest National Park. Drive south via Hoima to Fort Portal through verdant countryside passing through traditional homesteads, farms and Tea Estates. You will have a stopover for lunch en-route. You will arrive at you lodge in the late afternoon. Check in at your lodge for dinner and an overnight stay.

Day 3: Chimp Trek Kibale Forest National Park. Today you will be transfered to the starting point of your Chimpanzee tracking experience in Kibale Forest National Park which is reputed to have the greatest variety and highest concentration of primates in East Africa. The most famous of its 13 species is the Chimpanzee, man’s closest relative. Kibale’s 1450 chimpanzees represent Uganda’s largest population of this endangered primate. Kibale is also a home to the rare I’Hoest’s monkey. Other primates include the black and white Colobus, Blue monkey, Grey cheeked mangabey, Red tailed monkey, Olive baboon to mention but a few. So you will enjoy a guided nature walk in the tropical rainforest in search of the wild chimpanzees, red-tailed monkeys, black and white colobus monkeys and many others. Although chimp sightings are not guaranteed, visitors stand a good chance of hearing and seeing our distant cousins as they gloom and bond with one another. After lunch, head to Bigodi for an afternoon swamp walk. Bigodi was established by a local development organization to protect the 4sq-km Magombe Swamp that’s home to around 200 species of birds  include papyrus gonolek, white-winged warbler and great blue turaco). The highlight of this tour is catching a glimpse of the great blue turaco. The swamp is also good for spotting butterflies and primates, with 8 different species here, including grey-cheeked mangabey. The 2-3 hour guided walk is led by experienced local guides who interact with the guests and make the trip both enjoyable and exciting.

Day 4: Kibale Forest National Park > Queen Elizabeth Nationalpark
We leave Kibale today and travel to Queen Elizabeth National Park following the mystical Rwenzori Mountain Range. Your expert driver guide will take you through the game park where you might spot some animals. Upon arriving at your lodge, you will enjoy a hot lunch and later in the afternoon take a unique 2-hour boat cruise on the Kazinga Channel into Lake Edward. This trip passes through possibly the highest concentration of hippos and this launch/cruise offers an excellent platform for photography, bird watching and game viewing. The prolific bird life is colorful and stupendous, with well over 550 resident species.

Day 5: Queen Elizabeth National Park > Bwindi Impenetrable Nationalpark
Pack-up your bags and take a morning game drive through the Ishasha plains for your final visit with the lions and other wildlife before heading out of the Queen Elizabeth National Park and on to Bwindi. The drive takes you through the Switzerland of Africa area known as the Kigezi Highlands with its terraced hillside and winding roads to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, arriving in the evening. Check into the lodge for dinner and your overnight stay.

Day 6: Gorilla tracking in Bwindi. After an early breakfast depart to the starting point for briefing about your gorilla trekking adventure after which you will be led by experienced gorilla trackers on the slopes of the volcanoes. You will start from the site where the gorillas were encountered the day before and from here the gorilla tracking begins. Although the hike can be physically demanding, the anticipation of the exciting experience ahead is amazing, and the beauty of the gorilla forest and its inhabitants are fascinating. One of Africa’s major highlights is when you encounter these gentle apes. It is a humbling experience to stand just meters from man’s distant cousins as they eat rest, play and bond with their young ones. Follow the mountain gorillas as they range freely in the impenetrable forest, and discover their gorgeous natural habitual and the many species they share it with.

You are allowed an hour with the gorillas before finally sloping down back to your lodge. If your trek was relatively short, you may have a guided nature walk around the lodge and the surrounding communities in the evening. Return to the lodge where you will enjoy dinner with your fellow travelers before getting a good night’s rest for tomorrow’s safari adventure.
Don’t forget to carry your rain gear, packed lunch, plenty of water, gloves, hat, and water proof bag for protection of your camera in case of rain.

Day 7: Bwindi Impenetrable National Park – Entebbe / Kigali
The safari almost come to an end when we start the drive back to Entebbe through the rolling hills of Kabale (Switzerland of Africa). Have a stop over in Mbarara for lunch then a brief stop over at the equator before proceeding to Entebbe for your flight back home.
Alternatively you could opt for a shorter drive to Kigali which is about 4hours drive as compared to a 9 hours drive to Entebbe.