7 Day Uganda Primate Safari

From $5495

Overview

Tour plan

Highlights

Description

Pack you bags and make sure you bring extra batteries for your camera. This action packed adventure will not disappoint. Experience a 7 Day Uganda Primate Safari where you get to witness Kibale’s troops of Chimpanzee. If you love birding, the Bigodi Wetland Sanctuary offers plenty. From here visit Queen Elizabeth National Park where you might see tree climbing lions. Tick off that bucket list. No other wildlife encounter in Africa matches the humbling experience of spending time face-to-face with the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest mountain gorilla. Now, head home to share your memories of Uganda with friends and family.

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7 Day Uganda Primate Safari

Your Primate Safari adventure starts with a 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. Kibale’s 1450 Chimpanzee represent Uganda’s largest population of this endangered primate. It 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.

Time to tick off your bucket list! No other wildlife encounter in Africa matches the astounding experience of being face-to-face with wild gorillas. Gorilla Trekking takes place in a handful of locations, adding a layer of exotic adventure to these safaris that is hard to match. The fact that gorillas as a species are on the brink of extinction and treks are a highly restricted activity, encountering wild gorillas is considered a once-in-a-lifetime travel experience. To watch a family of mountain gorillas relaxing in their lush forest home is an awe-inspiring privilege and a memory you would take away and remember forever. You are allowed an hour with the gorillas before finally heading back to your lodge.

INCLUDED

Accommodation & meals as per the itinerary
Drinking water in the vehicle (1 litre per person per day)
All the excursions and activities indicated in the itinerary (canoe ride, walks etc) under the supervision of an experienced English-speaking walking guide
Private 4x4 safari minivan with experienced English-speaking driver-guide
AMREF Evacuation Insurance
Government taxes
1 Chimpanzee & 1 Gorilla permit

EXCLUDED

International air flights
Visas
Personal insurance
Excursion to Lake Victoria and Mabamba Swamps on Day 1 (120USD)
All drinks, including the drinks for the sundowner on Day 1 and 7
Day-use room or extra night at Papyrus G.H. on day 7
Any optional activity not indicated in above program
Laundry Services
Gratuities and Tips

Note: Malaria precautions should be taken; Yellow Fever vaccination required if transferring through a South African border.

ACTIVITIES

Spend seven wonderful days on this classic Uganda Primates Safari adventure, trekking gorillas and chimpanzees, on game drives through beautiful savanna plains, and experiencing Ugandan cultures.

From Entebbe, pass through the beautiful town of Fort Portal, the Crater Lakes region, on your way to the Kibale Forest National Park, where you will track and spend time watching the antiques of primates, including intelligent and energetic chimpanzee bands. Enjoy the spectacular views of the Rwenzori Mountains on the way to the Queen Elizabeth National Park, where you will meet Africa’s big game animals and be intrigued by the famous tree-climbing lions.

Continue your journey to the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, where you’ll hike across the primeval jungle from Buhoma to Nkuringo via the Kashasha river trail and later trek the elusive, majestic and endangered mountain gorillas. From the gorilla nation, fly back to Entebbe via Kisoro to tell the tales of Amazing Uganda.

DISCLAIMER
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Tour Plan

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Day 1 Arrive in Entebbe & Mabama Swamps (Optional)

Meet and greet at Entebbe International Airport where your Uganda Adventure Safari starts by our representative who will warmly welcome you and facilitate seamless arrival formalities.

Optional Extra: in the afternoon (departure from the hotel must be max at 14.30/15.00 hours) departure by car and local canoe to Mabamba Swamp, one of the best places for spotting the rare shoebill storks. Of course, some fortune is needed but rarely does one leave the swamp without seeing one! Many other water birds have chosen this area as their home so birding is always very interesting. Enjoy a relaxing sundowner on Lake Victoria and then return to the Guest House.

Accommodation: Papyrus Guest House (Garden Room)
Meal Plan: Bed & Breakfast

Day 2 Kibale National Park and a Nature Walk

After early breakfast depart Entebbe to your overnight accommodation venue within Kibale Forest National Park at Turaco Treetops Lodge. The venue is great starting point for Chimpanzee tracking.

Enroute to the lodge we will shake off the long drive with a walk to the “top of the world” along crater lakes which this area is also famous for crater lakes view and view of the mountain of the moon.

Upon arrival in Kibale, Bigodi Wetland Sanctuary for a nature walk, Rich in biodiversity and beautiful scenery, the wetland is a birder’s paradise with about 138 species. Located outside the park in Magombe Swamp, it also hosts eight species of primates including the black-and-white colobus, grey-cheeked mangabey, red-tailed, L’Hoest’s and blue monkeys, and olive baboons. Bushbucks and mongooses can also be found here. The sanctuary was set up to preserve the exclusive environmental features along with the wetland and is managed by the local community.

Accommodation: Turaco Treetops Lodge
Meal Plan: Full Board

Day 3 Chimpanzee Trekking & Bigodi Wetland Sanctuary

Morning chimpanzee trek. The density and diversity of primates in Kibale National Park is the highest in the whole of Africa. The most well-known of its 13 species are the chimpanzees, our closest relative. Kibale’s 1450 chimpanzee population of this threatened primate is Uganda’s biggest. Additionally, Kibale is home to the uncommon I’Hoest’s monkey as well as East Africa’s biggest population of the endangered red colobus monkey. The black & white colobus, red tailed monkey, blue monkey, olive baboon, grey cheeked mangabey, bush baby and potto are among the other primates.

Afternoon excursion to the Bigodi Wetland Sanctuary, a great example of a community-based approach to natural resources management which can be of good economic benefit to the local residents living within the area and to the tourism industry. This sanctuary is a paradise for bird watchers - skilled birders can spot up to 50 new species on a bird list. At today 138 species of birds have been recognized within the sanctuary, among which the Great Blue Turaco. Bigodi is also regularly visited by a diverse number of primate species from the nearby national park.

Accommodation: Turaco Treetops Lodge
Meal Plan: Full Board

Day 4 Kibale to Queen Elizabeth National Park

With an early morning breakfast travel to Bigodi Wetland Sanctuary for an afternoon nature walk. Bushbucks and mongooses can also be found here. The sanctuary was set up to preserve the exclusive environmental features along with the wetland and is managed by the local community.

Later depart Kibale Forest to Queen Elizabeth National Park. It harbours a diverse eco-system with a lovely savannah, fertile wetlands making it home for the big game, 10 primate species and a large number of bird species. If you are lucky, you might spot the famous tree climbing lions.

After checking in, you will enjoy an afternoon Launch cruise along the Kazinga channel. The channel is 40m wide and offers beautiful scenery of hundreds of hippos along the banks as well as different bird species seen when cruising west towards Lake Edward.

Accommodation: Katara Lodge (Private cottage)
Meal Plan: Full Board

Day 5 Bush Trekking and Much more

Early Morning Game drive through the Ishasha sector and continue to Buhoma sectors of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. This vast reserve offers arguably the most productive montane forest birding in Africa and supports 23 of Uganda’s 24 Albertine Rift endemic bird species. Once part of a much larger forest that included the Virunga Volcanoes in neighboring Rwanda, Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is now an ecological island within a sea of human cultivation and is of immense conservation importance.

You will meet the Nkuringo Walking Safari guide at the park headquarters for a nature walk from Buhoma to Nkuringo. Enjoy a 15km walk to Nkuringo following the Kashasha river and Ivy River trails. This is a full day walk where there would be an opportunity of visiting the Munyaga River falls in the forest. The emphasis of this activity is for your walking guide to share his knowledge of the forest that you come into contact with and not simply an A to B.

Accommodation: Nkuringo Bwindi Gorilla Lodge (Deluxe Cottage)
Meal Plan: All-inclusive

Day 6 Tick off that bucket-list! Gorilla Trekking Bwindi Impenetrable Forest

After breakfast, at around 7:45 am, with packed lunch and drinking water you will be transferred to the National Park Head Quarters for the briefing on the dos and the don’ts while with the gorillas. You then continue to the forest for the start of the actual gorilla tracking.

The beauty of this rain forest is spectacular. The area offers a dramatic, steeply forested landscape and is incredibly dense, but crisscrossed by numerous animal trails allowing access to tourists. The time taken and the terrain vary as per the movements of these great primates. The thrill of spending time observing these gentle and endangered giants is an awesome, exciting experience to be long savoured. Many find it to be a rare and moving opportunity. The tracking can take place at Nkuringo or at Rushaga (1 hr drive from Nkuringo), as per the gorilla permits obtained.

Upon return, relax at the lodge and, for those who like, at 5.00 pm either stroll through the community center or drive up to the “Top of the World” - the name given to the football field, high up in the village which offers amazing views over the peaks and forests around Nkuringo. A great way to stretch your legs after the gorilla tracking and to enjoy a sundowner.

Accommodation: Nkuringo Bwindi Gorilla Lodge
Meal Plan: Full Board

Day 7 Transfer to Entebbe for Outbound Flight

After breakfast you will be transferred to Kisoro Airstrip for your scheduled flight to Entebbe. The flight is scheduled to depart Kisoro at 8:25AM and arrive Entebbe at 11:25AM. Upon arrival at Entebbe international airport and connect on your outbound flight