6 Days Uganda Gorilla and Chimp Trekking

6 Days Uganda Gorilla, and Chimp Trekking, Wildlife Safari to Kibale, Queen Elizabeth, and Bwindi Impenetrable National Park.

Safari Overview

This is a 6-day safari that takes you to Kibale Forest National Park to see chimps and various species of monkeys and to Queen Elizabeth National Park and Kazinga channel renowned for their diversity of wildlife, birdlife, and picturesque geographical features. It also takes you to the misty Bwindi Impenetrable forest, which is home to more than half the population of the remaining 880 Mountain Gorillas in the world.  Gorilla tracking is the most enchanting experience in this forest. You will have an experience of a lifetime as you watch at close range these majestic apes feed, play, and relax.

Day 1:Briefing on the safari. Drive to Kibale National Park for Chimps,

Briefing on the safari before we drive westwards towards Fort Portal to Kibale Forest National Park (about 5 hours). Traveling on both asphalted and unpaved roads, you pass through traditional Ugandan Villages where you see people at work tending their traditional crops of millet, sorghum, beans, and maize. The lush rolling hills of this region provide good “photo opportunities”. As you approach Fort Portal in the foothills of the Rwenzori Mountains, you enter Uganda’s famous tea plantation region. A carpet of green spreads before you, as far as the eye can see, and seems an unusual contrast to the countryside through which you have just passed. You arrive at Fort Portal, then, continue toward Kibale Forest, one of the great African rainforest research reserves. Years of study by scientists (who have cut a grid through the forest) have habituated many of its animals to human observers. This rural Ugandan town (Fort Portal) is locally famous for its weaving and basketry, and we can spend some time briefly examining some of this local art. You will return to your lodge for dinner and overnight.

• Luxury: Ndali Lodge/Primate Lodge/Kibale Forest Lodge/Kyaninga Lodge                                            
• Moderate: Mountains of the moon/Kibale Forest Camp
• Budget: Rwenzori travelers/Kibale Forest Camp/Chimpanzee Forest Guest House
• Meal plan: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 2: Chimpanzee tracking, tracking over 12 primates in Kibale National Park

Assemble at Kanyankyu River camp at 08:00hrs to go for the most popular activity in this park which is chimpanzee tracking. Chimpanzees are man’s closest cousins though they are one of the most threatened primate species. More primates like Black and White colobus monkeys, L’Hoest Monkeys, Grey checked Mangabey, Red-tailed monkeys, bush babies, pottos and many bird species like the yellow-spotted nicator, rumped tinker bird, little greenbul, green breasted pitta, the crowned eagle, black-breasted and mammals like Elephants can be seen in this walk. Kibale National Park, which averages about 3,300 feet in elevation, is an extension of the great rainforests of central Africa. It is inhabited by three large “communities” of chimps, each numbering more than 100 individuals. Each community has a complicated social structure. The big adult males dominate the group and defend the community territory against incursions by male outsiders; the females usually wander in small family groups. Overnight will be at your lodge of booking.

• Luxury: Ndali Lodge/Primate Lodge/Kibale Forest/Kyaninga Lodge       
• Moderate: Mountains of the moon/Kibale forest camp
• Budget: Rwenzori travelers/Kibale Forest Camp/Chimpanzee Forest Guest House
• Meal plan: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Queen Elizabeth National Park, viewing Rwenzoris, lots of craters lakes

In the afternoon we shift to Queen Elizabeth National Park this morning (about 3 hours driving). Leaving through Fort Portal town, you turn south and early this afternoon enter Queen Elizabeth National Park, which is dominated on its northern border by the snow-capped 16,000-foot Rwenzori mountains-the famed “Mountains of the Moon”. This 767-square-mile conservation area is bordered on the North East by Lake George and on the South West by Lake Edward; its western border adjoins the Zaire parc Du Virunga. You will expect to see teeming herds of impala-like Uganda kob, as well as topi, elephant and lion, giant forest hog, and Cape buffalo. There are also several soda lakes filling ancient volcanic calderas where flamingos reside seasonally, then return to your lodge for an overnight.

• Luxury Lodge: Mweya Safari Lodge: Katara Lodge/ Jacana Lodge 
• Mid-range /moderate: Bush Lodge (in rooms) / Simba Safari Camp in rooms/ Buffalo Safari Resort/ Enganzi Lodge/ Ihamba Safari Lodge    
• Budget facility: Kazinga Channel View Lodge/ Simba Safari Camp in tents/ Bush Lodge in tents  
• Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner.

Day 3: Safari in Queen Elizabeth National Park, Game drive to see lions, leopards
You will set off early (about 6.30 am) for a morning game drive in the northern part of the park on the Kasenyi Track in search of lions, elephants, and solitary buffaloes. This is the best time for opportunities of viewing the cats in action owing to the vast population of Uganda kobs. We have an excellent chance to view just about every animal here at very close range. In the afternoon you will go for a launch trip along the  Kazinga channel. This gives the opportunity to view wildlife up close: hippos huff and sprays mere feet away from the boat, buffalos linger in the shallows. The shores of the channel are also home to an array of birds including pink-backed pelicans, pied and malachite kingfishers, saddle-billed stork, and many others. Dinner and Overnight will be at your lodge of booking.

• Luxury Lodge: Mweya Safari Lodge: Katara Lodge/ Jacana Lodge 
• Mid-range /moderate: Bush Lodge (in rooms) / Simba Safari Camp in rooms/ Buffalo Safari Resort/ Enganzi Lodge/ Ihamba Safari Lodge
• Budget facility: Kazinga Channel View Lodge/ Simba Safari Camp in tents/ Bush Lodge in tents
• Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner.

Day 4: Drive to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park to track gorillas and other primates

Mid-morning after breakfast we drive further south through stunning savannah grasslands as we head towards the breathtaking adventures of Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park. Either (roads permitting) we will pass the southern sector of the park-Ishasha, a remote and beautiful extension of Queen Elizabeth National Park that is host to a large variety and volume of wildlife. (It is a fabulous site to see the lion’s dropped from the trees and nowhere in Africa do you stand a better chance of seeing this than in the large low limbed fig tree of Ishasha). Or take the alternative route through cultivated expanses.  Overnight at your lodge of booking.

• Lower Budget: Buhoma community Rest camp / Ruhija Gorilla Friends Camp / Travellers Rest Hotel Kisolo  / Gorilla Valley Lodge
• Moderate: Gorilla Resort Bwindi /Gorilla Safari Lodge / Silver Back Lodge / Lake Kitandara Camp / Chameleon Hill Lodge / Lake Mutanda Resort.
• Upmarket: Mahogany Springs Lodge / Buhoma Lodge / Rushanga Gorilla Satari Lodge.
• Meal plan: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 5: Gorilla Trekking ( Bwindi Impenetrable NP), Tracking the Mountain Gorillas

Today enjoy surely. After breakfast, proceed for the morning briefing before enjoying the highlight of the trip- Gorilla trekking, which may last the entire day. We trek through the rainforest and bamboo-covered slopes, accompanied by a guide and trackers, in search of a mountain gorilla family. The walking can sometimes be tough and long, but when you catch a glimpse of the magnificent silverback, any discomforts will be quickly forgotten. When sighted, visitors will be guided to within 6 meters from the gorillas, and sit around them for a whole hour while gazing into their big round eyes. Gorilla trekking is unpredictable. It’s difficult to foresee how many hours you will hike. The gorilla excursion can take from 2 up to 8 hours. Expect to walk along with distances in steep and muddy conditions, sometimes with rain overhead, before you encounter any gorillas. A good physical condition is recommended. For conservation purposes, time spent with the gorillas is limited to one hour. A ranger will brief you on how to behave with the gorillas.

• Lower Budget: Buhoma community Rest camp / Ruhija Gorilla Friends Camp / Travellers Rest Hotel Kisolo  / Gorilla Valley Lodge
• Moderate: Gorilla Resort Bwindi /Gorilla Safari Lodge / Silver Back Lodge / Lake Kitandara Camp / Chameleon Hill Lodge / Lake Mutanda Resort.
• Upmarket: Mahogany Springs Lodge / Buhoma Lodge / Rushanga Gorilla Satari Lodge.
• Meal plan: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 6: Depart from the Gorilla Tracking Park, Drive to Kampala

Early breakfast before embarking on our return to Kampala, driving down the grassed and terraced escarpments of southwestern Uganda while taking in the breathtaking sights of the hills of the region dubbed “the little Switzerland of Africa”. This area is a highly fertile, mountainous region with steep-sided hills covered from the top to bottom in neatly terraced cultivated rows. Not to miss as we traverse Mbarara are the impressing long horn Ankole cattle. A remarkable highlight of this journey is the Equator line and surely you will cross it as we have a brief stop here. We will be in Kampala in the evening before your flight back home.

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