Meet the Great Apes of Uganda while tracking in their natural habitat. Staring in the peaceful eyes of the endangered mountain gorillas is an unforgettable experience.
Day 1 : Entebbe – Kibale Forest National Park After breakfast we will depart Entebbe and head west to Fort Portal. On your way look out for black-and-white colobus monkeys as many of these primates are hiding in trees along the road. Fort Portal rests in the shadow of the fabled Mountains of the Moon and famous for the many tea plantations. From this lovely town we will continue to Kibale National Park for a stay within the tropical forest. Dinner and overnight at the cottages of Primate Lodge Kibale.
Day 2 : Kibale Forest & Bigodi Swamp Today the forest opens it doors for a sensational chimp tracking. Kibale Forest is reputable of having the greatest variety and highest concentration of primates in East Africa. Enjoy a guided nature walk in the tropical rainforest in search of the wild chimpanzee, red-tailed monkey, black-and-white colobus monkey and many others. After a hearty lunch we transfer to the Bigodi Swamp for another, totally different nature walk. The Bigodi Swamp Walk is an initiative of the local community and with the revenues different community projects are supported. The swamp is known for its rich diversity of birds and primates. Dinner and overnight at the cottages of Primate Lodge Kibale.
Day 3 : Kibale Forest – Bwindi National Park After breakfast we transfer to the south, in the direction of the border area with DCR Congo. Look out for Uganda Kobs, waterbucks and elephants while we pass Queen Elizabeth National Park. Late in the afternoon we will reach the impenetrable forest of Bwindi, home to the endangered mountain gorillas. Dinner and overnight at Buhoma Community Bandas.
Day 4 : Gorilla tracking The highlight of your primate safari: a meeting with the gentle giants of Bwindi! Especially hikers will love the tracking in the beautiful ecosystem of the park. It is difficult to foresee how many hours you will hike, it may take two to eight hours. Expect to walk a long distance in steep and muddy conditions, sometimes with rain overhead, before you encounter any gorillas. But it will definitely be worthwhile as you observe them closely while they eat, play and rest. A unique and unforgettable experience! Dinner and overnight at Buhoma Community Bandas.
Day 5 : Bwindi Forest & Buhoma Village Although Bwindi is mainly known for the gorillas it has a lot more to offer. Today you enjoy a forest walk to some enchanting waterfalls, while you are looking for different types of primates and birds. In the afternoon you can have another type of walk: the Buhoma Village Walk, where you walk through coffee and tea plantations and learn more about the local culture. Dinner and overnight at Buhoma Community Bandas.
Day 6 : Bwindi – Lake Mburo National Park After breakfast we drive to Lake Mburo National Park. As we enter the park it is likely that you will spot some wildlife, like impalas, topis, warthogs, zebras and buffaloes. Go on a boat ride on the lake and enjoy the rich bird life and the hippos that are cooling off. Dinner and overnight at Rwonyo Camp.
Day 7 : Lake Mburo National Park – Entebbe Early start of the day as we go for a safari walk guided by a ranger. After breakfast we transfer to Entebbe with a stop at the equator for photos or shopping. In time you will be transferred to Entebbe Airport for your evening flight back home.
Included in the price: - Ground transport per comfortable 4WD safari vehicle - English speaking driver/guide - Overnight in budget accommodation as mentioned in the itinerary, based on a double room - Full board except for breakfast on day 1 and dinner on day 7 - Bottled mineral water throughout the safari - Park entrance fees and ranger fees - Activities as described in the program
Exclusions: - International flight - Visa - Gorilla permit (USD $500 per person) - Meals and drinks not mentioned above - Laundry and tips - Items of personal nature
Note: Please note that demand is very high and only 8 persons per day are allowed to see the gorillas. Therefore we advise you to book permits at least 4 months in advance.
If you wish to stay in luxury accommodation please notify so we can inform you about the upgrade fees.
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I was very impressed with the website when I was looking for a company to plan our trip to Murchison Falls. My friend and I were going to Uganda to visit my daughter and her friend who were working as volunteers with an NGO in Jinja. The four of us wanted to visit Murchison Falls.
We were pleased that the operator was able to make arrangements to suit our budget. They also accommodated our wish to be picked up in Jinja instead of Kampala.
Our driver, Beki was wonderful. Not only was he a very competent driver, but he was full of good humour and knowledge about the culture of Uganda and its animals and plants. He answered all of our questions about everything we saw on our trip to Murchison Falls and we had many as this was our first trip to Africa. He pointed out many things of interest to us and made us feel so comfortable on our trip. Beki helped to make our safri a most enjoyable and memorable experience.
The company sent us an information package and a complete itinerary before we went on our safari. I thought this was very helpful. I have only praise for their staff. If Beki is representative of all their drivers, then you are ensured of an amazing safari experience.
We thought they did a very good job of meeting our needs during our trip to Uganda. They were responsive when we asked to modify the standard itinerary - visiting a local hospital, the Kampala marketplace, and the veterinary school at the University.
At our request, they substituted an extra game drive for the scheduled activity, and accommodated our request for a different hotel in Kampala on our last days.
Our guide/driver was named David, and he answered all of our questions, maintaining his composure despite some unforeseen circumstances (car broke down, and he had to get a different driver to bring us back to Kampala).
We took the luxury option except for Travellers Rest, which we chose when the Nkuringo Lodge was not able to honor our reservations. It was an unexpected pleasure to stay at Travellers Rest -- wonderful food and friendly service at a very reasonable price. The Primate Luxury Tented Camp, where we stayed when we tracked chimps in Kibale, seems like it's not quite ready for prime time but shows promise for the future.
Overall, we were very pleased, and if we were going to make the trip again, we'd call them.
We would be delighted to provide you with information about our holiday. We have nothing but praise for this operator, both for their helpfulness throughout and their flexibility in planning our itinerary.
We had a rather unusual plan for our holiday, in that, as well as touring the game parks, we wished to seeand meet Ugandans on the ground as much as possible,and also we wished to end our holiday by being taken to Gulu, where our daughter is working as an NGO.
They responded to this by including a 2-day visit to a farm in the far south-west, near the Tanzanian and Rwandan borders, and by agreeing to drop us off in Gulu, rather than returning us to Kampala.
We visited Lake Mburo, Queen Elizabth, Kibale and Murchison Falls National Parks, in addition to Nshenyi village referred to above. All this was achieved in an 11-day itinerary, at a very reasonable cost. Our driver was fantastic. He was not only one of the best drivers I've ever come across either inside or outside of Uganda, but he was also very friendly, and most knowledgeable about all the wildlife, including the rich variety of birds we saw. He also had phenomenal eyesight; even when the road he was negotiating was particularly pitted and rough, he still managed to catch sight of birds and game a long way of, which we would have missed.
Altogether a most positive, enjoyable and educational trip. I'd recommend anyone to go; Uganda is a truly beautiful country. We look forward to returning.
I found the safari operator to be very accommodating with any special requests we had regarding the itinerary.
The Safari Lodge pool made for a perfect setting for a sunset swim, overlooking the channel filled with hippos. The lodge also provided the unique experience of waking up to a hippo grazing outside our door.
