Uganda Primate Safari

On arrival at Entebbe International Airport you will be met and transferred five minutes to the elegant Protea Entebbe ideally located on the shores of glistening Lake Victoria.

On day 2, drive to the Fort Portal area, the gateway to Kibale Forest. The drive is a full day of approximately six hours (paved roads) including ample stops to interact with locals, birding and a picnic lunch en route. After leaving the Lake Victoria Basin you pass through beautiful agricultural countryside where every type of fruit and vegetable imaginable is grown. Upon reaching Kyanjojo, in the lower foothills of the Rwenzori Mountains (Mountains of the Moon), you will drive through beautiful tea plantations and into the tropical rain forest of Kibale. Your lodge for the next two nights is the peaceful and cozy, Ndali Lodge, overlooking the Albertine Rift Valley on one side and a stunning crater lake on the other.

After an early breakfast at the lodge, drive approximately 45 minutes to Kibale Forest National Park headquarters where you are briefed for the chimpanzee trek. The dense Kibale Forest National Park is home to 13 primate species, including the famous chimpanzee. There are 9 diurnal primates, these including vervet monkeys, red-tailed monkeys, L’Hoest’s monkeys, blue monkeys, grey-cheeked mangabey, red colobus, black and white colobus, olive baboon and the most famous of all, the chimpanzee. Although chimp sightings are not guaranteed, the odds are very good with the chance of encountering them standing at higher then 95 percent. This morning you will go on a forest walk in search of the primates. While trekking in the depths of the lush green forest, you will be surrounded by bird song and can expect to see at least 5 or 6 other types of primates, most likely the grey-cheeked mangabey and the red-tailed monkey and of course the chimpanzee. Kibale Forest is also home to a variety of orchid species (some which only exist in this forest) and other interesting flora. Walking is not difficult, paths have been made in the forest and all walks are with excellent local guides. This afternoon, tour a local community conservation project – a swamp walk in the Bigodi Wetlands. The community has banded together to protect this crucial area rich in primates and bird life from farming and development. The tour helps to support the maintenance of this reserve, as well as training local residents to become guides. You will also visit a beautiful cottage craft co-op with locally made textiles and baskets woven by women in the community.

Drive to Bwindi via Queen Elizabeth National Park. The drive passes through Fort Portal and then south along the eastern length of the Rwenzori Mountains with the hope of seeing the glaciated peaks between the clouds. The drive is a full day, descending into The Great Rift Valley and Queen Elizabeth National Park, then continuing to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, passing through the breathtakingly scenic area known as “The Switzerland of Africa”, and onto Gorilla Forest Camp. The drive today is about 7 1/2 hours.

Spend two days gorilla tracking in Bwindi. After breakfast, you’ll head to the nearby Park Headquarters and meet with the local Bwindi Impenetrable National Park guides and trackers who will give a talk on the etiquette of gorilla tracking. With your local guide and porters, hike deep into the forest where the gorillas were seen the night before and track them from that point. The trekking can take from 1 to 6 hours and climb to altitudes in excess of 7,500 feet. The terrain is rough and at times muddy and slippery. Although the hike is physically demanding, the beauty of the forest and surrounding scenery make the trekking worthwhile. Once the gorillas are located all fatigue is forgotten – spend an hour with these amazing primates, watching them interact with each other and their surroundings. Picnic lunches are provided and it is important to take plenty of water. A camera with a good zoom lens is recommended. It can rain at a few minutes notice; hence waterproof clothing is a good essential including dry bags for cameras and equipment (make sure you have lots of memory cards!). Gorillas are our closest living relatives among the World’s great apes, studies of fossils, genes, physiology and behavior have revealed just how recently our shared lineage divided. Gorillas are complex, highly intelligent apes besieged by threats on all sides, including poachers, diseases and confined to a dwindling habitat that is in constant danger of being further eroded or depleted. Return to Gorilla Forest Camp to clean up after tough days trekking, a delicious hot meal and celebratory drink toasting a, hopefully, successful gorilla trek. NOTE: We cannot guarantee seeing the gorillas.

After breakfast, drive to Mbarara town, passing through some of Africa’s most picturesque landscapes, and eventually into Ankole cattle country. These cattle are incredible with horns spanning several feet. Continue to Lake Mburo National Park, and enjoy a game drive en route to the lodge. Lake Mburo National Park is a small park, but excellent for birding, and home to a variety of antelope species and other grazers. It is one of the only places to easily see impala and zebra in Uganda. Game drives are particularly picturesque with the park’s mixture of savannah, acacia woodlands, grassy valleys, rocky outcrops, swamps, lakes and rolling hills. Herds of impala (found nowhere else in Uganda), buffalo and Burchell’s zebra, plus waterbuck and eland can be seen on game drives. Birders will enjoy the park’s 310 recorded water and dry land species. In this valley, you can also experience night drives and walks as the lodge is located within a private game reserve. It is an excellent place for walking and exploring a nearby kopje to try to spot the shy Klipspringer. The drive today is 6 to 7 hours. Arrive at Mihingo Lodge, set at the top of a kopje with amazing views out over an active waterhole and the national park.

Sadly, on day 8 it’s time to depart.
After breakfast, game drive through the park before continuing by road to Entebbe, about 5 hours. If time permits, it’s possible to stop in Kampala for shopping and lunch and the Mpigi Royal Drum Makers. Drop off at airport to connect with departure flight. Breakfast, lunch.