9 Days Uganda Primate Safari (Through Kigali)

Day 1: Welcome to Uganda!

Getting to a new destination can be stupendous as your senses take in queer sights of the ambience for your first visit to this country.

• You’ll be received at the airport by a silverbird representative that will take you to the hotel as you get accustomed to the country and the people, a memory that remains forever.
• Check into your accommodation, have meals depending on your arrival time and with an option to visit the Botanical gardens or the Uganda Wildlife Education Center (UWEC).
• Please note, all activities and extra transportation today are at an extra cost.

Day 2: Transfer to Fort Portal.

Your journey to Kibale Forest National Park is a blend of picturesque views taking you through tea plantations, lively village markets and rolling hills of lush green countryside typical of western Uganda.

• Kibale forest National Park is an extensive tract of natural tropical rainforest located south of Fort Portal town.
• The various ecosystems in this space are famous homes to the highest density of primates in all of Africa.
• The unique red colobus monkey as well as the black-and-white colobus are a few of the primates you may encounter on your forest walks here.
• The highlight of a trip to Kibale Forest is of course to spend some time observing the wonderfully entertaining chimpanzees.

Day 3: Chimpanzee Trekking.

Depart from your lodge and transfer to the national Park by 7am. Upon briefing, you’ll head to the wild in search of these primates.

• In Spite of the fact that chimpanzees can be found in 21 countries throughout Africa, they are dominantly sighted in Uganda due to the high concentration of the species here.
• During your experience, follow an experienced guide into the forest to observe these fascinating creatures at a close range enjoy interacting with each other and go about their daily routine of grooming, playing and foraging is an incredible experience.
• The chances of watching the primates are high but it’s never a guarantee.
• Upon the accomplishment of this trek, you’ll be served with hot lunch served by the local community as a sign of reception to guests. Feel free to taste some of the country’s staple foods, some prepared in a peculiar way.
• In the afternoon you can choose whether you would like to spend more time with the local communities and learn more about their day-to-day lives on a Community Walk or go deeper into the forest on a Swamp Walk in the Bigodi Wetland Sanctuary.
• The Bigodi Wetland Sanctuary is home to 8 primate species, over 200 bird species, butterflies and various reptiles. For bird lovers the highlight of the afternoon is spotting the beautiful great blue turaco.
• Return to the lodge for dinner and overnight.

Day 4: Queen Elizabeth National Park.

Queen Elizabeth National Park boasts of vast savannah plains, bushland, wetlands and forests that lie at the foothills of the Rwenzori Mountain.

• The epic Kazinga Channel flowing through the park and connects Lake George in the east to Lake Edward in the west, attracts an array of birds and animals, including the infamous Nile crocodile and one of the world’s largest concentration of hippos.
• On this day you’ll transfer from Fort portal to Queen Elizabeth National Park.
• On this day you depart from the hotel and transfer to Queen Elizabeth National Park, you’ll check into your accommodation where you’ll have lunch and relax as you prepare for the next day’s activity.

Day 5: Park Game Drive & Boat Safari

You’ll have breakfast before the day breaks and start the game drive before the sun comes up.

• Sunrise is the best time for wildlife spotting as animals tend to be the most active when the first rays of sunshine come to rest on the savannah.
• Elephants, buffalo and several species of antelope are some of the characters you may come across today, and if you’re lucky, you may even spot a lion or leopard.
• Later in the day when the sun is high in the sky and the animals make their way to the river for a drink.
• You’ll have bites and head to Kazinga Channel for an exciting boat safari. You will spot more hippos today than you can possibly imagine.
• Herds of elephants and buffalo will also wander down to the shoreline to bathe in the cooling waters.
• A boat safari is a fantastic way to get close to wildlife and for many visitors the boat safari is the highlight of their visit to Queen Elizabeth National Park.
• You’ll have lunch after the boat cruise and return to the lodge for relaxation, dinner and overnight.

Join a research team and track the majestic lions of QENP

• This unique experience allows visitors to join a research team who track and monitor some of the lions that have colors with gps.
• The gathered data is important for conservation programs while you get a unique and intimate insight into the lives and habits of these fascinating predators.

The optional extra cost of USD 100 per person is applicable for this experience

Day 6: Transfer To Lake Mutanda.

You journey to the south-west toward Kisoro, a bustling town to the south of Bwindi Forest, near the borders to Rwanda and Congo.

• A string of hills will usher you into this beautiful area as terraces go round the hills like rings from the base to the top.
• Get along the marram roads that wind by escarpments covered with tropical forests dipping into lively villages in the valley before arriving at the serene waters of Lake Mutanda.
• Offering some of the best views in Uganda, Mutanda Lake Resort is situated on a peninsula overlooking a multitude of small islands scattered across the water and the volcanoes from the Virunga Range rising out of the mist in the backdrop.
• Gorilla Tracking is the main highlight of a visit to the southern parts of Bwindi Forest but also activities like hiking, canoeing and Batwa experience are typical of this region.

Day 7: Gorilla Tracking.

Start the day with early breakfast and packed snacks. Proceed to the national park offices for briefing before trekking Gorillas.

Half of the world’s population of gorillas live under the mist-covered canopies of Uganda’s oldest and most biologically diverse rainforest.

In the company of an experienced park ranger, you will be tracking the 14 habituated family groups who reside in Rushaga.

Your tracking experience will be an exciting, yet challenging, journey along forested (often muddy and slippery) slopes, tangled vines, thick vegetation and bamboo forests before you reach the territory of these gentle giants.

En-route, your ranger will point out telltale signs of previous gorilla activity like dung, nests and chewed bamboo shoots.

Depending on the location of the gorillas on any given day the walk can take anything from 2 to 7 hours.

Once the family of gorillas has been located, settle into your surroundings and enjoy the hour you have to quietly observe these fascinating primates whose habits and mannerisms remind us so much of our own.

Encountering the mountain gorillas in the wild is a truly humbling and emotional experience, one that you are sure to remember for the rest of your life.

You’ll have chance to interact with the community before returning to Lake Mutanda for dinner and overnight

Day 8: Travel to Kigali / Entebbe.

You’ll drive from the lodge after breakfast and transfer to Kabale. The yellow sun rays emerge from the east as the birds sing, the water is still as a fresh breeze goes over this lake as you have breakfast by this beautiful lake.

• You’ll not only feel this at a distance but also with a canoe and paddle as you sail on this peaceful lake.
• Lake Bunyonyi is the deepest lake in Uganda and is relatively stable throughout the year thanks to the few waves.
• Paddle your canoe to visit a few of the twenty-nine islands in this lake including floating islands and the punishment island where young girls who would get pregnant before marriage would be dumped and left to die as they tried to swim to the shore.
• Each island has history attached to it. Lake Bunyonyi is a home to 200 bird species and the morning canoe session will unveil to you amazing bird species like White tailed blue monard, African Harrier Hawk, gray crowned cranes, Herons, egrets, the cardinal woodpecker, the levaillant’s cuckoo, slender-billed baglafecht, weavers, levillant cuckoo and many more bird species.
• Return to the shores for lunch and return to Kigali through Gatuna Border.

 OR

Check out of the Hotel after breakfast for a drive to Kampala. You’ll have a stop in Masaka for lunch after which you’ll drive on to kayabwe Equator crossing.

• This latitude that bisects the earth into two hemispheres several experiments have been arranged by the hosts to prove the dissection.
• Feel free to take amazing photos and grab a beverage before returning to your transport and continue to the Northern Hemisphere of the Globe to Entebbe.
• Upon reaching Entebbe you’ll have lunch and check into the hotel. Relax for the rest of the afternoon with an option for a community walk in Entebbe before dinner and overnight. (Guinea fowl guesthouse, H.B)

Day 9: Relaxation And Airport Transfer.

You’ll have an opportunity to relax at the beach or the hotel as you wait for a complimentary airport transfer depending on your flight schedule.