12 Days Uganda Gorilla, Chimpanzee, Big five and other wildlife sightseeing experience
Your 12 Days MID-RANGE Uganda Primate and Wildlife Safari-Day by day Itinerary. Day 01: Arrive at Uganda’s Entebbe International Airport Upon your arrival at Entebbe, you will be met by your Around Africa Safari guide/company representative who will greet you and then transfer you to your accommodation – set in a quiet residential neighborhood with beautiful gardens being away from the noise, just to wind down from your international flight. Overnight at Boma Guest House [Bed and Breakfast only] Day 02: Full day Kampala City Tour. At 8:00am, your safari guide will collect you from your Guest House and you will explore Kampala, the capital of Uganda. You will visit the Gadhafi Mosque, National museum, Kasubi Tombs, Parliament buildings of Buganda kingdom; This visit will take you to the Parliament and the (Mwengo) Palace of the Kings of Buganda, the death row chamber of Iddi Amin Dada are well worth a visit as it gives the visitor an interesting insight into Uganda culture. You will have lunch within the city. Return for dinner and overnight at Boma Guest House [Dinner and Breakfast only] Day 03: Drive to Murchison Falls National Park. Today’s journey will take you to Murchison Falls National Park. En route, you will visit Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary in Nakasongola where you will go for a guided rhino tracking on foot with an experienced ranger, which will give you a unique opportunity to view the rhinos from a close distance. On spotting the rhinos, spend an hour with them. After a successful tracking, you will have lunch then proceed to Murchison Falls National Park. You will visit the top of the falls by car from where you have a perfect view of the extraordinary falls and the river snaking below. Then, transfer to the lodge for a check in and then spend the rest of the evening at leisure. Dinner will be served at the lodge. Overnight at Murchison River Lodge/Thatched cottage [Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner] Day 04: Game drive and boat trip in Murchison Falls National Park. Murchison Falls National Park is located in the Albertine rift valley hosting many mammals such as the big four – the lion, the leopards, the elephants, and the buffaloes – plus other exciting species. Today you will wake up very early. In the early morning hours, animals are the most active, the sun is not yet so bright and temperatures are cooler. It offers the best time to spot wild animals. After an early breakfast, you will go on a game drive to explore the northern part of the park. You will be eye-to-eye with the African animals. In the afternoon, you will take a shared boat safari upstream the calm Nile to the bottom of the falls stopping just tens of meters from the ‘Devil’s Cauldron’. You will be watched by crocodiles, hundreds of hippos, buffaloes, water birds, monkeys and all the other thirsty wildlife that the Nile attracts, you will reach the base of the 43-meter high waterfall which roars, creating a beautiful rainbow. After the boat safari, you will go to the top of the falls by car from where you have a perfect view of the extraordinary falls and the river snaking below. Later, transfer back to the hotel for dinner. Dinner will be served at Murchison River Lodge/Thatched cottage [Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner] Day 05: Transfer to Kibale National Park. Today, you will begin your early morning journey to Kibale Forest. The long drive is incredibly scenic, passing through tea plantations and the lush green countryside which characterizes so much of Uganda. Kibale National Park is located in west-central Uganda just east of the Rwenzori Mountains, near the town of Fort Portal. The 795 Km² park predominantly covers evergreen rainforest and is a home to a total of 70 mammal species, most famously 13 species of primate including the chimpanzee. It also contains over 375 species of birds including rare and endemic species. You will have lunch en route, arriving in the evening in Fort Portal town. Spend the rest of the evening at leisure. Journey Time: 8 hours. Dinner and overnight at Turaco Treetop/luxury cottage [Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner] Day 06: Chimpanzee trekking and afternoon guided Bigodi nature/swamp walk. After an early morning breakfast, you will be transferred to Kanyancu, the visitor’s center and report to the ranger station at 07:45 am in Kibale National Park to track the habituated Chimpanzees. Although chimp sightings are not guaranteed, visitors stand a pretty good chance of hearing and seeing our distant cousins as they are habituated. These engaging apes, our closest genetically living relative, are great fun to watch as they play and fight in the fruiting trees. Your experienced guides will introduce you to the different members of the chimp families, as well as the birds and plant life of the forest. The trails through the forest are generally easy to navigate and you will always be accompanied by rangers. The tour lasts between one to three hours and the tracking starts at 08:00am daily. You are only allowed to spend a maximum of one hour around the chimpanzees. After successful tracking, retrace your foot-step back to the lodge. Freshen up and spend the rest of the morning relaxing by the pool side. Then enjoy your delicious lunch. In the afternoon, you will go for a guided Bigodi nature/swamp walk. The 2 to 3 hours walk will take you through grassland, small communities and some beautiful scenery, where the locals will greet you with enthusiastic waves. It is usual to spot three to four different primate species during this walk. Return for dinner and overnight at Turaco Treetops/ luxury cottage [Breakfast, lunch and dinner] Day 07: Transfer to Queen Elizabeth National Park and enjoy a boat cruise along Kazinga channel. After breakfast, your driver guide will transfer you to Queen Elizabeth National Park. Check in and have lunch at the Lodge. At 2:00pm, you will enjoy the slow 2 hour shared boat cruise in the Kazinga Channel, a natural canal that joins Lake Edward and Lake George. This will allow you to experience wildlife up close where hippos huff and spray mere feet away, buffalo linger in the shallows. Large herds of elephants, buffaloes and other animals come to the shores to quench their thirst. Also, you will see a wide array of colorful birds soaring near to the water surface. Amongst those you will see are the malachite and pied kingfishers, great white and pink-backed pelicans and the open-billed stork. In the evening, enjoy the short game drive around the northern sector of the park called Kasenyi, or better known as the “Kobs Mating Ground”. You will be able to find hundreds of Uganda kobs, a hungry ‘king of the African jungle’ – lion, big herds of buffaloes, giant forest hog, warthogs, monitor lizards and sometimes a lonely elephant or hyena can be seen during a game drive in Kasenyi as well. Return for dinner & overnight at Marafiki Safari Lodge [Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner] Day 08: Drive to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. After breakfast, we will depart to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park with an “en route game drive” passing through Ishasha, the remote, southern sector of Queen Elizabeth National Park famous for its residents-the tree climbing lions. Journey time from Ishasha excluding game drive; 2 hours, 68 km. Check-in at your lodge, then have lunch. Afternoon at leisure in your accommodation in preparation to the next day’s activities. Dinner and overnight at Haven Lodge [Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner] Day 09: Mountain Gorilla tracking in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. Start your day with an early morning breakfast to give you the energy needed to trek the Mountain Gorillas in either Buhoma (Northern) or Ruhija (Eastern) section of the Bwindi forest. Bwindi Impenetrable National Park protects an estimated 400 Mountain Gorillas roughly half of world’s population including several habituated groups which can be tracked. The biological diverse region also provides shelter to a further 120 mammals including several primate species such as baboons, chimpanzees, as well as elephants and antelopes. With your packed lunch & plenty of clean drinking water from the lodge, report to the rangers’ station at 07:45am for registration. At 8:00am, gorilla trekking commences with a briefing by one of the rangers who will then lead you through the bush pushing your way through the undergrowth, parting thick creepers, to track the gorillas. The trek can take from 30 minutes to 7 hours. So, a reasonable degree of fitness is required as well as a sturdy pair of walking shoes and after hiking some distance depending on the location of the Gorillas, you will sight them and spend up to 1 hour with them then start your descent back to the briefing point and later your lodge – relax as you relive the fresh memories of your close encounter with the gorillas. Dinner & overnight at Haven Lodge [Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner]. Day 10: Transfer to Lake Mburo National park. After an early morning breakfast, you will transfer to Lake Mburo National Park. Its distance from Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is about 310 km which makes it a perfect stop-over between Bwindi and Kampala. The drive will take about 6 hours & you will arrive at the lodge in the afternoon and then have lunch. In the evening, you will have a game drive around the park. Zebras, impala, Uganda kobs, buffalos, giraffes and many others are some of the wildlife that will be seen during this game drive. Return to the lodge in time for dinner. Overnight at Rwakobo Rock/Thatched cottage [Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner] Day 11: Morning nature walk or biking safari and afternoon Boat cruise in Lake Mburo National Park. After breakfast, head out for a morning nature walk safari within the park. In the afternoon, you will be driven to the lake to meet your boat captain of the day who will take you for a two hour shared boat excursion. Lake Mburo boat cruise is an opportunity to see hippos, crocodiles, water birds such as the Africa fish eagle and the rare Africa fin foot. Many animals such as buffaloes and antelopes gather here to drink some water so an opportunity to enjoy wildlife most especially marine animals. En-route to your lodge, you will enjoy a short evening game drive within the 370 square kilometer park. This smallest Uganda’s savannah national park has more than 68 mammal species, including zebra, impala, topi, eland, bushbuck, buffalo, warthog, leopard, hyena, few giraffes and jackal. There are no elephants and lions in the park, which makes it an ideal place for walking safaris. After your game drive, you will retire to your lodge for dinner and overnight at Rwakobo Rock/Thatched Cottage [Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner] Day 12: Depart Lake Mburo National Park for Entebbe After a lazily breakfast, your journey back to Entebbe begins with an en-route brief stopover at the Uganda Equator crossing sign at Kayabwe for a popular photo opportunities and then later drop off at Entebbe International Airport to connect with your outbound international flight. Please note that check-in for international flights should be done 2 hours prior to departure of the flight. In the departure hall (after check-in), you will find a small restaurant, a sitting area and several duty-free shops for your convenience. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ End of safari ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Package Price Includes: • Airport transfers • A 4×4 safari land cruiser vehicle and fuel, with wide sliding window for 360 degree viewing, pop-up roof, in front AC, charging socket points, First Aid Kit box, two spare tyres and mini fridge in the vehicle. • An English-speaking tourist driver guide • 1 Gorilla trekking permit at $700 per person • 1 Chimp trekking permit at $200 per person • 1 Rhino trekking permit at $50 per person • Lunch at Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary and others mentioned in the itinerary, • All entry fees to the National Parks’ activities. • Accommodations and meals as mentioned in the itinerary (Bed & Breakfast (B&B), Half Board (HB) or Full Board (FB). • Bottled drinking water in the vehicle, • Top of world hike • Shared boat trips (Bottom of the falls-Murchison, Kazinga Channel in Queen and Lake Mburo National Park), • Nature walk or biking safari in Lake Mburo National Park. • Government taxes. Package Price Excludes: • International flights • Uganda entry visa fees • Drinks / alcoholic drinks • Additional meals • Tips/gratuities • Activities not part of the described programme. • International travel insurance. • PCR covid-19 test fees. Please observe our additional checklist for Gorilla & Chimpanzee trekking. • Long sleeved shirts and trousers. (Old clothes are recommended as they can get very dirty and torn from the thorns and jungle foliage) • Insect repellent and sunscreen • Hat and sunglasses (although once in the jungle you are in the shade) • Gardening gloves to protect your hands from the thorns and vines • Good, comfortable, sturdy hiking boots with good ankle support • Long socks to truck your trousers into • Rain jacket • Camera with choice of lenses • Waterproof rucksack (or plastic bags inside your rucksack) • Plenty of water (your lodge will provide a packed lunch and lots of water) • For evenings at the camp, it is worth taking a warm fleece as evenings can be chilly. For the daytime, light, casual clothes generally suffice.
What’s included: Transfer, Mask, Sanitizer
