Uganda Wildlife and Primate Encounter Safari (8days)

Upon your arrival at Entebbe International Airport, you will be welcomed by our customer care representative and your allocated English-speaking safari guide for a meet and greet and, thereafter, a transfer to your booked hotel in Entebbe town. The hotel is about 10 to 15 minutes’ drive from the airport on the shores of Lake Victoria. Depending on your time of arrival, if time allows, visit the Entebbe botanical gardens that are found on the shore of Lake Victoria in Entebbe town for a walking safari. Botanical gardens are home to some primate species, such as vervet monkeys, and several bird species. The walk will take you to the shores of Lake Victoria, where you will have a chance to spot some water birds, enjoy the fresh breezes from the lake, and get used to Uganda’s beautiful nature. Lake Victoria is the largest water body in Africa and the second largest freshwater body in the world,and it is shared by three East African countries (Uganda, Tanzania, and Kenya). Later, return to your hotel to have dinner and an overnight stay.

On this day, early in the morning, you will be warmly met by your assigned English-speaking safari guide on your arrival at Entebbe international airport or at your hotel / place of residence to meet and greet, and be briefed about your 7-day Uganda wildlife and primate encounter safari. After the tour briefing, get in your safari vehicle and then start your dream African safari with a drive to Murchison Falls National Park, found in north-western Uganda, about 320 km from Kampala. On your way, you will visit Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary, found in Nakasongola district, for the white rhino tracking experience. Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary is the only place in Uganda where you can meet white rhinos in the wilderness. Once Uganda had an adequate number of rhinos, which were found in Kidepo Valley and Murchison Falls national parks, but they became nationally extinct due to numerous illegal human activities such as poaching and civil unrest in the early 1970s. Therefore, in 2005, Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary was established to re-introduce rhinos into Uganda’s wildlife inventory. During rhino tracking, you will have a chance to see them close to their feet with the help of the local site guide and spend a maximum of one hour. You will be allowed to take as many photos as you would like, so you have to keep your camera on standby not to miss any great moments uncaptured. After you have had an unforgettable experience with rhinos, relax with a bottle of water and drive to Kabalega Diner to have lunch.
Later, proceed with the drive to Murchison Falls National Park, the source of happiness for nature lovers, where you will be welcomed by hundreds of baboons lined along the road. On arrival at Murchison Falls National Park, visit the Murchison Falls to enjoy the breathtaking views and great sound of the Murchison Falls as it squeezes itself through a narrow gorge that is only 7 meters wide, then drops 43 meters into a pool that creates a strong and thunderous sound that is so lovely. The tour to the top of Murchison Falls takes about an hour, starting from the view point and ending at the bottom of the falls. After enjoying the mighty Murchison Falls, proceed with the drive to the northern sector of the park across the Nile to check in at your booked lodge to refresh, and then spend your evening at leisure till time to be served dinner and overnight.

Wake up very early in the morning by 6 a.m., have a quick cup of coffee with a snack to warm your body, get boxes of your packed breakfast, get into your safari vehicle, and then set out for an early morning game drive safari for wildlife encounters. The early start is a better time to have high chances of sighting several wildlife species, including nocturnal animals and elusive predators such as lions, leopards, spotted hyenas, and jackals, as they are still active in the jungle before they have returned to their hideouts. During the morning game drive safari, expect to encounter several animal species such as elephants, buffaloes, giraffes, warthogs, and many antelopes like Jackson hartebeest, Uganda kobs, water bucks, oribis, and many others, plus several bird species. Murchison Falls National Park is the main stronghold in Africa for Rothschild giraffes, so expect to see them in large numbers. Have a short break to enjoy your full breakfast, and proceed with your game safari until 1200 p.m. Your safari guide will help you encounter as many wildlife species as possible and share with you a lot of information regarding the various wildlife species that you will encounter.
After the game drive, drive back to your lodge to relax for some time, have lunch, and then set off for a 3-hour afternoon boat cruise on the Nile that will take you up to 500m to the bottom of the Falls. The boat cruise on the Nile offers open opportunities to encounter several wildlife species, like hippos, lizards, huge Nile crocodiles, and some of the land mammals, such as elephants, buffaloes, and some antelope species. During the boat cruise experience, you will have the opportunity to take as many photos of the various animals as possible since the boat cruise takes you closer to them.

After the boat cruise, return to your lodge to have a free evening until it is time to be served dinner, and then drive back to the park for a night game drive safari. The night game drive safari is so adventurous and opens up more chances to encounter nocturnal mammals and birds of the park, such as lions, leopards, porcupines, civets, spotted hyenas, and grazing hippos, among others. These species are more active during the night hours, and, on a lucky day, you may see them in the act of hunting, which is one of the greatest jungle experiences. During the night game drive safari, you will have the opportunity to encounter the nightlife of the jungle, see how animals behave at night, and enjoy the night sounds of the jungle. Murchison Falls National Park is the best Savannah National Park in Uganda for a night game drive. After the game drive, drive back to your lodge for an overnight stay.

Today rise up at your best time to have all your travel bags loaded into your safari vehicle, be served breakfast, check out, drive slowly through the park to cross the river Nile, and then proceed with your safari to Kibale Forest National Park, located in western Uganda, that is proudly known as Africa’s primate capital, with over 13 recorded primate species, more than any other national park or wildlife reserve in Africa, plus the biggest population of chimpanzees, amounting to more than 1500 individual chimpanzees. Kibale Forest National Park is most famous for its population of chimpanzees and is known as the best destination for wild chimpanzee tracking experiences on earth. While at Kibale Forest National Park, expect to encounter several primates such as the black-and-white colobus, red-tailed monkeys, blue monkeys, olive baboons, grey-cheeked mangabeys, the threatened and rare L’hoest’s monkey, and red colobus monkeys. Besides primates, the park is home to forest elephants and some antelopes, plus over 370 bird species, including the 23 Albertine Rift endemics. On your way to Kibale Forest National Park, you will enjoy the spectacular views of tea estates, several forests where olive baboons are parading alongside the roads, and the shadow of the legendary Rwenzori Mountain that forms a mystic backdrop to the beautiful volcanic landscape. With a stopover in Fort Portal City to have lunch, relax, and move around the city on foot, you will later continue with your journey to the park to check in at your booked lodge and later drive to Bigodi Swamp for a nature walk and community experience.
Bigodi Sanctuary Swamp is remarkable for its biodiversity of wildlife species, with about eight primate species, including baboons, grey-cheeked mangabeys, blue monkeys, red colobus monkeys, L’Hoest monkeys, red-tailed monkeys, black and white colobus monkeys, vervet monkeys, and other animals like mongooses, wild pigs, various reptiles, over 200 bird species, and butterflies. The community walk will be guided by a trained local guide who is very knowledgeable of the local terrain and perfect at identifying all the animal, bird, and plant species and explaining details about their mating nature. While at Bigodi Wetland Sanctuary, expect to encounter rich vegetation and several wildlife species. After the swamp walk, the tour will end in Bigodi village, one of the relatively small villages around the park with all the characteristics of a typical Ugandan rural setting, such as living in small houses made with mud and surrounding gardens. While at the Bigodi community, you will have close interaction with the locals to learn about their daily social and economic lifestyle and take part in some experiences like learning how coffee is grown, visiting women’s groups, and having the opportunity to experience the local food. After the community tour, return to your lodge to refresh, have dinner, and stay overnight.

After breakfast, meet your safari guide and transfer to the park information offices to join other guests for a briefing about the dos and don’ts to follow while looking for chimpanzees in the forest and how to behave before chimpanzees. Then embark on your guided forest walk to search for the intelligent chimpanzees, the closest human relatives sharing 98.8% human DNA. During your forest walk, you may encounter other wildlife species, both mammals and bird species, such as primates and bush pigs, among others, and your guide will be able to give you much interesting information about everything that you will encounter, which will make your walk so adventurous. Once you meet chimpanzees, you will spend a maximum of one hour with them to watch how they play in the tree branches, feed and take care of their babies, and take as many photos as you want. After staying with chimpanzees for an hour, return to the starting point to meet your safari guide, have refreshment, receive your chimpanzee trekking certificate, have lunch, and later start your drive to Queen Elizabeth National Park. On arrival at Queen Elizabeth National Park, before checking in at your booked lodge, go for the 2-hour afternoon boat cruise on the Kazinga Channel. The boat cruise on the Kazinga Channel is one of the highlights of why one should visit Queen Elizabeth National Park. It will bring you close to many wildlife species, reptiles, and birds that are usually seen along the shores of the channel, and it is known for inhabiting the highest concentration of hippos in all of Africa. During the afternoon boat cruise safari along the channel, expect to encounter mammals such as buffaloes, elephant herds, several antelope species, Nile crocodiles, monitor lizards, and thousands of various kinds of birds. Your camera has to be ready to snap pictures of the scenes before you. After the afternoon boat cruise on the Kazinga channel, drive to the park for an evening game drive safari to look out for the wildlife species of this park since during the evening hours, animals, mostly herbivores, come together to form a big group in an open area that gives you great spots to capture the best photos. Also, it is so nice for the sunset to meet you in the African savannah. After the game drive, drive to check in at your booked lodge to refresh, have dinner, and stay overnight.

Wake up very early in the morning (05.30am) to prepare yourself. Today you can put on light clothes, simple shoes and then pack a sweater for emergencies, have an extra camera battery, have your binoculars. Have a cup of coffee and then get a box of your packed full breakfast, and later leave your lodge at 0 630 am to Kasenyi Plains, found in the northern part of Queen Elizabeth National Park, for a morning game drive safari. It is always very important to begin your game drive as early as possible because, during the morning hours of the day, animals are more active and chances are high that you will encounter as many species as possible. Queen Elizabeth National Park is one of the best savanna destinations in Africa to encounter several wildlife species, and it is one of Uganda’s most varied and most beautiful protected areas. The park is home to two of Africa’s big cats, the majestic lion and the elusive leopard, along with classic big game such as approximately 5,000 hippo, 2,500 elephants, and 10,000 buffalo. During your game drive safari, expect to encounter different groups of animal species, like buffalo herds, elephant herds, Uganda kob herds, and many other antelopes, like warthogs, lions, leopards, spotted hyenas, and the giant forest hog, among others. Your safari guide will help you spot as many animals as possible as well as give you much information regarding everything that you will encounter, which will make your game drive time so interesting and memorable. Later, around 0900 am, finish your game drive in the Kasenyi plains, have a short break, and later start your drive to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park via the Ishasha sector, which is located in the southern sector of Queen Elizabeth National Park, for a game drive safari in search of tree-climbing lions, which are commonly seen relaxing within the branches of massive fig trees. Queen Elizabeth National Park is the best park to see the unique tree-climbing lions since it has the largest population of tree-climbing lions in Africa, and they are commonly seen on hot day game drives around the area as most of them lazily lie on large fig tree branches. Aside from the tree-climbing lions, other wildlife species found in the Ishasha sector include African caped buffaloes, elephants, Uganda kobs, Topis, and many more. After the game drive, have lunch and then proceed with your journey to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest national park, home to over half of the world’s population of the remaining endangered mountain gorillas. The park is situated in the south-western corner of Uganda, on the eastern edge of the Albertine Rift Valley. Besides the mountain gorillas, Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park is home to over 119 mammal species. These include numerous primate species, over 350 bird species, including 23 Albertine Rift endemics, and almost 400 tree species that form the huge impenetrable forest that is evergreen, hence making it East Africa’s biodiversity hotspot with possibly the greatest number of tree species and one of the richest mammalian assemblages in Africa. On arrival at the park, check in at your booked lodge and spend the evening at your leisure until it’s time to be served dinner and overnight.

Today, wake up very early in the morning to have your backpack ready. Dress up in the recommended style for the best mountain gorilla trekking experience. long trousers, possibly khaki or jeans, a long-sleeved shirt, water-proof hiking shoes, a water-proof jacket, a round hut, and heavy-duty gloves. This is due to the unpredictable weather conditions in the forest, it can rain at any particular time of the day, and then, for protection, later, you will be served breakfast, get boxes of your packed lunch, and meet your safari guide to drive to the park information center for the pre-gorilla trekking briefing, where you will be informed about the dos and don’ts during gorilla trekking, what the expectations are during gorilla trekking, how to behave while in the presence of the gorillas, and many other things. You will be joined in groups of eight people per group and then be assigned a particular gorilla family for tracking, with two gun-baring rangers (for your security) and a tracker/guide with a machete to lead your way during the forest walk while searching for the magical mountain gorillas. After the pre-gorilla trekking experience, your group of eight trekkers will continue into the dense forest, following various forest trails in search of the allocated mountain gorilla family. The time taken while searching for the mountain gorillas is not known, but it can be anywhere between 45 minutes and 6 hours, depending on the location and the movements of your allocated gorilla family on that day. Therefore, you need to be mentally and physically fit and prepared for multiple hours of forest walking over uneven and steep terrain. So, it is better to ask to be assigned near a gorilla family. if you are not fit to manage multiple hours in the forest. If you consider yourself fit, choosing a challenging family will be more fun and enjoyable because you will have the opportunity to encounter several wildlife species that live in this forest, and the longer you stay in the jungle, the more you will enjoy it and have opportunities to see many things.
During the forest walk in search of the mountain gorillas, you may encounter other wildlife species since Bwindi Impenetrable Forest national park hosts numerous species, including chimpanzees, African elephants, l’Hoest’s monkey, and many others, plus birds, and your forest guide will keep on giving you information regarding everything that you will encounter that will make you enjoy your forest time. Once you meet your assigned mountain gorilla family, you will have one full hour to interact with the magical mountain gorillas. You will be required to keep a low tone, and you will be free to take as many photos as you want as well as ask as many questions as you want to your guides regarding the gorillas. Get ready to encounter Mr. Silverback, who is the head and determines the movements of the entire family. Mothers nurse the young ones, and the juveniles entertain the family, which makes a stay with them so amazing. It is advisable to avoid looking directly into the eyes of the gorillas. In the event of a chance encounter with the gorillas, it is always important to stay calm and quiet and let them pass because running away or making any kind of noise may disrupt the gorillas, causing them to behave wildly despite being habituated. The chances of seeing mountain gorillas in Uganda stand at 99% on any particular day. After an hour with the magical mountain gorilla, return to the starting point and receive your trekking certificates as a sign of appreciation for your contribution towards the conservation of the endangered mountain gorillas in Uganda. Meet your safari guide, enjoy your packed lunch with some refreshments, and then head to Lake Bunyonyi, which is known as a place of many little birds and is made of 29 islands, including Punishment Island and Bushara Island. Lake Bunyonyi is a perfect place to relax and have the best memories of your great moments during the gorilla trekking experience. On arrival at Lake Bunyonyi, check in and spend the evening at leisure until dinner time and overnight.

Today, wake up at your convenience, be served breakfast, and then go for your morning boat canoeing safari on Lake Bunyonyi, which takes approximately 2 hours of exploring the lake and visiting different islands in the lake with a local canoe guide who is well experienced with the places and all the things around. Lake Bunyonyi is framed by 29 islands of varying sizes across the water, making it one of the most magical views. Each of the 29 islands on Lake Bunyonyi has its own unique and interesting story behind it, which your local guide will narrate to you during the canoeing safari, such as the Akampene island, also known as the “punishment island,” which was used by the Biga community to punish girls who would get pregnant before official marriage by isolating them there to death as a way to teach a lesson to the rest not to make the same mistake. So, poor men who could not afford to pay the bride price would go to this island to get free wives from among those that could have been exiled to this island. In an African society, it was a disgrace for a girl to get pregnant before her official marriage, and this would cause the family to lose community respect. So, this made parents strict with their girl children as a way of protecting them. After canoeing on Lake Bunyonyi, return to the lodge to check out, and then start your return journey back to Entebbe International Airport to prepare for your return flight. On your way back to Entebbe international airport, you will have a stopover at the Igongo Cultural Museum to visit the museum, which is a cultural heritage of south-western Uganda that will take you centuries back into Uganda’s culture and lifestyle of the western people, and later proceed with your journey to the Uganda Equator Line, located in Kayabwe, which is believed to be separating the planet into two parts: the Northern and Southern hemispheres.
While at the equator landmark, you will see the water experiment, which is done to show how forces move differently on each side of the planet and to prove the difference between the two hemispheres. For example, water drains from the funnel in a clockwise motion on the northern hemisphere, whereas it drains in an anti-clockwise motion on the southern hemisphere. Here, the sun rises and sets rapidly, and the temperatures and weather are largely constant all year. While at the Equator landmark, take some memorial photos with one foot in the southern hemisphere and another one in the northern hemisphere, which will give you an opportunity to take a photo while standing on both sides of the world at the same time. It is also said that while standing at the equator line, your body weight is reduced by about 3 kg, so you will have a chance to prove this statement right or false. After the water experiment, have lunch and visit the craft shops, which sell souvenirs that are made locally and fully in Ugandan art style. Later, proceed with your tour straight to Entebbe International Airport to prepare for your return flight. This will be the end of your 7-day Uganda wildlife and primate experience safari.