10 Days Uganda primates and game safari

You will be picked up from Entebbe international airport or from your hotel/guest house in Kampala/Entebbe and driven south to Bwindi impenetrable national park, you will have a stopover visit at the Equator for pictures and another stopover for an en-route lunch, you will then proceed to Bwindi impenetrable national park arriving in the evening at the Lodge for check-in dinner and an overnight stay.

Drive time: 8-9 hours drive

Lodging: Rushaga Gorilla Havens Lodge/Rushaga Gorilla Camp

After breakfast at the lodge, you will drive to the park headquarters for a briefing from the Uganda wildlife Authority ranger guides who will allocate you a gorilla family group you will trek with on that day. Once you have your 8 people group confirmed, the 2 ranger guides will lead you into the thick impenetrable forest to start your search for the endangered rare species of Mountain Gorillas. The gorilla search always continues from the place where they were last seen the previous day. Upon reaching the area where these famous species are, you will only be allowed to interact with them for a maximum of one hour and you are advised to always keep maximum silence while with these Gorillas. You are allowed to take photographs and so on.

Gorilla tracking can sometimes be strenuous depending on the trek that day which is normally determined by weather and the movement of the gorillas in the forest but given the fact that it is a very well organized activity you have 99% chances of seeing the gorillas on your trek. The trek is guided by advanced trackers who monitor the mountain gorilla movements all day in the forest and so they will know where they nested for the last night and that’s where you will start looking for them from. The 2 ranger guides will lead you all through the trek clearing trails, creating new trails and sharing with you information about the mountain gorillas and Bwindi forest as a whole. After the trek you will retrieve back to the starting point to pick your certificates as a sign of successful tracking of mountain gorillas in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park.

Lodging: Rushaga Gorilla Havens Lodge/Rushaga Gorilla Camp

After breakfast you will drive to Queen Elizabeth National Park where you will arrive in the afternoon, you will also have an en-route lunch and stopovers along the way for sightseeing. On arrival at the hotel you will be warmly welcomed and checked-in for relaxing, later you will go for an evening game drive in search for late grazers and after return to the Lodge for an overnight stay.

Queen Elizabeth National Park is the most popular and diverse conservation area with a variety of habitats ranging from grassland, acacia woodland, forests, wetlands and open water which sustains a wide range of mammals with the major ones being the Big 4 animals and a remarkable tally of bird life boosting to over 604 bird species.

Drive time: 4-5 hours drive

Lodging: Elephant Hab Lodge/Buffalo Safari Lodge

After your breakfast you will drive to Kasenyi plains for a morning game drive in search for early bird wildlife. Some of the animals you will see include the elephants, large herds of buffalos, leopards, lions, bushbucks, kobs, antelopes, bushbucks and so much more.

The morning game drive will take you approximately 2-3 hours and then after you will drive to Mweya peninsula for a hot lunch, then after you will relax and go for an afternoon boat cruise safari on Kazinga channel, this boat ride is something worth it and is considered as a highlight of your safari in Queen Elizabeth National Park, you will have a chance to see various wildlife as they enjoy the shores of the channel, hippos enjoying the swim and various bird species. After the cruise you will return to the lodge for relaxation, dinner and an overnight stay.

Lodging: Elephant Hab Lodge/Buffalo Safari Lodge

You will have a morning game drive through the Mweya Peninsula with all your belongings in the Car. you will continue with the Journey back to Kibale National Park. If not game a game drive, you will have an option of visiting Katwe Salt Lakes before driving to Kibale National Park with a stopover for lunch enroute. On influx you will have a nature walk through the Bigodi Swamp enjoying the awesome sightseeing of the resident monkeys and birds.

Kibale Forest National park is home to 13 species of primates and over 335 bird species making it a popular destination for birders and primates lovers.

Drive time: 2-3hours drive

Dinner and overnight at Chimpanzee guest house/Turaco tree tops

After breakfast at your lodge, you will drive to Kibale National Park headquarters to meet your guides for the day and begin your chimpanzee tracking experience. Experienced guides, researchers and trackers will accompany your party on an early morning trek into the forest to view wild chimpanzees as well as several other species of primates in their natural habitat.  You will have an opportunity to be within meters of these amusing and very social apes for four hours, sharing in their daily lives and experiencing their day-to-day activities. They will take you through the whole tracking process. Chimpanzees, our closest cousins, are extremely endangered with only an estimated 5000 remaining in Uganda. 

Please note: tracking may be fairly strenuous as the chimpanzees are highly mobile searching for for food throughout the forest. Also, chimpanzees are wild animals and as such sightings cannot be guaranteed.

Dinner and overnight at Chimpanzee guest house/Turaco tree tops

On this day, you will meet your guide and drive to Murchison Falls National Park for an overnight stay at Pakuba safari lodge. You will have an en-route visit to the top of the falls and an evening game drive in search for late grazers then after you will proceed to your lodge for dinner and an overnight stay.

Murchison falls National Park is the largest National Park and conservation area in Uganda with an area of 3840 kms. The River Nile divides the park into the north and south sectors and forms fall where it flows over the western rift valley escarpment.  Here, the river is forced through a 6-metre gap in the rocks and cascades into a boiling pot 40 meters below. A boat cruise up-stream to the falls provides an unforgettable experience! Visitors are able to watch a variety of animals. These include elephant, buffalo, giraffe, lion, hippo, crocodile, several antelope species and many species of bird life along the Nile as the boat travels along. 

Drive time: Approximately 6-7 hours drive

Overnight stay: Pakuba Safari Lodge or Paraa Safari Lodge

Meal Plan: Full board

After breakfast, you will go for your morning game drive that will provide you an opportunity of spotting wild game that includes giraffes, buffaloes, antelopes, hippos and if you are lucky cats such as lions and leopards. After you will return to the lodge for a lunch break before proceeding to the pier for your two-hour boat cruise to the bottom of the falls to witness how river Nile squeezes itself in a narrow gorge before exploding out producing an experience of a lifetime. During your cruise you will as well encounter various wild animals such as elephants and hippos as they enjoy the banks of river Nile, reptiles and birds.

Overnight stay: Pakuba Safari Lodge or Paraa Safari Lodge

Meal Plan: Full board

On this morning you will embark on a cruise downstream on the cool, calm morning water with your breakfast on-board. Home to a wide variety of wetland and papyrus endemic bird species, including the elusive shoebill stork, this three to five-hour cruise offers a unique opportunity to spot rarely found birds and animals such as hippo, elephants and large crocodiles. Travelling through the center of Murchison Falls National Park, guests can experience the constantly changing scenery of the Nile River as it winds its way to Lake Albert. You could have a second game drive – North Bank after lunch, or if you wish in the late afternoon you could head out for one more game drive to try and spot any species you missed the first time around.

Overnight stay: Pakuba Safari Lodge or Paraa Safari lodge

Meal Plan: Full board

This will be your final day of the 10 Days Uganda primates and game safari. You will meet your guide and drive back to Kampala/Entebbe via the Rhino sanctuary for on foot rhino tracking and hot lunch after which you will proceed for drop off to end your safari.

Ziwa rhino sanctuary is a popular destination and most of the safari travelers travelling from Murchison towards Kampala/Entebbe include a stopover at the sanctuary as a permanent part of their itineraries. Feedback from visitors is extremely positive and our visitor numbers are expected to continue to grow.

A security force of 80 rangers of which many are armed, patrols the fence, guard the gates, and monitor the rhinos 24 hours each day. The sanctuary is not only home to the rhinos but also to approximately 20 other species of wildlife as well as 300 different bird species highlighting Uganda’s unique biodiversity and emphasizing the importance of conserving it. The conservation efforts are proving successful as we see the numbers of wildlife growing within the sanctuary.  While here you will also go in search of the elusive shoe bill which is one of the Great birds and one not to miss while on safari in Uganda.

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