Uganda Primate Fly in Safari Trekking Gorilla Chimp Golden monkey - 6 Days
Day 1: Start from Entebbe with a flight to Kibale National Park (Kasese Airstrip), Primate Walk at Bigodi Wetland Sanctuary
In the morning, you will be transferred to Entebbe International Airport for your Uganda flight to Kibale Forest National Park via Kasese. On landing at Kasese you will be met by your safari guide for the transfer to Kibale (about 1.5 hours' drive).
Traveling on both asphalt and unpaved roads, you pass through traditional Ugandan villages where you see people at work tending their traditional crops of millet, sorghum, beans and maize. The lush rolling hills of this region provide good photo opportunities.
As you approach Fort Portal in the foothills of the Rwenzori Mountains, you enter Uganda's famous tea plantation region. A carpet of green spreads before you, as far as the eye can see, and seems an unusual contrast to the countryside through which you have just passed.
You arrive at Fort Portal, then, continue toward Kibale Forest, one of the great African rainforest research reserves. Years of study by scientists (who have cut a grid through the forest) have habituated many of its animals to human observers. This forest is famed for the variety of primates found here and it is a terrific area for birds. This rural Ugandan town (Fort Portal) is locally famous for its weaving and basketry, and we can spend some time briefly to examine some of this local art.
Fort Portal is a small and attractive city. The fort was built between 1891 and 1893 and named after Sir Gerald Portal, the British Consul General of Zanzibar who arrived in Uganda in 1892 to formalise the protectorate of Uganda. He died of malaria a few months after the fort was completed.
In the afternoon we visit a nearby forest swamp that is excellent for viewing primates and other forest animals. At the eastern edge of Kibale forest is Bigodi Wetland sanctuary which is maintained by the local community. You will expect birds like the great blue turaco, blue monkeys, baboons, otters, mongoose, bushbucks, bush pigs and among others.
Accommodation options available (all on full board basis)
Up-market: Kyaninga Lodge | Crater Safari Lodge Kibale | Ndali Lodge
Moderate: Isunga Lodge | Kibale Forest Camp | Turaco Tree Tops Lodge
Day 2: Chimpanzee Tracking in Kibale National Park (or top-up $50 for the chimp's habituation experience)
Assemble at Kanyankyu River camp at 08:00 hours to go for the most popular activity in this park which is chimpanzee tracking.
Chimpanzees are man’s closest cousins though they are one of the most threatened primate species. More primates like black and white colobus monkeys, L’Hoest monkeys, grey-cheeked mangabey, red-tailed monkeys, bush babies, pottos, and many bird species like the yellow-spotted nicator, rumped tinker bird, little greenbul, green breasted pitta, the crowned eagle, black bee-eater, and mammals like elephants can be seen in this walk.
Kibale National Park, which averages about 3,300 feet in elevation, is an extension of the great rainforests of central Africa. It is inhabited by three large communities of chimps, each numbering more than 100 individuals. Each community has a complicated social structure. The big adult males dominate the group and defend the community territory against incursions by male outsiders; the females usually wander in small family groups.
Typically, we locate the chimps by listening for their pant-hooting calls, then hustle to the area from which they are calling. We get to observe them as they feed in fruiting trees, lounge, and socialize with each other, or even, occasionally hunt.
Accommodation options available (all on full board basis)
Up-market: Kyaninga Lodge | Crater Safari Lodge Kibale | Ndali Lodge
Moderate: Isunga Lodge | Kibale Forest Camp | Turaco Tree Tops Lodge
Day 3: Transfer to Kasese Airstrip for flight to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park
After breakfast, we drive south to Kasese Airstrip (for about 1.5 hours) for your flight to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park (via Kisoro Airstrip).
While most of today's forests are no more than 12,000 years old, Bwindi's vegetation has been weaving itself into tangles for over 25,000 years, in the process accumulating a lengthy species list.
This includes 310 species of butterflies, 51 reptiles, 200 trees, 88 moths, and an exceptional 120 species of mammals including 10 primates. The latter includes chimpanzee, L'Hoest's, red-tailed and blue monkey, black and white colobus, baboon, and Bwindi's most famous resident, the mountain gorilla.
Bwindi is a prime destination for bird- watchers. Its 350 species include seven which are IUCN red data listed and 90% of all Albertine rift endemics – species that are difficult or impossible to see in any other part of East Africa.
Accommodation options available (all on full board basis)
Up-market: Chameleon Hill Lodge | Nkuringo Gorilla Camp
Moderate: Ichumbi Gorilla Lodge | Lake Mulehe Lodge
Low Budget: Travellers Rest Hotel| Rushaga Gorilla Havens Lodge
Day 4: Gorilla Trekking in Bwindi
Today is the big day… Prepare yourself for an encounter with one of Bwindi’s gentle giants: the rare mountain gorilla. For most people, this is the absolute highlight of their tour in Uganda.
Bwindi Impenetrable Forest boasts both mountain gorillas and chimpanzees - the only forest in Africa that can make this claim in fact. It also hosts five other species of primate, 113 species of mammal, over 200 butterflies, and 360 birds.
The gorillas you will track belong to one of nine habituated family groups that can tolerate the presence of humans for a brief period every day. Your trek will be an exciting journey along forested slopes, entwined vines, bushes, and bamboo before you eventually reach the gorilla’s habitat. En route, your guide will point out signs of previous gorilla activity, including dung, nests, and chewed bamboo shoots.
The time taken to track the gorillas can take as little as 2 hours to as much as 7 hours before one returns! Once the gorillas have been located, your group will be allowed a maximum of one hour with them. Coming face-to-face with a mountain gorilla is a truly humbling and emotional experience. This is a fantastic and privileged opportunity to get up close and personal with Uganda’s very own ‘Gorillas in the Mist'.
Accommodation options available (all on full board basis)
Up-market: Chameleon Hill Lodge | Nkuringo Gorilla Camp
Moderate: Ichumbi Gorilla Lodge | Lake Mulehe Lodge
Low Budget: Travellers Rest Hotel| Rushaga Gorilla Havens Lodge
Day 5: Golden Monkey Tracking in Mgahinga Gorilla National Park
After breakfast, transfer to the Mgahinga National Park headquarters for briefing and later begin the hike over the volcanic terrain in search for golden monkeys in the bamboo forests.
Mgahinga National Park shares borders with Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda and Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The park is also the most scenic as it stands at three volcanoes of Muhavura, Gahinga, and Sabyinyo.
Accommodation options available (all on full board basis)
Up-market: Chameleon Hill Lodge | Nkuringo Gorilla Camp
Moderate: Ichumbi Gorilla Lodge | Lake Mulehe Lodge
Low Budget: Travellers Rest Hotel| Rushaga Gorilla Havens Lodge
Day 6: Flight from Kisoro to Entebbe International Airport (arrives Entebbe at 11:25 am)
Our representative will take care of your transfer to Kisoro airstrip in good time for the flight back to Entebbe International Airport.
Please let us know if you wish us to include one (or more) nights in Entebbe or arrange your transport to and from Entebbe Airport with Gorillas and Wildlife Safaris.
