On this day, early in the morning (0700), you will be met by our company representative and your safari guide at your place of residence in Kampala to meet and greet, be briefed about your 6-days Uganda wildlife and primate experience safari, have all your travel bags loaded in the safari and thereafter, start your safari with a drive to Kibale Forest national park found in western Uganda. Kibale forest national park is famously known for its biggest population of primates including the biggest population of chimpanzees amounting to more than 1500 individual chimpanzees, and some of these are well habituated for tourism and research. Kibale Forest national park is referred to as Africa’s primate capital, with 13 primate species recorded than any national park or wildlife reserve in Africa, hence making the park a primate lover’s haven. While at Kibale forest national park expect to see several primate species such as the black-and-white colobus, blue monkeys, red-tailed olive baboons, grey-cheeked mangabeys, chimpanzee plus the threatened and rare L’hoest’s monkey and over 375 species of birds. Along the way to Kibale Forest national park, you will enjoy the spectacular views of tea estates and you will have opportunity to take on the tea picking excursion and to interact with some tea grower, several forests, and the shadow of the legendary Rwenzori Mountain that forms a mystic backdrop to the beautiful volcanic landscape. On arrival at the park, check in at your booked lodge to refresh, be served lunch, relax for some time and later early evening drive to Bigodi Sanctuary swamp and community.
Bigodi sanctuary swamp is punctuated by biodiversity and lovely sceneries, and is a paradise to bird lover’s with over 138 bird species and hosting eight species of primates these include the grey-cheeked mangabey, black-and-white colobus, l’Hoest’s and blue monkeys, red-tailed monkeys, and olive baboons plus other mammals like Bushbucks and mongooses can also be found here. The swamp is managed by the surrounding local community wish a purpose of preserving exclusive environmental features along with the wetland for future generation. So, during this walk, you will have an opportunity to spot several monkeys, and bird species. The Bigodi community walk, will take you through the nearby community to have a chance to interact with local people to know how they harmoniously live with wildlife species, take you through how they locally to their daily activities without applying the modern technology such as making nice gins from banana, making delicious coffee and making art crafts. After the walk, return to your lodge to relax, be served dinner and an overnight.
Accommodation: Isunga Safari Lodge (Mid-range)
Meal plan: Lunch/Dinner
Wake up very in the morning to prepare yourself, be served breakfast, meet your safari guide and drive to the park information offices to join other guests for the pre-chimpanzee trekking 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 human closest relatives sharing 98.8% human DNA. During your forest walk, you may encounter other wildlife species both mammals and bird species such as others primates, Bush pigs among other 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 with them a maximum of one hour to watch how they play in the tree branches, feeding and taking care of their babies and taking as many photos as you would want. After staying with chimpanzees for an hour, return to the starting point to relax, have refreshment plus lunch and then drive to Queen Elizabeth national park a “medley of wonders”. Queen Elizabeth National Park is known for its variety wildlife species with over 95 mammal species which includes four big mammals, big cats and other predators, 10 species of primates, aquatic mammals and about 600 recorded bird species and with Kazinga channel the main water stream which connects Lake Edward and George. Before checking in at your booked lodge visit Katwe community which is surrounding the salty Lake Katwe and their main economic activity is to extract salt from this lake. This is one of the most famous communities due to the traditional salt mining that has been practiced since the 16th century. While at Katwe salt mining community, you will have a chance to take part in salt mining and your local safari guide will give you much information about how they have managed to maintain their salt mining activities for decades. After the community tour, drive to check in at your booked lodge to spend you evening at leisure until time to have dinner and an overnight.
Accommodation: Buffalo Safari Lodge (Mid-range)
Meal plan: Breakfast/ Lunch / Dinner
Wake up very in the morning to prepare yourself, be served breakfast, meet your safari guide and drive to the park information offices to join other guests for the pre-chimpanzee trekking 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 human closest relatives sharing 98.8% human DNA. During your forest walk, you may encounter other wildlife species both mammals and bird species such as others primates, Bush pigs among other 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 with them a maximum of one hour to watch how they play in the tree branches, feeding and taking care of their babies and taking as many photos as you would want. After staying with chimpanzees for an hour, return to the starting point to relax, have refreshment plus lunch and then drive to Queen Elizabeth national park a “medley of wonders”. Queen Elizabeth National Park is known for its variety wildlife species with over 95 mammal species which includes four big mammals, big cats and other predators, 10 species of primates, aquatic mammals and about 600 recorded bird species and with Kazinga channel the main water stream which connects Lake Edward and George. Before checking in at your booked lodge visit Katwe community which is surrounding the salty Lake Katwe and their main economic activity is to extract salt from this lake. This is one of the most famous communities due to the traditional salt mining that has been practiced since the 16th century. While at Katwe salt mining community, you will have a chance to take part in salt mining and your local safari guide will give you much information about how they have managed to maintain their salt mining activities for decades. After the community tour, drive to check in at your booked lodge to spend you evening at leisure until time to have dinner and an overnight. Accommodation: Buffalo Safari Lodge (Mid-range) Meal plan: Breakfast/ Lunch / Dinner
Begin your day with a hearty breakfast (0600 am) and then drive to the park to spot wildlife such as Uganda Kobs, Waterbucks, Elephants, Caped Buffaloes, Lions, Warthogs, Leopards, and a variety of primates and bird species. Your safari guide will ensure that you spot as many wildlife species as possible and give you as much information about everything that you may encounter during your game drive. Queen Elizabeth National Park is a feeding ground for over 95 mammal species and 600 recorded birds, making it an ideal destination for a game drive. Game drive safaris are one of the highlights of activities to explore Queen Elizabeth National Park, spot several mammals, and enjoy the beautiful views of the savannah. Later, have a short break to relax, have lunch plus other refreshments, and then drive to the Kazinga channel for the 2-hour afternoon boat cruise safari. The Kazinga channel is the main water channel which goes through the park and connects Lake George and Lake Edward. During the boat cruise safari, you will see a good number of both aquatic and land animals such as hippos, crocodiles, alligators, Caped buffaloes, elephants, Uganda kobs, among others, and also a collection of bird species like the malachite kingfishers and pink-backed pelicans on the banks of the channel, which will be so adventurous. After your 2-hour boat cruise along the Kazinga channel, go for another game drive to search for more wildlife species. This will be purposely to search for the big cats and other predators. Return to your lodge to relax, have dinner, and an overnight.
Accommodation: Buffalo Safari Lodge (Mid-range)
Meal plan: Breakfast/ Lunch / Dinner
After having your tasty breakfast, get all your luggage packed in the vehicle, check out of your lodge and then drive to Kasenyi plains found in the northeastern parts of park for the morning game drive safari in search of wildlife species. Queen Elizabeth national park is an understandably one of the Uganda’s most popular national parks and an ideal habitat for classic big game such as the four mammals of the big five family of the African savannah (Lions, Leopards, Elephants and Buffaloes), several antelope species, primates and many others. Your safari guide will ensure that you spot as many wildlife species as possible and give much information about everything that you well encounter during your game drive. After the game drive, relax and then start the journey to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest national park with an en-route game drive safari at Ishasha sector in the southern parts of Queen Elizabeth National Park to lookout for the unique tree-climbing lions. The unique tree-climbing lions, are only found in the Ishasha sector of Queen Elizabeth National Park in Uganda with 4 prides, Lake Manyara National Park in Tanzania with about 2 prides, and Kruger National Park in South Africa. However, the Ishasha sector in Queen Elizabeth National Park is the best place to see them since it has many prides with the climbing character and there is a higher chance of meeting them. After the game drive, have lunch and proceed with your drive to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park. Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is famous for being home to half of the world’s remaining mountain gorillas and one of Uganda’s oldest as well as most biologically diverse rainforests, dating back over 25,000 years, with almost 400 tree species that form the huge impenetrable forest that is ever green. It is home to approximately 500 mountain gorillas, 120 mammal species such as numerous primate species, and over 350 bird species, including 23 Albertine Rift endemics, and is the ancient home of the Batwa bush people. Dinner and an over-night
Accommodation: Buffalo Safari Lodge (Mid-range)
Meal plan: Breakfast / Lunch /Dinner
Day 5 of the 6- days Uganda wildlife and primate experience safari, wake up early morning (0600am) to organize yourself, arrange the necessary equipment during mountain gorilla trekking such as camera, binoculars, insect repellants, get well-dressed in a recommend style for mountain gorilla trekking like long khaki /jean trouser, long sleeved shirt, water proof hiking boots, a rain jacket, heavy duty gloves and round hats, have heavy breakfast, get your packed lunch boxes, get enough drinking water and meet your safari guide to be transferred to the park information offices to join other guests to be briefed about mountain gorilla trekking dos and don’ts, how to behave in the presence of mountain gorillas and the expectations, be allocated a mountain gorilla family to track, UWA ranger and the forest guide. We would recommend you to hire a porter to help you carry your packed bag other and your other items you would need during mountain gorillas. After pre-mountain gorilla trekking session, start your forest walk in search for the endangered mountain gorillas in their natural habitats. The time taken before encountering your allocated mountain gorilla family is not known however, it may be between 45mins to 4 hours depending on the movements and location of gorilla family therefore, you should be physically and mentally prepared to walk a long distance through the forest that is made of hills and with no clear walking trails that are only made on that particular time of tracking by the your guide depending on the direction that can easily lead you to the location of the gorilla family. That is why, it is recommended to carry enough water to keep you hydrated and snacks to keep you with enough energy since you use a lot of energy when walking through the forest in search for the mountain gorillas.
Once you encounter the mountain gorilla family, the excitement of seeing the mountain gorillas in their natural habitat, will outweigh the hardship went through while searching for them. A mountain gorilla family can be made of several members such as the giant silverback who is always the head and protector of the family, mothers, infants and juveniles. The time you will spend with the mountain gorillas, you get to know much about their behaviors, how they socialize and be excited with their actions like the playful babies, mothers grooming their babies and the Mr. silverback watching the situation silently as he is ready to protect the family from any kind of attack. You will spend a maximum of one hour with the mountain gorillas and you will be free to capture as many photos and recording videos as you would want to keep your great memories with the mountain gorilla family in the jungle. Thereafter an hour with the mountain gorilla family, return to the trekking start point to receive your mountain trekking certificate in appreciation of your contribution to the conservation of the endangered mountain gorillas in Uganda. Have refreshments, enjoy your full lunch and then drive to Lake Bunyonyi to relax while enjoying boat canoeing safari on Lake Bunyonyi. Dinner and an overnight
Accommodation: Bunyonyi Rock Resort (Mid-range)
Meal plan: Breakfast/Lunch /Dinner
Today, wake up at your convenient time, be served breakfast and then go for your morning boat canoeing safari on Lake Bunyonyi which takes approximately 2 hours of the exploring the lake and visiting different islands of the lake with a local canoe guide who is well experienced about the places and all the things around. Lake Bunyonyi is framed with 29 islands of different size across the water making it view the most magical. Each of the 29 islands on Lake Bunyonyi has its unique 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 do the same mistake. So, poor men who could not afford to pay bride price, would go on this island to get free wives from amongst those that could have been exiled to this island. In an Africa society, it a disgrace for a girl to get pregnant before her official marriage and this would cause the family to lose its community respect so, this made parents to be strict to 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 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 life style of the western people and later proceed with your journey to Uganda Equator line located in Kayabwe which is believed to be separating the planet into two parts; the Northern and Southern hemisphere.
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 down 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 through. 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 in 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 3kgs so, you will have a chance to prove this statement right or false. After the water experiment, have lunch, visit the craft shops which sells souvenirs that are made locally and fully in Uganda art style. Later proceed with your tour straight to Entebbe international airport to prepare for your return flight and this will be the end of your 6- days Uganda wildlife and primate experience safari.
Meal plan: Breakfast / Lunch
