The Ultimate Ugandan Adventure
The ultimate adventure through Uganda tracking mountain gorillas in Bwindi, chimpanzees in Kibale, savannah game drives across 3 different parks, boat cruising on the Nile and plenty more.
Murchison Falls • Queen Elizabeth National Park • Ishasha sector • Bwindi • Kibale Forest • Lake Mburo
Why You’ll Love This Trip
With just over a thousand mountain gorillas left in the world today, the opportunity to meet them up-close and spend an hour observing them is an ultimate bucket list experience. This is also a step in the right direction towards tourism with a purpose - their numbers are increasing slowly, but surely, in the recent years.
This trip also gives you the chance to follow another primate, the chimpanzees, which are the closest relatives to humans sharing about 98% of their DNA composition with us.
You will also visit three of Uganda’s savannah grassland parks - Murchison Falls National Park, Queen Elizabeth National Park and Lake Mburo National Park. Witness the beauty of the Nile and its power when it forces through a tiny slit and plummets down to form Murchison Falls, the most powerful waterfall in the world.
The multiple morning and evening game drives across the three parks will expose you to a huge variety of wildlife such as elephants, zebras, giraffes, warthogs, waterbucks, buffaloes, different antelope species, and several hundreds of bird species. Besides the game drives, each of these parks offer boat cruises to see the stunning landscape from water.
Is This Trip Right For You?
You need to be prepared both in terms of the right gear you bring along for the trek and the fitness aspects. We will share a detailed packing list which will help you bring the right gear with you. While you're there with the gorillas, we want you enjoying every moment of it, and not wishing you had been better prepared for it all.
While you don't need to be an athlete, you should have reasonable fitness to undertake this magical experience. On the morning of your adventure, the rangers do their best to accommodate people in the right groups based on their age and fitness levels. But, it may not always be possible to find a gorilla group for you that is the closest. Based on the gorilla group you're assigned to and how they move that particular day, you may walk an hour or several to meet them.
The terrain could range from tall bamboo forests with soggy clay footing to green vine-covered jungles with unforgiving stinging nettles. Add to that the moving weather conditions where it can be rainy one moment and sunny the next.
If you are reasonably fit and exercise regularly, you will be able to enjoy this trek. If you haven't been working out recently, do your part to prepare your body for this trek so you can enjoy it. From the time you book your trip, start preparing. Walk daily and progressively build on the fitness. Mix up the routine with stair climbing. During the actual trek, you will take ample breaks for hydration and the rangers do their best to accommodate everyone in the group. You will also have the opportunity to hire a porter who will carry your day pack and help you navigate tricky sections.
Your Trip Itinerary
Day 1
Upon arrival at the Entebbe airport, you will be received and transfered to your hotel in Kampala so you can relax and be well rested to take on the trip from the following day.
Day 2, 3
After breakfast, begin your trip towards Murchison Falls National Park via the famous Luwero triangle with a lunch stopover. The drive takes 7-8 hours and while traveling, you could choose to take a nap, enjoy the scenery, have conversations with your guide/driver who is extremely knowledgable about the bush. When you get to the top of the falls, you will have ample time for taking pictures and enjoying the grandeur. It's here that Nile, the world’s longest river, forces its way through a narrow gorge in the rock just 7 meters wide, before ferociously plunging down 43 meters to the rocks below.
The game drives in this unspoiled land offer a truly magical and intimate experience. It's common to spot most of the Big Five - Lion, Elephant, Buffalo, and Leopard. The park is also home to giraffes, hartebeests, oribis, Uganda kobs, chimpanzees, and many bird species including the rare shoebill (which grows to 1.5 metres!). The afternoon boat cruise brings you up close to the magnificent falls. Watch the banks being thronged by hippos, crocodiles, waterbucks and buffaloes. You could also choose to hike to the top of the falls.
Day 4, 5
After breakfast, start heading towards Kibale Forest. The drive takes 8-9 hours depending on the weather and road conditions. Enjoy the sights of traditional homesteads and farms in this verdant countryside. Lunch will be en route. These drives are among the highlights for many visitors because of the wealth of information our guides/drivers are able to share.
On the day of chimpanzee tracking, head early to the park headquarters to get briefed before you start your trek. Watch the chimps playing around, feeding and be prepared to take lots of pictures. Besides chimps, the forest is home to 12 other primates like grey-cheeked mangabey, L’Hoest's monkey, red-tailed monkey, patas, baboon and vervet monkey among others. Go for a guided nature walk in the Bigodi wetlands, home to a variety of bird species and primates.
Day 6, 7
After breakfast, we will head towards Queen Elizabeth National Park. Lunch will be en route and we will also stop at the crater lakes of Ndali-Kasenda for pictures and taking in the scenery.
With a morning, evening and a night drive, you will not only see the park at different times but also explore the different sections. With an astonishing 5,000 hippos, 2,500 elephants and over 10,000 buffaloes thriving in its grasslands and shorelines, this park guarantees sightings of some of Africa’s most iconic species. Other common herbivores include warthogs, waterbuck, Uganda kob and topi, as well as the sitatunga antelope. The park is also home to 10 primate species and over 600 bird species and big cats such as lion and leopard. During an afternoon boat cruise in the Kazinga channel, expect to see great numbers of migrant bird species and animals such as hippos, crocodiles, buffalos and monitor lizards among others. During the night drive, expect to see the nocturnal animals in action.
Day 8, 9
After breakfast, head south towards Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park. Enjoy a game drive en route through the Ishasha sector, whose fig trees hide lions ready to pounce on herds of unsuspecting Uganda kob. Yes, these are the famed tree climbing lions!
On the day of gorilla tracking, upon reaching the park quarters, you will be briefed on the etiquette for gorilla tracking by the senior park ranger. The hike is led by an armed park ranger. Begin your memorable gorilla tracking adventure which could take anywhere from 1 to 6 hours or so in the jungle. Once these animals are spotted, you will have the opportunity to stay in their presence for an entire hour. After the gorilla trek, your safari guide will transfer you back to the lodge. Go for a visit to the adjacent Batwa community villages. Enjoy a nature walk to the Mubwindi swamp.
Day 10
After breakfast at the lodge, hit the road to Lake Mburo National Park. Arrive in time for lunch followed by a boat ride to explore the beauty of the lake. You will see hippos, crocodiles, antelopes, buffaloes, and over 3 types of otters that inhabit the lake. The birding is fantastic here - malachite kingfisher, African fish eagle, blue headed weaver, rufous long tailed starling, pied kingfisher, hammerkop, heron, pelican, the rare shoebill and cormorant are commonly seen.
Day 11
Wake early for a game drive in search of zebra, oribi, Uganda kob and sitatunga. We'll also be treated to fantastic birding. After a late breakfast, we'll head back with a stop at the equator for pictures. You'll be transfered to Kampala or the Entebbe airport depending on your return flight. It's time to say goodbye.
Inclusions
Gorilla & Chimps Permits • Full Board Accommodation • Full time English speaking Driver/Guide • Ground Transportation by a 4×4 safari vehicle • Park Ranger Fees • Relevant Government Taxes • Airport transfer, as long as your flight is on the same day on which the safari ends
International flights • Visas • Travel insurance • Gratuities • Expenses of personal nature such as drinks, tips, laundry, telephone, cigarettes, accommodation & meals not indicated in the itinerary and optional activities.