Safari Information
Our 8-day Uganda Gorilla And Chimpanzee Trekking Safari combines the country’s excellent great ape tracking opportunities with two stunning lodges: Kyaninga Lodge and Sanctuary Gorilla Forest Camp. Visit chimpanzees in Kibale National Park, which has one of the highest density and diversity of primates in all of Africa - before heading south to the highlight of the itinerary – spending two days with the gentle giants of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park – the critically endangered mountain gorillas of Uganda.
Safari Highlights
- Visit Kibale Forest, which has the highest primate species density in the world, and enjoy two days of chimp trekking
- Enjoy guided walks through wetlands rich in bird and primate life, and around scenic crater lakes with the backdrop of the dramatic Rwenzori mountain range
- Track mountain gorillas in the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, a UNESCO World Heritage Site - on any given day, you will be one of a few privileged people on the planet doing this
- Stay at two of Uganda's most stunning safari lodges, Kyaninga Lodge and Sanctuary Gorilla Forest Camp
DAY 01: ARRIVAL – ENTEBBE
You arrive at Entebbe International Airport, where we will meet you and transfer you to your nearby boutique guesthouse for a welcome drink and a briefing on your Uganda primate safari.
Boma Guesthouse
Meals Included: Dinner
DAY 02: ENTEBBE – KIBALE FOREST NATIONAL PARK
This morning, after breakfast at your hotel, we will transfer back to Entebbe Airport for a scheduled flight to Kasese. Met by the lodge vehicle, you will enjoy a private transfer to the stunning Kyaninga Lodge, a fairy-tale-like construction perched on the edge of a cobalt-blue volcanic crater lake. The entire lodge is constructed in the style of log cabins, and is the result of six years of labour by master carpenter and owner Steve Williams.
After lunch at the lodge, set out on a guided crater hike. Choose from following the rim of the crater, on tracks that pass through local community land using for traditional crops such as maize and matoke bananas, offering panoramic views of the lake; or take the lakeside option, passing through forest and spotting butterflies, monkeys and ancient volcanic lava tubes as you go. At the end of your walk, there is the invigorating option of wild swimming in the crystal-clear waters of the lake from the lodge’s private swimming pontoon.
Kyaninga Lodge
Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
DAY 03: KIBALE FOREST NATIONAL PARK
Kibale Forest is the natural habitat for an amazing 13 primate species and contains the highest primate density of any area on earth. Here, we will spend a full day with the chimpanzees in a unique chimpanzee habituation experience, watching these fascinating primates from dawn to dusk. Some of the trees are 50 to 60m (150 to 180 feet) in height and provide a majestic canopy for the profusion of rain forest life, including 325 bird species.
On your tour, you are likely to see numerous bird species as well as black and white colobus, red colobus, grey-cheeked mangabey, red tailed monkey, vervet monkey, and L’Hoest’s monkey.
Kyaninga Lodge
Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
DAY 04: KIBALE FOREST NATIONAL PARK
This morning we reconvene at Kibale Forest headquarters for another opportunity to go chimp tracking. Our guides will help us try to find the chimps, and if we are lucky, we will spend up to an hour observing a chimpanzee family feeding, playing and resting amongst the trees.
After lunch at a nearby lodge, we will drive through a beautiful area of crater lakes and rolling hills to the small village of Rubona, where we will visit the basket weaving association for a demonstration of how they use natural pigments to dye the grasses used in their colourful creations. The ladies will also demonstrate their weaving techniques and there are always some excellent examples of their work in the association gift shop. Over the road, we can also pop into a local honey co-operative, where a tour of the premises explains the process of harvesting honey – if it’s season you may get the chance to taste fresh honeycomb. Those with a creative bent, may fancy trying their hand at molding their very own beeswax candle to take home.
Kyaninga Lodge
Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
DAY 05: KIBALE FOREST – BWINDI IMPENETRABLE NATIONAL PARK
After an early breakfast, we drive to Kasese Airstrip and board our scheduled flight to Bwindi. We are met at the airstrip and transferred by road to our lodge, climbing through the Kigezi Highlands that form part of the eastern wall of the Albertine Rift. We pass small villages, plantations and fields on the way, through one of Uganda’s most densely populated regions. As we near the end of our climb, we will begin to see the mountainous, mist covered forest of the park, located more than a mile above sea level. Our base will be Gorilla Forest Camp, widely acknowledged to be the best camp in the northern section of Bwindi.
The 331 square kilometre (128 square mile) Bwindi Impenetrable Forest is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is comprised of both montane and lowland forest. The forest is one of the richest ecosystems in Africa, with some 120 species of mammals, 348 species of birds, 220 species of butterflies, and over 27 species of reptiles and amphibians. Bwindi is amongst the most diverse forests in East Africa, with more than 1,000 flowering plant species including 163 species of trees and 104 species of ferns.
Once we reach the lodge, we enjoy lunch and spend the afternoon relaxing, preparing for tomorrow’s great adventure with the gorillas.
Gorilla Forest Camp
Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
DAY 06: BWINDI IMPENETRABLE NATIONAL PARK
Along with the numerous primate species and endangered chimpanzees, the most notable inhabitants of the park have to be the 408 critically endangered mountain gorillas, which live in family groups of between seven and 25 individuals. A number of these families have been habituated over a period of five years each to tolerate human presence for a brief period every day. Only eight visitors per day are allowed to track each gorilla family.
On each morning we go gorilla tracking, we will have an early start to get to the briefing point at park headquarters, where we receive information about our gorilla trekking experience and select our porters for the day. Then we’re off to the trailhead nearest our appointed gorilla family – the drive to the trailhead can take anything from 10 minutes to 2 hours – before we start our hike to find the gorillas. The walking can be strenuous because of the steep slopes and the high altitude. Initially, we will hike along established paths, our ranger coordinating with the advance trackers by radio to guide us in to the gorillas last know location. As we get to where the gorillas are, we will leave the paths and begin hacking our way through the slippery underbrush. Our porters will stay back as only our privileged party of 8 and our ranger approach the gorillas to spend our magical hour with them. The hour passes all too quickly, and then it’s time to reluctantly make our way back to our waiting vehicles.
Gorilla Forest Camp
Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
DAY 07: BWINDI IMPENETRABLE NATIONAL PARK
On this, our last full day we will enjoy a second encounter with the mountain gorillas. No two visits to these gentle giants are the same. There are up to eleven habituated groups currently available to track in Bwindi, with five of these situated in Northern Bwindi: Rushegura, Habinyanja, Mubare, Oruzogu and Bitukura. Each will have their own territory, in a slightly different location, with its own variety of ages and individual characters, giving every family its own unique group dynamic.
Gorilla Forest Camp
Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
DAY 08: BWINDI – ENTEBBE – OUT
After breakfast this morning, we transfer you to the nearby Kihihi Airstrip where you will take the scheduled flight departing for Entebbe. Upon arrival, you are met by our driver and vehicle who will transfer you to a guesthouse in Entebbe, where you can enjoy lunch and some well-deserved relaxation, before transferring to Entebbe International Airport for your flight out.
Day rooms are available on request.
Meals Included: Breakfast and Lunch