Uganda discovery Safari
Photo credit Ivan Ssebuuma
UGANDA Discovery safari
Entebbe
Kibale Forest
Queen Elizabeth Park
Bwindi Forest
Lake Mburo
Itinerary Overview
1 night | Protea Hotel
2 nights | Primate Lodge
2 nights | Buhoma Lodge
1 nights | Mihingo Lodge
This short but sweet 6-night safari takes you to five remarkable National Parks, including Kibale Forest where you’ll set off to trek for chimpanzees with the chance to see all 13 primates in this area.
A brief morning in Queen Elizabeth NP will be where you can look out for treeclimbing lions and wildlife galore, before you set off to Bwindi to trek for the majestic Mountain Gorillas.
End your safari at Lake Mburo where you can wind down your safari with some night-drives and lakeside relaxation.
Itinerary
DAY 1
Arrive: Entebbe International airport, Uganda
Transfer: By car to local hotel
Depart: Entebbe airport | Arrive: Entebbe Protea Hotel
1 night at Entebbe Protea Hotel
Welcome to the Pearl of Africa! Once you arrive at Entebbe Airport you will be welcomed by a local representative and transferred to your hotel.
DAY 2
Transfer: By car to Kibale Forest National Park
Depart: Entebbe Protea Hotel | Arrive: Primate Lodge
3 nights at Primate Lodge
After breakfast, check out and drive south to Fort Portal, with a packed lunch to enjoy en-route. Fort portal rests in the shadow of the fabled ‘Mountains of the Moon’ and is famous for her many tea plantations. You will then continue into Kibale National Park arriving at Primate
Lodge Kibale in time for dinner and overnight.
Welcome to Kibale Forest National Park…
Kibale Forest National Park is an extensive Biodiversity National Park in South Uganda and also known as the “Primate Paradise” has one of the greatest variety and concentration of primates in Africa including our famous cousins the Chimpanzee, Red Colobus Monkeys, Vervet Monkeys, L’Hoest’s, Black-and- White Colobus and the Olive Baboons.
There is also a wide array of unique birds, forest elephants (smaller and hairier than the more familiar savannah elephant) and much more.
DAY 3
Today the forest opens its doors for a sensational chimpanzee tracking experience.
Introduction to Chimpanzee Tracking…
Following the pre-tracking briefing, you will walk or drive to the trailhead for the start of an unforgettable adventure – hiking in the footsteps of the habituated family of chimpanzees.
En-route, your guide will enthral you with stories and facts about the forest and her other inhabitants including other species of primates and birds and other big mammals. Upon sighting the chimpanzees, you will spend an unforgettable one hour with them as they go about their daily life – feeding, playing, grooming, taking care of their young, howling and screeching, in
their natural habitat.
After your tracking experience you will return back to the lodge for lunch. In the afternoon you will enjoy a guided nature walk through the Bigodi wetland.
Introduction to the Bigodi Swamp…
The Bigodi Swamp Walk is an initiative of the local community and is known for its rich diversity of birds and primates. The path and board walk maybe flooded and muddy after heavy rainfall and gumboots are recommended. This community walk will bring you closer to the local tribe that lives in this area and is about 4km in length taking 3-4 hours at birding pace. Accompanied by a local guide, who can tell you everything about the traditional customs and lifestyle, you will follow the village path and visit a primary school, traditional homesteads and learn
more about the crops in the fields.
All proceeds from eco-tourism go back to into the community, a conservation project well worth supporting.
Later you will return to the lodge for dinner and overnight.
DAY 4
Transfer: By car to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park
Depart: Primate Lodge | Arrive: Buhoma Lodge
3 nights at Buhoma Lodge
After an early breakfast you will head to depart for Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park, home of the endangered mountain gorillas. En-route you will pass the vast savannah plains of Queen Elizabeth National Park where you will go in search of the tree climbing lions.
Enjoy a picnic lunch en-route before we finally reach Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park, for an overnight in the middle of the African jungle.
Welcome to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park…
This National Park is home of the rare but critically endangered Mountain Gorillas (gorilla beringei beringei). It lies on the edge of the Albertine Rift Valley in southwestern Uganda, with a wide altitude range between 1,160m and 2,600m.
The forest itself, dating back to the ice ages, is one of Uganda’s oldest and ecologically most diverse with almost 400 species of plants, 350 species of birds including 23 Albertine Rift endemics as well as 120 mammals species including lots of smaller ones like rodents and bats but also the Gorillas, Baboons, Chimpanzees, Elephants and Antelopes.
DAY 5
Introduction to Gorilla Tracking…
You will arise early today and prepare for the highlight of your safari, an unforgettable encounter with the Gentle Giants! Following breakfast, you will be transferred to the National Park offices where you will be allocated a gorilla family in groups of 8 as well as a gorilla tracking guide.
After a pretracking briefing by your guide touching on the gorillas generally, your assigned gorilla family as well as appropriate safety
precautions, you drive to the trailhead for the start of a thrilling adventure.
Expect to walk between 2 and 8 hours in steep and sometimes muddy conditions with rain overhead, which can be tough and require a degree of (average) fitness. However, the thrill of coming face to face with a giant Mountain Gorilla silverback completely makes up for the effort!
Afterwards, you hike back to base where your driver will be waiting
to transfer you to the lodge for a deserved shower and lunch or
dinner depending on the time taken on the trek.
DAY 6
Transfer: By car to Lake Mburo National Park
Depart: Buhoma Lodge | Arrive: Mihingo Lodge
2 nights at Mihingo Lodge
After breakfast you’ll depart the impenetrable forest of Bwindi and head to Lake Mburo National Park. As you enter the park it is likely that you will spot some wildlife. After checking in you will go on a boat ride on the lake to view the rich bird life and many hippos that are cooling off. Have an early dinner before going on an optional (at extra fee) night game drive in an open Land Rover with spotlight. This special game drive of 2-3 hours provides good chances of seeing the elusive leopard and of course other nocturnal animals. En-route you’ll stop at Igongo Cultural Centre for lunch. The cultural centre illustrates the culture and traditional way of life of the local tribes in this area, including a museum, garden with indigenous trees and plants and traditional homesteads.
Welcome to Lake Mburo National Park…
Lake Mburo NP is one of the few parks in Uganda where you can
continue watching wildlife after the sun has set. A night game drive (usually 2-3 hours) is an exciting experience and unusual twist on your regular game drives, allowing you to search for a variety of animals that you would not easily see during the day, such as bush pigs, genet cats and white-tailed mongoose. But also the elusive leopards and spotted hyenas are best to be seen at night. And with some luck you will be able to spot the one male lion in the park who resides down by Lake Mburo.
DAY 7
Transfer: By car to Entebbe International airport
Depart: Mihingo Lodge | Arrive: Entebbe airport
Early start of the day you will go for a bush walk guided by a ranger. Experience a safari on foot that will allow you to notice the smaller, often overlooked, details and usually brings you much closer to the wildlife than when in a car.
Return to the lodge for breakfast and with a game drive on your way out you will depart the protected area and back towards the capital city. En-route you will pass the Equator where we you’ll make a stop for lunch, photos and souvenir shopping.
Arrival will be late in the afternoon in Entebbe, in time to connect with your flight back home.