8 Days Uganda Primates & Wildlife Safar

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Overview

8 Days Uganda Primates & Wildlife Safari is delightful; offering enchanting hours of encounters with the world's rarest creatures, closest cousins of man. Uganda is home to the world's highest population of primates, including endangered mountain gorillas, baboons, monkeys and chimps. The savannah parks have an unmatched concentration of flora and fauna.

In Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, you'll go gorilla tracking and have a cultural adventure with the Batwa pygmies; at Kibale National Park, you'll go chimpanzee trekking and take a Bigodi swamp walk; and at Queen Elizabeth National Park, you'll go game viewing, bird watching, and lion tracking. The journey begins and ends at the international airports of Kampala or Entebbe.

Detailed Safari

Day 1: Kampala to Kibale Forest National Park

After a morning meal and briefing by your driver guide, your documents will be confirmed before you depart for Kibale Forest National Park, the world's monkey capital. You'll travel on the road for 6-8 hours, appreciating Ugandan smiles, bustling towns, faraway hills and plantations.

There will be a lunch stop along the way, as well as any other locations of interest that the guide knows about. You'll arrive late at night to your lodge in or near the park, settle in for dinner, and stay the night.

Day 2: Chimpanzee trekking and Bigodi swamp walk

Begin the day with a taste of an invigorating meal, and then drive to the park headquarters for a briefing with your monitoring devices. Kibale forest is home to roughly 13 different primate species, with chimpanzees being the most common. The white and black colobus monkeys, olive baboons, grey-cheeked monkeys, and others are among the others. Chimpanzees have more than 98 percent human DNA and a unique sound and look. Tracking them can take anything from 1 to 5 hours, plus another hour of taking photos and asking your guide more ape-related questions.

You will take a lunch break after your enjoyable time with the chimps. A Bigodi swamp hike follows. This Ramsar site is incredibly gratifying, with locals going about their regular routines. Before returning to the lodge for dinner and the night, some primates, particularly baboons, will be spotted.

Day 3: Kibale National Park to Queen Elizabeth National Park

After breakfast, check out of the lodge and drive two hours to Queen Elizabeth National Park, a mixture of delights. A tour of Kibale city and a visit to one of the craters will be included on the way. Proceed to your park, where you will check in to the lodge for lunch and a break.

You will go on your first game drive at sundowner, which will take about 2-3 hours, with the hopes of seeing lions, leopards, hyenas, and other animals. Following that, you'll return to the lodge for dinner and an overnight stay.

Day 4: Morning game drive and boat cruise

The first thing on the agenda for today is an early morning game drive. This will allow you to time the lions, leopards, hyenas, and other creatures that prefer the cover of darkness, as well as the grazers like elephants, buffaloes, warthogs, and other mammals, as they begin their day. The activity will take roughly 3-4 hours, with a bush breakfast and a lunch break in between.

Encounter not only mammals, but also birds, primates, and unusual flora. After lunch, you will go on a two-hour boat ride through the Kazinga channel, where you will see hippos, crocodiles and aquatic birds. End the day with a lovely twilight drive to the lodge for dinner and a nap.

Day 5: Bird watching and lion tracking

The following day will be spent recognizing wildlife species in their native habitat. Following the birds, this time the focus will be upon searching elusive lions. During the morning 3-hour birding excursion, there are over 400 bird species to identify. Eagles, sunbirds, cranes, Rwenzori Turacos and other birds are among them. Breakfast and lunch should be eaten after the birding exercise.

The afternoon is reserved for a unique lion trekking experience; a definite method to meet the King of the Jungle in their natural habitat, whether hunting or resting. You'll know a lot about the lions by the end of the drive, including their distinct mannerisms, appearance, and diet. Finish the day with dinner and a good night's sleep.

Day 6: Queen Elizabeth National Park to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park

After breakfast; bid farewell to your hosts and checkout for a drive to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park; via the Ishasha sector. This part of the park is a host to the rare tree-climbing lions, of which on a good day, you can spot one or more lazily lying at a tree branch. Lunch is at Ishasha, and then you can proceed with the drive to the misty jungle of Bwindi - arriving in the evening at the lodge to check-in for dinner and overnight.

Day 7: Gorilla trekking and Batwa Pygmies encounter

After a hearty breakfast at the lodge, you'll embark on a 2- to 8-hour Gorilla trekking adventure, depending on how far the Apes have progressed. The ranger guides provide a briefing before the trekking practice. Gorillas live in groups lead by a colossal silverback who guarantees the safety of all family members. Following your discovery of the apes, you will be granted an hour to photograph and examine these unusual species before taking a lunch break.

You will visit the Batwa pygmies late in the afternoon for cultural entertainment and enrichment. You will interact with the pygmies for an hour or more, listening to their stories about life in the forest and enjoying the dance. From there, return and retire to bed after dinner.

Day 8: Departure

At daybreak, greet your intestines with a meal and thereafter checkout for a transfer to Kampala / Entebbe International Airport. Just as you are on the way, have a stopover at the equator, to watch demonstrations showing the effect of the marginal line that divides the earth into northern and southern hemispheres. Also, you will have lunch and proceed with the drive up to the drop-off point, either in Kampala or Entebbe international airport.

End of Safari

Affiliations

UWA AUTO USAGA UTB