Uganda Gorilla Safari

Itinerary

• Day01

  Arrive in Entebbe, Uganda

  Welcome to Uganda! Upon arrival in Entebbe, meet a MT Sobek representative outside the customs and immigration area at the airport, for your transfer to the hotel. If you arrive early enough, visit the Entebbe Botanical Gardens or the Entebbe Wildlife Center, for close-up views of some of Uganda's unusual species, such as the shoebill stork and the sitatunga antelope. Enjoy a welcome dinner this evening.

  • Accommodation: Protea Hotel Entebbe
  • Meals: Dinner
• Day02

  Explore the Kibale Forest

  This morning board a 4X4 vehicle and drive into Uganda's lush countryside, a country that Winston Churchill once described as "the pearl of Africa." Pass through gorgeous scenery featuring farmsteads crammed with bananas and tropical trees, scenic wetlands, and patches of bush and forest. Continue on to the hill country below the Rwenzori mountains, through beautiful tea plantations and parts of the tropical Kibale forest, where you may spot some monkeys.

  • Accommodation: Kyaninga Lodge
  • Transportation: 6-hour private 4x4 vehicle transfer
  • Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
• Day03

  Track Chimps in Kibale National Park

  After a hearty breakfast, set out for a full day habitation trek through the forest in search of chimps! Follow experienced ranger-guides and a tracker, listening out for the chimps' pant-hooting calls on your way to their nesting site. An early start means the opportunity to see them waking up, stretching, and descending from the tree tops. As the day goes on, you'll quietly witness their routines, see them eat, and watch the group's social interactions. When evening comes, the group will find a new nesting site, expertly build new nests, and settle down for the night. At this point, you will say farewell (and goodnight) to the chimps and head back to park headquarters.

  • Accommodation: Kyaninga Lodge
  • Activity: Full day of chimp trekking
  • Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
• Day04

  Discover Queen Elizabeth National Park

  This morning, take a swamp walk in search of red-tailed monkeys, gray-cheeked manabeys, olive baboons, and beautiful birds such as the great blue turaco and the elusive Angola pitta. Next, drive south along the eastern length of the Rwenzori mountains, with views of their glaciated peaks, and into the Great African Rift valley and today's destination: Queen Elizabeth National Park. Uganda's most popular and accessible savannah reserve, this spectacular park showcases leafy rainforests, dense papyrus swamps, and natural volcanic crater lakes. It has impressively rich biodiversity, including a total of 95 recorded mammal species and more than 610 species of birds. In the afternoon, explore the park's natural wonders on a thrilling game drive.

  • Accommodation: Kyambura Gorge Lodge-Uganda
  • Transportation: 4-hour private 4x4 vehicle transfer
  • Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
• Day05

  Spot Birds in Queen Elizabeth National Park

  Today head out to explore the park on a number of wildlife adventures, including a 2-hour launch trip on the Kasinga Channel to view some of the largest concentration of hippo in the world - reported to be about 30,000. Queen Elizabeth National Park is one of Africa's best parks for birding, with 560 + recorded species. See if you can break the record of spotting 296 bird species in a 24-hour period!

  • Accommodation: Kyambura Gorge Lodge-Uganda
  • Activity: Morning & afternoon game drives & 2-hour boat safari
  • Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
• Day06

  Head to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park

  Today drive through the park to the Ishasha region to search for tree-climbing lions (75% success rate) and other game. Then continue on to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park, one of Africa's most ancient habitats comprised of steep, jungle-coated mountains known for their exceptional biodiversity. Protected as a national park and a World Heritage Site, these magnificent landscapes are home to more than 160 species of trees, over 100 kinds of ferns, at least 90 mammal species, and almost half of the world's population of critically endangered mountain gorillas.

  • Accommodation: Mahogany Springs
  • Transportation: 6-hour private 4x4 vehicle transfer
  • Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
• Day07

  Trek the Forest in Search of Gorillas

  After breakfast, report to the ranger station for a talk on the etiquette of gorilla tracking, then hike with a guide and tracker through misty rainforest to encounter these wild creatures. Trekking can take anywhere from 30 minutes to 7 hours, on rough and at times muddy terrain; a reasonable degree of fitness is required. You'll forget the fatigue once you lay your eyes on your first mountain gorilla - the experience of seeing these gentle giants at close range and in the wild is among the most extraordinary nature can provide.

  • Accommodation: Mahogany Springs
  • Activity: 1-7 hours gorilla trekking & wildlife watching on foot
  • Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
• Day08

  Encounter Mountain Gorillas

  Rise early for another full day of gorilla tracking. Hike through the bush, pushing your way through the undergrowth and parting thick creepers. Expect to stay with these gentle giants of the African forest for about an hour after first encountering them. Bwindi is renowned for its mountain gorilla population, an estimated 280-320 individuals living in 15 groups. Looking deep into their expressive brown eyes is an unparalleled experience. Look out for other wildlife as you trek through the forest, including chimpanzees, yellow-backed duikers, and a variety of birds.

  • Accommodation: Mahogany Springs
  • Activity: 1-7 hours gorilla trekking & wildlife watching
  • Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
• Day09

  Marvel at Lake Mburo National Park

  This morning, continue on to Lake Mburo National Park, an extensive area of wetland that harbors several species of mammals and birds found nowhere else in Uganda, such as eland, impala and klipspringer. The park's sculptured landscape has a varied mosaic of wildlife-rich habitats - forest galleries, seasonal and permanent swamps, rich acacia-woodland, and grassy valleys. It is also home to the largest population of zebra in Uganda, estimated at about 5,000, and among the highest concentration of leopard in the country.

  • Accommodation: Mihingo Lodge
  • Transportation: 5.5-hour private 4x4 vehicle transfer
  • Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
• Day10

  Explore More of Lake Mburo National Park

  After breakfast, enjoy the many activities available at the lodge. Choose between walking safaris, night game drives in search of nocturnal animals, a walk onto a stunning viewpoint, a boat trip with hundreds of hippos, relaxing massages, and the chance to watch bush babies in the evening from the platform below the bar. Jogging and mountain bike tours are also possible outside the park, as are walks to a Bahima home.

  • Accommodation: Mihingo Lodge
  • Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
• Day11

  Bid Farewell to Uganda

  This morning after breakfast, bid farewell to the bush and drive back to Entebbe. Enjoy access to a dayroom at Protea Hotel before your transfer to the airport, for your flight back home.

  • Transportation: 4.5-hour private 4x4 vehicle transfer
  • Meals: Breakfast, Lunch