9 Day Uganda Primate Tracking and Wildlife Safari in the Country's Best National Parks
Uganda Gorilla Trekking Adventure
Experience Uganda in nine days! This gorilla and savanna safari will take you to the wilderness in Murchison Falls, Kibale Forest, Queen Elizabeth, Bwindi Impenetrable and Lake Mburo National Parks, and Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary. Enjoy the jungle to experience the chimpanzees, gorillas, wildlife, and birds in Uganda.
Key information
- Private safari
- Children policy: Children from the age of 15 years are allowed to participate under the supervision of a parent or guardian
- Starting point and ending point: Kampala
- English-speaking guide
- Park fees and trekking permits are included
Highlights
- Visit Murchison falls National Park and Kibale Forest National Park
- Explore Bwindi Impenetrable National Park to see gorillas
- Game drive at Lake Mburo National Park and Queen Elizabeth National Park
- Hiking at the top of the most powerful waterfalls
- Go on a launch cruise to see water animals like crocodiles and hippos
- Chimpanzee and gorilla trekking
- 8 nights accommodation
Styles
Accommodation
You will stay in various safari lodges. Rooms are double rooms, private, self-contained, and air conditioned.
Program
Day 1: Transfer to Murchison falls National Park
After breakfast, you will drive to Murchison Falls National Park. You will have a stopover at Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary for rhino trekking and then proceed to the top of the falls; thereafter, continue to your lodge for dinner and an overnight stay.
Day 2: Game drive and launch cruise
Early morning breakfast and then go for a game drive where you may spot various animal species like elephants, giraffes, lions, and Uganda Kobs, among others. In the afternoon, you will go for a launch cruise on the park’s main tourist attraction, the unique Murchison Falls, as well as the River Nile with its streaming hippo and serried ranges of crocodiles along the sandbanks, as well as large numbers of different species getting down to drink and bathe.
Day 3: Transfer to Kibale Forest National Park
Have breakfast and then drive to Kibale. You will have lunch en route while on the way, enjoying the homesteads of Ugandans by passing the vehicle windows.
Day 4: Chimp trekking
After breakfast, you will go for chimpanzee trekking. The most varying tracts of tropical forest in the whole of Uganda. This is home to a number of forest wildlife, most especially 13 species of primates coupled with chimpanzees. After trekking, you will have lunch and then visit Bigodi wetland, after transfer to Queen Elizabeth National Park.
Day 5: Game drive and launch cruise
An early morning go for a game drive in the Kasenyi sector; you may spot various animals like the elephants, Uganda Kobs, and leopards, among others. Return to the lodge for late breakfast. In the afternoon, you will go on a launch cruise where you will spot various water animals like hippos and crocodiles. The cruise will also enrich you with various water birds.
Day 6: Transfer to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park via Ishasha
After your breakfast, transfer to take a drive in the Ishasha Plains for your final visit with the lions and other wildlife and continue to Bwindi. The drive takes you through the Switzerland of Africa area known as the Kigezi Highlands with its terraced hillside and winding roads to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, arriving in the evening. Check in at the lodge for dinner and overnight stay
Day 7: Gorilla trekking
Prepare for an early morning breakfast and report to the gorilla park headquarters for a briefing by the park ranger guides, and later head into the forest for gorilla trekking. After the great experience of mountain gorillas, you will drive to the stunning Lake Bunyonyi.
Day 8: Transfer to Lake Mburo National Park and game drive
You will enjoy breakfast and drive to Lake Mburo National Park with lunch en-route in Mbarara town and proceed to Lake Mburo, where, on arrival, you will have a game drive where you will see Impalas, as well as the more uncommon Topis, Eland, Zebra, buffalo and many more
Day 9: Safari walk and transfer to Kampala / Entebbe Airport
Enjoy an early safari walk. During the walk, you will explore the herds of Impala, as well as the more uncommon Topis, Eland, and Klipspringer. Zebra and buffalo also graze the area. Return to the lodge for the breakfast, then drive back to Kampala with a stopover at Equator for lunch and proceed to Entebbe Airport for your flight.
Location
Bwindi Impenetrable National Park
Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park, home to almost half of the world’s surviving mountain gorillas as well as a World Heritage site–listed in December 1994, is located in southwestern Uganda, with thick vegetation like its name predicts. Whenever tourists step out for the famous trekking adventure, the ranger guides slice the thick vegetation for trackers to access way to where gorillas nested the previous night. It is the true African jungle with droplets of the sun comic cover, giving you a feeling of being in paradise with zero pollution from several emissions common to our daily environment.
Its declaration as a World Heritage site by UNESCO in 1994 was due to its rich biodiversity in terms of various flora and fauna as well as harboring beyond half of the world’s endangered mountain gorillas. The park covers an area of 321 km2, all of which is forested, with some areas being covered by bamboo and shrubs. The forest lies on steep, slippery valleys with ridges and hilltops.
The weather in Bwindi is chilly because of the immersed canopy; you are advised to carry some warm clothing for evenings and long-sleeved shirts/trousers for trekking. For the ultimate experience for anyone who chooses to trek the mountain gorillas or search for birds, butterflies, or shrubs, you need to be in good physical condition to go up and down the terrain. It lies at an altitude between 1160 m and 2607 m above sea level.
Kibale Forest National Park
Located in western Uganda, slightly off the Equator, Kibale National Park is an attractive, beautiful, and astonishing park in Uganda with varied tracts of tropical rain forest and a multiplicity of animals, with an annual temperature ranging between 14 and 27 degrees Celsius.
Prominently known as the “primate capital,” with 13 different primate species. It is home to more than 1,450 chimpanzees protected within its borders of 795 km2. It is by far the best place to see chimpanzees in East Africa. The chimpanzees have been habituated for over 26 years, giving you a chance to see the great apes in their natural environment. Children have to be 15 years and older to track the chimpanzees.
The forest’s varied altitude supports different habitats: woodland, Savannah, wet tropical forest, and semi-deciduous dry tropical forest, which gives the park the opportunity to host different wildlife that resides in the different habitats.
Murchison Falls National Park
Established in 1952, Murchison Falls National Park is the largest park in Uganda, as it sits on 3840 km2 of land. It derives its name from Murchison Falls, where Nile squeezes through an 8-meter-wide gorge and plunges with a thunderous roar into the “Devil’s Cauldron," creating a trademark rainbow. The park contains savanna and borassus palms, acacia trees, and riverine woodland in the northern section, whereas the south is dominated by woodland and forest patches.
First gazetted as a game reserve in 1926, Murchison Falls is Uganda’s largest and oldest conservation area, lying at the northern end of the Albertine Rift Valley, where the sweeping Bunyoro escarpment tumbles into vast, palm-dotted savanna, hosting 76 species of mammals. The park contains savanna and borassus palms, acacia trees and riverine woodland in northern section, whereas the south is dominated by woodland and forest patches
The park is bisected by the Victoria Nile, which plunges 45 m over the remnant rift valley wall, creating the dramatic Murchison Falls, the centerpiece of the park and the final event in an 80 km stretch of rapids. The mighty cascade drains the last of the river’s energy, transforming it into a broad, placid stream that flows quietly across the rift valley floor into Lake Albert. This stretch of river provides one of Uganda’s most remarkable wildlife spectacles. Regular visitors to the riverbanks include elephants, giraffes, and buffaloes, while hippos, Nile crocodiles, and aquatic birds are permanent residents.
Queen Elizabeth National Park
Located in western Uganda, shared by the districts of Kasese, Bundibugyo, Rubirizi, and Kanungu, the park was gazetted in 1952 as Kazinga National Park and renamed two years later to commemorate a visit by Queen Elizabeth II.
With 1,978 km2 in size, Queen Elizabeth National Park spans the equator line. Prominently known for the big four animals—the elephants, lions, buffaloes, and leopards—it is also classified as an Important Birding Area (IBA) by Birdlife International.
Queen Elizabeth National Park is understandably Uganda’s most popular tourist destination, harboring over 95 mammal species with diverse ecosystems, which include sprawling savannas, shady, humid forests, sparkling lakes, and fertile wetlands, making it the ideal habitat for classic big game, ten primate species, including chimpanzees, and over 600 species of birds.
Situated against the backdrop of the jagged Rwenzori Mountains, the park’s magnificent vistas include dozens of enormous craters carved dramatically into rolling green hills, panoramic views of the Kazinga Channel with its banks lined with hippos, buffalo, and elephants, and the endless Ishasha plains, whose fig trees hide lions ready to pounce on herds of unsuspecting Uganda kob.
In addition to its outstanding wildlife attractions, Queen Elizabeth National Park has a fascinating cultural history. There are many opportunities for visitors to meet the local communities and enjoy storytelling, dance, music, and more. The gazetting of the park has ensured the conservation of its ecosystems, which in turn benefits the surrounding communities.
Lake Mburo National Park
The national park consists more of a wooded area with no elephants in the park; the expanse of savannah is placed with rocky Kopjes and patches of swampy areas; the additional vegetative cover is forest, shrubs, and dotted trees, all of which act as home to fauna.
Lake Mburo National Park is a superb angelic destination, a most sought-after quick destination gateway for an African safari experience. The savannah park is managed by the Uganda Wildlife Authority, and it is the closet of conservation areas to the country’s capital, tucked along enroute along the Masaka-Mbarara highway.
The park is one of the smallest national parks in Uganda, and among the savannah parks, it is by far the most small with a unique composition.
It is a prime destination for animal relocation. Recently, the Uganda Wildlife Authority relocated the Rothchild’s giraffes that add to the species number of the conservation area. Zebras are the most common kinds: Jackson Hartebeest, Topi, Elands, Reedbuck, Hippos, and Crocodiles. The park is a notable destination for birds; examples include sunbirds, black-throated eagles, African fish eagles, black-bellied bustards, and Abyssinian ground horns, to mention a few.
Food
The package includes meals as outlined in the itinerary and bottled water in the vehicle.
The following meals are included:
- Breakfast
- Drinks
The following drinks are included:
- Water
The following dietary requirement(s) are served and/or catered for:
- Regular (typically includes meat and fish)
What's included
- Airport transfer to/from Kigali or Entebbe Airport
- Ground transport
- Gorilla permit
- Rhinos
- English speaking driver/guide
- 8 nights accommodation as mentioned in the itinerary
- Meals as described in the itinerary
- Bottled mineral water in the vehicle
- Entrance fees and ranger fees for national parks
- Activities mentioned in the program
- Permit for chimps trekking
What's not included
- International flight
- Any optional activities
- Meals and drinks not mentioned above
- Items of personal nature
- Tips
How to get there
Recommended Airports
Kigali International Airport (Kanombe Airport)
500 km
Transfer included
Entebbe International Airport
253 km
Transfer included
Cancellation Policy
- A reservation requires a deposit of 50% of the total price.
- The deposit is non-refundable, if the booking is cancelled.
- The rest of the payment should be paid 30 days before arrival.
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