7 Days Gorilla and Chimpanzee Tracking Safari Tour in Uganda

Day 1: Transfer to Kibale Forest National Park

Today after an early breakfast, your guide will come to your hotel or pick you up from the airport depending on which flight you came with to brief you about the safari and will transfer you to Kibale National Park. The drive is incredibly scenic, passing through villages, lush green forests and hills dotted with tea plantations.

• Journey time: 5 hours
• Meal plan: Lunch and dinner

Day 2: Chimpanzee tracking and Bigodi swamp walk

Today you will wake up early to go to the park head offices to be briefed about your chimp tracking experience. Kibale Forest National Park boasts the highest number of primate species in the world, including the chimpanzees. Approximately 5,000 chimpanzees live in the wild in Uganda, which makes it a perfect place to see them.

An experienced ranger will take you chimp tracking chimp in the morning or afternoon; you might also see other monkey species that live here. Once you locate the chimpanzees, you will have a full hour of eye-to-eye contact with them. Since they are wild animals, one can never guarantee you to see them and might have to settle with hearing their hoots and hollers.

In the afternoon after lunch, you will go for the guided swamp walk. The walk (2 to 3 hours) will take you through grassland, small communities, and some beautiful scenery where the locals are likely to greet you with enthusiastic waves. It is usual to spot three to four different primate species during this walk, though the highlight is catching a glimpse of the great blue turaco!

• Journey time: 1 hour
• Meal plan: Breakfast, lunch, and dinner

Day 3: Transfer to Queen Elizabeth National Park

After breakfast, your guide will drive you to Queen Elizabeth National Park, home to a high concentration of Uganda’s mammals that include tree climbing and savanna lions, elephants, wart hogs, Uganda kob, water buck, cape buffalo, hippos, leopards, as well as more than 600 species of birds that include the African spoon bill, pied kingfishers, fish eagles, pelicans, and vultures.

Queen Elizabeth National Park is Uganda’s second largest park, located at the base of the majestic Rwenzori mountain range, adjacent to Lake Edward and Lake George. The park has game including Uganda kob, warthog, and waterbuck. Lions are often sighted both in and at the entrance to the park. Be ready to see huge numbers of hippos and elephants, and keep your eyes on the lookout for a leopard lazing in the sunshine.

• Journey time: 3 and a half hours
• Meal plan: Breakfast, lunch, and dinner

Day 4: Game drive and Kazinga Channel boat safari

Today, you will wake up early. A little before sunrise, coffee, tea, and donuts will beserved in the lounge before heading out for a long game drive in time to see the first rays of light. You will search for all the wildlife in the park and are likely to come across elephants, buffaloes, lions, waterbucks, leopards, Uganda Kobs, and many warthogs.

A well-deserved brunch will be served back at the lodge in the late morning. In the afternoon, you will take a boat safari along the Kazinga Channel which joins Lake George and Lake Edward. Here, you will see a lot of hippos (more than you can possibly imagine!), as well as a variety of other animals which come to the waterhole to drink or bathe. You can expect to see buffalo, crocodile, bathing elephant, and a range of beautiful birds. This will undoubtedly be one of the highlights of your tour.

• Meal plan: Breakfast, lunch, and dinner

Day 5: Transfer to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest

After early breakfast, you will be transferred to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, home to last surviving Mountain Gorillas. You will pass through a beautiful scenery of bamboo, rolling hills, forests often referred to as the Switzerland of Africa. You will stop for lunch on a local restaurant. You will get to your lodge in time for dinner and overnight.

• Journey time: 8 hours (excludes breaks, stops, and lunch break)
• Meal plan: Breakfast, lunch, and dinner

Day 6: Gorilla Tracking in Bwindi Forest

Today after an early breakfast, you will be transferred to the park headquarters for briefing about gorilla tracking. You will encounter one of Bwindi’s endangered mountain gorillas. For most people this is the absolute highlight of their tour in Uganda.

Bwindi impenetrable National Park boasts both Mountain Gorillas and Chimpanzees - the only forest in Africa that can make this claim. It also hosts five other species of primates, 113 species of mammals, over 200 species of butterflies, and 360 species of birds. The gorillas you track are habituated and can tolerate the presence of humans for a brief period of time, every day.

The time taken to track the gorillas can be as few as two hours to as many as seven hours. Once the gorillas have been located, your group will be allowed a maximum of one hour with them. Coming face-to-face with a mountain gorilla is a truly humbling and emotional experience. This is a fantastic and privileged opportunity to get up close and personal with Uganda’s very own ‘Gorillas in the Mist’.

• Meal plan: Breakfast, lunch, and dinner

Day 7: Transfer back to Kampala or Entebbe

After breakfast at the lodge, you will drive back to Kampala or Entebbe International Airport (EBB). As you pass through the equator, there will be a stop for the requisite snapshot and a bit of souvenir shopping.

Accommodation for tonight is not inclusive in the program. If you wish to depart tonight from Entebbe International Airport (EBB), make sure your flight is at 10 p.m. or later. If you want to book one (or more) nights in Kampala and/or Entebbe, please let Peak Cruise Safaris know.

• Journey time: 9 hours
• Meal plan: Breakfast and lunch

Transport

Peak Cruise Safaris' standard offering for Budget tours is a 4wd safari van with a pop-up roof for easy safari viewing. All clients will have a dedicated window seat. Your professional driver/guide will be at your disposal for questions or

translations.

This safari tour will take you from Kamapala to Kibale Forest National Park, Bigodi, Queen Elizabeth National Park, Kazinga Channel, and Bwindi Impenetrable National Park in Uganda.

Kibale Forest National Park

Kibale Forest National Park boasts the highest number of primate species in the world, including the chimpanzees. Approximately 5,000 chimpanzees live in the wild in Uganda, which makes it a perfect place to see them.

Queen Elizabeth National Park

Queen Elizabeth National Park is Uganda’s second largest park, located at the base of the majestic Rwenzori mountain range, adjacent to Lake Edward and Lake George. The park has game including Uganda kob, warthog, and waterbuck. Lions are often sighted both in and at the entrance to the park. Be ready to see huge numbers of hippos and elephants, and keep your eyes on the lookout for a leopard lazing in the sunshine.

Bwindi Impenetrable National Park

Bwindi Impenetrable National Park boasts both mountain gorillas and chimpanzees - the only forest in Africa that can make this claim. It also hosts five other species of primates, 113 species of mammals, over 200 species of butterflies and 360 species of birds. The gorillas you track are habituated and can tolerate the presence of humans for a brief period of time, every day.

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During this safari, your daily breakfast, lunch, and dinner as mentioned in the itinerary will be provided.

Crater lakes hike

Formed by ancient volcanic activity, the crater lakes of Uganda are located near Fort Portal, and are a great hiking option. Typical hikes take you through local villages and tea plantations, to the base of several of these incredibly serene and beautiful lakes. With the Rwenzori Mountains in the background, this is by far one of Uganda’s most peaceful and extraordinary sights.

Lion tracking

For visitors who yearn to get up close to wild African fauna, a research trip is a rewarding adventure. This new and unique experience allows visitors to actively participate in monitoring some of lions in the park, using locator devices and learn habituation calls, as well as monitoring weather, surroundings, and behavior. The results are added to researchers’ databases, contributing valuable information to the overall understanding of wildlife ecology – and helping to conserve this wonderful ecosystem. This will as well give you a 95% chance to see the lions!

The number of people on each outing is limited in order to reduce stress on the animals and to increase the quality of the experience for visitors. The experiential tourism activities currently available are Mongoose Tracking, Lion Tracking, Hippo Census, and Bird Counts.

Experiential tours last between one and three hours. They usually take place in the early morning or evening, or occasionally at night. All activities must be booked through the Visitor Information Center in Mweya at least 24 hours in advance.

• Cost: 60 USD per person

Kyambura Gorge

Another optional activity in Queen Elisabeth National Park is to visit the Kyambura Gorge. A hike through the gorge gives you the opportunity to see habituated chimpanzees and other types of primates including red-tailed monkey, black-and-white colobus, baboons and velvet monkeys. Although the chance of spotting chimpanzees is only 50%, the landscape is among the most impressive in Uganda and is absolutely worth it!

• Cost: 50 USD per person

Village Walk

Overlooking the imposing hillsides of Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, with the mist swirling over the summits, this is one of the most dramatic settings for your cultural tour! Among others, meet a traditional healer, who not only treats the sick, but uses his knowledge to conserve and educate about the various medicinal plants.

• Game drive in Queen Elizabeth National Park
• Swamp walk in Bigodi
• Chimpanzee tracking in Queen Elizabeth National Park
• Boat safari in Kazinga Channel
• Gorilla tracking in Bwindi Forest
• Stopover at the equator
• Services of an English speaking Ugandan driver / guide
• Transport in a 4WD minivan with pop-up roof for excellent safari view
• All fuel for the tour
• Airport transfers
• 6 nights accommodation
• All meals as per the itinerary
• Packed lunch for the gorilla tracking
• Chimpanzee permit
• Gorilla permit
• Park entrance fees

• International air fares
• Entry visa to Uganda
• Meals not mentioned
• A porter for during the gorilla tracking
• Personal (medical / travel) insurance
• Tips and gratuities to rangers, driver/guide, porter, hotel staff, etc
• All expenses of personal nature (e.g. drinks, laundry, optional activities, souvenirs etc.)

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• 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 28 days before arrival.