Our 9-day best of Uganda safari with gorilla adventure is packed with bucket-list inclusions, from our most selling luxurious lodges the Ugandan Primate safari is here! We will be trekking to see wild gorillas up close in the wild, trekking to see chimpanzees and going on safari, all while experiencing the unique culture around Uganda. Keep in mind, the trek to the gorillas & chimps can be a challenging (but very rewarding!) hike depending on their location that day.
Detailed Itinerary
Day 1: Fly into Entebbe! Welcome to Uganda!
Our Nyumbu Beyond Journeys safari guide will pick you up from Entebbe Airport and you will be transferred to your hotel in Entebbe. Freshen up and relax at the hotel before our welcome dinner! The hotels we are staying at during this trip are all 4- & 5-star premium, safari lodges and hotels. I can’t wait for you to see them!!
Day 2: Drive to Kibale Forest National park & Bigodi Community walk
The park is popular for its primates’ population like the chimpanzees, colobus monkeys and red-tailed monkeys. You will arrive in the late afternoon and check into your accommodation, relax and later enjoy your dinner.
Later in the evening dive into the Ugandan local villages for a ultimate Bigodi community that connects our guests with the sustainable programs, participate in basket weaving, local coffee experience and plant a tree on the outskirts of Kibale for our conservation goal of 300 trees by 2030.
Day 3: Chimp tracking in Kibale Forest
Have breakfast and head to the rangers’ point where you will receive a briefing for the chimp trekking. An experienced ranger guide will take you chimp tracking and you will be marveled by the sights of primates here. Once you locate the chimpanzees, you will have a full hour with them.
You will return to the lodge for lunch after which you will head out for Queen Elizabeth National Park. You will arrive in time for your dinner and overnight at the booked accommodation.
Day 4: Safari & boat ride on the Kazinga Channel
Be up early and have your breakfast. Proceed for a morning game drive in the park during which you will see Lions, Elephants, Leopard (though a rare sighting), Cape bushbuck, Cape Buffalos, Defassa Waterbucks, Giant Forest Hogs, Uganda Kobs among others.
Return to your accommodation for some rest time and then lunch. In the afternoon you will go for a 2-hour boat trip on the Kazinga Channel which connects Lakes: George and Edward and marvel at the concentrations of giant hippos, elephants and crocodiles among others. You will also see many varieties of birds at the water shores.
Day 5: Transfer to Bwindi with a game drive safari in Ishasha
Have breakfast then set off for Bwindi Impenetrable NP through the Ishasha sector of Queen Elizabeth National Park famously known for its resident tree-climbing lions.
The chance of spotting these lions is about 70% though sometimes they are really hard to spot (most especially when they’re down in the grassland looking for prey). Hoping you get the chance to spot them, the sight will be spectacular!
Continue to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. Bwindi is a big habitat for mountain gorillas in Uganda, harboring an estimated 400 mountain gorillas – roughly half of the world’s population, including several habituated groups which can be tracked. With a strenuous day ahead, you will do less on arrival but just check in your accommodation, relax as you prepare for the Bwindi gorilla trekking experience the next day.
Day 6: Gorilla Tracking in Bwindi Forest & Visit the Batwa Cultural Village.
After an early breakfast depart to the starting point for briefing about your gorilla trekking adventure after which you will be led by experienced gorilla trackers on the slopes of the volcanoes.
You will start from the site where the gorillas were encountered the day before and from here the gorilla tracking begins. Although the hike can be physically demanding, the anticipation of the exciting experience ahead is amazing, and the beauty of the gorilla forest and its inhabitants are fascinating. It is a humbling experience to stand just meters from man’s distant cousins as they eat rest, play and bond with their young ones.
Follow the mountain gorillas in the impenetrable forest, and discover their natural habitual and the many species they share it with. You are allowed an hour with the gorillas before sloping down back to your lodge.
Day 7: Transfer to Lake Mburo National Park & Sunset Game drive safari.
After breakfast transfer to Lake Mburo, the ‘Zebra magnet’. Leave Lake Bunyonyi and continue driving through the hilly areas.
Arrive in the park and have lunch at the lodge before heading for an afternoon game drive for view of Zebras, Topis, Warthogs, cape buffaloes and impalas.
Day 8: Bush walk & drive to Entebbe
Enjoy your early breakfast and proceed for the Mburo morning park (bush) walk in the presence of an armed Uganda Wildlife Authority ranger/guide. On this early morning guided walk; you will have the opportunity to encounter (at close range): Zebras, Giraffes and Eland, Topi and other antelope, Cape buffaloes among others.
Take the Trail to the top of the hills and see Lake Mburo and beyond. From this vantage point, you will have a great view of 9 of the twelve lakes surrounding Lake Mburo NP. After, return to the accommodation for checkout and then hit the road to Entebbe. En route we will stop at the Equator for photographs and ‘polar water experiment’, then local community crafts shops and fruit markets.
Day 9: Bid farewell & Transfer to Airport
After one final leisurely breakfast at your hotel, your guide will transfer you to Entebbe Airport for your onward flight. We come to the end of our uniquely crafted safari experience that will leave you with unforgettable memories