7-Days Wildlife Uganda And Primate Experience Safari

On arrival at Entebbe international airport, you will be warmly met by a company representative with your professional English-speaking safari guide for a meet and greet, and then be transferred to your booked hotel in Entebbe town to check in, freshen yourself, and later meet with our company representative and safari guide at the hotel reception to brief you about your 7-day Uganda wildlife and primate experience safari. The hotel is about 10–20 minutes’ drive from Entebbe International Airport.

Later, if time allows, drive to the Botanical Gardens for a nature walk and later visit Lake Victoria, where you will spot some water birds as well as get used to Uganda’s beautiful nature. Lake Victoria is the largest water body in Africa and the second largest freshwater body in the world, and it is shared by three East African countries (Uganda, Tanzania, and Kenya).

Accommodation: Papyrus Guest House Entebbe (Mid-range)

Meal plan: Dinner  

Today, after your fantastic breakfast, have all your travel bags loaded into your safari vehicle, check out of your lodge, and then start your journey to Kibale Forest National Park, which is famously known for its biggest population of chimpanzees, amounting to more than 1500 individual chimpanzees, and some of these are well habituated for tourism and research. The park is also referred to as Africa’s primate capital, with 13 primate species recorded than any national park or wildlife reserve in Africa, hence making the park a primate lover’s haven. The park is also home to East Africa’s largest populations of the threatened and rare L’hoest’s monkey and red colobus monkey. While at Kibale Forest National Park, you will see several primates such as the black-and-white colobus, blue monkeys, red-tailed olive baboons, grey-cheeked mangabeys, and over 375 species of birds. Along the way to Kibale Forest National Park, you will enjoy the spectacular views of tea estates, several forests, and the shadow of the legendary Rwenzori Mountain, which forms a mystic backdrop to the beautiful volcanic landscape. Have a stopover in Fort Portal City to have lunch, move around the city on foot, and later continue with your journey to the park to check in at your booked lodge and later drive to Bigodi Swamp for a nature walk and community experience.

Bigodi Sanctuary Swamp is punctuated by biodiversity and lovely scenery and is a paradise for bird lovers, with over 138 bird species and eight species of primates. These include the grey-cheeked mangabey, black-and-white colobus, l’Hoest’s and blue monkeys, red-tailed monkeys, and olive baboons, plus other mammals like bushbucks and mongooses. The swamp is managed by the surrounding local community with the purpose of preserving exclusive environmental features and the wetland for future generations. So, during this walk, you will have the opportunity to spot several monkey and bird species. The Bigodi community walk will take you through the nearby community to have a chance to interact with local people to learn how they harmoniously live with wildlife species and how they locally do their daily activities without applying modern technology, such as making nice gins from bananas, making delicious coffee, and making art crafts. Return to your lodge after the walk to relax, be served dinner, and stay overnight.

Accommodation: Isunga Safari Lodge (Mid-range)

Meal plan: Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner

After breakfast, meet your safari guide and transfer to the park information offices to join other guests for a briefing about the dos and don’ts to follow while looking for chimpanzees in the forest and how to behave around chimpanzees. Then embark on your guided forest walk to search for intelligent chimpanzees, the closest living relatives sharing 98.8% of human DNA. During your forest walk, you may encounter other wildlife species, both mammal and bird species, such as other primates and bush pigs, among others, and your guide will be able to give you a lot of interesting information about everything that you will encounter, which will make your walk so adventurous. Once you meet the chimpanzees, you will spend a maximum of one hour with them, watching how they play in the tree branches, feeding and taking care of their babies, and taking as many photos as you want. After staying with chimpanzees for an hour, return to the starting point to relax, have refreshments plus lunch, and then drive to Queen Elizabeth National Park, a “medley of wonders”. Queen Elizabeth National Park is known for its variety of wildlife species, including over 95 mammal species, which include four big mammals, big cats, and other predators; 10 species of primates, aquatic mammals, and about 600 recorded bird species. The Kazinga Channel is the main water stream that connects Lake Edward and George. Before checking in at your booked lodge, visit the Katwe community, which is surrounded by the salty Lake Katwe and whose main economic activity is extracting salt from this lake. This is one of the most famous communities due to the traditional salt mining that has been practiced since the 16th century. While at the Katwe salt mining community, you will have a chance to take part in salt mining, and your local safari guide will give you information about how they have managed to maintain their salt mining activities for decades. After the community tour, drive to check in at your booked lodge to spend your evening at leisure until it’s time to have dinner and overnight.

Accommodation: Buffalo Safari Lodge (Mid-range)

Meal plan: Breakfast/ Lunch / Dinner

Wake up very early in the morning (0530 a.m.) to prepare yourself. Today, you can put on light clothes and simple shoes, then pack a sweater for an emergency, have an extra camera battery, and have your binoculars. Have a cup of coffee and then get a box of your packed full breakfast, and later leave your lodge at 630 am to Kasenyi Plains, found in the northern part of Queen Elizabeth National Park, for a morning game drive safari. It is always very important to begin your game drive as early as possible because, during the morning hours of the day, animals are more active, and chances are high that you will encounter as many species as possible. Queen Elizabeth National Park is one of the best savanna destinations in Africa to encounter several wildlife species, and it is one of Uganda’s most varied and most beautiful protected areas. The park is home to two of Africa’s big cats, the majestic lion and the elusive leopard, along with classic big game such as approximately 5,000 hippo, 2,500 elephants, and 10,000 buffalo. During your game drive safari, expect to encounter different groups of animal species, like buffalo herds, elephant herds, Uganda kob herds, and many other antelopes, like warthogs, lions, leopards, spotted hyenas, and the giant forest hog, among others. Your safari guide will help you spot as many animals as possible as well as give you much information regarding everything that you will encounter, which will make your game drive time so interesting and memorable. Later, around 1130 a.m., retire from the game drive to return to your lodge to be served lunch. Have some time at leisure until time to be served lunch, and then go for an afternoon boat cruise on the Kazinga channel, which starts at 3:30 p.m. A boat cruise on the Kazinga channel is one of the special ways to explore and enjoy Queen Elizabeth National Park, where you will have a chance to have a close encounter with several mammal species like hippos, Nile crocodiles, herds of elephants and buffalo, and many antelope species when swimming and others wandering down to the shoreline to bathe in the cooling waters. So, the boat cruise will get you so close to wildlife, and for many of our visitors, a boat cruise safari on the Kazinga channel is the highlight of their visit to Queen Elizabeth National Park. Thereafter, the game drive safari on the Kazinga channel returns to Kasenyi Plains for an evening game drive safari to lookout for more wildlife species, mostly predators. Return to the lodge for dinner and an overnight stay.

Accommodation: Buffalo Safari Lodge (Mid-range)

Meal plan: Breakfast/ Lunch / Dinner

After having your tasty breakfast, get all your luggage packed in the vehicle, check out of your lodge, and then drive to the park for a second-morning game drive safari to search for more wildlife, animals, and birds. Queen Elizabeth National Park is understandably one of Uganda’s most popular national parks and an ideal habitat for classic big game such as lions, leopards, elephants, buffaloes, several antelope species, primates, warthogs, and many others. Game drives are one of the highlights of Queen Elizabeth National Park, where you can spot several mammals and enjoy the beautiful views of the savannah. After the game drive, start your drive to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park. On your way to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park, you will do a game drive safari through the Ishasha sector in the southern parts of Queen Elizabeth National Park to look out for the unique tree-climbing lions, which are only found in the Ishasha sector of Queen Elizabeth National Park in Uganda with five families, Lake Manyara National Park in Tanzania with about two families, and Kruger National Park in South Africa. The Ishasha sector is the best destination to see them since it has many families with climbing characters and there is a higher chance to meet them. Have lunch and proceed with your drive to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park. Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is famous for being home to half of the world’s remaining mountain gorillas and one of Uganda’s oldest and most biologically diverse rainforests, dating back over 25,000 years, with almost 400 tree species that form the huge impenetrable forest that is evergreen. It is home to approximately 500 mountain gorillas, 120 mammal species, such as numerous primate species, and over 350 bird species, including 23 Albertine Rift endemics. It is also the ancient home of the Batwa bush people. Dinner and an overnight

Accommodation: Bakiga Lodge (Mid-range)

Meal plan: Breakfast/ Lunch / Dinner

Day 6 of the 7-day Uganda wildlife and primate experience safari. Rise very early in the morning (0600 am) and pack your backpack with all the recommended equipment you will need during your mountain gorilla trekking experience, such as a camera, binoculars, and insect repellents. Get well-dressed in a recommended style for the best mountain gorilla trekking experience, such as long khaki or jean trousers, a long-sleeved shirt, water-proof hiking boots, a rain jacket, heavy-duty gloves, and round hats, and then meet your safari guide to drive to the park information offices to join other guests for the briefing session about how the mountain gorilla trekking experience is done, dos and don’ts, what to expect during the mountain gorilla trekking, and how to behave in the presence of mountain gorillas. The grouping and mountain gorilla family allocation will be done during the briefing, so you have to communicate with your company guide to choose a family depending on your physical fitness since some of the families can be far from the starting point and others nearer. We would recommend you hire a porter to help you carry your packed bag and other items you would need during the mountain gorilla trek. After a pre-mountain gorilla trekking session, start your forest walk in search of the endangered mountain gorillas in their natural habitats. The time taken before encountering your allocated mountain gorilla family is not known, but it may be between 45 minutes and 4 hours, depending on the movements and location of the gorilla family. Therefore, you should be physically and mentally prepared to walk a long distance through the forest that is made of hills and has no clear walking trails that are only made at that particular time of tracking by your guide depending on the direction that can easily lead you to the location of the gorilla family. That is why it is recommended to carry enough water to keep you hydrated and snacks to keep you energized since you use a lot of energy when walking through the forest in search of the mountain gorillas.

Once you encounter the mountain gorilla family, the excitement of seeing the gorillas in their natural habitat will outweigh the hardship you went through while searching for them. A mountain gorilla family can be made up of several members, such as the giant silverback, who is always the head and protector of the family; mothers, infants, and juveniles. During the time you will spend with the mountain gorillas, you will get to know much about their behaviours, how they socialize, and be excited by their actions, like the playful babies, mothers grooming their babies, and Mr. Silverback, who is watching the situation silently as he is ready to protect the family from any kind of attack. You will spend a maximum of one hour with the mountain gorillas, and you will be free to capture as many photos and record videos as you want to keep your great memories with the mountain gorilla family in the jungle. After an hour with the mountain gorilla family, return to the trekking start point to receive your mountain trekking certificate in appreciation of your contribution to the conservation of the endangered mountain gorillas in Uganda. Have refreshments, enjoy your full lunch, and then drive to Lake Bunyonyi to relax while enjoying a boat canoe safari on Lake Bunyonyi. Dinner and an overnight

Accommodation: Bunyonyi Rock Resort (Mid-range)

Meal plan: Breakfast/Lunch /Dinner

Today, wake up at your convenience, be served breakfast, and then go for your morning boat canoeing safari on Lake Bunyonyi, which takes approximately 2 hours of exploring the lake and visiting different islands in the lake with a local canoe guide who is well experienced with the places and all the things around. Lake Bunyonyi is framed by 29 islands of varying sizes across the water, making it one of the most magical views. Each of the 29 islands on Lake Bunyonyi has its own unique and interesting story behind it, which your local guide will narrate to you during the canoeing safari, such as the Akampene island, also known as the “punishment island,” which was used by the Biga community to punish girls who would get pregnant before official marriage by isolating them there to death as a way to teach a lesson to the rest not to make the same mistake. So, poor men who could not afford to pay the bride price would go to this island to get free wives from among those that could have been exiled to this island. In an African society, it was a disgrace for a girl to get pregnant before her official marriage, and this would cause the family to lose community respect. So, this made parents strict with their girl children as a way of protecting them. After canoeing on Lake Bunyonyi, return to the lodge to check out, and then start your return journey back to Entebbe International Airport to prepare for your return flight. On your way back to Entebbe international airport, you will have a stopover at the Igongo Cultural Museum to visit the museum, which is a cultural heritage of south-western Uganda that will take you centuries back into Uganda’s culture and lifestyle of the western people, and later proceed with your journey to the Uganda Equator Line, located in Kayabwe, which is believed to be separating the planet into two parts: the Northern and Southern hemispheres.

While at the equator landmark, you will see the water experiment, which is done to show how forces move differently on each side of the planet and to prove the difference between the two hemispheres. For example, water drains from the funnel in a clockwise motion on the northern hemisphere, whereas it drains in an anti-clockwise motion on the southern hemisphere. Here, the sun rises and sets rapidly, and the temperatures and weather are largely constant all year. While at the Equator landmark, take some memorial photos with one foot in the southern hemisphere and another one in the northern hemisphere, which will give you an opportunity to take a photo while standing on both sides of the world at the same time. It is also said that while standing at the equator line, your body weight is reduced by about 3 kg, so you will have a chance to prove this statement right or false. After the water experiment, have lunch and visit the craft shops, which sell souvenirs that are made locally and fully in Ugandan art style. Later, proceed with your tour straight to Entebbe International Airport to prepare for your return flight. This will be the end of your 7-day Uganda wildlife and primate experience safari.

Meal plan: Breakfast / Lunch