9 Days Uganda Mountain gorilla Encounter

Upon your arrival in Entebbe, you will be met and transferred to the Karibu Guesthouse. In the
afternoon, we will have our trip briefing.

Dinner at Karibu Guesthouse

A scenic drive through Uganda’s beautiful green countryside—with stops along the way to stretch our legs—brings us through the hilly country below the Rwenzori Mountains to Kibale National Park.

Our accommodation is at Primate Lodge, right within the park and sheltered in the tropical forest. We stay in luxury cottages that are set on wooden platforms with verandas—a great place to sit and watch the life of the forest.

The rooms are decorated in an African style and feature comfortable beds and en suite bathrooms. (6-7 hours driving).

B,L,D…Primate Lodge

In addition to harboring about 70 mammal species, Kibale is inhabited by 13 species of primates, including a large number of chimpanzees, making it one of the best places in Africa to track these fascinating creatures.

Today we will join local Uganda Wildlife Authority rangers for a walk along forest trails in search of them. We usually hear their pant hoots before seeing them, and once found we try to keep up with them as they scramble overhead through the treetop canopy.

Other primates include grey-cheeked mangabeys, l’Hoest’s, black and white and red colobus, and red-tailed monkeys. In the afternoon after a traditional Ugandan lunch at Tinka’s, we take a walk on a boardwalk trail that leads through the papyrus swamp of the Bigodi Wetland Sanctuary.

This is a birder’s paradise with about 138 species, and also shelters several monkey species.

B,L,D…Primate Lodge

A three- to four-hour drive brings us to Queen Elizabeth National Park (we game drive along the way), set in the western area of the Great Rift Valley. With its sparkling lakes, shady forests, fertile wetlands, and sprawling savannas, the park hosts a wide diversity of wildlife—ideal for our classic “big game” safari (there are also more than 600 species of birds).

After settling into our rooms at Mazike Lodge, we set off for the first of our game drives in search of the park’s wildlife, including hippos, elephants, and buffalo that thrive in the vast grasslands.

At the end of the day, we return to Mazike Valley Lodge (Mazike in Luganda mean Chimps), a spectacular lodge located in the Valley of the Apes in the Kyambura Gorge Park adjacent to Queen Elizabeth National Park.

The stylish cottages have a contemporary theme with the accent on local artefacts re-imagined in a new context.

B, L, D…MazikeValley Lodge

We spend the morning on game drives, with the hope of spotting Ugandan kob, the shy sitatunga antelope, waterbuck, and warthog, as well as some of the park’s 10 species of primates (chimps, baboons, vervet and black-and-white colobus monkeys, and more).

Big cats include lion, leopard, civet, and serval cat, but they are very elusive. We also have a very exciting boating excursion on the Kazinga Channel—just imagine cruising within yards of enormous hippos, with elephants and buffalos grazing on the shoreline!

B,L,D…Mazike Valley Lodge

This morning we head south to the Ishasha sector of Queen Elizabeth National Park, famous for its tree-climbing lions that like to perch in the branches of huge fig trees (the only other place they are found is in Lake Manyara National Park in Tanzania).

On our game drive to the lodge, we’re virtually assured of seeing buffalo, antelope, and elephants, as well as smaller creatures like warthog and baboon, and there are good possibilities of seeing lions and leopards here.

In the afternoon we head for the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest (2 hours driving). Bwindi Impenetrable Forest became a national park and World Heritage Site in 1992 to protect the 350 resident mountain gorillas.

B,L,D…Bwindi Lodge

The long-awaited day is here; wake up very early, have your breakfast and packed lunch. Assemble for a briefing by the ranger guide, get hold of your walking stick and follow your group guide to enter the misty gorilla sanctuary to begin trekking activity.

Keep discipline as you hike the forested ranges and listen to instructions given by your ranger guide.

Maximum silence is required as you approach the gorilla nest as it keeps the great apes in the normal state of behaviours hence an ambience to see them in their natural way.

The maximum time allowed with gorillas is only 1 hour thus as soon as the guide advises. Return to the Buhoma lodge with lifetime memories with the fascinating Mountain gorillas.

B,L,D…Bwindi Lodge

We have another day to track the amazing gorillas, one just isn’t enough! We will again be divided up into small groups and head out with our guide and porters to track a different family than we tracked yesterday.

B,L,D…Bwindi Lodge

We will take a scheduled flight back to Entebbe and relax in our dayrooms at the Karibu Guesthouse.

B, L, D…Karibu Guesthouse