8 Day Exclusive wildlife safari Uganda
This 8 Day exclusive wildlife safari in Uganda will show you the best of what Uganda has to offer. The trip features grassland Savannah, wildlife, gorilla and chimp tracking and boat safaris. You will stay in some of Uganda’s finest luxury lodges.
Highlights of 8 Day Exclusive wildlife safari Uganda
- Game drives
- Gorilla and chimp tracking
- Boat safaris
- Tree climbing lions
- Stunning Luxury lodges
Day 1: Entebbe – Kampala: Travel Time: 42 km, 1 hour
Arriving at the airport you will be warmly welcomed by a representative of Gorilla Link Tours, and transferred to your hotel in Kampala.
Optional Activities:
- City Tour: Depending on your time of your arrival explore the vibrant and chaotic city of Kampala. Discover historical and political sites including the ancient tombs of the Kabakas, where the Buganda tribe laid their kings to rest or the Bahai Temple, etc.
- Eat Out: Kampala is a town full of culinary wonders. Stray out from your hotel to taste some of the eclectic cuisine of the region including Kampala’s delicious Indian food.
Journey Time: 1 Hour
Accommodation: Emin Pasha
Meal Plan: No meals inclusive
Emin Pasha Hotel (High end) is located in the heart of Kampala, close to the busy city center and for instance the Uganda Museum. The hotel has a wonderful garden full with flowers, palm trees and of course a swimming pool. All rooms have different decoration; all in African/colonial atmosphere and all luxury you need. The restaurant offers a mix between continental and Indian food. Its privacy and the amenities make it a perfect base for each traveler.
Day 2: Transfer to Kibale Forest NP
Today after an early breakfast, your guide will come to your hotel to brief you about the safari and will transfer you to Fort portal, close to Kibale National park. The drive is incredibly scenic, passing through villages, lush green forests and hills dotted with tea plantations.
You will stay at a wonderful lodge, just outside Fort Portal town, with spacious rooms and amazing views over one of the crater lakes in this area.
Journey Time: 5 hours
Accommodation: Papaya Lake Lodge
Meal plan: All meals
Papaya Lake Lodge (High-end) is between Kibale Forest NP and Fort Portal town, offers nine spacious cottages which are all situated on the extinct volcano crater’s slope and have breath taking views of the Lyantonde Lake. Each of the cottages offers complete privacy, hidden from view by a green wall of sympathetic treetops.
Day 3: Chimpanzee tracking – 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, we 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 (2-3 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!
Optional Activities:
- Chimpanzee habituation tracking
At an additional fee of only $70 US Dollar per person, you can do the chimpanzee habituation tracking instead of the regular chimpanzee tracking. This will take all day and you will be 100% sure to have a very close encounter with our cousins. Book this in time because only 6 persons per day are allowed to go. Your swamp walk can be postponed to the next morning before heading to Queen Elizabeth National park
Optional Activities:
- 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
Journey Time: 1 hour each way
Accommodation: Papaya Lake Lodge
Meal Plane: All meals
Day 4: 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, 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 look out for a leopard lazing in the sunshine.
In the late afternoon you will relax at the lodge. You stay overnight at the beautiful Mweya Safari Lodge, located in the heart of Queen Elizabeth National Park on the Mweya peninsula.
* You will stay in the very exclusive and private luxury safari tents
Journey Time: 3 ½
Accommodation: Mweya Safari Lodge
Meal Plan: All meals
Mweya Safari Lodge Luxury tents (High end) is located on a peninsula in the heart of the park and offers visitors an unforgettable experience. To the east lies the Great Rift Valley hills, separated from the Mountains of the Moon by the meandering Kazinga Channel. Here the water flows endlessly into two giant lakes – Lake George and Lake Edward, filled with hippo, crocodile and bathing elephant.
The tents are superbly furnished with modern interiors and linens, still reflecting and creating a mood of being ‘in the wild’.
Day 5: Game drive & Kazinga channel boat safari
Today you wake up early. A little before sunrise coffee, tea and donuts will be served in the lounge before we head 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 Elephant, Buffalo, Lion, Waterbuck, Leopard, Uganda Kob, 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.
Accommodation: Mweya Safari Lodge
Meal Plan: All meals
Optional activity:
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 gives 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 lasts 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 us dollar p.p.
Optional activity: Kyambura Gorge
Another optional activity in Queen Elisabeth N.P. 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 US Dollar p.p.
Day 6: Tree climbing lions – Bwindi Impenetrable Forest
After breakfast you will proceed to the southern part of Queen Elizabeth National Park, the famous Ishasha area, for a game drive searching for the tree climbing lions
Ishasha is home to the famous tree-climbing lions. While lion cubs around the world frequently climb trees for fun, adults rarely do. The adult lions in Ishasha are an exception to this. It is thought that they sit in the branches to get away from the tsetse flies and to enjoy a cool breeze. If you are lucky you might spot a few during your game drive.
Lunch will be at Enjojo Lodge
After lunch you will be transferred to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, home to Mountain Gorillas.
You will get there in time for dinner and overnight.
Journey Time: 5 hours + game drive time
Accommodation: Buhoma Lodge
Meal plan: All meals
Buhoma Lodge (High-end) commands spectacular and uninterrupted views of Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park.
The comfortable cottages have been carefully built, each with its own private verandah, allowing wonderful views of the forest canopy of the National Park. Inside the spacious cottages you will find comfortable beds, a well appointed en suite bathroom with flushing toilet and a hot shower and also some rooms with bath tubs. An elevated lounge area, complete with bar and dining facilities, offers a cosy, comfortable environment, to discuss the day’s activities around the fireplaces which add atmosphere and warmth in the cool evenings.
Day 7: Gorilla Tracking in Bwindi Forest
Today after early breakfast, you will be transferred to the park head quarters 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 2 hours to as many as 7 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’.
Accommodation: Buhoma Lodge
Meal plan: All meals
Optional Activities:
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.
Day 8: Transfer back to Kampala or Entebbe
After breakfast at the lodge, you will drive back to Kampala or Entebbe (Airport). 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 Airport. Make sure your flight is at 10 pm or later. If you want us to book one (or more) nights in Kampala and/or Entebbe, please let us know.
Journey Time: 9 hours to Entebbe
Accommodation: Not included
Meal plan: Breakfast and lunch
Extension Tours
If you want to extend your tour to one of our other destinations or if you’d like to add a few side trips to the itinerary, kindly let us know.
Dates
Since this is a private tour, departure can be organized for anytime throughout the year subject to the availability of accommodation and transport.
Hotel reservations:
The bookings with the hotels mentioned in the program depend on availability. Reservations will only be made after your booking.
In case the mentioned hotels are not available during the requested period, we will do our best to book a hotel in the same class for you- of course after consulting you.
Gorilla and chimp permits
It is not possible to ‘reserve’ gorilla and chimpanzee permits. Therefore we can only buy them after your booking and down-payment and it all depends on availability.
Transport
Our standard offering for this specific tour is a 4wd Toyota Land cruiser with a pop-up roof for easy safari viewing. All passengers will have a dedicated window seat. When you are 3 or 4 persons the bigger model is included.
Tour Package Including:
- Transport in a 4WD Toyota Land cruiser with pop-up roof for excellent safari view;
- All fuel for the tour;
- English speaking Ugandan driver/guide;
- Accommodation as listed in the program;
- All meals as per the itinerary;
- Packed lunch for the gorilla tracking;
- Park-entrance fees according to the program;
- All activities described in the itinerary;
- 1 chimpanzee permit per person (USD 150)
- 1 gorilla permit per person (a US$ 600 value).
Excluding:
- International air fares and entry visa Uganda
- Meals that are not part of your accommodation;
- A porter for during the gorilla tracking (someone who carries your daypack);
- 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.)
This tour can be tailor made to suit budget and mid range travellers. Just let us know what your budget is.
Important:
Please note the gorilla tracking in this itinerary can be done in Rwanda as well or in the other sectors on Bwindi or Mgahinga Gorilla National park
Gorilla tracking is dependent on the permits availability at the time of your booking. Gorilla permits in all parks are on a very high demand and we advise that you book them as early as possible.
Social Responsibility
When you book your trip with Gorilla Link Tours to any of our destinations. Gorilla Link Tours will donate US$ 5 per person to persons with Albinism.