7 Day Gorillas & Chimps Of Uganda
Deposit
$99 pp available
✓ Small group tour, up to 12 guests only
✓ 6 nights in quality 3-star hotels and lodge accommodation
✓ Incredible wildlife experiences including an unforgettable gorilla and chimpanzee trek, game drives in Queen Elizabeth National Park, and a boat safari along the Kazinga Channel in search of elephants, lions, hippos and more
✓ Breakfast daily, 5 lunches and 6 dinners
✓ Fully escorted by an English-speaking expert naturalist guide/driver in a 4x4 safari Land Cruiser
✓ Return airport transfers in Entebbe, and a domestic flight from Bwindi to Entebbe
Travel with the experts for a carefully curated, value-packed discovery of the world's most iconic destinations. Our tours are bursting with must-see sights, rich experiences and quality inclusions, all at an unbeatable price. Bucket list dreams are ticked off on these all-encompassing journeys.
Upon arrival at Entebbe International Airport, you will be met and transferred to your guesthouse, set in a quiet residential neighborhood with beautiful gardens. The elegant rooms are all equipped with private en-suite, ceiling fan, mosquito nets, and large comfortable patio chairs overlooking the gardens.
Relax this evening with an included dinner at the hotel as the garden is transformed into an open air restaurant for a memorable dinner under the starlit African sky. Paraffin lamps provide an intimate atmosphere and turn the setting into a relaxed and casual meeting place — the perfect start for your Ugandan experience!
After breakfast meet your guide and head towards Queen Elizabeth National Park. En-route, stopover at the Uganda equator crossing for a requisite snapshot and lunch before continuing to Queen Elizabeth National Park.
The oldest and second largest park in Uganda is located at the base of the massive Rwenzori Mountains, covered by savannah plains that provide an abundance of game viewing. Before arriving at your lodge, enjoy a game drive where you can expect to see lazy leopards laying in the sun, abundant gazelle, elephants, lions, buffaloes, hippos and more.
Your accommodation this evening is perched on the edge of the escarpment overlooking the Queen Elizabeth National Park and offers the quintessential safari lodge experience. Stay in a spacious canvas tent under a permanent grass-thatched roof. Each room offers en-suite bathrooms with a spacious tub and, from the private veranda, you can overlook the park and the flat-topped acacia trees where the occasional elephants graze and wander by.
This morning you’ll enjoy a chimpanzee trekking excursion in either Kalinzu Forest or Kyambura Gorge forest. These tropical forests sit on a huge area of the Rift Valley floor and are a natural habitat of our delightful cousins, the chimpanzees. Other primates that can be encountered include the black and white colobus monkeys, olive baboons, red-tailed monkeys, blue monkeys and grey-cheeked mangabeys.
Return to the lodge for a sumptuous lunch, then take a boat safari along the Kazinga Channel — a natural channel which connects Lake Edward to Lake George. View buffaloes, elephants, waterbucks, crocodiles and the highest concentration of hippos, as well as a variety of colorful species of waterbirds like crested eagles, pelicans and cormorants. As an amazingly diverse collection of the African animal kingdom comes to the waterhole to drink or bathe, this will undoubtedly be one of the highlights of your tour.
Rise early this morning for a game drive as the sun rises, searching for all the wildlife in the park.
You’ll then travel through the breathtaking evergreen mountain countryside to reach the magnificent swathe of Bwindi Impenetrable Forest. Check into your lodge and relax before your big day tomorrow.
Your stay at the Buhoma Haven lodge will contribute to the development of the local region as it is community owned with all the profits generated given back to the local community. The lodge offers well appointed rooms using local materials and offers amazing views of the rainforest from its terraces.
Today is the big day! Prepare yourself for an encounter with Bwindi’s gentle giants: the rare mountain gorilla. For most people this is the absolute highlight of their tour in Uganda.
Bwindi Impenetrable Forest boasts both mountain gorillas and chimpanzees. In fact, it’s the only forest in Africa which can make this claim. It also hosts five other species of primate, 113 species of mammal, over 200 butterflies and 360 birds.
To make the most of this experience, there will be an early start this morning for a brieffing at the visitor’s reception centre about the park. Once you’ve been allocated guides, you’ll head into the forest in search of these magnificent animals.
The gorillas you track belong to one of the habituated family group who can tolerate the presence of humans for a brief period every day. En-route, your guide will point out signs of previous gorilla activity including dung, nests and chewed bamboo shoots. Once the gorillas have been located, your group will be allowed a maximum of one hour with them.
Trekking gorillas in the dense forest can sometimes be wet, muddy and uncomfortable. The terrain can be challenging; it can be pretty strenuous and often humid. But the sheer thrill in coming across a habituated group of gorillas, dominated by a great male silverback, more than outweighs any difficulty. You need to be prepared and fit enough to walk up to four hours – uphill and downhill.
What to wear:
Boots – Essential. A good quality pair of hiking boots with good sturdy rubber soles with grip.
Gloves – During the trek you might be grabbing trees, branches and vines, and your hands can get a bit scratched. Pack a tough old pair of gardening gloves.
A light rain jacket – Bwindi is a tropical rainforest, and there’s a good chance of rain almost year-round. Pack a light-weight poncho or rain jacket that you can roll up in your bag and bring out if necessary.
Long pants and shirts – It’s best not to expose too much skin during the jungle trek, and remember to tuck your trousers into your socks (to avoid ants) and no bright colours.
Water!
Spend today at leisure to enjoy the lodge facilities including nature walks, bird watching, and community related activities (extra charges may apply - payable whilst on tour).
While the location of gorillas are carefully monitored, spotting them on a trek can never be guaranteed so to increase your chances of coming face to face with these majestic beasts, you can pre-purchase an additional gorilla permit. Gorilla permits are strictly limited so it is strongly recommended to purchase your gorilla permit at time of booking to guarantee your spot. It is highly unlikely that gorilla permits will be available whilst on tour. Please note that tickets are non-refundable once purchased.
This morning you will fly back to Entebbe. Upon arrival, day use at the Airport Guest House has been booked to allow you to freshen up and make the most of your last day in Entebbe. After checking into your guesthouse, you may choose to explore the craft shops for some final souvenir shopping or simply relax before your included private transfer takes you to the airport from where you’ll catch your departure flight. Please ensure your flight out of Entebbe departs after 3pm.
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