No | 1 pax | 2 pax | 3 pax | 4 pax | 5 pax | 6 pax |
Price/PP | $2725 | $2110 | $1946 | $1885 | $1791 | $1743 |
Day 2: Chimpanzee tracking, relaxed afternoon and a night walk
Day 3: Transfer to Bwindi national park
Day 4: Gorilla tracking and Batwa community visit
Day 5: Early morning start with the golden monkey tracking in Mgahinga and have a night in Lake Bunyonyi
Day 6: Morning Canoe / Visit community and then Transfer back to Kampala
More primates like black and white colobus monkeys, L’Hoest monkeys, grey-cheeked mangabey red tailed monkeys, bush babies, pottos and many bird species like the yellow spotted nicator, rumped tinker bird, little greenbul and mammals like elephants can be seen in this walk.
Early morning after breakfast we continue driving through the undulating highlands of south-western Uganda on our way to the greener and beautiful Fort Portal area. The lush rolling hills of this region provide good photo opportunities.
As you approach Fort Portal in the foothills of the Rwenzori Mountains, you enter Uganda's famous tea plantation region.
In the afternoon we visit a nearby forest swamp that is excellent for viewing primates and other forest animals. At the eastern edge of Kibale forest is Bigodi Wetland Sanctuary which is maintained by the local community. You will expect to see more birds & animals.
Budget: Chimpanzee forest guesthouse
Moderate: Kibale forest cottages and Kyaninga
Upmarket: Ndali lodge and Papaya lodge
Assemble at Kanyankyu River camp at 08:00 hours to go for the most popular activity in this park which is chimpanzee tracking.
Chimpanzees are man’s closest cousins though they are one of the most threatened primate species. More primates like black and white colobus monkeys, L’Hoest monkeys, grey-cheeked mangabey, red-tailed monkeys, bush babies, pottos and many bird species and mammals like elephants can be seen in this walk.
Kibale National park is inhabited by three large communities of chimps, each numbering more than 100 individuals. Each community has a complicated social structure.
Typically, we locate the chimps by listening for their pant-hooting calls, then hustle to the area from which they are calling. We get to observe them as they feed in fruiting trees, lounge, and socialise with each other, or even, occasionally hunt.
Budget: Chimpanzee forest guesthouse
Moderate: Kibale forest cottages and Kyaninga
Upmarket: Ndali lodge and Papaya lodge
After breakfast we drive further south through stunning savannah grasslands as we head towards the breathtaking Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park.
While most of today's forests are no more than 12,000 years old, Bwindi's vegetation has been weaving itself into tangles for over 25,000 years, in the process accumulating a lengthy species list.
This includes 310 species of butterflies, 51 reptiles, 200 trees, 88 moths and an exceptional 120 species of mammals including 10 primates. The latter includes chimpanzee, L'Hoest's, red tailed and blue monkey, black and white colobus, baboon, and Bwindi's most famous resident, the mountain gorilla.
Budget: Nshongi gorilla lodge and Rushaga Gorilla camp
Moderate: Bakiga lodge and Haven lodge
Upmarket: Gorilla sanctuary lodge and Silverback safari lodge
After breakfast, proceed for the morning briefing before enjoying the highlight of the trip - gorilla trekking, which may last the entire day.
We trek through the rainforest and bamboo covered slopes, accompanied by a guide and trackers, in search of a mountain gorilla family. The walking can sometimes be tough and long, but when you catch a glimpse of the magnificent silverback, any discomforts will be quickly forgotten.
Gorilla trekking is unpredictable. It's difficult to foresee how many hours you will hike. The gorilla excursion can take from 2 up to 8 hours. A good physical condition is recommended. For conservation purposes, time spent with the gorillas is limited to one hour. A ranger will brief you on how to behave with the gorillas.
Budget: Nshongi gorilla lodge and Rushaga Gorilla camp
Moderate: Bakiga lodge and Haven lodge
Upmarket: Gorilla sanctuary lodge and Silverback safari lodge
After an early breakfast set off for the national park for the golden monkey tracking experience. The monkeys are primarily to be found in the bamboo forest that skirts the lower slopes of the volcanoes. The monkeys are very active in the canopy of the bamboo where your guides mimic their calls to follow the group.
Golden Monkeys can be found in the foothills of the volcanic mountains of Mgahinga National Park. Characterized by its bright golden body, cheeks and tail, with contrasting black limbs, crown and tail end, these playful primates are a pleasure to watch. The walk will take you from the bamboo stands and forested gorge on the lower levels of the volcanoes to the elevated heath and moorland higher up. There after you have the canoe trek and have a chance depending on the weather you can also go swimming on one of the best and deepest lake Lake Bunyonyi.
Budget: Nshongi gorilla lodge and Rushaga Gorilla camp
Moderate: Bakiga lodge and Bunyonyi overland
Upmarket: Gorilla sanctuary lodge and Silverback safari lodge
Early breakfast before embarking on our return to Kampala, driving down the grassed and terraced escarpments of southwestern Uganda while taking in the breathtaking sights of the hills of the region dubbed ‘the little Switzerland of Africa.
This area is a highly fertile, mountainous region with steep sided hills covered from top to bottom in neatly terraced cultivated rows. Not to miss as we traverse Mbarara are the impressing longhorn Ankole cattle.
A remarkable highlight of this journey is the Equator line and surely you will cross it as we have a brief stop here. We will be in Kampala in the evening before for your flight back home.