Welcome to Uganda the ‘Pearl of Africa’

Note: Canadian passport holders need a visa to enter Uganda.

Upon arrival, clear customs and immigration.

Pick up your luggage then exit the building; look for a representative holding a paging board with your name.

You are then transferred to the hotel in Kampala.

On arrival check into Lodge.

Overnight: Cassia Lodge or similar

Check out of the hotel after breakfast and you will be driven to Kibale Forest Reserve via Mityana and Fort Portal, in a breathtaking landscape that forms the Albertine western Rift Valley. We will have several stopovers to relax, and sightseeing as we pass verdant countryside, traditional homesteads and farms.

Fort-Portal rests in the shadow of the fabled Mountains of the Moon.

Upon arrival at the lodge and check in.

Enjoy a packed/picnic lunch on the way.

Late afternoon go on a guided walk in the crater lakes area, + tea plantations and also a cultural visit to the local villages.

Fort-Portal rests in the shadow of the fabled Mountains of the Moon.

Upon arrival at the lodge and check in.

Overnight: Chimpanzee Guest House or similar

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch &Dinner

After breakfast, depart the guest house and start an early morning trek for chimpanzees.

Chimpanzee tracking has rules and regulations to follow
A distance of just about 8m is very important between you and the chimps.
People with diseases such as flu or diarrhea may not allowed in the park.
Avoid eating near the chimps.
Guide is the only one to help get access to the forest.
Chimps need freedom therefore no provoking them once you enter the park.
Flash photography is not allowed in the park.

The trek could start at 08.00 and lasts 2-3 hours. The Primates are searched down by visitors during the tracking. These include black & white Colobus, grey cheeked Mangabey, red tailed monkey. Your guides will show you pittas along with other bird species & will explain the trait of different plant species within the forest. This walk is for 6 individuals per tour group.

You will be allowed to spend some time (at most an hour) with our mesmerizing relatives, as you observe them swing from one tree to another, feed, play about or progress speedily on the ground right in front of you.

Chimpanzees as well as humans share over 98 percent of their DNA.

However these being wild animals, chances of spotting these chimps are not always guaranteed although they are over 95% within the Kibale Forest, hence making it the most perfect destination in the whole of East Africa for chimpanzee tracking.

In the afternoon, go for a swamp walk in Bigodi.

The Bigodi Wetland Sanctuary is an fascinating area, located in Magombe swamp. this area is recognized for a extensive array of biodiversity among which are several primates species like the red colobus monkey, baboon, black & white colobus monkey, blue monkey grey cheeked, mangabey, vervet monkey, red tailed monkey and the L’Hoest monkey. Additional Mammals such as chimpanzees, Sitatunga, mongooses, bush pigs, otters plus bush bucks, also visit this swamp coming from the adjacent Kibale National Park.

The Bigodi Wetland Sanctuary is a great example of a community-based approach to the natural resources management which can be of good economic benefit to the different local residents living within this area plus the Uganda safaris industry as well.

Return to the guest house.

Later enjoy dinner.

Overnight: Chimpanzee Guest House or similar

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch &Dinner

Check out of the guest house after breakfast, and you will be driven via Kasese to Queen Elizabeth National Park; stopping briefly to visit Nyakasura falls in Fort Portal, then continue to Queen Elizabeth National Park.

Continue to Kasenyi safari lodge and check-in. Enjoy lunch at the lodge.

At 4:00pm, depart the lodge for a two hour boat trip along the famous Kazinga channel for an opportunity to see Hippo, Buffalo, Kobs, Elephants, warthogs etc. This trip also enables visitor chance to see spectacular birds.

Return to the lodge.

Overnight: Kasenyi Safari Camp or similar

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch &Dinner

Enjoy your breakfast then check out of the camp. You will be driven to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park.

The journey takes about 4 hours but driving through interesting features.

Arrive Bwindi Impenetrable National Park in the evening. This park is home of the rare mountain gorillas. Apart from gorillas, there are a wide variety of primates to see including the blue and red tailed monkeys. The forest itself is lush and green and there are streams running through it.

Overnight: Chameleon Hill 

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch &Dinner

Begin the day with breakfast then get ready for your trekking, which begins at 8:00 am with a briefing from the UWA staff.

Ensure to carry along with you a rain jacket, drinking water, snacks, jungle boots etc.

The guides will lead you inside the jungle to see the shy Primates for a group you have been booked for. Do not forget to take your lunch boxes and all the necessary gear to track the rare Mountain Gorilla, perhaps one of the most exciting wildlife experiences on earth. The tracking may take between 2 and 6 hours but it’s well worth the effort.

PLEASE NOTE:

• Please note that anyone with flu or a cold is not permitted to trek and it is advisable that you talk to your guide if you are likely to have any symptoms. 
• Bring your passport for ID check.
• Your group will be led by a head ranger and an assistant allocated to your group at the headquarters.
• The warden is the only person who can decide which group you will trek. Only 8 trekkers are allowed per gorilla family. 
• The warden generally knows how far the gorilla groups are from the park. They will be spread over different mountains so you will have to drive to the base to start the trek.
• You may hire a porter, at an extra cost, who, apart from helping you carry your backpack, can also assist when climbing steep hills.
• You will also receive a wooden walking stick for which you do not need to pay but you may buy it at the end of the trek as a memento or return it to the ranger.
• We want you to enjoy this trek so do not rush and do take a rest while climbing as the slopes are steep and the altitude will make you tired. When you do find the gorillas you will have an hour to observe them. The head guide will instruct you on what to do and where to go while you observe the gorillas. Please listen to him/her as he/she is very experienced.
• Your trek should be over by lunch time if the gorillas are not too far. At the finish, you will receive a certificate and will perhaps want to tip the guides and porters (tipping guidelines are provided). 

Gorilla Trekking Guidelines:

• To minimize possible transmission of human diseases, visitors are asked to maintain a distance of 7m (about 22 feet) from the gorillas. If you are sick with a cold, flu or other contagious illness, please do not visit the gorillas.
• Viewing time is limited to one hour.
• Maximum 8 visitors per group.
• Spitting in the park is strictly prohibited.
• Should you need to cough, cover your mouth and turn away from the gorillas.
• When with the gorillas, keep your voice low.
• Try not to make rapid movements that may frighten the gorillas.
• If a gorilla should charge or vocalize at you, do not be alarmed, stand still, look away from the gorilla and follow your guide’s directions.
• Do not litter.
• Do not use flash photography

Spend the afternoon at leisure.

OPTIONAL (NOT INCLUDED) The Buhoma Village Walk gives you a great opportunity to see how the people surrounding Bwindi Impenetrable Forest.  It also is a great way to support the local community in a direct way.  The Walk begins with your guide at Buhoma Community Rest Camp and is most informative, rewarding to the average visitor. It will amaze you how resourceful the local people are as you see and learn their ways.

Overnight: Chameleon Hill   or similar

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch &Dinner

After breakfast, check out of the lodge and you will be driven through the beautiful scenery, the Kigezi Mountains – you will have stops along the way. You will have lunch at a local restaurant in Mbarara enroute to Lake Mburo National Park.

Check in at Mantana Mburo camp, late afternoon game drives.

Lake Mburo National Park is a compact gem, it is the smallest of Uganda’s savannah national parks and underlain by ancient Precambrian metamorphic rocks which date back more than 500 million years. It is home to 350 bird species as well as zebra, impala, eland, buffalo, oribi, Defassa waterbuck, leopard, hippo, hyena, topi and reedbuck.

Together with 13 other lakes in the area, Lake Mburo forms part of a 50km-long wetland system linked by a swamp. Five of these lakes lie within the park’s borders. Once covered by open savanna, Lake Mburo National Park now contains much woodland as there are no elephants to tame the vegetation. In the western part of the park, the savanna is interspersed with rocky ridges and forested gorges while patches of papyrus swamp and narrow bands of lush riparian woodland line many lakes.

Overnight: Mantana Lake Tented Camp 

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch &Dinner

You will have an early morning game drive in the park.

Return to the camp for breakfast then you will be driven back to Entebbe with a brief stop at the Equator.

Continue to Entebbe and check into the Boma guest house overnight.

Overnight: The Boma Entebbe or similar

Meals: Breakfast & Lunch

You will be picked up from the hotel and transferred to Entebbe airport to board the flight to home.