Day 1: Arrival in Uganda.
Today you will arrive at in Uganda at Entebbe airport. Upon arrival you shall be received by your tour guide bearing a signage with your name. He will thereafter transfer you to check in at your accommodation located only 20 minutes from the airport. Depending on your time of arrival, he shall give you a detailed briefing of your tour.
Accommodations
Budget: Papyrus Guest House
Midrange: The Boma Hotel
High end: Hotel Number 5
Meal plan: Breakfast, -, -
Day 2: Drive to Kibale Forest national park
After breakfast, you will depart to Kibale Forest national park. This drive will last 5-6 hours. It will lead you through the green countryside. Along the way you will enjoy spectacular views of tea plantations. You may stop at any of them for photo moments and also to interact with the tea pickers. You will have a lunch stop in Fort Portal town. Later you will check in at your accommodation near Kibale Forest national park.
Kibale National park covers an area of about 795km and it is acknowledged to have one of Uganda’s most gorgeous tropical forest. It is a habitat to many forest wildlife and among these include the primates along with chimpanzees. The park has a recorded 10 primate species as native which include blue monkeys, red tailed monkeys, red colobus, grey-cheeked mangabey and L’Hoest monkeys. The park is also home for a recorded 138 birds species which makes it an important birding destination in the country.
Accommodations
Budget: Kibale Forest camp
Midrange: Turaco treetops Lodge
Highend: Papaya Lake Lodge
Meal plan: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 3: Chimpanzee trekking. Bigodi swamp walk
After breakfast you will embark on the search for chimpanzees inside Kibale Forest national park. You will be led by experienced ranger guides who will provide detailed information, not only about primates, but on all the forest fauna and flora and will ensure that your walk is both informative and enjoyable. The tracking lasts approximately 3 hours. You will spend an hour photographing the chimps before concluding and returning to the lodge. In the afternoon, you will have a guided walk through Bigodi swamps which are an ideal habitat for birdwatching and spotting numerous primates species.
Accommodations
Budget: Kibale Forest camp
Midrange: Turaco treetops Lodge
Highend: Papaya Lake Lodge
Meal plan: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 4: Drive to Bwindi Impenetrable national park
Early in the morning, you will drive to Bwindi impenetrable national park. You will drive through the "Switzerland of Africa" area known as the Kigezi Highlands with its terraced hillside and winding roads to Bwindi. You will proceed to your accommodation located in the foreground of Bwindi impenetrable national park – The home of Mountain Gorillas in Uganda.
Bwindi Impenetrable National Park lies in southwestern Uganda on the edge of the Rift Valley. Its mist-covered hillsides are blanketed by one of Uganda's oldest and most biologically diverse rainforests, which dates back over 25,000 years and contains almost 400 species of plants. More famously, this “impenetrable forest” also protects more than 400 mountain gorillas – roughly half of the world’s population, including several habituated groups, which can be tracked. This biologically diverse region also provides shelter to a further 120 mammals, including several primate species such as baboons and chimpanzees, as well as elephants and antelopes. There are around 350 species of birds hosted in this forest, including 23 Albertine Rift endemics.
Bwindi impenetrable national park was declared a UNESCO Natural World Heritage site in 1994.
Accommodations
Budget: Haven Lodge Bwindi
Midrange: Mahogany Springs Lodge
High end: Buhoma Lodge
Meal plan: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 5: Gorilla trekking in Bwindi national park.
After an early breakfast, you will be transferred to the park headquarters from where you shall be briefed and grouped for the Gorilla trekking exercise. You will be led by experienced ranger guides and guards off into the tangled and mist-shrouded forests with trackers that assist in locating the gorillas by finding the nest the family had used the previous night. The search for these majestic animals goes through thick untamed rainforest and it can be arduous at times, but the encounter is worth the effort. Tracking gorillas on average takes 3 – 8 hours depending on how far the animals have moved. Watching gorillas in their natural habitat is a memory that will last a lifetime. The experienced ranger guides will willingly share with you a lot of information about history and lifestyle of the Gorillas. You will spend an hour following, observing and photographing the Gorillas as they feed, play and groom each other. After the experience you will exit Bwindi Forest and rest at your accommodation.
Accommodations
Budget: Haven Lodge Bwindi
Midrange: Mahogany Springs Lodge
High end: Buhoma Lodge
Meal plan: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 6: Drive to Entebbe and departure
Early in the morning you will check out of your accommodation and hit the road to Entebbe town. You will have a stopover for lunch and a health break. You will arrive in Entebbe in the evening. You shall be dropped at the airport to take your flight to the next destination.
Meal plan: Breakfast, Lunch, -