Our Uganda Primate Adventure is the antithesis of the sedentary safari experience without being overly strenuous and showcases the beauty and rich bio-diversity of the country. It is a primate enthusiasts dream with chimpanzee tracking in Kibale Forest and Queen Elizabeth National Park. Add an extension for gorilla trekking and your primate experience will be complete.
Uganda Primate Adventure, Uganda
Tour Length: 8 days
Entebbe | Kibale Forest | Queen Elizabeth National Park
8 Days – Uganda
From $3,695 per person
Uganda Primate Adventure Tour Itinerary
Day 1 Depart USA
Your Uganda Primate Adventure begins with your overnight journey to Uganda.
Day 2 Entebbe (1 night)
Arrive at Entebbe International Airport, where you are warmly greeted and transferred to your nearby hotel.
Day 3 Kibale Forest National Park (2 nights)
After breakfast, depart on your morning drive to Kibale Forest National Park. Traveling on both asphalt and unpaved roads, you pass through traditional Ugandan Villages where you see people at work tending their traditional crops. Keep your eyes open for a variety of birds that perch on the fence rows and power lines along the way. Continue past the expansive tea plantations around Fort Portal and on to your lodge. The view of the lake from your cottage is outstanding and the private deck is a perfect place to stretch your legs and relax.
Day 4 Kibale Forest National Park
After a morning briefing, embark on a chimp tracking excursion. Other primates you are likely to encounter include the grey-cheeked mangabeys along with red tailed and blue guenon, l’Hoest’s monkey, bushbaby and others.. Your expert guide will share the secrets of the forest’ flora and fauna, ensuring that the trail is both informative and enjoyable. Though much harder to see, the park is also home to buffalo, leopard, bushpig, elephant and duiker along with 144 species of butterflies.
In the afternoon, take a walk in the Bigodi Wetlands Sanctuary, part of the Magombe Swamp. The sanctuary in a community based initiative and has been instrumental in building a local secondary school, nursery school and paying salaries for teachers. The wetlands is a paradise for birdwatchers, home to 200 known species, including the Great Blue Turaco, so named for its turquoise blue color. With its blue-black crest and a convex bill that is bright yellow with red tip, they are a colorful sight. Other non-avian residents include several primate species, bushpigs, mongoose, sitatunga, otters and bushbuck.
Day 5 Queen Elizabeth National Park (2 nights)
This morning you depart for Queen Elizabeth National Park (QENP). The approximately 3-hour drive takes you past volcanic crater lakes; on a clear day one can see the famous “Mountains of the Moon”, the Rwenzori Mountains.
Enjoy a late afternoon game drive. At over 763 square miles, QENP encompasses five levels of vegetation, thereby offering a variety of habitats for over 95 mammal and 612 bird species. Driving across the grassland plains, you can see elephant, buffalo, lion, leopard, waterbuck, bushbuck and warthog.
Day 6 Queen Elizabeth National Park
This morning includes chimp tracking in Kyambura Gorge. With a depth of over 325 feet at its deepest point, the floor of the gorge is another world. The tree canopy and lush tropical vegetation shut out most of the sun’s rays. In addition to chimpanzees, the indigenous fauna includes black and white colobus monkeys, red-tailed monkeys, olive baboons, vervet monkeys, giant forest hogs and some spectacular bird life including falcons, the blue-headed bee-eater and the African finfoot.
Late afternoon, take a boat trip on the Kazinga Channel, which joins Lake George with Lake Edward. This channel has the highest concentration of hippos in the world as well as Nile crocodiles. Buffalo and elephant are frequently seen drinking from the channel, along with other residents of the grassland thickets along the water’s edge.
Day 7 Entebbe – Departure
Today’s 7-hour drive passes sprawling scenery dotted with crater lakes, banana and tea plantations. Stop for the obligatory photo as you cross the equator. Arrive in Entebbe and continue to the airport in time for your departing home-bound flight.
Day 8 Arrive USA
Arrive home with astounding stories of your Uganda Primate Adventure to share with your friends.
