9 Days Magical Uganda Gorilla & Wildlife Safari Encounter
This 9 Days Magical Uganda Gorilla & Wildlife Safari Encounter is an amazing lifetime adventure offering visitors the opportunity to enjoy the thrill of wilderness and the hearts of the jungles of tropical rainforests and savannah parks on game drives and boat cruises in search of numerous wildlife and birdlife.
You will also encounter the gentle forest giants, “the gorillas,” and chimpanzees in their natural habitat and encounter lovely, hospitable people.
Highlights of 9 Days Magical Uganda Gorilla & Wildlife Safari Encounter
Day 1: Arrival and transfer to a hotel in Kampala
Day 2: Transfer to Kibale National Park
Day 3: Chimpanzee tracking and Bigodi Nature walk
Day 4: Transfer to Queen Elizabeth National Park
Day 5: Game Drive and Boat Cruise on Kazinga Channel
Day 6: Transfer to Bwindi
Day 7: Gorilla Trekking Experience
Day 8: Transfer to Lake Bunyonyi
Day 9: Transfer to Kigali airport
Detailed itinerary of 9 days Magical Uganda Gorilla & Wildlife Safari Encounter
Day 1: Arrival and transfer to a hotel in Kampala
Upon arrival at Entebbe International Airport, you will be picked up by our driver guide, who will transfer you to your booked hotel in Kampala with a stunning view of the city.
Have dinner and stay overnight.
Accommodation: Cassia Lodge
Meal Plan: Dinner
Day 2: Transfer to Kibale National Park
In the morning after breakfast, you will set off on a relaxed drive through the verdant countryside to Kibale Forest National Park with en-route stops, including the distant views of a number of tea plantations along the way. Reach Kibale Forest National Park in the afternoon and check in for lunch at your lodge; you will spend the rest of the afternoon at leisure.
Dinner and overnight.
Accommodation: Chimpanzee Forest Guest House
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Day 3: Chimpanzee tracking and Bigodi Nature walk
Enjoy an early breakfast and head to the park headquarters for a briefing at the park headquarters, where a ranger-guide will take you through rules and regulations to follow. Head to the starting point and enter into the forest in search of chimpanzees. along the trek you will encounter other primates like vervet monkeys, Blue Hoest Monkeys, Black and White Colobus Monkeys among others.
Kibale Forest National Park is known as the home of primates, with 13 primate species, including the famous chimpanzees, the trek takes about 2–4 hours depending on the movement of the chimpanzees. One hour will be allocated to you to have a wonderful interaction with the chimpanzees as you take pictures and short videos under the guidance of a ranger guide, who will also explain to you all the biological background of the chimpanzees as you interact.
Later you will return to your lodge for lunch; in the afternoon you will head for a nature walk to the Bigodi Wetland Sanctuary for primate and bird watching. The walk can take roughly 2 hours to explore the hidden treasure of this swamp with a great chance to see a number of bird species and monkeys. Return to the lodge for dinner and overnight.
Accommodation: Chimpanzee Forest Guest House. (Mid-range lodge)
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Day 4-5 : Transfer to Queen Elizabeth National Park
Have a relaxed morning breakfast and drive to Queen Elizabeth National Park, along the way you will enjoy beautiful views of the crater lakes on a brief crater lakes tour around and later drive to the park with another stopover at the Equator for photography.
Check in at your lodge for dinner and overnight.
Accommodation: Twin Lake Safari Lodge
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Day 5: Game Drive and Boat Cruise on Kazinga Channel
Have an early breakfast at 06:00 am; you will head in search of the morning hunters and grazers such as the buffaloes, elephants, waterbucks, bushbucks, Uganda kobs, lions and a variety of bird species that you will encounter on your game drive. Later head back to the lodge for lunch; later in the day you will proceed for a boat cruise along the Kazinga Channel. You will enjoy views of water-dwelling birds and animals such as pied kingfishers, African fish eagle, heron, daters among others and animals like buffaloes, crocodiles, monitor lizards, elephants among others.
After the boat cruise, you will proceed for a short game drive as you head back to your lodge for dinner and overnight.
Accommodation: Twin Lake Safari Lodge (mid-range lodge).
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Day 6: Transfer to Bwindi
Enjoy a relaxed morning breakfast, check out of your lodge and transfer to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park with a visit to the fishing village around Kazinga Channel. Proceed to Ishasha Sector for a sighting of tree-climbing lions with a short game drive; later drive to Bwindi with panoramic views along the way with an en-route lunch. Overnight and dinner at your lodge.
Accommodation: Rushaga Gorilla Haven Lodge
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Day 7: Gorilla Trekking Experience
Have an early morning breakfast and with your packed lunch, you will head to the park headquarters for a briefing before embarking on the gorilla trekking adventure.
Gorilla trekking is a lifetime moment that will leave you with a great wildlife experience of meeting the gorillas face-to-face in their natural habitat. you will spend 1 hour with the gorillas watching them go on with their life and watch juveniles swing from one tree branch to another.
Return to the lodge for a short rest; in the afternoon you will head to the Batwa Village for a cultural experience, and you will have a deeper insight into how they used to live in the forest and how they thrived. Return to the lodge for dinner and overnight.
Accommodation: Rushaga Gorilla Haven Lodge (Mid – range lodge)
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Day 8: Transfer to Lake Bunyonyi
Have a relaxed morning breakfast, check out of your lodge and drive to Lake Bunyonyi—a beautiful lake and the second deepest lake in Africa. The lake has many islands, which you will explore on a boat cruise while the guide is narrating the stories behind them.
Head to your lodge for dinner and overnight.
Accommodation: Arcadia Cottages
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Day 9: Transfer to Kigali airport
Enjoy a leisurely breakfast, check out of your lodge and embark on a journey to Kigali City for a drop-off. You will have a border crossing at the Cyanika border and continue to Kigali; you will be dropped off at the airport for your flight back home.
Meal Plan: Breakfast & Lunch
End of 9 Days Magical Uganda Gorilla & Wildlife Safari Encounter
Price Includes
- Accommodation and meals as per itinerary
- Transportation in a 4×4 safari vehicle
- Services of an English/French-speaking driver/guide
- Gorilla permits: $800, one per person
- 1 Chimpanzee permit per person.
- 1-liter bottle of mineral water per day per person during safari
- Sightseeing and excursions as described in the itinerary (inclusive of applicable entrance fees)
Price Excludes
- Expenses for personal spending e.g souvenir purchases, etc.
- International Flights
- Any extra activity not listed on the itinerary
