8 Day Uganda Safari tracking the very rare Mountain Gorilla in the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, game drives in Lake Mburo and Queen Elizabeth National Park, a boat trip on the Kazinga Channel and chimpanzee tracking in Kibale National Forest. Guide price £1810 per person, including a private English speaking guide, 4x4 vehicle and one gorilla permit.
Flexible departures.
Day One - Arrive at Entebbe Airport, where your guide will warmly greet you. Set off on the southbound road, with a stop to look at the royal drum makers, to stand on the Equator (be in both hemispheres at once) and then continue to Lake Mburo National Park, with a game drive en-route arriving at Mantana tented Camp in the afternoon. After lunch, you may decide to go for a boat trip or just relax. Lake Mburo is an extension to the Tanzanian plains with large herds of zebra, impala, eland and other savannah species. For birders, this is one of the best place to find the African fin foot, papyrus and bush shrike. Go for an evening game drive and over night at Mantana Tented Camp. Journey time approiximately 4 to 5 hours.
Day Two - After breakfast, you will continue to the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest arriving in the afternoon. Best known for its very rare mountain gorillas, the montane forest also attracts spectacular birds. There are 23 of the 24 Albertine Rift endemic species including the African green broadbill and the bar tailed trogon. You may decide to relax in the afternoon or take a nature walk which will lead you to the Munyaga waterfall and a chance to see primates such as the grey cheeked mangabey and blue monkeys. Spend the night at the Gorilla Forest Camp. The camp has been designed to blend seamlessly into this most atmospheric of environments, carefully appointed towards the misty valleys and looming, forest-clad mountains that protect this fragile eco-system. Accommodation is in 8 double tents, raised on wooden platforms, each with en-suite facilities and hot and cold running water, WC, basin and unusually – a bathtub looking out onto the forest. Each tent has a spacious wooden verandah where guests can relax, enjoy a private meal and absorb the exotic mystery of the surrounding rainforest that provided the inspiration for the animation of Disney’s The Jungle Book. The Gorilla Forest Camp offers a bar and dining cottage overlooking the rain forest, as well as a raised natural platform for open air dining. At night, a traditional African campfire is lit from where a lecture might be given by a visiting primatologist, the gorilla briefings are undertaken or guests simply admire the myriad brilliance of Bwindi’s crystal clear mountain sky. You will need a good night's rest to get ready for the following day's gorilla tracking. Joureny time approximately 5 hours.
Day Three - This morning you will have to wake up very early to get ready for tracking the gorillas. Perhaps one of the most exciting wildlife experiences on earth, there are now only 720 left in the world. The tracking may take between 2 and 6 hours but it is well worth the effort. There are always park guides with you who interpret the flora and fauna and the lifestyle of the gorillas in the forest. In the afternoon relax at the camp or take a forest walk. Over night at Gorilla Forest Camp.
Day Four - After breakfast, you will depart the Impenetrable Forest for Queen Elizabeth National Park arriving in the afternoon. Relax around the pool after lunch and later go for an early evening game drive.
Its little wonder that Queen Elizabeth boasts one of the highest bio diversity ratings of any game park or reserve in the world. From the open Savannah to rain forest, dense papyrus swamps and brooding crater lakes to the vastness of lake Edward. Almost 100 mammal species are present in the Park, including lion, hippo, buffalo, leopard, spotted hyena, elephant and the elusive giant forest hog, plus a remarkable 606 bird species that include the black chested eagle and the swallow tailed bee eater. The primates include chimps, black and white colobus monkeys, blue, black faced red colobus, red tailed monkeys and olive baboons. The wide range of reptiles include the huge rock-python, puff adders, spitting cobras, Gabon rippers, green mambas, and turtles. All these are regularly sighted on the Mweya Peninsula and makes for a superb safari. Over night at Mweya Safari Lodge. Located on a peninsula within the heart of the spectacular Queen Elizabeth National Park. A Safari lodge with sumptuous accommodation, breathtaking views from every room, an abundance of game and some of the best bird-watching in East Africa. Journey time approximately 4 hours.
Day Five - An early morning drive to the crater lakes in Kyambura Game Reserve to see thousands of colorful lesser flamingo's as they feed in these soda lakes. Later an afternoon boat trip along the Kazinga Channel. Hippos huff and spray mere feet away from the boat, buffalo linger in the shallows, a tremendous variety of birds grace the grasses on the shores. Great White and Pink-backed Pelicans, Great and Long-tailed Cormorants, Open-billed Stork, African Jacana, Malachite and Pied Kingfishers are commonly seen. February and March offer spectacular sightings of some of the bird migrants. Spend the night at Mweya Lodge.
Day Six - After breakfast and a final game drive out of Queen Elizabeth, we head north for Kibale National Park. Kibale Forest is a large protected block of rainforest, which has the highest number of primates in Africa, including Chimpanzees, Grey Cheeked Mangabey, Red Tailed monkey and Red Colobus. You will go for a guided walk to the Magombe Swamp at Bigodi to look for the Shining Blue Kingfisher, Blue Throated Roller and other rare species, and also find the fruiting trees, which attract Narina Trogon, Pied Hornbill, Yellow Spotted, Hairy Breasted and Yellow-Billed Barbets. Spend the night at Ndali Lodge, a stunning location overlooking a dramatic Crater Lake and the fabled "Mountains of the Moon". Journey time approximately 4 hours.
Ndali Lodge is perched on the rim of an extinct volcano which, since its demise, has filled with water to become the breathtaking Lake Nyinambuga – 250 acres in size and 130 metres deep. There is a main thatched lodge with spacious sitting room, reception area and dinning room flanked by 8 cottages providing luxurious accommodation for 16 guests. The cottages, face west to offer a panoramic view to the spectacular 'Mountains of the Moon', all are built of local stone and thatch. The interiors are imaginatively and comfortably furnished, the decor emphasising the using local materials. Each cottage, large enough to accommodate a family, has en-suite facilities with bath, shower, WC and hand basin and a private verandah, perfect for watching the sun setting behind the rwenzori mountains, the snow-capped peaks of which are clearly visible on a clear day. At night the dining room is festooned with candles - the lodge has no electricity or generators to destroy the tranquillity and atmosphere. The sitting room, reception and dining room open out onto Lake Nyinambuga and are connected by two open passage-ways or breeze-ways: fruit bats, owls and frogs like to use them as a highway to the crater lake. Breakfast is on the verandah overlooking the lake: freshly squeezed passion fruit juice (from Ndali's vines when in season) and homemade bread with wild honey go down well with a full English breakfast.
Day Seven - This morning, we will go Chimp tracking in Kibale National Forest, before heading back to Kampala. Overnight at Hotel Africana. Journey time approximately 5 hours.
Day Eight - After breakfast you will be collected from your hotel by your guide and transferred to Entebbe Airport for your flight home. Journey time approximately 30 minutes.
Transportation - Please note that clients will be travelling in 4 wheel drive vehicles with pop up roof, with a well-experienced English speaking guide.
Please note that the above cost includes all accommodation, all meals apart from Kampala and Entebbe hotels which are B/B, a full time safari guide with his associated expenses, all ground transportation and airport transfers, all fuel, forest guides walks, day and night game drives where possible, 1 gorilla permit, hire of a boat trip in Queen Elizabeth, chimpanzee tracking in Kibale, other activities while on safari and all applicable government taxes.
Excluded are; All drinks, personal travel insurance, personal services like laundry and phone calls, international flights, tips and gratuities.
Additional Options; This is just a suggested itinerary, you can easily add another day tracking the rare mountain gorillas or visit some of Uganda's other natural wonders.
Itinerary may change slightly due to local road conditions. No changes in accommodation just occasional route alterations when some roads become un-passable.