Primate Special - A 12 Day Uganda Safari tracking the very rare Mountain Gorilla in the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, with wildlife activities in the Queen Elizabeth National Park, and Kazinga Channel. Guide price £2820 per person, including a private English speaking guide, 4x4 vehicle, two gorilla permits, chimpanzee tracking in Kibale and a night at the Ngamba Island Chimpanzee Sanctuary with Forest Walk. Flexible departures.
Day One - Arrive at Entebbe Airport where your guide will warmly meet you and 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 approximately 5 hours.
Day Two - After breakfast, drive to the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park passing through the Switzerland of Uganda (Kabale) with beautiful scenery and terrace farming arriving in the afternoon. Best known for its very rare mountain gorillas, the montane forest also attracts some spectacular birds. There are 23 of the 24 Albertine Rift endemics 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, with 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. journey time approximately 5 hours.
Day Three - This morning you will have to wake up very early to get ready to track 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 its 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 - A second day tracking the mountain gorillas.
Day Five - After breakfast, you will depart the Impenetrable Forest for the 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 resident here, including lion, hippo, buffalo, leopard, spotted hyena, elephant and the elusive giant forest hog, plus remarkable 606 bird species that include the black chested eagle and the swallow tailed bee eaters. The primates include chimps, black and white colobus monkeys, blue, black faced red colobus, and red tailed monkeys and olive baboons. Reptiles here include the huge rock-python, puff adders, spitting cobras, Gabon rippers, green mambas and turtles. All of these species 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 to 5 hours.
Day Six - This morning, we will either have a game drive to the Kisenyi area to look for Lion prides and other wildlife like the Uganda Kob or go for the 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. Overnight at Mweya Safari Lodge.
Day Seven - 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 Eight - This morning, we will go for the morning Chimp tracking in Kibale Forest, spend the afternoon relaxing at the wonderful Ndali Lodge.
Day Nine - After breakfast, leave Ndali and then proceed to Kampala having lunch en-route - overnight in Kampala. Journey time approximately 5 hours.
Day Ten - Depart the hotel at about 7.30 am and transfer to Entebbe where we will take a boat on Lake Victoria to Ngamba Chimp Sanctuary.
The sanctuary is a beautiful island covered with tropical rain forest 45 minutes from Kampala on Lake Victoria. It has been set up to take care of poached orphan chimps. They have now formed a natural family group with an aggressive alpha male named Robbie. Overnight at the Ngamba Island Luxury Camp.
Day Eleven - Forest Walk, an experience that offers you an opportunity to join a group of infant chimpanzees on a one hour walk through their forest habitat. A maximum of three visitors are allowed in the forest for each walk, always accompanied by trained CSWCT staff for your safety and enjoyment. You will be in the company of several chimpanzees ranging in age from 1 year to 8 years of age and you will have direct contact. There are very specific instructions regarding your health, clothing, cameras, glasses, and behaviour when signing up for this unique opportunity as these chimpanzees are used to human contact and they will play-bite, climb on you, grab your glasses, and pull your hair, or even just walk along holding your hand. And that’s where the fun begins! Return to Entebbe where your guide will meet you and transfer you the the Beach Imperial Hotel on the shores of Lake Victoria for the night.
Day Twelve - You will be transferred back to the airport in plenty of time for your onward flight.
Transportation - Please note that clients will be travelling in a private 4 wheel drive vehicle, with an experienced English speaking guide.
Please note that the above cost includes all accommodation, all meals apart from Kampala 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, 2 gorilla permits, chimp tracking, hire of a boat trip in Queen Elizabeth, other activities while on safari, optional Ngamba trip and all applicable government taxes.
Excluded are; Alcohol, personal insurance, personal services like laundry, international flights and phone calls.
Itinerary may change slightly due to local road conditions. No changes in accommodation just occasional route alterations when some roads become un-passable.