Upon arrival at Entebbe International Airport, you will be met by a Great Lakes Safaris’ representative and transferred to your hotel, check in at Protea Hotel Entebbe, your home for this night. Lunch is on own account.
In the afternoon, depending on your flight, visit to the botanical gardens and later enjoy a sunset cruise to the Equator with drinks and snacks included.
Protea Hotel – BB
After breakfast, transfer to the airport for a scheduled flight departing at 07:00am or 12:30pm to Kasese Airstrip, on arrival you will be met by a Great lakes Safaris guide and transferred 1:30mins to Primate lodge, check in for lunch and relaxation. Later enjoy a nocturnal guided forest walk to see the creatures of the night such as Bush babies, potto and the nocturnal birds. Overnight accommodation at Primate Lodge located in the heart of the Kibale forest.
Kibale Forest National Park is an extensive Biodiversity National Park in South Uganda and also known as the “Primate Paradise” has one of the greatest variety and concentration of primates in Africa including our famous cousins the Chimpanzee, Red Colobus Monkeys, Vervet Monkeys, L’Hoest’s, Black-and- White Colobus and the Olive Baboons. There is also a wide array of unique birds, forest elephants (smaller and hairier than the more familiar savannah elephant) and much more.
Primate Lodge Kibale – F
Today the forest opens its doors for a sensational chimpanzee Habituation experience.
You will walk or drive to the trailhead for the start of an unforgettable adventure – hiking in the footsteps of the habituated family of chimpanzees. En-route, your guide will enthral you with stories and facts about the forest and her other inhabitants including other species of primates and birds and other big mammals.
Upon sighting the chimpanzees, you will spend the entire this time here as they go about their daily life – feeding, playing, grooming, taking care of their young, howling and screeching, in their natural habitat.
Return back to the lodge for a late lunch then in the evening enjoy a guided nature walk through the Bigodi wetland.
Bigodi Swamp Walk is an initiative of the local community and is known for its rich diversity of birds and primates. The path and board walk maybe flooded and muddy after heavy rainfall and gumboots are recommended. The walk is about 4km in length taking 3-4 hours at birding pace with local community guides. All proceeds from eco- tourism go back to into the community, a conservation project well worth supporting.
Later return to the lodge for dinner and overnight.
Morning transfer to Kasese Airstrip for a flight to Kihihi airstrip, you will say goodbye to your driver, on arrival you will be met by a Mahogany Springs Lodge driver guide and transfer to 1:30minshrs while driving through traditional homesteads. Arrive in Bwindi National Park, home of the endangered mountain Gorillas.
Check in and enjoy lunch. then embark on an evening village walk meeting the locals and engaging in the community
Later return to the lodge for dinner and overnight.
Overnight-Mahogany Springs
Meal Plan: Full Board
Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, home of the rare but critically endangered Mountain Gorillas (gorilla beringei beringei), lies on the edge of the albertine Rift Valley in south-western Uganda, with a wide altitude range between 1,160m and 2,600m. The forest itself, dating back to the ice ages, is one of Uganda’s oldest and ecologically most diverse with almost 400 species of plants, 350 species of birds including 23 Albertine Rift endemics as well as 120 mammals species including lots of smaller mammals like rodents and bats but also the Gorillas, Baboons, Chimpanzees, Elephants and Antelopes.
Arise early today and prepare for the highlight of your safari, an unforgettable encounter with the gentle giants!
Following breakfast, transfer to the national park offices where you will be allocated a gorilla family in groups of 8 as well as a gorilla tracking guide.
Please remember to bring your passport for registration, appropriate, water proof hiking boots and a light rain coat. To protect from stinging nettles, we recommend long pants and long sleeved tops. A pair of old gardening gloves can help grabbing onto the vegetation while most hotels/lodges provide a walking stick that come in very handy especially when hiking downhill. A small waterproof backpack is an excellent idea to carry a light snack, bottled water as well as protection for your camera. After a pre-tracking briefing by your guide touching on the gorillas generally, your assigned gorilla family as well as appropriate safety precautions, you drive to the trailhead for the start of a thrilling adventure – participants can expect to walk long distances in steep and sometimes muddy conditions with rain overhead, which can be tough and require a degree of fitness, however the thrill of coming face to face with a giant Mountain Gorilla silverback far more than makes up for the effort in their quest. Granted the time taken can be quite unpredictable taking anything from 2 to 8 hrs or longer.
Upon sighting the gorillas, you spend the allowed one hour with them as they go about their daily life; feeding, moving, playing, raising their young and sometimes wrestling by the juveniles – it is a totally unique and unforgettable experience!
NB: COMING FACE TO FACE WITH A GIANT MOUNTAIN GORILLA MUST TRULY BE THE MOST GENUINELY BREATHTAKING WILDLIFE EXPERIENCE ON EARTH!
Afterwards, you hike back to base and on to the lodge for a well-deserved shower and lunch or dinner depending on the time taken on the trek.
Overnight-Mahogany Springs
Meal Plan: Full Board
Today you will be transferred to Kihihi Airstrip (about 1 hour from the lodge) for your departure flight out of Impenetrable forest of Bwindi and head back to Entebbe with the morning or afternoon flight. At Entebbe International Airport connect to your international flight. (B)
