8 Days Exclusive Primate Safari in Uganda

8 Days Exclusive Primate Safari in Uganda

8 Days Exclusive Primate Safari in Uganda.: Are you a primate lover? If so, then this 8 Days Exclusive Primate Safari in Uganda is just perfect for you! During the 8 Days Exclusive Primate Safari, you will get an opportunity to spend quality time with different primate species in the top primate national parks in Uganda. You will get a chance to track the rare mountain gorillas in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, do golden monkey tracking in Mgahinga Gorilla National Park and trek habituated chimpanzees in Kibale National Park. The 8 Days Exclusive Primate Safari in Uganda will start with a pickup from Entebbe Airport and a drop-off in Kampala at the end of your tour. 

Highlights for the 8 Days Exclusive Primate Safari in Uganda.

• Day 1: Pickup and Transfer to Kampala Plus City Tour.
• Day 2:  Transfer to Bwindi National Park.
• Day 3: Gorilla Trekking and Batwa Trail Experience.
• Day 4: Transfer to Mgahinga & Afternoon Boat Ride on Lake Mutanda.
• Day 5: Golden Monkey Tracking & Batwa Community Tour.
• Day 6: Transfer to Kibale Forest National Park.
• Day 7: Chimpanzee Trekking & Bigodi Swamp Walk.
• Day 8: Transfer Back to Kampala & Departure.

Detailed Itinerary for 8 Days Exclusive Primate Safari in Uganda.

Day 1: Pickup and Transfer to Kampala Plus City Tour.

Pickup & Transfer to Kampala: On day 1 of your 8 Days Exclusive Primate Safari in Uganda, your guide will pick you up from Entebbe International Airport. You will transfer to Kampala for a tour of the city. It takes about 1 to 2 hours of driving from the airport in Entebbe to Kampala city center. 

Kampala City Tour: Have lunch in Kampala before proceeding with your tour of the city. During your tour of Kampala City, you will visit top cultural and historical sites like the King’s Palace in Mengo, National Museum, Kasubi Tombs(burial grounds for Kings of the Buganda Kingdom), Independence Monument, Idi Amin’s Torture Chambers, Ndeere Cultural Center, and Namugongo Martyrs’ Shrine to mention but a few. You will also visit top shopping malls in the city and grab yourself a souvenir; some of the top shopping centers in Kampala include Kingdom Kampala, Garden City, Lugogo shopping mall, Craft village and Acacia mall in Kyamwokya.

Dinner and accommodation at any hotel of your choice in Kampala.

Day 2:  Transfer to Bwindi National Park.

Transfer to Bwindi: Start your day early in the morning with breakfast at your hotel. Meet up with your guide and drive to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. The drive to Bwindi national park is quite a long road trip taking between 8 to 10 hours on the road. This is just perfect for you if you are the adventurous type as this long drive to the park will provide you with beautiful and breath-taking scenic views of the countryside.

Igongo Cultural Center:  You will have a stopover for lunch at Igongo Cultural Center which is about a 15 min drive to Mbarara city. You can opt to have a short tour of the museum before proceeding with your journey to Bwindi.

Upon your arrival in the park, check into your lodge for dinner and overnight stay.

Day 3: Gorilla Trekking and Batwa Trail Experience.

Gorilla Trekking: Have breakfast every early in the morning at your Lodge then proceed to the park’s headquarters in Buhoma. Please do note that it is important to be at the park by 7:00 am. This marks the start of your Gorilla trekking activity with a briefing from the head ranger/ park warden. Actual gorilla trekking activities in the park commence at exactly 8am. You will then be placed in groups of 8 individuals along with a well-trained park ranger and guide. You can request for a porter to carry your luggage but this will come at an extra fee. Gorilla trekking in Bwindi national park can take between 4 to 8 hours or more depending on how long it will take for you to locate a given gorilla group. Once your gorilla group has been located, you will only get to spend an hour with these majestic primates. You will be given time to have your lunch which you packed from your lodge.

Batwa Trail Experience: After your lunch, you will proceed to do the Batwa Trail Experience, which is conducted by local Batwa guides. Get to learn more about the Batwa’s long and ancient history with the forest, and also learn how to make some local herbal medicines, and Batwa traditional hunting skills.

Later, return to your Lodge for dinner and overnight stay.

Day 4: Transfer to Mgahinga & Afternoon Boat Ride on Lake Bunyonyi.

Transfer to Mgahinga: Have breakfast and check-out of your lodge. Meet up with your guide/driver and transfer to Mgahinga Gorilla National Park in Kisoro district, in the southwestern part of Uganda. The park is located 96km from Bwindi national park via the Kabale-Kisoro road. Stopover in Kabale town for lunch.

Afternoon Boat Ride: After having your lunch, drive to Lake Bunyonyi for an afternoon boat ride in one of the locally made canoes. Lake Bunyonyi is the second deepest lake in Africa and is blessed with over 135 species of birds. After your boat ride on the lake, proceed with your journey to Mgahinga national park.

Upon your arrival in the park, check into your lodge for dinner and an overnight stay.

Day 5: Golden Monkey Tracking & Batwa Community Tour.

Golden Monkey Tracking: Wake up early in the morning and have breakfast at your lodge. Make sure that you pack your lunch box with you before heading out. Your guide will pick you from your lodge and drive you to the park headquarters in Ntebeko, where you will start your golden monkey trekking tour. Golden monkeys are the only monkey species that live close to gorillas. They inhabit the same areas as mountain gorillas do. Upon your arrival in the park, you will be required to sign into the visitors’ registrar. This will be followed by a briefing from the head guide at the park. Actual golden monkey trekking will commence at 8am after you have been put in a trekking group not exceeding 8 members. The trek lasts from 2hours to a full day depending on the location of the gorilla family and the trekking speed. Once you find the family, only one hour is given you in presence of the gorillas interacting and taking photographs. During trekking, keep your eyes open for possibilities of viewing several monkeys, birds and other several species in the bamboo forest.

Batwa Community Tour: After your golden monkey trekking experience, meet up with your guide at the park headquarters. You will be driven to the neighboring Batwa communities where you will visit the Batwa people, commonly known as pygmies. Get to learn more about their interesting culture and watch dance performances from the locals. Later retire back to your lodge for dinner and accommodation.

Day 6: Transfer to Kibale Forest National Park.

Transfer to Kibale: Wake up in the morning and have breakfast at you lodge. Meet up with your guide and transfer to Kibale Forest National Park which is about a 6 hour drive from Mgahinga national park. Stopover in Fort Portal city for lunch.

Visit Amabere Ganyamwiru: After having your lunch, your guide will take you on a cultural tour to the renowned Amabere Ganyamwiru caves. Although the caves were formed as a result of stalagmites and stalactites, they have a rich cultural history attached to them, especially to the people of the Toro Kingdom. Proceed with your transfer to Kibale Forest National Park.

Check into your lodge for dinner and accommodation.

Day 7: Chimpanzee Trekking & Bigodi Swamp Walk.

Chimpanzee Trekking: This is one of the top highlights of any visit to Kibale national park. Wake up early in the morning and head out to Kanyanchu Visitor’s Center, where your chimpanzee trekking activity will commence. You will be expected to report to the park by 7am for a briefing from the head ranger at the park. Actual trekking begins at 8am after you have been placed into trekking groups that consist of not more than 6 members per group. Chimpanzee trekking in Kibale forest national park can take between 2-5 hours, depending on the location of the chimpanzees. You will be given an hour to spend with the chimpanzees once they have been located. Head back to the park headquarters in Kanyanchu for your chimpanzee trekking certificate and drive back to your hotel/lodge for lunch in case you didn’t not pack any in the morning.

Bigodi Swamp Walk: Later in the Afternoon, you will proceed to Bigodi Wetland Sanctuary which is just adjacent to the national park. Here, you will embark on a guided nature walk in the Swamp; where you will get to sight a number of bird species like; the Yellow-spotted Barbet, Hairy-breasted Barbet, Superb Sunbird, Black Bishop bird and the rare Shoe Bill Stock to mention but a few. There are about 138 bird species in Bigodi Swamp alone. Later head back to your lodge for dinner and accommodation.

Day 8: Transfer Back to Kampala & Departure.

Transfer back to Kampala: After having your breakfast in the morning, you will drive back to Kampala with a stopover in Mbarara town for lunch and later at the equator monuments in Kayabwe where you can take some pictures. Upon your arrival in Kampala, your guide will drop you off at any preferred hotel of your choice or directly at Entebbe International Airport. End of Tour.