UGANDA GORILLA TOUR - 9 DAYS GORILLA TOUR & UGANDA NATIONAL PARKS TOUR
(Gorilla Tracking & Game viewing Tour)

This is a 9 days Uganda Gorilla Tour which starts and ends in Kampala. This gorilla tour takes you for mountain gorilla tracking in Bwindi Gorilla Forest. Seeing some of the last remaining 700 mountain gorillas in the world is a fantastic experience. Gorilla Tracking will be carried out in one of the gorilla groups of Bwindi Gorilla Forest. The tour later traces the western Rift Valley in the heart of Africa, and involves you in a game viewing tour on the savannah plains of Queen Elizabeth National Park where you will see elephants, lions, buffaloes, hippos, and leopards. A chimpanzee tour that will involve you in track the fast moving and elusive chimpanzees in Kyambura Gorge is another rewarding tour activity included in this Uganda Gorilla Tour. In Ishasha go on the hunt for the tree-climbing lions lounging on old fig trees, see the rich wildlife and array of birds on the Kazinga Channel. The tour later takes you to Kibale Forest, home to the rare chimpanzees and Murchison Falls National park the largest national park in Uganda.

Uganda Gorilla Tour Itinerary

Day 1: Transfer to Bwindi impenetrable Forest
Early in the morning our tour guide will pick you from your safari lodge and set off for Bwindi Impenetrable forest National Park located in South Western Uganda. The drive will take a minimum of nine hours. You will have a brief stop at the Equator, then proceed with the journey which takes you through the grasslands of Ankole, whose common sight are the famous long horned cattle; then to the highlands of Kigezi with their beautifully terraced hills.
Break off for lunch at any hotel enroute. Continue with the journey through beautiful scenery and arrive Bwindi National Park in the evening. This park is home of the rare mountain gorillas. Apart from gorillas, there are a wide variety of primates to see including the blue and red tailed monkeys. The forest itself is lush and green and there are streams running through it. You will check in at Buhoma Homestead / Buhoma Community Rest Camp (Bandas), for dinner and overnight.

Day 2: Gorilla Tracking.
After breakfast set off early with your guide to track the gorillas. The thrill of your encounter will erase the difficulties of the potentially strenuous trek. Spend time in awe watching the gorillas go about their activities. Each encounter is different and has its own rewards, but you are likely to enjoy the close view of adults feeding, grooming and resting as the youngsters swing from vines in a delightfully playful display.
On a clear day as you track, you may have a chance to see the spectacular view of Congo’s Parc National Des Virunga’s, L.Edward and Mountain Rwenzori’s.
Return to the camp exhilarated to relieve the encounter with friends over a drink. Have dinner and over night at Buhoma Homestead.

Day 3: Queen Elizabeth National Park.
After breakfast, depart northwards for Queen Elizabeth National Park. The drive takes you through the unique western rift valley escarpment. Carry out a game drive in Ishasha sector in search of tree climbing lions before proceeding to the Mweya Peninsular; park headquarters. Arrive in the evening and check in at your Lodge.
The park boasts of a variety of big game like; lions, buffaloes, kobs, elephants, bushbucks, and the rare occasional leopard. Have dinner and over night at Mweya Safari Lodge/ Ecology Institute Hostel / Jacana Safari Lodge.

Day 4: Kyambura Gorge Chimpanzee Tour.
Rise before the sun and drive to Kyambura Gorge for a thrilling Chimpanzee tracking. Your guided walk may last three to five hours in addition to seeing the chimps, the trip may yield sightings of the colobus monkeys, baboons, red tailed and velvet monkeys, and other primates.
Return for lunch and then drive to the dock, and take on an afternoon launch cruise on Kazinga Channel, which joins Lakes Edward and George. It is a waterway that is filled with schools of hippos, buffaloes, and elephants, which can be seen at the banks. There are also a rich variety of birds on the channel. Retire to the lodge for dinner and over night at Mweya Safari Lodge/ Ecology Institute Hostel / Jacana Safari Lodge.

Day 5: Game Drive.
Early rise for a morning game drive. Look out for early grazers and hunters. These include hippos, elephants, lions, spotted hyenas and leopards, bushbuck, water buck and stripped jackal, and of course the several warthogs.
Visit the saline explosions for the locally mined salts, the processes and people involved. See the role of women in this activity plus the risks at hand. Return to the lodge for lunch and then drive to Kibale Forest National Park through Fort-Portal. Drive along the scenic beauty of the Rwenzori ranges and the stretch of savanna grasslands.
Admire the smoke from the Bakonzo homesteads and the glittering tiny iron sheet-roofs on the steep Rwenzori ranges. Dinner and overnight stay at Ndali Lodge / Primate Lodge / Fort Motel / Mountains of the Moon Hotel / Toro Resort.

Day 6: Kibale Forest.
After early breakfast, report at Kanyanchu Tourist Centre where tourist activities begin and set out to track chimpanzee in the forest. Chances of viewing the chimps are over 90% but not a guarantee. Kibale National Park is one of the beautiful and stunning forests in the Uganda. This is home of our closest living relatives the endangered Chimpanzee, the threatened Red colobus monkey and the rare L’Hoest’s monkey.
The forest also boasts of having one of the highest diversity and density of primates in Africa totaling 13 species including the Black and white colobus, Blue monkey, Grey-cheeked mangabey, Red tailed monkey and Bush babies and Pottos.
After lunch take on a nature walk to the wetlands. You will be able to see a variety of butterflies, birds and other insects. Have a tour of the crater region around Ndali lodge. Visit the “natural bridge” and “top of the world”. You may also stop over at any tea plantation along the road if you wish. Return to your accommodation for dinner and overnight stay at Ndali Lodge / Primate Lodge / Fort Motel / Mountains of the Moon Hotel / Toro Resort.

Day 7: Transfer to Murchison falls National Park.
After breakfast, drive to Murchison Falls National Park with packed lunch enroute. Experience the endless stretch and beauty of savanna grassland that disappears in a mirage. After breakfast, drive to Murchison Falls National Park with picnic lunch enroute. Arrive at Paraa. Stay Red Chilli Camp / Sambiya River Lodge / Nile River Camp or cross by ferry to Paraa Safari Lodge on the northern bank of River Nile for dinner and overnight.

Day 8: Game Drive.
Start the day with an early morning game drive on the Buligi, Albert or Queens tracks north of the river Nile. You are able to view those animals that are unique to the African
Savannah like giraffe, antelope, lion, elephant, and the Uganda kob. May also visit Nyamisika cliffs with picnic breakfast (optional).
After lunch, take on a launch cruise along the Nile River. The cruise takes to the Bottom of the thundering falls where you will see huge crocodiles, schools of hippos, buffaloes, elephants and a variety of water birds like herons, cormorants, ducks, bee-eaters, kingfishers, skimmers, fish eagle and the rare shoebill. Return to the lodge for dinner and overnight.

Day 9: Top of the Falls.
On this day before you leave the park, take a drive to the “Top of the falls” for a breathtaking sight of the raging Nile as it forces its way through
a rocky gap barely six meters wide. This is the point where the Nile River explodes through a narrow gorge and cascades down to become a placid river. Proceed to Kampala with lunch enroute.

END OF UGANDA GORILLA TOUR