A splendid 20 days primate species experiences & wildlife safari
Best Primate species experiences overview
20 days primate species experiences featuring mountain gorillas, golden monkeys, chimpanzees, river Nile & water sports. As a traveler from USA, UK, Dubai, Asia, Australia, Germany, South Africa, Canada don’t miss out on the best activities on this Uganda all inclusive safari on the country’s renown excursions such as gorilla trekking, chimpanzee tracking, Africa’s big 5 game, rhino tracking, bird watching, top of the Murchison water falls hiking, golden monkey tracking, water rafting & bungee jumping at source of the river Nile, mountain Rwenzori hiking & snow capped sceneries, lake Victoria shores and boat cruises.
Arrival and departure: Entebbe
- Day 1- arrival, rest
- Day 2- mabamba swamp & botanical tour
- Day 3- l. Mburo walking safari
- Day 4- l. Bunyonyi & birding experience
- Day 5- golden monkeys & nature walks at Mgahinga
- Day 6- Bwindi Impenetrable gorilla trekking & Ishasha game drive
- Day 7- Kazinga channel & game drives
- Day 8- chimpanzee tracking & nature walks at Kibale N.P
- Day 9- Semuliki hot springs, scenery & wild game
- Day 10- Murchison game drives & top of the water falls
- Day 11- Murchison game drives & boat cruise
- Day 12- transfer to Sipi falls
- Day 13- Sipi falls, birding & hiking
- Day 14- Mt. Elgon N.P
- Day 15- Mbale coffee tour and city tour to Jinja
- Day 16- R. Nile water sports & night life
- Day 17- cruise to the source and transfer to Kampala
- Day 18- Kampala city tour and night life
- Day 19- Ngamba island chimpanzee sanctuary
- Day 20- return to Entebbe and departure
Detailed 20 days primate species experiences itinerary
Day 1 Lake Victoria shores
On arrival, you will be picked from the airport by our guide and taken to your booked accommodation at the shores of lake Victoria; Africa’s largest fresh water lake for a rest as you chill in the cool lake breeze, scenic endless water horizons and numerous green islands to overcome travel exhaustion as you prepare also to embark on a long awaited 20 days primates species expeditions safari to Uganda’s game parks for a lot of exciting adventures.
Accommodation: Lake Victoria Serena hotel (or a similar one)
Meals: Breakfast| Lunch| Dinner
Day 2 Mabamba swamp & Botanical gardens
Mabamba swamp| Ramsar site tour is carried out on boats that move from the Lake Victoria shoes into the narrow water stretches of the swamp on a tour lasting for 3 hours to watch numerous swamp endemics and water birds. Later on you will head to the botanical gardens still along the shores of the lake. Botanical gardens are also common for biking/ cycling safari, monkey feeding, birding safari and 500 plant species categorized into indigenous and non-native fruits, medicinal, beverage, spices, ornamentals, timber, oils and important crop wild relatives, several of these threatened in the wild and agro-ecosystems.
Accommodation: Mihingo lodge (or a similar one)
Meals: Breakfast| Lunch| Dinner
Day 3 Lake Mburo N.P
Lake Mburo national park offers a wide range of touring options from board rides, horseback riding safaris, walking safaris, game drives, biking/cycling safaris and community walks. Mburo game park has 70 mammals and 332 recorded bird species and is richly gifted with various acacia and papyrus endemics such as the papyrus gonolek, papyrus yellow warbler, white-winged warbler and shoebill; as the acacia species are wide spread elsewhere in the park. Mammals include burchell’s zebras, Nubian giraffes, hippos, leopards, buffaloes, topi, elands, antelopes, warthogs, bushbucks, stripped jackals, olive baboons, sitatungas, hyenas, impalas, crocodiles, reptiles etc.
Accommodation: Bird’s nest @ Bunyonyi resort (or a similar one)
Meals: Breakfast| Lunch| Dinner
On this day you will wake up to the sound of birds and a glance at the mist waters, hills and valleys at lake Bunyonyi. Some of the most amazing attributes of the lake are being the deepest crater lake in Africa, the 29 islands located in its waters which toured by use of a boat/canoe and safe waters with no crocodiles and hippos. Lake Bunyonyi harbors over 200 bird species with the gray crowned crane being one of the most remarkable birds, breathtaking sceneries of the volcano mountains ad slopes of Muhavura will leave you stunned at this beautiful lake and its surrounding.
Accommodation: Buhoma lodge (or a similar one)
Meals: Breakfast| Lunch| Dinner
Day 5 Mgahinga N.P
Early in the morning after breakfast and a briefing, you will hike the volcanic mountains of the Mgahinga to a height of 2,500 meters above sea level in the bamboo forests of the montane region where these unique primates reside. These have orange-yellow like hair color that give them that distinguished golden look. Looking at them critically, you will notice their facial appearance that the golden monkeys have a nose so different from that of many other primate species. along the hike, you will also observe other primates like the red tailed monkeys, white and black colobus monkeys, reptiles, Albertine rift endemics and many more bird species on nature walks in the park.
Accommodation: Buhoma lodge (or a similar one)
Meals: Breakfast| Lunch| Dinner
Day 6 Bwindi Impenetrable N.P
Very early in the morning you will embark on a four-hour journey to Bwindi impenetrable forest in Uganda for a morning gorilla trekking. Primate species experiences specifically tracking gorillas in the tropical montane forests will last between 30 to 1 hour before meeting the gorilla family you are assigned to and you will be allowed to follow and spend an hour with that gorilla family. After the trek, you will have an experience with the Batwa people who have for all their life time co-existed with the forest and its species. During this nature walk you will experience numerous bird species with particularly 23 albertine endemics that are habitats to only the albertine region.
Ishasha sector
Later on you will set out to the Ishasha sector of the Queen Elizabeth national park best known for its tree climbing lions along with many other wild game like; elephants, buffaloes, leopards, kobs, antelopes, wild dogs, hyenas, ostriches, waterbucks and glamour at some of the world’s most unique bird species as the park is the second best birding haven having more than 660 recorded bird species as their home. Vast grassland and its plains will keep you amazed at the wonderful wild game and set up along with beautiful scenes of the Rwenzori mountains.
Accommodation: Mweya safari lodge (or a similar one)
Meals: Breakfast| Lunch| Dinner
Day 7 Kazinga channel- Queen Elizabeth national park
Early in the morning after breakfast, you will head out to the Kazinga channel (a river connecting lakes Edward and George) for a morning boat cruise through queen Elizabeth national park. At this primate species experiences safari you will have a glance at the world’s largest concentration of hippo pods numbered above 5,000 at the Kazinga channel, Nile crocodiles, buffaloes, elephants, lions, water bucks, giraffes, kobs, kudus etc. also coming onto the banks of the Kazinga channel to quench their thirst. After the boat cruise, you will embark on a game drive around this channel and beyond into the vast savannah grassland to enjoy more game viewing, scenic views of the snow capped mountain Rwenzori & the equator landmark as it crosses through the game park.
Accommodation: Mweya safari lodge (or a similar one)
Meals: Breakfast| Lunch| Dinner
Day 8 Kibale forest chimpanzees park
Day 8 of the 20 days primate species experiences, you will head to Kibale national park known for chimpanzee tracking and for having the highest population & concentration of chimpanzees in world numbering above 1,500 individuals in the park. Afternoon chimpanzee tracking session starts at 14:00 and takes 2-5 hours with a more than 90% chance of meeting the chimpanzees; a forest walk that will come along with numerous sceneries of more than 370 bird species of grassland, forest, swamp and Albertine rift region endemics, 350 tree species and 71 mammal species. other primates in the park include the L’hoest monkeys, colobus monkeys, blue monkey, olive baboon, red tailed monkey, vervet monkeys.
Accommodation: Primates safari lodge (or a similar one)
Meals: Breakfast| Lunch| Dinner
Day 9 Semuliki N.P- hot springs
Semuliki national park has hot springs that were a result of geological actions dating thousands of years back; these produce water fountains of over 100°C producing white mist and smoke in the forests. The park is also an intersection of the east African savannah grasslands and the central African tropical forests thus harboring numerous tree bird species of the west and central African forests.
Birding at Semuliki national park
Records of Semuliki game park have 435 bird species, 11 primate species and 53 mammal species which are the Albertine Rift Endemics such as the dwarf honey guide and purple-breasted sunbirds; 35 Congo-Guinea biome species found nowhere else in East Africa, including black dwarf hornbill, Nkulengu rail, Congo serpent eagle, Gabon, woodpecker; and other species with very limited ranges such as white-tailed hornbill, capuchin babbler, blue-headed crested flycatcher and the orange weaver.
Accommodation: Semuliki safari lodge (or a similar one)
Meals: Breakfast| Lunch| Dinner
Day 10 Murchison falls- River Nile
10 days into the 20 days primate species experiences tour, you will drive towards the Murchison falls and embark on a walking trek up to view the magnificent Murchison falls from above and watch the strongest falls on the planet, gashing 3,000 cubic litres of water per second through an eight-meter corridor cascading down a 43-meter height into the “the devil’s caldron” forming a white mist and a signature rainbow producing a loud sound from the powerful force of the water of the river Nile. Later on you head out to other sections of the park to continue exploring this vast grassland and its remarkable wild game. You will be amazed with many elephant families and their playful young ones, lion families, rothschild’s giraffes, waterbucks, buffaloes, baboons, reptiles, numerous bird species among others.
Accommodation: Pakuba safari lodge (or a similar one)
Meals: Breakfast| Lunch| Dinner
Day 11 Murchison falls national park
This day, you will wake up very early in the morning and drive to Murchison falls national where you will set off with a game drive till afternoon when you reach your booked lodge for lunch break. The park has the strongest water falls in the world and the highest number of rothschild’s giraffes in the world, elephant herds, lion prides, waterbucks, impalas, kobs, warthogs, buffaloes, leopards, hyenas etc. with more than 450 bird species recorded in the park. Following lunch, you will then head to the banks of the river Nile for a boat cruise towards the face of the Murchison falls. While on the boat cruise, you will have scene of various water birds like the shoebills, kingfishers, eagles, geese, hippos and a great number of huge Nile crocodiles and many more mammals that approach the river banks to quench their thirst.
Accommodation: Pakuba safari lodge (or a similar one)
Meals: Breakfast| Lunch| Dinner
Day 12 transfer to Sipi falls
On this morning you will take a 6hrs & 30 minutes’ drive from Murchison to Sipi falls a journey that will give you another glance of Uganda’s geological and cultural potent such many volcanic plugs and massive rocks, and rocky hills standing above the savannah grasslands, lakes and rivers the northeastern flat plains of Uganda. Continuing on way, you see numerous bird species that are part of Uganda’s hundreds of lowlands, highland and rift valley endemics and some immigrants from Europe and the north pole especially during the summer times from June to September.
Accommodation: Rafiki safari lodge (or a similar one)
Meals: Breakfast| Lunch| Dinner
Day 13 Sipi falls & hiking
Reaching the Elgon ranges, you will continue with the 3 different water falls (Sipi, Simba, Ngasire) that pour from cliffs as high as 95 meters and are separated by steep hillsides. Sipi falls are found outside mountain Elgon national park. During the hike you get across numerous other unnamed water falls across the steep slopes, a number of bird species as you hike along, can engage in fly fishing, biking among others. Later on you will visit the surrounding community for an agro-tour more so of the special indigenous Arabica coffee and coffee tasting sessions.
Accommodation: Rafiki safari lodge (or a similar one)
Meals: Breakfast| Lunch| Dinner
Day 14 Mt. Elgon N.P
Hiking into the national park, you will start your journey from Sipi falls to mount Elgon national park while enjoying sights of the Elgon peaks, numerous water falls flowing from the mountain caldera, montane vegetation that cascades on the slopes of the mountain, volcanic plugs, basalt cliffs and many others volcanic features and rocks. You will then go through the park and its forests enjoying its wild game such as blue monkeys, black and white colobus monkeys, vervet monkeys, de brazza’s monkey, leopards, elephant and cape buffaloes. Following the park tour, you will have a tour on cultural sites and know about the Bagisu/ Masaba people that are custodians of that place most interesting their cultural dance, tunes and embalu adulthood initiation ceremonies.
Accommodation: Mount Elgon resort hotel (or a similar one)
Meals: Breakfast| Lunch| Dinner
Day 15 Mbale coffee & cultural tour
Different from other parts of Uganda growing colonal and robusta coffee, Mbale specifically grows Arabica coffee from the ancient times and is one of the few places in the world that grow this type of coffee more so because of the fertile volcanic soils on the slopes of the Mountain Elgon which the Masaba people occupy. Mbale was once the world’s determinant of the price of Arabica coffee on the world which it is partly is today given the high yields and quantity of coffee produced; thumbs up for the Bugisu co-operative Union that has stood firm with the farmers to uphold this area to the pride of this cash crop. Bugisu Co-operative union has a great contribution to the organization and development of Mbale town and people’s welfare.
Masaba/ Bagisu culture
On this 20 days primate species experiences you will also reach out to some traditional sites and be entertained by the masaba people with their famous Imbalu dance and learn more about the essence of this tradition. There are also has eco resorts, art and crafts centers that sell various artifacts from different Ugandan traditions. Welcoming people of Mbale will make you feel at home and get you enjoying their local dishes such as matooke (bananas), cassava, millet, maleewa (a famous delicacy and soup prepared from soft bamboo shoots), ground nuts, mchomo (barbeques) among others. Later in the evening hours you will set off for Jinja town a journey that will continually grant you more volcanic geographical features such as rocks, volcanic plugs among others.
Accommodation: Mount Elgon resort hotel (or a similar one)
Meals: Breakfast| Lunch| Dinner
Day 16-17 Source of the River Nile
This section of the river Nile has numerous water falls that have become common water sport points to tourists and adventurers from all corners of the world on water falls like Owen falls, Bujagali falls, Ripon falls, Itanda falls & Busowoko falls. Clean white waters of the River Nile falls at this point are the most entertaining on the all river course throughout Africa offering the best of bungee jumping point, water rafting, horse riding at the river banks, water surfing, swimming, canoeing, river boarding, quad biking around the river banks etc. You will also take a boat to reach the source of the Nile where 30% of the water emanates from underground streams and 70% from Lake Victoria.
Accommodation: Whispers of the Nile (or a similar one)
Meals: Breakfast| Lunch| Dinner
Day 18 Kampala city tour
Kampala tour on the 20 days primate species experiences will get you to various historical administrative, economic and cultural sites and centers in the city have affected the development of Uganda as a country such as the Kasubi tombs, Rubaga cathedral, Namirembe cathedral, Kaddafi mosque, Baha’i temple etc. Food and commodity markets around Kampala are so interesting and have a great reflection of how the county’s population survives; these will get you have some taste on fresh fruits, vegetables grown in the country and street food delicacies. Later on in the evening, you will have a nightlife experience in the bars and lounges of Kampala city till resting time as you wait for the next day.
Accommodation: Lake Victoria Serena hotel (or a similar one)
Meals: Breakfast| Lunch| Dinner
Day 19 Ngamba Chimpanzee sanctuary
Early in the morning, you will embark on a journey by ferry or a boat to Ngamba island chimpanzee sanctuary also known as “chimp island” which has more than 50 individuals and located in Lake Victoria near Entebbe town covering about 100 acres of forest. Ngamba island attracts many primate researchers and institutions from around the world as it’s sanctioned to protect orphaned chimpanzees due to various human activities like poaching and encroachment into the wild places that may claim the lives of parents of these chimpanzees. Visiting Ngamba island will come along with bird watching, reptiles like monitor lizards, forest walks and sport fishing activities.
Accommodation: Ngamba eco-lodge (or a similar one)
Meals: Breakfast| Lunch| Dinner
Day 20 Entebbe for departure
If this day finds at lodges at Ngamba island, you will set off from there back to Entebbe to prepare for your departure flight OR if you are at the Lake Victoria shores on the main land, you will chill and relax from the long 20 days primate species experiences trip in a country Winston Churchill called the Pearl of Africa while preparing to be dropped off to board your flight back home.
Accommodation: N/A
Meals: Breakfast| Lunch| Dinner
When is the best time for combined wildlife & Primate species experiences?
Uganda’s summer time/ dry season months of June to August and December to February are the best for a combined safari with primate species experiences. Expect the best sighting opportunities during this time as you drive through the dry short grasses of the savannah and meeting animals on water bodies quenching their thirst. Safari during this time is also swift as the tracking paths and roads are not slippery thus maneuverable.
Inclusions
- Gorilla trekking permits
- Golden monkey tracking permits
- Chimpanzee tracking permits
- Park entry fees
- Airport transfers
- Transport 4×4 safari landcruiser
- Government taxes
- Laundry
- Driver & guide
- Bottle drinking refreshments
- All excursions indicated in the itinerary
Exclusions
- Travel insurance
- International flights
- Visa fees & processing
- Tipping & gratitude
- Souvenirs & snacks
- Any changes to the itinerary
- Accommodation after the end of the trip
- Extra activities, meals, alcohol/ liquor
- Anything not mentioned
Your safari route map
More Africa safari travel packages
- 1 day Uganda gorilla trekking safari
- 2 days Fly-in Uganda gorillas safari
- 3 days Uganda gorilla trekking safari
- 3 days Murchison falls Uganda safari
- 5 days Uganda birding safari
- 5 days Luxury gorilla trekking safari experience
- 6 days gorilla trekking & wildlife Uganda safari
- 7 days Uganda- Rwanda wildlife safari
- 8 days primates & wildlife Rwanda safari
- 10 days Uganda primates & wildlife safari
- 12 days Rwanda- Uganda wildlife safari
- 15 day Uganda primates & wildlife safari
- 16 days gorilla trekking & River Nile Uganda safari
- 16 days gorilla trekking- source of the river Nile- Masai Mara safari
- 18 days Uganda birding & primates safari
- 21 days gorilla trekking- R. Nile & wildlife Uganda safari
- 24 days Rwanda-Uganda-Kenya-Tanzania wildlife safari
- 30 days Uganda birding & wildlife safari
More Africa travel information
- Facts about mountain gorillas
- Africa’s big 5 wildlife safaris
- Cost of gorilla trekking safaris
- Gorillas, chimpanzees & primate species safari
- Gorilla trekking safari from USA, New York, California, Washington
- Top Africa safari packages
- Chimpanzee tracking safaris
- Shoebills & birding safaris
- Guide to Africa safari
- Booking gorilla trekking permits in advance
- Gorilla trekking safari from India
- Booking affordable safari packages
- Activities to do on safari visits to Africa
- Night life experiences in African cities
- Gorilla trekking tours from Morocco
- Queen Elizabeth park birding experience
- Source of the river Nile safari experiences & expeditions
- Cultural tours
- Gorilla trekking tours from Dubai
- Bird watching on Africa safaris
- Gorilla trekking safari from south Africa
- Gorilla trekking tours from Scandinavia
- Summer safari visits in Africa
- Gorilla trekking tours from Egypt