Top wildlife safari, gorilla trekking & primates excursions in Uganda
Best gorilla trekking & primates excursions overview
This all wildlife inclusive Uganda safaris/ packages, gorilla trekking & primates excursions is the Pearl of Africa’s all inclusive natural and wild experience include mountain gorillas, chimpanzees, golden monkeys, the source of the river Nile & its water falls, Africa’s big 5 & wilderness game drives, endemic bird species like the shoebills stork, mountain Rwenzori snow caps sceneries, coffee tasting & processing tours, city tours & night life, bungee jumping, boat cruises.
Arrival & departure: Entebbe
- Day 1- arrival and rest on l. Victoria shores
- Day 2- mabamba swamp, botanical tour & night life
- Day 3- source of the river Nile, boat cruise & bungee jumping
- Day 4 & 5- mtn. Elgon N.P & hiking
- Day 6- Sipi falls, hiking and Pian Upe reserve
- Day 7- transfer to Kidepo via Karamojong homesteads
- Day 8- game drives & hiking at Kidepo
- Day 9- Kidepo game drives & transfer to Murchison
- Day 10- Murchison game drives & birding
- Day 11- game drive & hike to top of the Murchison water falls
- Day 12- game drive & R. Nile boat cruise
- Day 13- Ziwa rhino sanctuary
- Day 14- chimpanzee tracking & transfer to Semuliki
- Day 15- hot springs & forest primates & bird species
- Day 16- game drives at Queen Elizabeth N.P
- Day 17- boat cruise at Kazinga channel & game drives through Ishasha
- Day 18- gorilla trekking, Batwa experience & nature walks
- Day 19- golden monkeys at Mgahinga & L. Bunyonyi
- Day 20- Mburo walking safari to Kampala
- Day 21- city tour and departure
Detailed Gorilla trekking & primates excursions itinerary
Day 1 Lake Victoria shores
On arrival for your Gorilla trekking & primates excursions in Uganda, 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 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 tour to Uganda’s game parks for a lot of exciting adventures.
Accommodation: Lake Victoria Serena hotel (or a similar one)
Meals: Breakfast| Lunch| Dinner
Shoebills are found in the mabamba swamp which is also Ramsar site to see the endangered shoebill. This tour is carried out on boats that move from the Lake Victoria shoes into the narrow water stretches of the swamp; a tour lasting for 3 hours. After the shoebill tracking, you will head to the botanical gardens still along the shores of the lake. Walking tours at the cool 40.7 hectare botanical gardens along the shore of Lake Victoria. Botanical gardens are also common for biking/ cycling safari, monkey feeding, birding safari and 500 plant species including both foreign and indigenous.
Accommodation: Lake Victoria Serena hotel (or a similar one)
Meals: Breakfast| Lunch| Dinner
Beginning 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. Some of the falls include Owen falls, Bujagali falls, Ripon falls, Itanda falls, Busowoko falls among others. Clean white waters of the River Nile at this point are the most entertaining on the river course throughout Africa offering the best bungee jumping point, water rafting, horse riding at the river banks, water surfing, swimming, canoeing, river boarding, quad biking around the river banks among others. 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 on this gorilla trekking & primates excursions.
Accommodation: Whispers of the Nile lodge (or a similar one)
Meals: Breakfast| Lunch| Dinner
- Day 1 will see you climb through the local homesteads & gardens then up along the Dirigana river banks beneath hanging cliffs and cross the bridge directly below the 61 meter Nabunyifu falls giving an amazing experience with nature. You will then trek up the escarpment into the montane forest above. After a few kilometers you find our lunch spot nestled at a river bend to enjoy a tasty lunch as you listen to the smooth sounds of the flowing river. From here it is a gentle trail up via the Mukola ridge to Hunwick’s camp at 2,882m with scenic views of communities below and the Elgon ranges to Mbale city. The cellular network at Hunwick’s camp will keep you in touch with the rest of the world where you will also spend the night.
- Day 2; In the morning after a hearty breakfast, you will take the trail up through the forest for a kilometer before branching and walking down to river Dirigana. The trail follows along the river banks, with several rapids and small waterfalls scenes before descending back to base camp past the water falls.
Accommodation: Mount Elgon resort hotel (or a similar one)
Meals: Breakfast| Lunch| Dinner
Day 6 Sipi falls & Pian Upe
On this day 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 7 transfer to Kidepo valley N.P
Setting off the next day, you will head to Kidepo valley national park in north eastern part of Uganda at the border of Uganda and South Sudan. While on the way, you will make a stopover at the Karamojong community residences called Manyattas which are huts constructed of mud, cow dung and grass thatching as one main hut is surrounded by numerous huts of extended members of the family, fenced with thorny logs and sharing one compound. Reaching at Kidepo, you will get to your booked accommodation and rest for the next days’ activities.
Accommodation: Apoka safari lodge (or a similar one)
Meals: Breakfast| Lunch| Dinner
Continuing with the gorilla trekking & primates excursions safari in the most typical African wilderness; so vast and untampered with having savannah grasslands that tend to dry when it’s hot and all green when rains set in. Kidepo game park has the second highest number of bird species in Uganda recorded at 475 species in the park such ostriches, secretary bird, raptors and vultures etc. along with 83 mammal species such as elephants, zebras, buffaloes, rothschild’s giraffes, kobs, hartebeests, blue monkey, hyenas, leopards, cheetahs, lions, wild dogs, jackals among others. Expect to enjoy views of big buffalo and elephant herds and will wind up the day while driving out of the park head to Murchison falls national park.
Accommodation: Pakuba safari lodge (or a similar one)
Meals: Breakfast| Lunch| Dinner
Today you will head out to sections of the Murchison falls national park to continue exploring this vast grassland and its remarkable wild game. More amazing will be giraffe & elephant herds, lion prides, waterbucks, buffaloes, baboons, reptiles, numerous bird species etc. Moreover, you will have a trek up to view the magnificent Murchison falls from above and watch the strongest falls on the planet, gashing 3,000 cubic liters 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.
Boat cruises at the river Nile
After 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, raptors, geese among others, hippos and a great number of huge nile crocodiles and many more mammals that approach the river banks to quench their thirst like buffaloes, elephants and the scenes are endless.
Accommodation: Pakuba safari lodge (or a similar one)
Meals: Breakfast| Lunch| Dinner
You will start off with a walking safaris watching out for rhinos and towards the swamp areas. Ziwa rhino sanctuary has more than 40 white southern rhinos, rothschild’s giraffes, kobs, leopards, swamps with papyrus endemics like the shoebills, African wild cats, warthogs, reptiles among other species. The sanctuary not having big predators, allows you to easily make nature walks to come to nearby engagement with the park’s wild game. In the late afternoon you will continue with your trip to Kibale national park
Accommodation: Primates safari lodge (or a similar one)
Meals: Breakfast| Lunch| Dinner
Gorilla trekking & primates excursions in Uganda will get you to Kibale national park for chimpanzee tracking and forest walk as the park is known for chimpanzee tracking and for having the highest population & concentration of chimpanzees in world numbering above 1,500 individuals in the park. Chimpanzee tracking sessions start at 08:00, 11:00 & 14:00 and takes 2-5 hours with a more than 99% 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 Kibale national park include the L’hoest monkeys, colobus monkeys, blue monkey, olive baboon, red tailed monkey, vervet monkeys.
Accommodation: Kibale forest lodge (or a similar one)
Meals: Breakfast| Lunch| Dinner
Semuliki national park has hot springs that were a result of geological actions dating thousands of years back; these produce water of over 100°C producing white mist and smoke in the forests. It’s a common for visitors to buy raw eggs and boil them at the hot water point. Semuliki game park is also an intersection of the east African grasslands and the central African tropical forests thus harboring numerous tree species of the west and central African forests recorded at 435 bird species along 11 primate species and 53 mammal species.
Some of these include 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
This day you will have morning and evening game drives to various parts of the park for a lot of wonderful scenic view of the Rwenzori mountains and its slopes, the African big 5; elephant herds, lion families, leopards, hippo herds, hyenas, wild dogs, Uganda kobs, water bucks, antelopes, baboons, monkeys, crocodiles, crater lakes, reptiles, raptors, sun birds and many more awaiting your memorable tour in this game park.
Accommodation: Mweya safari lodge (or a similar one)
Meals: Breakfast| Lunch| Dinner
Day 17 Kazinga channel-Ishasha sector
At the Kazinga channel on this Gorilla trekking & primates excursions experience, you will have a glance at the world’s largest concentration of hippos which are numbered above 5,000 at the Kazinga channel, Nile crocodiles, buffaloes, elephants, lions, water bucks, giraffes, kobs, kudus etc. also coming in 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 in the savannah grasslands and scenic views of the snow capped mountain Rwenzori as you head to the Ishasha sector of the park that is famous for tree climbing lions.
Accommodation: Mweya safari lodge (or a similar one)
Meals: Breakfast| Lunch| Dinner
Very early in the morning you will embark on a four-hour journey to Bwindi impenetrable forest in Uganda for a morning gorilla trekking. Mountain gorilla treks in the tropical montane forests will last between 30 to 3 hours before meeting the gorilla family you are assigned to and you will be allowed to follow and spend an hour with that gorilla family. Getting to find the mountain gorillas on a trek in Uganda is a 99% chance backed up by the gorilla population in this region. Following 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 see other primates and numerous bird species with particularly 23 albertine endemics that are habitats to only the albertine region.
Accommodation: Buhoma lodge (or a similar one)
Meals: Breakfast| Lunch| Dinner
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 and live in families of hundreds and have a very playful character, they will keep you so entertained. 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.
Following golden monkey tracking, you will head to lake Bunyonyi (Africa’s deepest crater lake and one of the most gorgeous lakes on the continent) decorated with 29 green islands in its waters and are all accessible by canoe to watch special bird species for example grey crowned cranes, great cormorants and many more that are worth watching.
Accommodation: Bird’s nest @ Bunyonyi resort (or a similar one)
Meals: Breakfast| Lunch| Dinner
On this day you will head to lake Mburo national park commonly known for its high zebra population with a wide range of touring options from horseback riding safaris, walking safaris, game drives, biking/cycling safaris and community walks. Lake 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 shoebills; 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, reedbucks, olive baboons, sitatungas, bush pigs, hyenas, impalas, crocodiles, reptiles among others. Later in the evening hours, you will head out to Kampala.
Accommodation: Lake Victoria Serena hotel (or a similar one)
Meals: Breakfast| Lunch| Dinner
Day 21 Kampala & departure
This tour 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 like Kasubi tombs, Rubaga cathedral, Namirembe cathedral, Gaddafi 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. The duration of this city tour will depend on the departure time.
Accommodation: N/A
Meals: Breakfast| Lunch| Dinner
Inclusions
- Park entry fees
- Gorilla trekking permits
- Golden monkey tracking permits
- Chimpanzee tracking permits
- Airport transfers
- Government taxes
- Laundry
- Bottled drinking refreshments
- Transport 4×4 safari landcruiser
- All excursions indicated in the itinerary
- Driver & guide
Exclusions
- International flights
- Travel Insurance
- Visa fees & processing
- Extra activities, meal, alcohol/liquor not in itinerary
- Tipping & gratitude
- Any changes to the itinerary
- Souvenirs & snacks
- Accommodation after the end of the trip
- Anything not mentioned
When is the best time for Uganda's gorilla trekking & primates excursions on safari?
Uganda’s summer time/ dry months of June to August and December to February are the best for safari with gorilla trekking & primates excursions on Africa holidays. Summer months in Uganda balance the weather and maneuvering conditions for primates tracking paths and safari game drive routes in all popular national parks. Sunny months make keep roads/ paths dry and less slippery easing your Africa safari. Speak to travel experts with Travitude safari tours and have a perfect travel itinerary to satisfy you wildlife inspiration.
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