9 Days Gorillas and Wildlife Tour

Tour overview

This 9 Days Gorillas and Wildlife Tour starts in Entebbe and ends in Kigali. While on this trip, you will first visit Kibale forest national park and while there, you will get a chance of seeing chimpanzees and watching them play and feed for 2 hours. The safari will proceed to Queen Elizabeth national park famous for the Kazinga channel and many animal species including the tree climbing lions found in the Ishasha sector of the park. This 9 Days Gorillas and Wildlife Tour will continue to Bwindi impenetrable national park in western Uganda. This park has got over 340 mountain gorillas making it half of the mountain gorillas remaining in the world. Finally, this trip will also take you to Mgahinga gorilla national park and while there, you will have fun meeting the mountain gorillas that share 99% DNA with the humans. During the gorilla trek, you will have a great time meeting the gentle giants.

Detailed itinerary: 9 Days Gorillas and Wildlife Tour

Day 1: Arrival at Entebbe international airport

Welcome to the pearl of Africa! Upon arrival at Entebbe international airport, you will be met and greeted by our friendly and Professional drive/ guide. He will brief and take you through your tip plan then transfer you to your hotel in Entebbe for relaxation.

Accommodation: 2 friends guest house (Midrange)/ Via via Entebbe (Budget)

Meal Plan: Bed & Breakfast

Day 2: Transfer to Kibale forest national park with Bigodi wetland visit

After breakfast you will checkout of the lodge and drive to Kibale forest national park. You will be able to enjoy am impressive sight of the legendary “mountains of the moon” which you will clearly see on the road to fort portal. You will as well pass through many traditional villages as you enjoy local people carrying out agriculture.

You will as well enjoy fort portal which is in the foot hills of mountain Rwenzori filled with tea plantations filled with tea plantations, after enjoying this platform of green tea, you will continue to Kibale forest national park which is one of the great rain forests in Africa. This forest is mainly famous for around 13 primate species with chimpanzees being the main tracked chimpanzees. The other primate species include the golden monkeys, black and white colobus monkeys, as well as the bird species. The park is also next to Bigodi wetland which is managed and own by the local people in the area, this place is famous for primate watching as well as birding.

On arrival at the park, you will check into your lodge for lunch and then head out for the Bigodi wetland visit.

Accommodation: Turacco treetops (Midrange)/ Kibale forest camp (Budget)

Meal Plan: Full board

Day 3: Chimpanzee trekking and transfer to Queen Elizabeth for evening game drive.

Wake up so early and head to Kanyanchu by 8:00 am to start your chimpanzee trek in Kibale forest. Chimpanzees are considered to be the closest relatives of human beings since they share 98% of their DNA with that of human beings. As you proceed with the search of these beautiful chimps, you will view many other primate and animal species including the LHoests monkeys, black and white colobus monkeys, red tailed monkey, grey cheeked mangabeys, bush babies and many bird species including yellow spotted nictor, ramped tinker, crowed eagle, as well as the elephants which are mammals.

This national park is on an average of 3,300 feet in elevation and it’s a rain forest with many chimpanzee communities, each troop of these chimpanzees has over 100 individuals which are a competed social structure. In their groups, the adult males dominate the group and always defend the whole community against any danger and incursions by the female from outside. These primates are located by listening to their pant hooting calls, and then hurry to the place where they are calling from. You get a chance to observe them as they play, feed; socialize as well as jumping around the trees.

Immediately after the long trek, you will return to the lodge for lunch and after lunch you will check out of the lodge for your transfer to Queen Elizabeth national park. Upon arrival at the park, you will enjoy a morning game drive where you will see various animals like elephants, elands, antelopes, buffaloes, lions among others.

Accommodation: Aardvark safari lodge (Midrange)/ Bush lodge (Budget)

Meal Plan: Full board

Day 4: Morning game drive, Lake Katwe visit and afternoon boat cruise.

Arise early enough and after breakfast, enjoy a morning game drive where you will see various animals like elephants, elands, antelopes, buffaloes, lions among others. After the game drive. After the game drive, you will be transferred to Lake Katwe where the locals which teach you more about the salt mining process.

After the lake Katwe visit, you will return to the lodge for lunch. After lunch, you will do the afternoon set out for boat cruise on Kazinga channel where you will see various of animals like crocodiles, hippos, water bucks, buffaloes as well as birds like the storks, king fishers among others.

Accommodation: Aardvark safari lodge (Midrange)/ Bush lodge (Budget)

Meal Plan: Full board

Day 5: Transfer to Bwindi National Park with a game drive in Ishasha

Have breakfast then set off for Bwindi Impenetrable National Park through the Ishasha sector of Queen Elizabeth National Park – famously known for its resident tree-climbing lions. The chance of spotting these lions is about 70% though sometimes they are hard to spot (most especially when they are down in the grassland looking for prey). Hoping you get the chance to spot them, the sight will be spectacular!

Continue to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. Bwindi is a big habitat for mountain gorillas in Uganda (harboring an estimated 400 mountain gorillas – roughly half of the world’s population) including several habituated groups, which you will trek. With a strenuous day ahead, you will do less on arrival but just check in your accommodation, relax as you prepare for the Bwindi gorilla trekking experience the following day.

Accommodation: Ichumbi gorilla lodge (Midrange)/ Gorilla hills eco lodge (Budget)

Meal Plan: Full board

Day 6: Gorilla Trekking and Batwa Talks Experience

Encountering the rare and endangered Mountain Gorillas of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is an experience of a lifetime. Half of the world’s population of gorillas’ lives under the mist-covered canopies of Uganda’s oldest and most biologically diverse rainforest. In the company of an experienced park ranger, you will be tracking the whereabouts of one of the nine habituated family groups who live in the park. Your tracking experience will be an exciting, yet challenging, journey along forested (often muddy and slippery) slopes, tangled vines, thick vegetation and bamboo forests before you reach the territory of these gentle giants.

En-route, your ranger will point out telltale signs of previous gorilla activity like dung, nests and chewed bamboo shoots. Depending on the location of the gorillas on any given day the walk can take anything from 2 to 7 hours. Once the family of gorillas has been located, settle in to your surroundings and enjoy the hour you have to quietly observe these fascinating primates whose habits and mannerisms remind us so much of our own.

Encountering the mountain gorillas in the wild is a truly humbling and emotional experience, one that you are sure to remember for the rest of your life.

Accommodation: Ichumbi gorilla lodge (Midrange)/ Gorilla hills eco lodge (Budget)

Meal Plan: Full board

Day 7: Transfer to Mgahinga gorilla national park

After breakfast, you will checkout of the lodge with the help of your guide and transfer to Mgahinga gorilla national park.

Accommodation: Ikoro hotel (Midrange)/ Kisoro traveler’s hotel (Budget)

Meal Plan: Full board

Day 8: Golden monkey trekking

Leave for morning golden monkey habituation experience which will make you stay longer with the golden monkeys more than the normal golden monkey trekking, you enjoy almost full day with these great apes right from the time when they are still in their nest up the time, they will be breast feeding their young ones and other daily activities, you stay with them for 4-6 hours. After the golden monkey habituation, you will transfer back to the lodge for overnight stay and dinner.

Accommodation: Ikoro hotel (Midrange)/ Kisoro traveler’s hotel (Budget)

Meal Plan: Full board

Day 9: Transfer to Kigali international airport

On this day have your relaxed breakfast, and thereafter you will be taken to Kigali international airport for your flight to back home.

End of tour

Inclusions:

· Transportation

· Accommodation

· English speaking guide

· Meals as specified above

· 1 Gorilla permit per person

· 1 Golden monkey permit per person

· 1 Chimpanzee permit per person

· Cultural tour

· Bigodi wetland visit

· Lake Katwe visit

· Park entrance fees

· Boat cruise

· Game drives

· All activities mentioned above

· All transfers

Exclusions

· Tips & gratuities

· Visa fees

· Air tickets

· Alcoholic drinks

· Activities that are not mentioned above