Gorillas and Chimpanzees: A Ugandan Odyessy Itinerary
Day 1: Arrival in Entebbe (Kampala)
Most people arrive in Uganda early in the morning (often via Nairobi). Our schedule for today depends on your time of arrival and how tired you are after the journey. If you arrive on a morning flight then we collect you from the airport and take you to your boutique hotel in nearby Entebbe. We will leave you to rest and have lunch for a few hours. In the afternoon we can offer a choice of activities depending upon your wishes. The first option is a visit to the Uganda Wildlife Education Centre which is a centre for injured wildlife, animals rescued from the illegal pet trade and wildlife waiting to be rehabilitated to the wild. Our visit is a little deeper than that of most people because we enjoy an intensive two-hours behind the scenes tour where you will learn more about the centres work. Another option is a relaxing visit to the Entebbe Botanical Gardens which offers some excellent urban birding. A third option is the possibility of joining members of a local environmental NGO who have taken on the daunting task of cleaning Lake Victoria. You will join the volunteers cleaning rubbish on and around the lake. Note that this activity is often only possible at weekends. At the end of the day we return to the hotel for dinner.
Day 2: Bugoma Forest
After an early breakfast we drive five hours to the to the little known Bugoma Forest and our beautiful eco-lodge. Bugoma forest offers one of the most interesting conservation stories in Uganda. Little visited by tourists, the forest is under enormous pressure from large agricultural businesses and illegal charcoal burning and is quickly becoming fragmented which is leaving the chimp groups here fragmented and in danger from human-wildlife conflict. There’s only one lodge in the vicinity of the forest and the management here have set up an association – Friends of Bugoma Forest – who are fighting to save the forest and its chimps. It’s a hard battle they have taken on and, in their own words, “tourism might be the only thing that can save this forest and the chimpanzees”. On arrival we will have a late lunch before setting out on an afternoon tracking a habituated group of beautiful – and very playful – mangabey monkeys. This is the only place in Uganda offering this experience.
Day 3: Bugoma Forest
This morning, we set out on a chimpanzee habituation experience. Although few tourists come to here see the chimps they are still well habituated to humans and during our four hours in the forest we are likely to be rewarded with thrilling up close encounters. Be warned though that the forest here can be quite dense and, in our experience, the walking here is harder than in any of the other Ugandan chimpanzee forests.
In the afternoon we will visit the local communities to see how the Friends of Bugoma Forest association is encouraging honey production as an alternative income to charcoal burning and we will visit the reforestation programe that is part funded by your stay at the lodge. There is also the opportunity to do some bird watching.
Day 4: Kibale Forest
Kibale forest is by far the best-known, and best regarded, place in Uganda to see chimpanzees. The chimps here are extremely well habituated to people and the forest floor is fairly open, which helps to make viewings here exceptionally good. We leave Bugoma Forest after breakfast and have a 3.5hr drive through increasingly hilly and forested scenery to Kibale forest. We will get there in time for the afternoon chimpanzee trekking. The chimps are normally very easy to find, and we get one, unforgettable, hour in their company. Afterwards we head to our comfortable lodge for the night.
Day 5: Kibale Forest
This morning, we have to be up before dawn to spend an entire morning with the chimpanzees on a habituation experience. The group of chimps we will be visiting today are in the process of being habituated to people, but we will still normally get close up views and we are often the only people with the chimps. It can take time to find the chimps, but afterwards we get four hours with them which ensures that this will be a day to remember. After lunch we head out on a different kind of wildlife experience by joining researchers surveying the butterflies and other insects of the forest. During this unique experience, which isn’t offered by other tour companies, we will be inspecting insect and butterfly traps (they are not harmed) and marking down species numbers and location. Many of the researchers involved in this also work on bird surveys so there will be plenty of chances to enjoy the parks often overlooked bird life.
Day 6: Queen Elizabeth National Park
After breakfast we drive two hours south to Queen Elizabeth National Park. The landscapes – and wildlife – here is totally different to what you’ve become used to in recent days. This is classic East Africa where savannah grasslands, grazed by various antelope and gazelle, roll off into the distance, elephants and hippos gather on the banks of shallow lakes, crocodiles bask on the banks of rivers and prides of lions wait patiently for an opportunity to hunt. After lunch at our comfortable lodge we head out on a boat safari along the Kazinga Channel. There’s often great wildlife-watching along the edges of the river and we are likely to see elephant, hippos and crocodiles in abundance as well as a plethora of bird life.
Day 7: Queen Elizabeth National Park
This morning, we go on a vehicle safari around the beautiful grasslands of the park. We have a good chance of seeing lions as well as large herds of various antelope and numerous elephants. After lunch we head to the Kyambura Gorge. A natural gash through the heart of Queen Elizabeth National Park, the gorge contains dense forest where a group of habituated chimpanzees live in total isolation from all Uganda’s other chimps. We set off through the forest on foot and, once we find the chimps, get to spend one hour with them. They are well habituated, and this is normally a very rewarding to see the chimps. We return to our comfortable safari lodge for the night.
Day 8: Bwindi Impenetrable Forest
We have a long drive (6hrs) ahead of us today so we get on the road straight after breakfast and enjoy a few more wildlife sightings on the way out of Queen Elizabeth. We will stop for lunch on the way and on arrival in the southern sector of the spectacular Bwindi Impenetrable Forest you have the choice of just relaxing in the grounds of our comfortable lodge or (if time allows) going on a short walk in the vicinity of the lodge.
Day 9: Bwindi Impenetrable Forest
This is the day you’ve been waiting for! Meeting the mighty mountain gorillas. Most people only get to spend one short hour with the gorillas, but we do things differently and will do the gorilla habituation experience which allows us to spend a full four hours in the company of these incredible animals. The visit will be conducted alongside a team of rangers and scientists working to habituate the gorillas to human contact. In our experience though the gorillas are already very used to people and up close, intense interactions are the norm. The scientists and rangers will take time to explain their work and the life of the gorillas to you. To make it all even better, visitor numbers are very limited meaning that this is a very exclusive experience. In the afternoon most people are content just to relax around the lodge but if you wish we can organise a forest or butterfly walk or a village visit.
Day 10: Kigali (Rwanda)
After breakfast we say goodbye to Uganda and drive to Kigali, Rwanda (5hrs). On arrival in the Rwandan capital we will head straight to the haunting Kigali Genocide Memorial. This powerful memorial museum recounts the terrible events of the 1994 Rwandan Genocide in which around a million people lost their lives over the course of a hundred days. After we head to our comfortable hotel.
Day 11: Kigali and Flight Home
This journey ends after breakfast on the morning of day eleven when we can drop you at the airport for your flight home. If you have a later flight, then we can organise activities in this very attractive city.
Rwanda Add Ons
Rwanda might be small, but it packs a huge amount into its diminutive borders. From mountain gorillas to rhinos, cycle and hiking trails to museums, art galleries, beaches (yes beaches!) and groups of habituated colobus monkeys and chimpanzees, there’s much to see and do here. We can organise tailormade Rwanda journeys.