13-Day Gorilla, Chimpanzee and Lion Tracking Safari in Uganda

• Upon arrival at Entebbe International Airport, you will be received by your driver-guide and transferred to your hotel for dinner and an overnight stay.

Optional activity at extra cost: Kampala city tour

Accommodation: Via via Guesthouse

Meal plan: dinner only

• After breakfast, your driver-guide will be ready at the waiting point to drive you to Murchison Falls.
• On your way to the park, you will have a stopover at Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary for rhino tracking and lunch, and thereafter proceed with the journey to the park and check into your lodge for relaxation, dinner, and an overnight stay.

Accommodation: Pakuba safari lodge

Meal plan: full board

Optional activity at extra cost:

Hot air balloon safari

• After breakfast, depart for an early morning game drive across the rolling plains of Uganda's largest national park, where you will have the opportunity to view lions, giraffes, hartebeest, buffalo, and elephants, among others. For birders, this area also supports the secretary bird and black-chested snake eagle, to name a few.
• Return to your lodge for lunch and afterwards go for a boat cruise to the base of Murchison Falls, where you will spot lots of animals, including hippos, crocodiles, and several water birds.
• Continue with a hike, if you like, to the top of the falls. The hike may be strenuous, but the thrill of reaching the top is unforgettable. Afterwards, return to your lodge for dinner and an overnight stay.

Accommodation: Pakuba safari lodge

Meal plan: full board

• After breakfast, you will transfer to Kibale National Park for chimpanzee tracking the next day.
• The drive is incredibly scenic, passing through villages, lush green countryside, and hills dotted with tea plantations that characterize this part of Uganda. Kibale National Park is popular for its primates, such as chimpanzees, colobus monkeys, grey-cheeked mangabeys, and red-tailed monkeys. On your chimpanzee trails, these are regularly seen swinging in the forest trees, while others feed on wild fruits.
• Upon arrival, you will check in and relax as you wait for dinner and an overnight stay.

Accommodation: Isunga lodge

Meal plan: full board

• After breakfast, you will be driven to Kanyachu park headquarters for the briefing, and after that, you will enter the forest for tracking.
• No other animal reminds us so much of ourselves as the chimpanzee. Besides many common features and mannerisms, chimpanzees also share 98% of our human DNA, making them our closest living relatives. It is not so surprising, then, that we find the habits and biology of these primates so fascinating to study.
• Later, you will come back to your lodge for lunch, and in the late afternoon, you will go for a Bigodi swamp walk. Here, you will get a chance to watch lots of bird species and monkeys.

Accommodation: Isunga lodge

Meal plan: full board

Optional activity at extra cost:

Chimpanzee habituation

• After a relaxed breakfast, you will transfer to Queen Elizabeth National Park, expecting a clear view of the Rwenzori Mountains during your journey.
• Upon arrival, you will have your lunch served at the lodge, and afterwards you may opt to visit Lake Katwe or relax as you wait for dinner and an overnight stay. Queen Elizabeth National Park is Uganda's most visited game reserve and arguably the most scenic. The national park protects the vast savannah plains, bushland, wetlands, and forests that lie at the base of the Rwenzori mountain range. Kazinga Channel, which flows through the park and connects Lake George in the east to Lake Edward in the west, attracts a rich array of birds and animals, including the infamous Nile crocodile and one of the world's largest concentrations of hippos. On your first game drive, you will explore the park along a 200-kilometre network of well-maintained game-viewing tracks.

Accommodation: Bush lodge

Meal plan: full board

• Safari breakfasts are traditionally served before daybreak so that you can start your morning game drive as the sun comes up. Sunrise is the best time for wildlife spotting, as animals tend to be most active during the "golden hours" when the first rays of sunshine come to rest on the savannah. Elephants, buffalo, and several species of antelope are some of the animals you may come across today, and if you're lucky, you may even spot a lion, a leopard, or both.
• Later in the day, when the sun is high in the sky and the animals make their way to the river for a drink, you will head to Kazinga Channel for an exciting boat cruise. You will spot more hippos today than you can possibly imagine. Herds of elephants and buffaloes will also wander down to the shoreline to bathe in the cooling waters. A boat cruise is a fantastic way to get close to wildlife and is, for many visitors, the highlight of Queen Elizabeth National Park.

Accommodation: Bush lodge

Meal plan: full board

• Have breakfast and go for an early morning lion tracking experience. The activity is only open in the northern sector, the Kasenyi plains, of Queen Elizabeth National Park, and it is breathtaking for wildlife enthusiasts who take part in this rare opportunity while in Queen. However, the groups going tracking are limited in order to reduce stress on these lions and increase the quality of the experience for visitors.
• You will also have the opportunity to encounter other wildlife while on the lion tracking experience.
• Return to your accommodation for lunch, and in the evening you may opt to visit Lake Katwe for a salt-mining experience.

Accommodation: Bush lodge

Meal plan: full board

• Have your breakfast and set off for a breathtaking game-viewing experience in the Ishasha area 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 really hard to spot. Hoping you get the chance to see them, the sight will be spectacular.
• You will also be able to see other wildlife such as Uganda kob, Cape buffaloes, elephants, and warthogs in addition to the tree-climbing lions.
• Afterwards, head to the accommodation for relaxation, meals, and an overnight stay.

Accommodation: Topi lodge

Meal plan: full board

• After breakfast, transfer to Bwindi National Park.
• Upon arrival, you will relax as you wait for dinner and an overnight stay. Bwindi Forest has an incredible diversity of flora and fauna and is the only forest in Africa that can claim to host both mountain gorillas and chimpanzees. In fact, half of the world's population of gorillas live here, divided among nine habituated family groups. Also, five other primate species, 120 species of mammal, over 220 butterflies, and 360 bird species call Bwindi home. This is the place to see the critically endangered mountain gorillas up close for your very own 'Gorillas in the Mist' experience.

Accommodation: Gorilla mist camp

Meal plan: full board

• Encounter the rare and endangered mountain gorillas of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park for an experience of a lifetime.
• Half of the world's population of gorillas live under the mist-covered canopies of Uganda's oldest and most biologically diverse rainforest. In the company of an experienced park ranger, you will track the whereabouts of one of the habituated family groups that reside here.
• 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, such as 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 into your surroundings and enjoy the 1 hour you have to quietly observe these fascinating primates, whose habits and mannerisms remind us so much of our own.
• After tracking, you will transfer to Lake Bunyonyi for relaxation as you wait for dinner and an overnight stay.

Accommodation: Bunyonyi rock resort

Meal plan: full board

• After breakfast, you will go for a canoe ride to view the islands that make up Lake Bunyonyi, which is commonly known as the little Switzerland of Africa.
• Later, you will drive to Lake Mburo National Park with an en-route lunch.
• Upon arrival, you will relax as you wait for dinner and an overnight stay.

Accommodation: Eagles nest camp

Meal plan: full board

• After breakfast, you will go for a nature walk with the help of an armed Uganda Wildlife Authority ranger-guide. On this early morning guided walk, you often encounter zebras, giraffes, eland, topis, and other antelopes, Cape buffaloes, among others.
• Take the trail to the top of the hills and see Lake Mburo and beyond. From this vantage point, you will have a great view of 9 of the 12 lakes surrounding Lake Mburo National Park.
• Afterwards, return to the accommodation for check-out and then hit the road to Entebbe Airport with a stopover at the Equator for lunch and to buy some souvenirs if you like, then proceed with the journey to Entebbe for the drop-off.