Uganda: A Primate Paradise

Overland adventure

July 26, 2013 - August 8, 2013
July 18, 2014 - July 31, 2014

Priced from: $14,980

Below please find the day-by-day itinerary for this expedition. Unless otherwise noted, daily excursion options are included in the cost of the trip. We do our best to adhere to the scheduled itinerary, but in the spirit of our expeditionary style of travel we may deviate slightly to take full advantage of encounters with the destination and its people, culture, and wildlife.

Jul 26 - Jul 27 USA / Entebbe, Uganda

Depart on your independent flight to Entebbe, Uganda.

July 28 Entebbe

On arrival transfer to the Boma Guesthouse. After an afternoon at leisure, enjoy dinner and overnight at our hotel.

July 29 Entebbe / Murchison Falls National Park

This morning transfer to the airport for the short flight to Murchison Falls National Park, which straddles the Victoria Nile at the Western Rift Valley.

Uganda’s largest national park, a scenic wonderland of rolling palm-studded grass lands, acacia woodland, papyrus swamp, and the meandering Victoria Nile, is home to some of the most impressive concentrations of animals in all of Uganda. You have two full days to enjoy the magnificent scenery and bountiful wildlife of this unique area.
 
An upriver foray brings you to the foot of Murchison Falls; this memorable ten-mile journey delivers you to one of Africa’s most powerful and dramatic waterfalls. En route, keep an eye out for large herds of hippos and enormous Nile crocodiles, with Cape buffalos, waterbucks, and elephants in close attendance. Birders will thrill to a variety of species including Goliath herons, rock pratincoles, red-throated bee-eaters, and possibly the shoebill—surely one of the world’s strangest birds. Meals and overnights at Paraa Safari Lodge, offering beautiful vistas overlooking the Nile.

July 30 Murchison Falls National Park

Continue your exploration of the park by safari vehicle and river boat in search of the elegant Rothschild giraffe, Cape buffalo, and savanna elephant. Smaller herbivores such as Jackson’s hartebeest, bush duiker, oribi, and Ugandan kob are plentiful and support a healthy population of lions. With luck, you should also see bands of terrestrial Patas monkeys.

July 31 Kibale National Park

After an early breakfast you begin your long but fascinating drive to Kibale, traveling from the Rift Valley into a patchwork of colorful villages and agricultural lands. Eventually you reach a mixture of forest and tea plantations at the foothills of the looming Rwenzoris, or “Mountains of the Moon.” Overnight at beautiful Ndali Lodge, situated on a high saddle between two crater lakes.

August 1 Kibale National Park

Spend a full day in Kibale National Park, one of Africa’s most researched and documented forest reserves. Chimpanzees are abundant here—these fascinating creatures are well studied and accustomed to human observers. Locate them by listening to their characteristic pant-hooting calls as they execute their nomadic treks along forest pathways and forage for fruit in the canopy above. Also spend time searching for other species, including grey-cheeked mangabeys; red-tailed and vervet monkeys; and both red and black-and-white colobus monkeys. Return to Ndali Lodge for dinner and overnight.

August 2 Kibale National Park / Queen Elizabeth National Park

After an early breakfast you return to Kibale to continue your exploration. Enjoy lunch and then head for Queen Elizabeth National Park and arrive in time for a cruise on the famous Kazinga Channel, which connects Lake George to Lake Edward. Birds here are both numerous and spectacular, including multiple species of eagle, stork, waterfowl, kingfisher, and bee-eater. Regarded by some as one of Africa’s best birding locations, more than 560 bird species have been recorded. Dinner and overnight at Mweya Safari Lodge, which overlooks Lake Edward.

August 3 Queen Elizabeth National Park

An early start gives you a full day to explore this celebrated park. Your game drive explores the rich thicket savanna along the Kazinga Channel, one of the best sites to spot giant forest hogs, then continues south through Maramagambo Forest to the remote southern sector of the Park. Dinner and overnight at the Ishasha Wilderness Camp, which overlooks the Ntungwe River.

August 4 Queen Elizabeth National Park / Bwindi Impenetrable Forest

The remote Ishasha sector protects a wilderness of swamps and thorn savanna and is home to large herds of Cape buffalo and topi. The Uganda kob is also conspicuous, with large aggregations gathering at traditonal lekking grounds. A special attraction of Ishasha is its population of tree-climbing lions, one of the few places where this behavior may be seen. After lunch drive to the permanent luxury-tented Sanctuary Gorilla Forest Camp, set on the edge of the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, a World Heritage Site and one of the most biologically diverse areas on the planet. In the evening attend a briefing on gorilla-watching etiquette followed by dinner and overnight.

Aug 5 - Aug 6 Bwindi Impenetrable Forest

Spend two days at Bwindi tracking mountain gorillas. Each day you will divide into two groups and, following an early breakfast, depart for the forest. Under the supervision of trained local guides, head to the site where the gorillas were seen the previous day and then begin your search. Once the gorillas are located, you have time to observe, photograph, and enjoy this unique experience. Other activities at Bwindi include forest trekking for the lesser primates and looking for the many bird species that make this montane forest their home.

August 7 Bwindi Impenetrable Forest / Entebbe

After breakfast you board your charter aircraft for the short flight to Entebbe. Transfer to the Boma Guesthouse for dinner and overnight.

August 8 Entebbe / USA

Transfer to the airport for your independent flights homeward.