Wildlife & Primates Safari in Uganda – 9 Days

Our 9 Days Uganda Wildlife & Primates Safari driver/guide will be waiting at Entebbe International Airport to pick you up and then transfer you to your accommodation for the night.

• Accommodation: Papyrus Guesthouse
• Meal plan: Lunch & Dinner

Your day will begin with a scenic drive to Murchison Falls National Park – northwest of Jinja. The 9 Days Uganda Wildlife & Primates Safari journey will take approximately 8 to 9 hrs with a stopover at Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary for Rhino Tracking. From Ziwa, you will stop for lunch in Masindi Town.

After your lunch, you will continue to Murchison Falls National Park, and have a chance to stop by the ‘top of the falls’ where you can see the Nile’s beauty perfected. This is where the Nile compresses from a width of 50 meters into a 7-meter canyon that forms the waterfall after which the park is named.

From here, you will continue to your accommodation where you will rest for the night.

• Accommodation: Bamboo Village Safari Lodge
• Meal plan: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

Early morning, your 9 Days Uganda Wildlife & Primates Safari guide will take you for a wildlife safari game drive on the northern bank of the River Nile. Here, you will spot Elephants, Lions, Cape buffalo, Rothschild’s giraffe, hartebeest, Waterbuck, Oribi, Bushbuck, Bohor reedbuck, hyena, and if you are lucky, the leopard.

You will return to your lodge for breakfast, rest and lunch before heading out for the afternoon boat cruise.  The boat cruise takes you upstream on the calm Victoria Nile to the base of the falls stopping just a few meters from the “Devil’s Cauldron”.

While on the boat cruise, you will have a chance to marvel at the hippos floating in the water, and crocodiles as well as elephants, waterbuck, Uganda kob, and many other animals over this 19 km stretch of the Nile.

For bird-watching enthusiasts, there are many chances of seeing bird species like the Goliath heron, Egyptian goose, Brown pelican, Red-throated bee-eater, various kingfishers, Fish eagles, cormorant, and the rare shoebill stork. 

After the boat cruise, you will return to your accommodation.

• Accommodation: Bamboo Village Safari Lodge
• Meal plan: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

After your breakfast, you will be driven to Kibale National Park via Hoima and Fort Portal. This drive will take a total of around 6 hours with interesting landscapes, green countryside, traditional homesteads, tea plantations, and much more.

You will have lunch in Fort Portal and then continue to your accommodation where you will relax and await the next day’s activities.

• Accommodation: Kibale Forest Camp
• Meal plan: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

After early morning breakfast, your 9 Days Uganda Wildlife & Primates Safari driver/guide will drive you to the Kibale National Park office where you will be briefed about the activity of tracking chimpanzees in the wild.

You will then go on a guided primate walk in search of chimpanzees and 12 other primates including l’ Hoestes, Red colobus, blue, red-tailed monkeys, brown monkeys, and grey-cheeked mangabey.

The park rangers will provide detailed explanations, not only on primates but on all the forest fauna and flora, and will ensure that your walk is informative and enjoyable.

After finding the chimps, you will spend 1 hour with them before heading back to the park offices. You will go back to the lodge for lunch & refreshments.

After lunch, you will visit the community and take a walk in Bigodi Swamp – which is the home of the great blue Turaco bird. The swamp is home to around 200 bird species and 12 primate species. 

In the evening, proceed to Queen Elizabeth National Park following the mystical Rwenzori Mountain ranges for much of the journey. (drive time: approx. 3-4hrs)

• Accommodation: Bush Lodge
• Meal plan: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

After breakfast, you will go for an early morning wildlife safari game drive in this park. Queen Elizabeth National Park’s diverse ecosystem of grassy plains, tropical forests, rivers, swamps, lakes, and volcanic craters is home to an incredible abundance of wildlife.

With the massive Rwenzori Mountains as a backdrop, you will have excellent opportunities to see lions, leopards, giant forest hogs, cape buffalos, elephants, defassa waterbuck, Uganda Kobs, Topi, and bushbuck.

After lunch, you will go for a 2-3 hour boat cruise along the Kazinga Channel and into Lake Edward. This take will take you through possibly the highest concentration of hippos. Many animals may be seen drinking at the water’s edge.

This launch cruise offers great opportunities for photography, bird watching, and game viewing. The prolific bird life is colorful and stupendous with more than 600 different species.

Accommodation: Bush Lodge

Meal plan: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

After your breakfast, you will be driven from Queen Elizabeth to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. This is a 6-hour journey passing through the Kigezi Highlands an area known as the “Switzerland of Africa”. The journey takes you through terraced hills and winding roads to the Bwindi forest. You will have a stop-over in Kabale for lunch.

• Accommodation: Rushaga Gorilla Lodge 
• Meal plan: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

Today is the big day! Prepare yourself for an encounter with the gentle giants; the rare mountain gorillas.

For most people, this is the absolute highlight of their tour. You will go into the forest in groups of not more than 8 in search of mountain gorillas. En route, your guide will point out previous signs of gorilla activity such as dung, nests, and chewed bamboo shoots.

Your trek will be an exciting 9 Days Uganda Wildlife & Primates Safari journey along forested slopes, entwined vines, bushes, and bamboo. Upon finding the gorillas, you will spend a maximum of 1 hour with them after which you will be led back to the starting point.

In the evening, you will go for a community visit and cultural experience of the local Bakiga and Batwa tribes that live close to Bwindi. You will learn about their lives, history, and traditions.

• Accommodation: Rushaga Gorilla Lodge
• Meal plan: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

After an early breakfast, your 9 Days Uganda Wildlife & Primates Safari driver/guide will drive you from Bwindi to Kampala. This is a long drive of approximately 9 hours that will take you from the cooler mountaineous altitude of the Kigezi Highlands to the lower undulating landscape of Ankole and Buganda, with large farms and plantations dotted with villages and small towns.

You will have several stopovers along the way including the equator crossing in Kayabwe for some pictures. Depending on the schedule on your next flight, a few more stopovers can be added by your guide.

You should reach Kampala in the early evening hours with enough time to freshen up before your flight out of Uganda.

• Meal Plan: Breakfast & Lunch