8 days Uganda wildlife safari
8 DAYS UGANDA WILDLIFE SAFARI (CHIMPANZEE, WILDLIFE AND MOUNTAIN GORILLAS)
8 days Uganda wildlife safari is a Uganda ultimate safari offering you a memorable encounter with various species of wildlife such as lions, leopards, elephants, cape buffaloes, antelopes, zebras and primates such as Mountain gorilla trekking and chimpanzees. This safari takes you on a visit to Kibale national park a world’s primate capital, Bwindi impenetrable national park a home to world’s largest population of mountain gorillas, Queen Elizabeth national park, Bigodi swamp and Lake Bunyonyi.
8 days Uganda wildlife safari starts from Kampala and ends in Kampala
HIGHLIGHTS OF 8 DAYS UGANDA WILDLIFE SAFARI
- Day 1: transfer to Kibale national park
- Day 2: chimpanzee tracking and Bigodi swamp walk
- Day 3: transfer to Queen Elizabeth national park and evening game drive
- Day 4: morning game drive and boat cruise
- Day 5: visit Maramagambo forest and transfer to Bwindi impenetrable national park
- Day 6: mountain gorilla trekking and visit the Batwa
- Day 7: transfer to Lake Bunyonyi
- Day 8: transfer back to Kampala
DETAILED ITINERARY OF 8 DAYS UGANDA WILDLIFE SAFARI
Day 1: Transfer to Kibale National Park
You will be picked from your hotel in Kampala after breakfast and embark on a journey to Kibale national park a primate haven and a home to the largest population of chimpanzees in East Africa. Along the way you will enjoy the beautiful green countryside and have lunch at Fort Portal town and go for a historical tour in the Toro Kingdom, proceed to park arriving in the evening , check into your lodge for dinner and overnight while on Uganda Safaris.
Accommodation options
Luxury: Kyaninga Lodge
Midrange: Chimpanzee nest
Budget: chimpanzee Guest House
Meal plan: lunch and dinner
Day 2: Chimpanzee tracking and nature walk along the Bigodi Swamp
Have early breakfast and head to the park’s headquarters for briefing about chimpanzee tracking experience, the briefing is conducted by a ranger guide giving you a insight in the rules and regulations to follow while tracking chimpanzees. Then hike into the forests of chimpanzees looking for chimpanzees, the tracking takes about 3-5 hours of trekking through the thick forests of Kibale enjoying sights of various species of birds and other primates such as L’Hoest monkeys, mangabeys among others. Chimpanzees are vocal animals and while in their presence you will hear and spot them making noise on top of trees, watching them playing and take good photos. After one hour of being in the presence of the chimpanzee you will head back to your lodge for lunch and in the afternoon for a Bigodi swamp walk, during your swamp walk you will enjoy watching many species of birds such as African pitta, ground thrush, crowned eagle, black-capped apalis and animals such as mangabeys, grey checked monkeys, olive baboons, bush pigs, sitatungas, L’hoest’s monkeys, vervet monkeys, mongooses. In the evening you will head back to your lodge, have dinner and stay overnight.
Accommodation options
Luxury: Kyaninga Lodge
Midrange: Chimpanzee nest
Budget: chimpanzee Guest House
Meal plan: breakfast, lunch and dinner
Day 3: Transfer to Queen Elizabeth national park – game drive in Ishasha
after breakfast at your lodge, you will checkout and transfer to Queen Elizabeth national park the most popular game viewing destination in Uganda and a home to a variety of wildlife including 4 of the big 5. Arrive in the park in afternoon for lunch at your lodge and in the afternoon you will go for a game drive watching a variety of wildlife including tree climbing lions, elephants, buffaloes, antelopes, hippos, and oribi among others. In the evening you will have dinner and stay overnight.
Accommodation options
Luxury: Mweya safari lodge
Midrange: Park View Lodge
Budget: Simba Safari camp
Meal plan: Breakfast, lunch and dinner
Day 4: morning game drive and boat cruise
Have breakfast at your lodge and head to the park for a morning game drive, as you drive in the Kasenyi plains you will enjoy watching a number of animals such as hippos, lions, leopard, buffalos and antelopes and many birds such as herons, secretary birds, African Skimmer, Nubian woodpecker, croaking cisticola among others. After the game drive you will head back to your lodge for lunch and in the afternoon you will head to the Kazinga channel for a boat cruise along the Kazinga Channel. The boat cruise starts at 02:00 pm and on the cruise get ready to spot a variety birds such as herons, shoebills and animals such as crocodiles, hippos, elephants and buffaloes. After the cruise you will head back to your lodge, have dinner and stay overnight.
Accommodation options
Luxury: Mweya safari lodge
Midrange: Park View Lodge
Budget: Simba Safari camp
Meal plan: Breakfast, lunch and dinner
Day 5: Visit Maramagambo forest – Transfer to Bwindi forest national park
Have morning breakfast at your lodge, meet your safari drive and head to Maramagambo forest for a forest walk, the forest is a home to chimpanzees, cave bats, forest hogs and many bird species such as little Grebe, African Fin foot, Red-chested Cuckoo, black Cuckoo, African Emerald Cuckoo, yellow bill, black coucal among others which you will spot during the forest walk. After the walk you will head back to your lodge for lunch then checkout and head off for Bwindi impenetrable national park a home to the endangered mountain gorillas, arrive in the evening, check into your lodge and stay overnight.
Accommodation options
Luxury: Chameleon Hill lodge
Midrange: Bakiga Lodge
Budget: Tarvan Trekkers Bwindi
Meal plan: Breakfast, lunch and dinner
Day 6: Mountain gorilla trekking in Bwindi – Visit to the Batwa Pygmies
wake up very early for breakfast and head to the park’s headquarters’ for briefing starting at 07:00 am, in the briefing the ranger/guides will take you through the rules and regulations to follow on mountain gorilla trekking. You will then be assigned a gorilla group to follow, hire porters and then trek into the jungle of Bwindi looking for mountain gorillas using muddy and steep trails. When you locate the gorillas you will enjoy watching these huge gentle giants take care of their young ones, pick fruit and leaves they eat as food and take beautiful pictures as long as you put your flash light off.
After the experience you will head back to your lodge for lunch and rest for a while, in the afternoon you will for a batwa trail experience visiting batwa people the early inhabitants of the forests of Bwindi. These people are hunter-gatherers who depended on the forest and they peaceful co-existed with creatures in the forest until they were forcefully evicted to areas along the park, in the batwa community you will be entertained by local dances and drama, visit the local herbalist, taste local meals and witness the demonstration of hunting skills. In the evening you will head back to your lodge, have dinner and overnight.
Accommodation options
Luxury: Chameleon Hill lodge
Midrange: Bakiga Lodge
Budget: Tarvan Trekkers Bwindi
Meal plan: Breakfast, lunch and dinner
Day 7: Transfer to Lake Bunyonyi
Have breakfast, checkout of your lodge and head off on a journey to Lake Bunyonyi the deepest lake in Uganda and the 2nd deepest in Africa, Lake Bunyonyi consists of several islands with amazing stories behind them and is a sanctuary for countless birds such as egrets, shoebill, flycatcher, grey crested crane among others. when you arrive at the lake, you will go for a boat ride visiting various islands in Lake such as punishment island among others and spot many birds. You will have lunch at your lodge and in the afternoon you will relax at the shores of the lake, take a swim or visit and explore the local fishing villages. Later return to your lodge, have dinner and stay overnight.
Accommodation options
Luxury: Bunyonyi resort
Midrange: Bunyonyi bird nest
Budget: Bunyonyi overland Resort
Meal plan: Breakfast, lunch and dinner
Day 8: Transfer back to Kampala for departure
Wake up early, have breakfast and head off on a journey back to Kampala for your drop off at your hotel or at the airport for your departure flight back home. On your way you will have lunch in Mbarara and stopover at the Equator in Kayabwe for pictures and proceed to Kampala
End of 8 days Uganda wildlife safari.
