8 Days Gorilla, Chimpanzee Tracking and Lake Bunyonyi Safari

This safari tour covers 3 national parks in south western Uganda.
Kibale National Park for Chimpanzee tracking or Chimpanzee habituation experience; Queen Elizabeth National Park for game drives and boat cruises along Kazinga Channel; Bwindi Impenetrable National Park for gorilla tracking; and finally, Lake Bunyonyi for the canoe trekking.

This 8 day safari is filled with must-do and must-see activities and national parks in Uganda in a leisurely pace.

Day 1: Transfer to Kibale National Park
Your guide will pick you up early in the morning and provide a briefing on your upcoming safari.
We will then proceed to a rich tropical forest in Uganda, Kibale National Park. The park provides shelter to roughly 70 mammal species including chimpanzees, as well as over 375 species of birds. Kampala to Kibale National park will take 5-6 hours drive.

• Main destination: Kibale Forest National Park
• Accommodation: Kibale Forest Camp.
• Meals & drinks: All meals included
• Drinks not included

Day 2: Chimpanzee Tracking and Bigodi Wetland Walk.
Tracking chimpanzees is a safari experience unique to Uganda. There is nothing more exotic than watching chimps in a real African jungle adventure. You get the real Ugandan atmosphere as you move through the bushes and watch the chimps swing through the steady branches.
If you can’t get enough, you may opt to do the habituation experience, which means you can spend the whole day with these amazing creatures. In the afternoon, guests doing the Chimpanzee Tracking will continue to Semuliki National Park.
In the afternoon, you have the option to go for a walk at Bigodi Wetlands Sanctuary where you can see primate species and reptiles among other interesting mammals. Bird lovers will enjoy sightings of over 200 bird species. The Chimpanzee habituation experience will require you to pay additional cost of $70pp. 2 hours from Kibale to Queen Elizabeth National park.

• Main destination: Kibale Forest National Park
• Accommodation: Kibale Forest Camp.
• Meals & drinks: All meals included
• Drinks not included

Day 3: Queen Elizabeth National Park.
Today, we will make our way to Queen Elizabeth National Park via fort portal town and have our lunch in the bush or on the peninsula of Mweya. In the afternoon, you will have your first taste of a safari experience as we traverse through the bushes of her royal majesty, Queen Elizabeth National Park. Here you can see hippos, leopards, elephants, lions, and chimpanzees among 95 other species of mammals and over 500 species of birds. Hot air ballooning is the optional activity that will require you to pay $ 380USD per person and for experiential, you will be required to pay extra $60USD per person.

• Main destination: Queen Elizabeth National Park
• Accommodation: Irungu.
• Meals & drinks: All meals included
• Drinks not included

Day 4: Game Drive & Boat Cruise on Kazinga Channel.
You will go on a morning game drive after breakfast. You will get to see the tree-climbing lions found in the southern area of the park lazily lying up on the branches of the huge fig trees. Witness the Uganda Kobs in the open Ishasha plains as well as other wildlife including elephants and cheetah roaming freely in their natural habitat.
After lunch, we will proceed to Mweya peninsula for a boat trip through the Kazinga Channel.Here you will see wildlife along the banks of the channel including buffalo, elephants, birds, and hippos.

• Main destination: Queen Elizabeth National Park
• Accommodation: Irungu
• Meals & drinks: All meals included
• Drinks not included

Day 5: Transfer to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park.
We will depart for Bunyaruguru to enjoy wonderful views of lush tea, fruit plantations and the Rwenzori Mountains. We then continue to pass through Ugandan soil along Kagamba, Ntungamo, and Kabale, which is heralded as the Switzerland part of Africa with its hilly scenery and breezes. Finally, we will drive to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park in southwestern Uganda where another amazing game drive adventure awaits us. 5 hours from Queen to Bwindi impenetrable National park.

• Main destination: Bwindi Impenetrable National Park
• Accommodation: Wild Olives Lodge(budget lodge)
• Meals & drinks: All meals included
• Drinks not included

Day 6: Gorilla Trekking and Lake Bunyonyi.
After breakfast, we will set out for gorilla tracking. The starting point is only 10 minutes away from the accommodation and we will begin with a brief orientation at the Gorilla Briefing Centre. For this activity, each group will have 8 participants with an assigned guide. As a team, you will venture into the forest for a once in a lifetime gorilla tracking experience. In the afternoon, we will depart for Lake Bunyonyi and enjoy the relaxing scenery as we cross the lake. Because this lake is a lowland area, you have the chance to see this beauty from the top of the hills. In the evening, a nice ambience awaits you at Entusi resort to cap off the day. 2 hours from Bwindi to Lake Bunyonyi.

• Main destination: Lake Bunyonyi
• Accommodation: Lake Bunyonyi Eco Resort.
• Meals & drinks: All meals included
• Drinks not included

Day 7: Lake Bunyonyi.
Apart from its serene beauty, Lake Bunyonyi is also known as a place for little birds. In fact “Bunyonyi” translates to “place of many little birds”. Lake Bunyonyi encircles 29 islands of various shapes and sizes.
Here, you will embark on a canoe trek to enjoy its serene ambiance and breathtaking views, which has made this place synonymous to paradise.
We will also visit the local community in the area and immerse in their culture. You will have the opportunity to volunteer and visit the children of Mwendo where you will be welcomed by traditional dances stemming from its rich history. You can also visit the pygmies community, a member of an ethnic group whose average height is unusually short. An adult man’s average height is less than 150 cm tall.

• Main destination: Lake Bunyonyi
• Accommodation: Lake Bunyonyi Eco Resort
• Meals & drinks: All meals included
• Drinks not included

Day 8: Kampala or Kigali.
After breakfast, we will ride a motorboat on the shores of Lake Bunyonyi. From there, we will head back to either Kampala or Kigali in Rwanda. Kampala drive- 7 Hours, Kigali drive- 2 hours.

• Main destination: Kampala
• Accommodation: End of tour (no accommodation)
• Meals & drinks:
• Drinks not included

Included
• Park fees (for non-residents)
• Gorilla permits (one per person, non-resident)
• Chimp permits (one per person, non-resident)
• All activities (unless labeled as optional)
• All accommodation (unless listed as upgrade)
• A professional driver/guide
• All transportation (unless labeled as optional)
• All Taxes/VAT
• Roundtrip airport transfer
• Meals (as specified in the day-by-day section)

Excluded
• International flights (from/to home)
• Additional accommodation before and at the end of the tour
• Personal items (souvenirs, travel insurance, visa fees, etc.)
• Government imposed increase of taxes and/or park fees
• Drinks
• Chimpanzee Habituation experience.
• Experiential in Queen Elizabeth National park.