The 10 Days Uganda Experiential Safari package in which you take part in the habituation processes of Mountain Gorillas and Chimpanzees to make them get used to the presence of human beings around them and to track Golden monkeys, Lions and Mongooses to learn experientially about their group dynamics, behaviours and lifestyles.
Habituating Gorillas is done from nowhere else in the world except in the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest in Southern Uganda and is an experience that leaves an indelible mark on your memory. Chimpanzees are habituated from Kibale Forest National Park in mid-western Uganda, tracking Golden monkeys is done from Mgahinga Gorilla National Park in Southwestern Uganda while tracking Lions and Mongooses is conducted from Queen Elizabeth National Park.
The experience of habituation and tracking these fascinating animals never leaves you the same!
10 Days Uganda Experiential Safari Highlights
- The opportunity to accompany the researchers through areas of the park normally off-limits to tourists
- Spending 4 hours with a family of semi-habituated Mountain Gorillasand another 4 hours with a family of Golden monkeys and enjoying the thrilling moments of watching them as they respond to the simulation of researchers in the process of making them get used to the presence of humans.
- Gaining insights into the habits, behaviour, security consciousness and survival mechanisms of these highly social creatures that have a lot in common with human beings
- An opportunity to film and capture perfect photo shots of the habituation exercise
- Getting the additional bonus of viewing several other wildlife in the parks visited for habituation and tracking experience
- You can also make a valuable contribution to longstanding research projects as the data collected is used by the researchers to improve the tourism industry.
You will have an early breakfast and drive to Murchison Falls National Park via the Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary where you will have the opportunity to trek the Rhinos. The sanctuary houses Uganda’s Rhino reintroduction project. There are 9 white rhinos and tracking is done on foot for 1 and half hours.
You will continue the Uganda Experiential Safari to Masindi Town for lunch and later drive to Murchison Falls National Park.
The entire journey takes 6-7 hours. You will have dinner and overnight at the lodge of your booking.
- Destination: Murchison Falls National Park
- Accommodation: Pakuba Safari Lodge (Mid-Range), Nile Safari Lodge (Up Market)
- Activities: Scenic Drive to Murchison Falls, Rhino Tracking in Ziwa, Evening Game Drive
- What to See? White Rhinos, Murchison Falls
- Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch, Diner, Drinking Water
You will wake up very early and set off at 6.30 am for a sunrise game drive in the Nyamsika plateau to see the Cape buffaloes, Rothschild’s giraffes, Uganda kob, hartebeest and waterbucks. You may also spot oribi, bushbuck, Bohor reedbuck, shy sitatunga, bush duiker, warthog and bush pig plus large carnivores including lions, leopards and spotted hyenas. Chimpanzees and olive baboons head the list of six species of primates found in the park with crocodiles and hippos along the banks of the Nile River.
Some of the more common birds that can be seen include goliath heron, Egyptian geese, pelican, bee-eaters, kingfishers, hornbills, cormorants, saddle-bill storks and the rare shoebill stork. You will return to the lodge for lunch and some relaxation and set off for a boat launch on the placid Victoria Nile, upstream, to the base of the falls.
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En route, you will see hippos, crocodiles, waterbuck and a wide variety of birds like the rare shoebill stork sunbathing on the river banks. The boat stops just tens of meters from the “Devil’s Cauldron” for pictures to be taken of the photogenic and majestic Murchison Falls.
- Destination: Murchison Falls National Park
- Accommodation: Pakuba Safari Lodge (Mid-Range), Nile Safari Lodge (Up Market)
- Activities: Scenic Game Drives in Murchison Falls, Boat Cruise, Hike to the Top of Murchison Falls, Evening Game Drive
- What to See? Lions, Leopards, Elephants, Hyenas, Antelopes, Murchison Falls
- Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch, Diner, Drinking Water
Start the 3rd day of the Uganda Experiential Safari with breakfast and travel to Kibale Forest National Park in western Uganda. You will be driven through a beautiful countryside of rolling hills and plains dotted with homesteads, gardens and plantations of Bananas and tea. This is a 5–6-hour journey with lunch en route and you will get to the Park in the early afternoon hours.
You will check in at the lodge of your booking for a short rest after which you will visit a nearby forest swamp to see primates like black and white colobus monkeys, L’Hoest monkeys, grey-cheeked mangabey, red-tailed monkeys, bush babies, pottos and other forest animals.
Expect to see a variety of birds like the yellow spotted nicator, rumped tinker bird, little greenbul, green-breasted pitta, the crowned eagle, black bee-eater and the rare great blue turaco. At the eastern edge of the Kibale forest is Bigodi Wetland Sanctuary which is maintained by the local community.
Important to Know
- Destination: Kibale Forest National Park
- Accommodation: Chimpanzee Forest Lodge (Mid-Range), Kyaninga Lodge (Up Market)
- Activities: Scenic Drive to Kibale Forest National Park, Fort Portal Tour
- What to See? Fort Portal, Kibale Forest, Primates
- Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch, Diner, Drinking Water
Today you will accompany researchers on a chimpanzee habituation exercise. You will get to the forest early enough to watch the chimps as they leave their overnight nests between 6:00 – 6:30 am and follow them throughout the day as they hunt for food, feed, copulate, breastfeed, rest, patrol and play until it is time to build new nests around 7 pm.
Unlike a normal chimpanzee trek, this experience offers something far more immersive, complex and powerful. The unrushed nature of the habituation trek allows for a far more relaxed study of the exciting moves of the chimpanzees; enables you to gain an insight into their behaviour and to appreciate the challenges of the researchers in getting these elusive apes to get used to going on with their daily activities in the presence of humans without changing their natural behaviours.
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You will also gain an understanding of the forest, the plant life, and the other species found there. The exercise ends as the chimpanzees climb into their newly built nests for the evening.
This is an experience never to leave you the same!
- Destination: Kibale Forest National Park
- Accommodation: Chimpanzee Forest Lodge (Mid-Range), Kyaninga Lodge (Up Market)
- Activities: Enjoy Chimpanzee Habituation in Kibale, Bigodi Wetland Walk
- What to See? Chimpanzees, Black & White Monkeys, Kibale Forest, Birds
- Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch, Diner, Drinking Water
After breakfast, the Uganda Experiential Safari guide will transfer you to Queen Elizabeth National Park with stopovers for sightseeing and lunch. One of the remarkable stopovers will be to see the Crater lakes region and visit the Amabeere Ga Nyina Mwiiru caves. These are caves of wonder with milk-like substances oozing out of the rocks and cultural legends attached to them.
You will learn about their cultural significance and also get a scientific explanation of their existence. You will drive to Fort Portal town where you will have lunch and later continue to Queen Elizabeth National Park. Dinner and overnight will be at the lodge of your booking.
- Destination: Queen Elizabeth National Park
- Accommodation: Twin Lakes Safari Lodge (Mid-Range), Mweya Safari Lodge (Up Market)
- Activities: Drive to Queen Elizabeth, Boat cruise, Evening Game Drive
- What to See? Lions, Leopards, Elephants, Hyenas, Antelopes, Series of Birds
- Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch, Diner, Drinking Water
We set out early in the morning for a Uganda Experiential Safari game drive in the northern part of the park called Kasenyi in search of lions. This is the best area for viewing the cats in action owing to the vast population of Uganda kobs in this part of the park.
The pride (family) of lions and the family of mongooses to be tracked each have a member with a radio collar attached to it that enables the researchers to know where to find the family. The researchers will explain the fascinating habits, behaviours, instinct attributes and security consciousness of these cats and the various tricks used in tracking them. You will learn about how the lions leave trails of bent grass as they move, how they scent mark their territories and why they spray sticky urine in particular areas.
More to Know
You will learn special features about the banded Mongooses particularly their gigantic appetites and their complex social and communication systems which are fascinating. The tracking sessions last 1-3 hours and as a bonus expect also to see teeming herds of impala-like, as well as topi, elephants, giant forest hogs, and Cape buffalos.
You will return to the lodge for lunch and later go for a boat launch along the Kazinga channel whose shores harbour a profusion of water animals and birds including pink-backed pelicans, pied and malachite kingfishers, saddle-billed storks and many others. You will return to your lodge for dinner and overnight.
- Destination: Queen Elizabeth National Park
- Accommodation: Twin Lakes Safari Lodge (Mid-Range), Mweya Safari Lodge (Up Market)
- Activities: Drive to Queen Elizabeth, Boat cruise, Evening Game Drive
- What to See? Lions, Leopards, Elephants, Hyenas, Antelopes, Series of Birds
- Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch, Diner, Drinking Water
Cost Includes
- Airport transfers on the first and last day,
- Transport in a 4×4 safari vehicle
- Services of an English-speaking 10 Days Uganda Experiential Safari driver guide
- Fuel for the whole trip
- Accommodation and meal plan as per the itinerary
- All park entrance fees
- Drinking water while in the vehicle
Cost Excludes
- Gorilla Habituation permit at USD1500 per person
- Chimpanzee habituation permit at USD250 per person
- Lions and Mongoose tracking permits
- International airfares
- Uganda Visa
- Items of personal nature such as tips, drinks, and laundry
For a great gorilla trekking experience, you need to be fairly fit, equipped for the humid, muddy conditions of a rainforest hike, and in good health – gorillas are susceptible to human illnesses but don’t have our immunity, which means a common cold can be deadly to a whole family of gorillas and you won’t be permitted to trek if you are unwell. Even in the dry season, the rainforest is a challenging environment: it’s humid, wet and muddy with some steep slopes, plenty of insects and thick vegetation. It is worth the effort to spend time with gorillas in the wild, but be prepared to exert yourself on the trek.
About the Experienced Guides
Your professional gorilla guide and tracker leads you into the forest’s secret paths, looking for a habituated gorilla family. Once found, you’ll approach the gorillas quietly and settle down to observe them from between 7 and 10m (22 to 32 ft) away. You’ll spend between 40 minutes and an hour with the gorillas, watching the adults forage and groom each other while the babies tumble and play.
You’ll be under the watchful gaze of the great silverback patriarch, whose soft brown eyes constantly sweep over his family protectively. Witnessing gorillas express typically human gestures and emotions is a truly profound experience and one of the reasons that gorilla trekking is such a life-changing encounter.
You’ll be asked to leave any personal items or bottled water you’re carrying with your porters and approach the gorillas with only your camera. You are not allowed to use a flash and it’s best to use a camera that doesn’t make loud clicks, whirring or other mechanical noises.
Although a Uganda Gorilla Safari can be conducted all year round in the Virunga Mountains, due to the somewhat damp seasons experienced by the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest jungle in which these gorillas stay, the majority of tourists prefer visiting in the dry seasons where traversing the jungles is somewhat doable – and that is the months of June to September as well as from December up to February. You can visit Bwindi at any time of the year, the low season calls for cheaper gorilla permit prices.
Temperature & Weather
Up the mountain Forest in Bwindi could be very cold, especially in the morning & night. The annual mean temperatures range is 7°C to 20°C with the coldest months being June & July. Hence warm clothing is required, plus wet weather gear because Bwindi receives up to 2390mm of rain every year. This is centred on 2 wet seasons, short rains in March-May & heavy rainfall in the months of September-November. In Bwindi, rain often falls as long hours of soft drizzle, instead of the short tropical deluges. Our Tour Experts will help you prepare depending on the season.
Bwindi is located in western Uganda approximately 9 hour drive from the Entebbe International airport. For the Experiential Gorilla Safari, you can choose to drive up to the destination and enjoy the scenic country views or you can take a chattered local flight from Entebbe Airport to Kihihi Airstrip where you’ll pick up and drive approximately 1:45mins to Bwindi.
Bwindi has various gorilla families in different locations, be careful not to select the accommodation not close to the briefing point of the Bwindi Gorilla Trekking Safari.
The gorilla permit on the Bwindi Gorilla Trekking Safari is the second most important document next to your Visa and passport, The gorilla permit costs $800, and the gorilla habituation experience costs US$1500, a hefty sum but very much worth it. You should know that some of this money is used to take care of these creatures, help them repopulate and protect them from rampant poaching.
Acquiring a gorilla permit can be strenuous, especially in peak season. We would recommend buying them months in advance to avoid the long queues. The permit per person in most cases is included in the package price, so you’ll not need to hustle to acquire the document.
Once you have the gorilla permit and you’re guided into the jungle, prepare your emotions because seeing the mountain gorillas is guaranteed.
10 Days Uganda Experiential Safari gear guide: Good quality walking boots if trying any hikes or even climbs, warm layers of cloth for the cold evenings and clothing for wet weather remember it becomes cold and wet at this high altitude.
However, during the day, the sun is strong even when cloudy therefore always remember to carry and wear sunscreen as well as a sun hat. In addition, you may have to carry along waterproof bags to safeguard cameras plus additional equipment for the hike. Water plus snacks are additional recommended items plus a packed lunch for people doing full-day expeditions.
While in Uganda, besides visiting the mountain gorillas, you can take a game drive safari to Murchison Falls, Queen Elizabeth, Lake Mburo National Park and other interesting tourist areas that are worth checking out. Most tourists on African trips combine Tanzania safari adventures with gorilla trekking in Uganda and Rwanda in addition to a safari in Kenya or Mount Kilimanjaro Trekking in Tanzania.
After your 3 Days Bwindi Gorilla Trekking Safari, a visit to Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda is a great opportunity to see the other half of the remaining mountain gorillas in the world.
You can combine your Rwanda or Congo gorilla tour with climbing mount Nyiragongo. Most tourists who take on African safari holidays usually combine more countries in various destinations.
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