7 Day Private Safari Itinerary
Day 1
Your Discover Uganda Safari guide will collect you from Entebbe International Airport and drive (3-4 hrs) through Uganda’s lush cultivated land and rolling green hills to Lake Mburo National Park. (an extension of the Tanzanian plains), Lake Mburo is one of two parks that you will see herds of Zebra in Uganda and an abundance of impala, eland and other ungulates (cloven hoofed animals). Bird viewing opportunities are excellent you should be able to see the African fin foot and the papyrus bush shrike . Spend the afternoon relaxing or paddle on the lake in a dugout canoe or an afternoon game drive. Overnight at your chosen accommodation (Full Board)
Day 2
Up early for a morning guided bush walk and back for breakfast before departing for Bwindi Impenetrable National Park (the highlight of your trip to see the gorillas! ) you will head through the highlands from altitude of about 1800 to Rukungiri, the road then drops into valleys which offers beautiful views of streams meandering down the valley. Banana and coffee plantations as well as terrace fields, depending on the day excellent views including the triangular peaks of the Virunga volcanoes of Rwanda and the Congo. On route stop for lunch then continue on your journey to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, home to the Uganda’s mountain gorillas and an abundance of other wildlife. There are 23 of the 24 Albertine Rift endemic-birds including the African green broadbill, Chapin’s flycatcher Dwarf honey guide and the bar tailed trogon. Adding to incredible diversity of flora and fauna. Overnight at Gorilla Forest Camp or Volcanoes Bwindi Camp (Full Board)
Day 3
Today you are gorilla tracking!. You will need an energising breakfast and a sturdy pair of walkingboots. You will need to be fit and healthy today, to take part in tracking. Reporting to the ranger station at 07.45 for registration and briefing by one of the rangers and if you require a porter/s for the journey it can be arranged here. To help carry your bags and to push/pull you when you need a little help along the climb (they will help you and you will be supporting the local community by employing porters). The guides will lead you through the forest, parting the vegetation, creepers and thick climbers to the gorillas. This trek can take from half an hour to five hours, depending where the gorillas are. You will spend an awesome hour sitting in the forest among the gorillas observing them in their natural habitat. An adventure you will never forget. From the size of the dominant silverback to the rough and tumble play of the infant’s. It is an extraordinary feeling sitting in the dense rainforest knowing you are with a few of the last remaining mountain gorillas. There are only 650 of these beautiful endangered species left in the world! Depending on your energy levels you may wish to take an afternoon walk; Self guided camp walk (20 min's) or a choice of 2 waterfall walks: Mnyaga river roughly 3 hrs or Ivy trail roughly 5.5 hrs or During your walk you may see a variety of primates, birds, butterflies and a profusion of tree ferns and orchids or simply relax on your private veranda listening to the different sounds of the forest and observing the array of birds and colourful butterflies from your lodge. Overnight at Gorilla Forest Camp or Volcanoes Bwindi Camp (Full Board)
Day 4
Today we will leave Bwindi and drive through the southern sector of Queen Elizabeth National Park the second largest in Uganda, lying north and south of the equator, covering an area of 1978km2. It encompasses both kyambura and kigezi game reserves. Today you will see an abundance of topi, buffalo and hippo, elephants among others. First we will pass through Ishasha famed for its fig trees, with spread branches and soft bark which attracts tree climbing lions! The lions climb the trees to seek a better view for prey and to avoid the heat and flies on the ground. We will stops for a packed lunch at the hippo pool, where you can relax and observe a school of hippo’s. We will continue our game drive through the Maramagambo Forest to the northern sector of the park. The park is host to a large variety and volume of wildlife. There over 610 species of bird found here including the African skimmer, Fish Eagles and Bateleur. If there is time, you may want to go on an early evening game drive. If there is time, you may want to go on an early evening game drive. Overnight at Mweya Safari Lodge (Full Board)
Day 5
In the morning we will leave Mweya early for the 08.00 chimp trek in Kyambura Gorge. We will then continue to take a guided walk in the mysterious Maramagambo Forest. This feels prehistoric – strangler figs, giant screw palms, and wildlife of its own: There is a bat cave, housing thousands of Egyptian fruit bats, brightly coloured lizards and geckos and for those not too squeamish: the possibility of seeing large African rock pythons that come to feed on the bats. There is also a beautiful deep cobalt blue lake in the forest. Return to the Lodge for lunch. In the afternoon a boat trip on the Kazinga Channel will allow you to experience wildlife up close where hippos huff and spray mere feet away, buffalo linger in the shallows and a tremendous variety of birds grace the grasses on the river’s edge. Amongst those you will see are the malachite and pied kingfishers, great white and pink-backed pelicans and the open-billed stork. Overnight at Mweya Safari Lodge (Full Board).
Day 6
Today you will leave Queen Elizabeth National Park via the northern crater drive, through Fort Portal to Ndali Lodge. This is where you will be staying overnight prior to your chimp trek in Kibale Forest. This is a quaint lodge situated on the edge of a crater lake with views of the Rwenzori Mountains from the individual verandahs. The afternoon Visit a nearby tea plantation or go for a paddle on the crater lake in the lodge’s canoe. Overnight at Ndali Lodge (Full Board)
Day 7
You will leave Ndali early and drive through to Kibale National Park. The walk in this lush tropical rainforest starts at 8.00 am, the highlight of this walk is the chance to track chimpanzees. Trekking in one of the most beautiful and stunning forests in Uganda will highlight its diversity of primates and is home to over 13 species of primates including red colobus monkey, the rare l’Hoest, blue monkey, grey mangabey, pottos, black faced vervet monkeys, baboons, galagos and also bushbabies. Once your Kibale Forest walk is over, you will depart on your return trip back to Kampala. On arrival in Kampala, your safari guide will transfer you to the hotel. Overnight at the Sheraton Kampala Hotel (B&B)
Day 8
Your DUSL safari guide will collect you from the hotel and transfer you to Entebbe International Airport for your outbound flight.