6 Days Uganda Safari – Gorillas And Chimpanzees

Driving Time: Approx. 325km / 5+ hours

Your exciting 6 days Uganda Safari begins today! Your driver/guide will pick you up from your accommodation in Kampala or Entebbe and head west towards Kibale, a 800 km² tropical rainforest near the charming town of Fort Portal. Along the way, you’ll pass through scenic villages, tea plantations, and crater lakes, with the possibility of spotting the snow-capped peaks of the Rwenzori Mountains on clear days.

Once you arrive in Kibale Forest, you will find yourself in a completely different world; a monkey world! Kibale Forest is a paradise for primate lovers and offers some of the best forest bird watching and chimpanzee tracking in Africa. The chimpanzee trekking is a half-day experience, available either early in the morning or after lunch, and should be booked in advance. Between Fort Portal and the forest lies a stunning region of crater lakes, perfect for a swim or a hike.

Accommodation;

Budget: Chimpanzee Forest Guest House/Kibale Forest Camp

Midrange: Kibale Forest Camp/Chimpanzee Forest Guest House

Luxury: Crater Safari Lodge/Primate Lodge/Kyaninga Lodge

Meal Plan: Lunch and Dinner

Driving Time: Approx. 157km/2+ hours

After a leisurely breakfast, check out of the lodge and begin your journey south to Uganda’s oldest national park. It is about a 2 hour drive with incredibly scenic views en route. Make a stop in Kasese on the foothills of the Rwenzori Mountains to explore the Ruboni Village. Here, you’ll have the opportunity to immerse yourself in the cultural traditions of the Bakonzo people, who have lived in the shadow of the Rwenzoris for centuries. 

After this enriching encounter, continue to your lodge in Queen Elizabeth National Park for lunch. In the afternoon you will make your first game drive safari through this park. Queen Elizabeth is Uganda’s most visited park, and with good reason! It has the most diverse habitats of any game park in Africa, and includes areas of sprawling grassland savannah, moist forests, fertile wetlands and beautiful crater lakes. This incredible diversity has led to a fauna count of 95 mammal species, over 600 bird species and more. Get your cameras ready! After your first game drive, return to the lodge to relax.

Accommodation;

Budget: Pumba Safari Cottage

Midrange: The Bush Lodge/Enganzi Game Lodge

Luxury: Marafiki Safari Lodge/Elephant Plains Lodge

Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Spend another exciting day exploring Queen Elizabeth National Park. Morning game drives Kasenyi Plains offer great game viewing, as do boat trips on the Kazinga Channel. The channel is a squiggle of fresh water, roughly 35km long and 2,500 ft. wide. While officially a river, its flow is almost unnoticeable. It connects 2 freshwater lakes at a near-identical altitude — Lake Rutanzige (also known by its colonial name, Lake Edward) and Lake Katunguru (also called Lake George). 

This natural river channel attracts many animals, including one of the world’s densest concentrations of hippos and numerous crocodiles. Elephants and buffalos also frequent its banks. As you might expect, the Kazinga Channel is also teeming with a variety of African birds. You can easily spot 60 or 70 species of bird on a single 2 hour boat cruise excursion.

Driving Time: Approx. 220km/4+ hours

Drive towards the Kigezi Highlands, perhaps the most fertile and scenic region of Uganda: a landscape of expansive blue lakes and steep terraced slopes bordering the rainforest of Bwindi.

Have an early breakfast and head even further south. Before leaving the park we undertake a game drive in the Ishasha sector. “Queen Elizabeth National Park’s Ishaha Section is one of the few places on the continent where you can see lions that habitually do something unusual and incredibly photogenic. Here, you can spot lions climbing up in to giant fig trees to spend their long lazy days dozing on the lateral trunks. This is also the only area in the park to see Topi and Sitatunga antelopes. After a game drive, exit the park and continue towards the world famous Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. Enjoy lunch somewhere along the route and reach your destination in the mid-afternoon.

Accommodation Options;

Budget: Buhoma Community Rest Camp

Midrange: Haven Lodge Buhoma/Gorilla Mist Camp

Luxury: Gorilla Forest Camp/Buhoma Lodge

Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner    

Driving Time: Approx. 88km/1 hours

Today you’ll experience what some people define a life changing event: a meeting with the gentle giants of Bwindi Impenetrable Forest! This 321 square kilometer forest protects an estimated 500 mountain gorillas, roughly half of the global population. This includes 24 habituated families which can be tracked by limited groups of people. Expect to walk a long distance in steep and muddy conditions, sometimes with rain overhead, before you encounter any gorillas. It can take up to eight hours of tracking to find the gorillas, although two to four hours is more typical. But it will definitely be worthwhile as you observe them closely while they eat, play and rest, a unique and unforgettable experience!

After this life-changing gorilla trekking experience, return to the starting point and enjoy a packed picnic lunch, after which leave for Lake Bunyonyi, about 90 minutes away. Driving through the fascinating Kigezi Highlands, you will arrive at Lake Bunyonyi in the late afternoon. This is an ideal stopover for your tour, because Entebbe or Kampala where this safari will end is unreachable today. Lake Bunyonyi (meaning “place of many little birds”) is one of the deepest and most beautiful lakes in Africa. It is also a good spot for water activities like swimming, canoeing and boat cruises.

Accommodation;

Midrange: Lake Bunyonyi Rock Resort

Luxury: Birdnest Resort

Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner             

Driving Time: Approx. 477km/7+ hours

After a relaxed breakfast, leave for Entebbe or Kampala. Along the way, at the Ugandan Equator crossing at Kayabwe, where you can stand with one leg in the Northern hemisphere while the other remains in the Southern! It makes for great photographs and memories. It is also an impressive site for purchasing memorabilia to take back home as a memento of this incredible safari in Uganda.

*Please note: Extensions to Rwanda, Tanzania or Kenya can easily be arranged. Please don’t hesitate to ask for our expert assistance.

Accommodation: Not Included

Meal Plan: Breakfast and Lunch