9-Days Great Apes and Big Cats: Gorillas, Chimps, and Carnivore Tracking Safari

Welcome to Uganda! On arrival, you will be received by our representative(s) and transferred to your hotel in Entebbe or Kampala, depending on your time of arrival. Check into your hotel, enjoy dinner, and spend the night.

Today, check out of your hotel after breakfast and embark on a tour of Uganda’s capital, Kampala. During this tour, you will visit some major markets, significant religious, political, and cultural landmarks. You may also get a taste of some local food/snacks.

After your day in the city, have lunch at a local restaurant, visit a local NGO, and learn about their efforts to help their communities. You may visit a slum or school to donate food, toys, and school items to the children and young mothers. Return to your hotel for dinner and overnight.

This morning at 6:00 AM, your driver will pick you up from your hotel and drive you to western Uganda, where Kibale Forest is located. During this long but scenic drive, you will notice the topography change from a bustling city to vast farmlands, and then to magnificent forests as you approach Kibale.

You will make a couple of stops for lunch and bathroom breaks en route. On arrival in Kibale, check into your accommodation, have dinner, and spend the night.

Depart your lodge at 7:00 AM after breakfast and head into the forest for chimp trekking. The starting time of the activity is 8:00 AM, after a short briefing by the Uganda Wildlife Authority rangers. You will spend about 1 hour with the chimpanzees, watching and learning about them.

Back at the lodge, enjoy lunch, and then go on a swamp walk in Bigodi Wetland. This swamp is home to a variety of smaller primates like colobus and red-tailed monkeys, birds, and is a great place for botanists/plant lovers.

Depart from your accommodation in Kibale after breakfast at 8:00 AM and transfer to Queen Elizabeth National Park. Arrive at your lodge in QENP, check in, have lunch, and go on a boat safari on the Kazinga Channel. The channel connects two lakes, Edward and George, and is home to the largest hippo population in Uganda.

Animals like elephants, buffalo, and plenty of birds can be seen here as well. After your boat excursion, drive back to your accommodation for dinner and spend the night.

Today, you will meet some of Africa’s iconic big cats: leopards and lions. Queen Elizabeth National Park runs a carnivore protection program where guests can participate by tracking collared lions and leopards with the help of a big cat researcher. This will give you a glimpse into the lives and behaviours of the cats.

Finish your carnivore tracking excursion off with a game drive in the park and then return to your lodge and spend the rest of your day at leisure.

Travel through the scenic views of southwestern Uganda on your way from Queen Elizabeth National Park to Bwindi today. On arrival in Bwindi, check into your lodge and relax.

Have an early breakfast, leave the lodge between 7:00 AM and 7:30 AM, and head to the Uganda Wildlife Association (UWA) office for a briefing before Gorilla trekking. Gorilla trekking itself does not have a specific time frame because the animals move quite a bit.

It could take a few hours or half a day and is considered a full-day activity. When guests find the gorillas, they’ll spend 1 hour with them. Head back to the park headquarters, where your driver will take you back to your lodge.

Check out of your lodge this morning and drive to Kigali-Rwanda, where you will catch your flight back home. Depending on your flight departure time, you may spend a couple of hours at the Genocide Memorial in Kigali. This is a great way to educate yourself about the country’s political and cultural history.