13 Day Scheduled Uganda Primate Photography Tour

Tour Duration: 13 Days & 12 Nights

Departure / Return Location: Entebbe, Uganda

Destinations on Tour:

1. Entebbe
2. Kibale National Park
3. Mgahinga Gorilla Forest National Park
4. Mabamba Wetland Sanctuary
5. Entebbe

Overview:

This 13 day Uganda primate tour is scheduled for 8 pax group, departing from Entebbe on the 12 of May 2024. It takes you through Entebbe, Kibale Forest national park for Chimpanzee trekking/photography, Mgahinga forest national park for Gorilla trekking/photography and Mabamba Swamp for the rare Shoebill Stork. So you can book your slot now (It can also be booked privately and revised accordingly, depending on one’s interests).

Day One  . Arrival at   Entebbe Airport.

On arrive at Entebbe Airport, probably the friendliest in Africa, you will be received by our representative, your guide/driver who will briefly take you through your safari program. You will later transfer and check in to the service of Lake Heights Hotel for dinner and overnight or you can even go for an optional nature walk in Entebbe Botanical Gardens if time allows. Dinner and overnight at Imperial Heights Hotel.

Day Two  . Transfer to Kibale Forest.

After a relaxed breakfast at your hotel in Entebbe, you will then transfer westwards to Kibale Forest national park, driving through traditional homesteads of Mityana, Mubende and tea plantations of Kabalore. You will arrive at the park in the afternoon and check in to the service of Kibale Forest Lodge for refreshment and overnight stay.

Day Three  Am & Pm Walks – Bigodi Swamp.

After breakfast, we go to the swamp offices for registration before starting enjoying this community based sanctuary. The swamp being on the edge of Kibale forest will provide us with more chances of seeing these elusive forest dwellers. Also among the species found in the forest, are the Grey parrots, African crowned Eagle, Afep Pigeons and Tambourine Dove among others.

Kibale forest is a home to 13 primates along with chimpanzees and we have chances to encounter some of them, like the Red-tailed, Blue monkeys, Grey-checked mangbey among others. Local guides keep a close watch on the activities of various wildlife dwelling in the swamp, so they share all this with you as you walk through. Retire at your service of accommodation, dinner and overnight.

Day Four  . Chimpanzee Trekking – Kibale NP.

After breakfast you go to the National Park which is said to have the greatest variety of primates in East Africa, for Chimpanzee habituation. The difference between chimpanzee trekking and chimpanzee trekking is that in the trekking you spend one hour with the chimps after finding them and for the habituation you start very early so that by the time the wake up you were already in the place so you start the day together.

You follow them from the time they leave their nests, pretend to feed on what they feed on, do what they do in their natural habitats and interact with them in all possible ways, until when they make their nests to go to bed. So in other words, for chimpanzee habituation you spend the whole day with them. You go back to the lodge in the evening, dinner and overnight.

Day Five . Chimpanzee Trekking – Kibale NP.

After breakfast we slope down to the Park Offices for registration and briefing before we start the Trekking in one of East Africa’s oldest Forest with trees as high as 50 meters.  The Trekking may take about three hours in search for Habituated Chimpanzees. The forest also harbors about 13 primate species that include the Black and White Colobus Monkey, Red Colobus Monkey, Red tailed, Lhotse’s Monkeys and Grey cheeked Mangbey among others.

It is also home to a variety of bird species including the rare Green Breasted Pita.  We come back to the Lodge, relax around, have lunch and latter go for a nature walk in the Bigodi wetland which is also very rewarding. We come back to the Lodge for dinner and overnight.

Day Six  . Kibale Forest – Mgahinga NP.                    

After an early morning breakfast, we will check out of our service of accommodation and embark on our journey to Mgahinga Forest National Park driving along the foothills of Rwenzori and through the rolling hills of Kigezi, with lunch en-route. You will arrive in the evening, check in to our service of Ikoro Hotel Kisoro, dinner and overnight.

Day Seven  . Gorilla Trekking – Mgahinga NP. 

After an early morning breakfast, we then head to the park offices for the briefing about the does and don’ts in the park during the trek. You will be led by a park ranger who will guide you through this activity that will take between 3-4 hours where you will spend a maximum of one hour upon finding the gorillas after which you will transfer to Kisoro, arriving in the evening and retire at the lodge, dinner and overnight.

Day Eight. Golden Monkeys – Mgahinga NP.

After an early breakfast; we transfer to the park offices where you will be briefed on the does and don’ts during the monkey trekking activity after which you will be led a park ranger into the habitats of the golden monkeys. This activity will take between 3-4 hours which after you will return to your lodge or place of accommodation to relax, lunch and refreshments. After we shall go for an evening village walk. Retire at our accommodation for dinner and overnight.

Day Nine . Gorilla Trekking – Mgahinga NP.

After an early morning breakfast, with our packed lunch, we go to the Park offices for the briefing at around 8:00am and later start the trekking entering the forest, the natural habitat of the gorillas. Your gorilla trekking adventure has just begun. It may take 3-4 hours under muddy and strenuous conditions, sometimes with rain overhead. But all these conditions cease to be a challenge the moment you come face to face with the amazing mountain gorilla.

The feeling is one unlike any other felt before, only you can find the fitting word, mine, awestruck. You? After which have some refreshment and check out of our accommodation and head for Mgahinga Gorilla Forest National Park arriving in the late evening and we check in to our service of accommodation, dinner and overnight.

Day Ten.  Mgahinga Forest National Park – Mabamba Swamp.

After breakfast we drive back to Entebbe, with stopovers/toilet breaks at Kabale and Mbarara, lunch en-route. We shall also have a stopover at the Equator for a chance to enjoy the water experiment and look at the craft shops. We then proceed on to Mabamba Wetland sanctuary, arriving in the evening and check in to the service of our accommodation, dinner and overnight.

Day Eleven .  Am & Pm Boat Cruise at Mabamba Swamp.                                 

You will breakfast at the lodge, after which we will slope down the landing site at the Mabamba swamp bay, to start birding which is mostly done by canoeing in search for the rare Shoebill stork and a variety of other bird species that may include; the African and Lesser Jacana, White-breasted, Blue-breast and Little Bee-eaters, Purple Swamphen, Lesser Moorhen, Malachite and Pied Kingfishers, Black-headed, Grey and Purple Heron, Long-toed Lapwing, Yellow-billed and White-backed Duck.

Here we also expect the African Marsh Harrier, Weyns’s Weaver, Blue Swallow and Red-headed among others. We later go back to our accommodation, relax around, have lunch and later in the afternoon we go back to the swamp and take a canoe and do a second try for rare shoebill again together with the other missed birds. We go back to our lodge, dinner and overnight.

Day Twelve .  Am & Pm Boat Cruise at Mabamba Swamp.

You will breakfast at the lodge, after which we will slope down the landing site at the Mabamba wetland sanctuary, to start birding which is mostly done by canoeing in search for the rare Shoebill stork and a variety of other bird species that may include; the African and Lesser Jacana, White-breasted, Blue-breast and Little Bee-eaters, Purple Swamphen, Lesser Moorhen, Malachite and Pied Kingfishers, Black-headed, Grey and Purple Heron, Long-toed Lapwing, Yellow-billied and White-backed Duck.

Also expect the African Marsh Harrier, Weyns’s Weaver, Blue Swallow and Red-headed among others. We later check in to the service of our accommodation, relax around, have lunch and later in the afternoon we go back to the swamp and take a canoe and do a second try for rare shoebill again together with the other missed birds. We go back to our lodge, dinner and overnight.

Day Thirteen . Mabamba Swamp – Entebbe Airport.

After breakfast with our laggages, we shall return to the Entebbe airport with en-route lunch which will mark the end of our trip.