8 Day Luxury Uganda Gorilla Safari

8 Day Luxury Uganda Gorilla Safari.

However, the 8 Day Luxury Uganda Gorilla Safari, Uganda is known for its friendly people and incredible diversity of landscapes and activities. Meanwhile, on this 8-day journey, let us show you the best that Uganda has to offer from wildlife safaris on the Savannah plains of Queen Elizabeth National Park to intimate meetings with the chimpanzees in Kibale Forest and mountain gorilla encounters along the canopy-covered trails of Bwindi Forest. In addition to, our exclusive tours include some of the Uganda’s very best lodges.

Highlights of 8 Day Luxury Uganda Gorilla Safari Murchison Falls National Park:

Murchison Falls National Park:
Commonly known as the nature wonders of Uganda. This is the starting point of the safari, and it promises exciting wildlife encounters. The combination of a game drive and a boat cruise on the Nile River offers an opportunity to see a wide variety of animals. Such as the iconic African Big Five (lions, elephants, buffaloes, leopards, and rhinoceros). Meanwhile, the Murchison Falls is where the Nile River squeezes through a narrow gorge and plummets into the Devil’s Cauldron, is a stunning natural spectacle.

Zziwa Rhino Sanctuary.
The sanctuary is situated approximately 176 kilometers (109 miles) north of the capital city, Kampala, and covers an area of about 7,000 hectares (17,300 acres). It provides a safe and secure environment for the rhinos to thrive and reproduce, as well as promoting education and awareness about rhino conservation.

Bwindi Impenetrable National Park:
The highlight of the trip, gorilla trekking in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, provides a rare opportunity to get up close with the magnificent mountain gorillas. This experience is often considered one of the most memorable wildlife encounters in the world.

Kibale Forest National Park:
Specifically known for its remarkable chimpanzee population, Kibale Forest allows visitors to go chimpanzee tracking and observe these primates in their natural habitat. It’s an enriching experience to learn about the behavior of these intelligent creatures and witness their interactions. However you will engage in more exciting activities like the Bigodi wetland swamp walk. The Bigodi Swamp Walk is a fascinating eco-tourism activity located near Kibale Forest National Park in Uganda. Furthermore, it is a community-based initiative that offers visitors a chance to explore the unique wetland ecosystem of Bigodi and encounter its diverse flora and fauna.

Queen Elizabeth National Park:
This park offers a game drive and a boat cruise on the Kazinga Channel, where visitors can spot a wide array of wildlife and bird species. The diverse landscape for instance crater lakes and the Rwenzori Mountains, adds to the allure of this park.

Batwa Community Visit:
The visit to the Batwa community allows travelers to gain insights into their unique way of life and traditions. It’s a chance to appreciate and respect the cultural diversity of Uganda.

Day 1: Welcome in Uganda!

However, arriving to a new place can be overwhelming well as all your senses are working in overdrive as you take in the unknown sights, sounds and smells of your new surroundings. Meanwhile, your heaven tour holidays guide will be with you from the very beginning, welcoming you at the airport and passing you expertly through the lively traffic, while you can lean back and watch your new world go by.

Furthermore, if this is your first time traveling to Africa, you will never forget your first contact with her. Meanwhile, the drive to your rooms is about an hour. And along the way, you will catch a look of the glittering waters of Lake Victoria on your right, see several matatus and Boda Bodas (local 4-wheel and 2-wheel taxis) weave daringly through traffic, smartly dressed residents in colorful fabrics negotiating the pot-holed streets, food stalls serving delicious Rolex and wooden carts heavily laden with our favorite staple food.
Accommodation option:
Latitude 0°.
Meal Plan: No meals included.

Day 2: To Fort Portal/ Kibale Forest:

Your trip to Kibale Forest is amazing scenic, taking you through tea plantations, lively village markets and over rolling hills of lush green countryside that is so characteristic of western Uganda.

Meanwhile, Kibale Forest itself is an extensive tract of think tropical rainforest located just south of the town Fort Portal. Well as, the different ecosystems in this space are respected to hide the highest density of animals in all of Africa. The rare red colobus monkey as well as the black and white colobus is just some of the animals you may meet on your forest walks here.

The highlight of a trip to Kibale Forest is of course to spend some time observing the wonderfully entertaining chimpanzees. In the midst of the gently rolling evergreen hills of the Great Crater Lakes region you’ll find Papaya Lake Lodge with its series of luxurious cottages dotted along the slopes of an extinct volcano.

Here you can enjoy the amazing views of the turquoise waters of Lyantonde Lake in complete privacy. Papaya’s fine cuisine combines culinary traditions from all corners of the world, prepared with top-quality produce. This lodge has been built with great passion, esteem for local culture, and the highest attention to detail.
Accommodation:
Papaya Lake Lodge.
Meal Plan: Breakfast, dinner.

Day 3: Chimpanzee tracking in Kibale Forest:

No other animal reminds us so much of ourselves as the chimpanzee. Besides many common features and mannerisms, chimpanzees also share 98% of our human DNA, making them our closest living relatives. It is not so surprising then that we find the habits and biology of these animals so alluring to study.

While Chimpanzees can be found in 21 countries throughout Africa, they are most easily sighted in Uganda due to the high mass of the types here. On a Chimpanzee Tracing experience in Kibale Forest, you will have the chance to follow an experienced guide into the forest to observe these alluring creatures at a close range. Watching them talk with each other and go about their daily routine of training, playing and foraging is an amazing experience.

While your chances of meeting chimpanzees are high during your tracing trip, it is never 100% guaranteed. These are, after all, wild animals with wills and minds of their own! In the afternoon you will have time to enjoy the lodge which boasts a pool with beautiful views of the surrounding.

Accommodation option:
Papaya Lake Lodge.
Meal Plan: Breakfast, lunch, dinner.

Day 4: Lion Tracking & Boat Safari:

A tracing device in the vehicle will lead you directly to the lions where you will spend some time observing these charismatic cats. The data collected by the researchers will further the conservation program in the park, while you get a special and intimate insight into the lives and habits of these alluring predators.

Later in the day when the sun is high in the sky and the animals make their way to the river for a drink, we will head to Kazinga means for a quite boat safari. You will see more hippos today than you can possibly imagine as well as Herds of elephants and buffaloes also wandering down to the shoreline to bathe in the cooling waters.
In other words, a boat safari is a great way to get close to wildlife and for many visitors is the highlight of their visit to Queen Elizabeth.
Accommodation:
Kyambura Gorge Lodge.
Meal plan: Breakfast, lunch & dinner.

Day 4: Explore the Valley of the Apes

If you find safaris to be a bit too sedentary for your taste, then a hike in the Kyambura Gorge is what you need to get your heart rate up. This stunning geological feature is known as “the Valley of Apes” and is another world unto itself. While, the view from the top is incredibly impressive with a deep sunken gorge covered in lush tropical vegetation.

Furthermore, as its nickname reveals, the gorge is home to several animal types including chimpanzees, the red-tailed monkey, black-and-white colobus, baboons, and vervet monkeys.
You will also see your fair share of colorful bird types. While the chances of seeing chimpanzees are not as high here as in Kibale Forest or Budongo Forest, this view is among the most impressive in Uganda and absolutely worth visiting and the additional cost for this optional activity is $50 per person.

Day 5:Coffee Tour & Travel to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest:

However, the beautiful place that you have been spending the past two nights used to be an old coffee store. The lodge is still very involved in the coffee industry in the area and this morning you will go on a Coffee Tour to explore the transformation of the coffee beans into delicious Ugandan coffee. While, the process is all done by hand and by local people.
Sampling some of the coffee will make for a good start to your day and buying some coffee to take home will make a good token as well as support the local people. Once done, your trip will continue to Bwindi Forest, the home of the Mountain Gorillas of Uganda.

Furthermore, you will be introduced to the people that live in the outskirts of the forest and welcomed to support the locally founded and managed women’s empowerment initiative, 8 Day Luxury Uganda Gorilla, Ride 4 A Woman. As well as, joining these local women as they go about their daily lives and learn how to weave baskets, sew with traditional fabrics or cook a delicious Ugandan meal.

In addition to, for the coming two nights you will be staying at Buhoma Lodge, an intimate lodge with amazing views over the forest, and one of only two lodges that are located within the park. That is to say, you will stay in one of the ten chalets which are carefully and spaciously designed using locally sourced materials and your quite veranda with wonderful vistas, free house drinks, and massage will ensure a great relaxing stay.
Accommodation option:
Buhoma Lodge.
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner.

Day 6: Lion Tracking & Boat Safari:

In the morning we offer you a chance to contribute to an important conservation program in Queen Elizabeth NP. On this special Lion Tracing research trip, you will follow a research team, off the safari jeep tracks and into the bush, in search of one of the lion prides in the park.
A tracing device in the vehicle will lead you directly to the lions where you will spend some time observing these charismatic cats. The data collected by the researchers will further the conservation program in the park, while you get a special and intimate insight into the lives and habits of these alluring predators.
Later in the day when the sun is high in the sky and the animals make their way to the river for a drink, we will head to Kazinga means for a quite boat safari. You will see more hippos today than you can possibly imagine as well as Herds of elephants and buffaloes also wandering down to the shoreline to bathe in the cooling waters.
In other words, a boat safari is a great way to get close to wildlife and for many visitors is the highlight of their visit to Queen Elizabeth.
Accommodation:
Kyambura Gorge Lodge.
Meal plan: Breakfast, lunch & dinner.

Day 7: Gorilla Tracking in Bwindi Forest:

Meanwhile, meeting the rare and risky Mountain Gorillas of Bwindi forest is an experience of a lifetime. However, half of the world’s number of gorillas lives under the mist-covered canopies of Uganda’s oldest and most biologically varied rainforest. In addition to, in the company of an experienced park ranger, you will be tracking the whereabouts of one of the nine seasoned family groups who live in the park.
Your tracing experience will be an exciting, yet difficult trip along forested (often muddy and slippery) slopes, tangled vines, thick vegetation, and bamboo forests before you reach the territory of these gentle giants.
Furthermore, depending on the location of the gorillas on any given day the walk can take anything from 2 to 7 hours. Once the family of gorillas has been located, settle into your surroundings and enjoy the hour you have to quietly observe these alluring animals whose habits and mannerisms remind us so much of our own.
While, meeting the mountain gorillas in the wild is a truly humbling and emotional experience, one that you are sure to remember for the rest of your life.

Accommodation option:
Buhoma Lodge.
Meal Plan: Breakfast, packed lunch & Dinner.

Day 8: Flight to Entebbe:

However, you will enjoy your last sunrise in this beautiful corner of Uganda. Afterwards, will be dropped at Kihihi airstrip for your domestic flight to Entebbe.
Departure time from Kihihi:
However, timings may vary depending on aircraft routing.
While, Kihihi flights are subject to prevailing weather conditions.
However, a house for tonight is not included in the program. Otherwise, if you require one (or more) nights in Entebbe or Kampala please let us know and we can arrange it for you.

4wd Extended Toyota Land cruiser:
Furthermore, the extended Land cruiser is one of the ultimate safari vehicle in Africa. Meanwhile, it’s 4wd, spacious, high up, strong and has a fridge on board!
There is an aircon in the car and, of course, an open roof for an excellent safari view. However, the extended land cruiser is suitable for a maximum of 6 persons. In other words, you can upgrade to this car at an additional cost. These costs don’t apply when you are traveling with 5 – 6 persons, as this car will be included.
Price Includes:
Transport in a 4WD Toyota Land Cruiser with pop-up roof for excellent safari view.
All fuel for the tour.
English speaking Ugandan driver/guide.

Accommodation as listed in the guide.
Drinking water during the trip.
Meals according to the itinerary.
Park-entrance fees according to the guide.
All activities described in the guide.
1 chimpanzee permit per person (US$ 150).
1 gorilla permit per person (US$ 700).

Price Excludes:
International air fares.
Entry visa Uganda.
Meals that are not part of your room.
A porter for during the gorilla tracing (someone who carries your daypack).
Personal (medical/travel) insurance.
Government tax or park fees increase.
Tips and gratuities to rangers, driver/guide, porter, hotel staff, etc.
All expenses of personal nature (e.g. drinks, laundry, optional activities, gifts etc.)