10 Days of Gorilla and Chimpanzee Tracking Safari

The Uganda 10-day safari that includes gorilla trekking and chimpanzees will definitely include wildlife. Uganda presents the best chimpanzee tracking and gorilla trekking experiences in the world. The trip includes Kibale National Park, Queen Elizabeth National Park, and Bwindi Impenetrable National Park.

Day 1: Arrive at Entebbe Airport

Upon reaching Entebbe International Airport, you will meet your car delivery guy and pick up your car rental. Your driver will also guide you through how the trip will look and will let you rest. Dinner and overnight at your hotel.

Luxury: Mestil Hotel

Day 2: Kampala city tour

Today will exhaust your day on a Kampala city tour. Enjoy a morning drive around Kampala and visit a few sites, like the Kasubi tombs, a world UNESCO Heritage Site, Uganda’s biggest mosque, and Mengo Palace. Then return to your lodge for dinner and overnight.

Luxury: Mestil Hotel

Day 3: Transfer to Kibale National Park

Today, following your delicious breakfast, your driver guide will be ready to transfer you. It’s a relaxed morning—not rushing and driving at a comfortable speed. We will drive straight to Fort Portal City, and with lunch en route, we will drive to Amabere Cave and also visit some unique crater lakes. Return to your lodge for dinner and overnight.

Luxury: Chimpundu Lodge

Day 4: Track chimpanzees

This morning, following breakfast, I will drive to Kanyachu Center to brief about tracking etiquette. Get grouped into 8 people to track a single habituated chimpanzee community, and then, with an armed ranger guide, roll into the forest to start a search for the apes. The track can last between 30 minutes and 3 hours to find the tracked community. Finding the apes, you are limited to an hour in their presence. This moment is like nowhere in the jungle, to find yourself in the midst of these human closest relatives. After an hour in their presence, you will walk back to the starting point, find your driver, and drive back to your lodge to relax and refresh.

Have your lunch, and at afternoon hours, you will visit the Bigodi community and see how people around the chimpanzees are benefiting from the tracing initiatives. They have a variety of souvenirs, among which you can also buy. Return to your lodge for dinner and overnight.

Luxury: Chimpundu Lodge

Day 5: Transfer to Queen Elizabeth National Park

This morning, have your relaxed morning breakfast. You will drive to Fort Portal and first visit the traditional Amabere caves and hike the crater lakes. Afterwards, we will forward your drive to Queen Elizabeth National Park. It’s about 3 hours’ drive via Kasese at the foothills of the Mt. Rwenzori ranges. Just drive straight to your lodge for dinner and overnight.

Luxury: Buffalo Safari Lodge

Day 6: Game Drive and Boat Cruise

Today morning, with your packed breakfast, you will drive to the Kasenyi section of Queen Elizabeth National Park for an incredible game drive. The meaning of driving with a packed breakfast is to enjoy the morning bloody sunrise a bit; it’s very amazing. One of the rewarding game drives features a variety of wildlife species, including elephants, Uganda kobs, bushbucks, buffalos, lions, and warthogs, among many species to watch, accompanied by several bird species.

In the afternoon hours, with lunch en route, we will drive to the Mweya Peninsular for a boat cruise on the Kazinga Channel. The wild boat cruise is an opening for watching more animals. Several animals are seen coming to the channel banks to draw water, and aquatic life is seen either socked in water or lousily relaxed at the banks. Then, we will drive back to your lodge for dinner and overnight.

Luxury: Buffalo Safari Lodge

Day 7: Transfer to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park

This day will take a morning drive through the Ishasha sector to track the rare tree-climbing lions. On a good day, lions are found lousily relaxed under tree branches. The Ishasha sector is located in the southern location of Queen Elizabeth National Park and is a famous region in East Africa for hosting these amazing tree-climbing lions. Then, afterwards, you board for Bwindi Impenetrable National Park with lunch en route. Will reach the park in the evening hours and enter the park via Rushaga Gate. Relax, enjoy your dinner, and stay overnight at your lodge.

Midrange: Four Gorillas Lodge

Day 8: Trek Gorillas

Today you will enjoy your morning breakfast and hurry to the Rushaga starting point for the trekking briefing. A group of trekkers, accompanied by an armed ranger guide, will embark on a search for the gentle giants. This kind of adventure is limited to the central African jewelry of Virunga Conservation Area and Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. The trek lasts for about 30 minutes to about 4 hours to find your assigned habituated gorilla family. The trek involves walking through unmade paths, through moist, thick jungle, hikes and slopes through hills and valleys, and on finding the gorillas, it’s a tiresome moment. But if you set your eyes on the species, then you have to find out that all the tiresomeness has been forgotten. Finding the gorilla, you will have strictly one hour before them, then will be walking back to the starting point. You will be very exhausted; you just need to drive back to your lodge and relax.

In the late afternoon hours, you will visit the Batwa community around the Buhoma community to get a feel for their real lives. Then return to your lodge, relax, have dinner, and rest for the next day.

Midrange: Four Gorillas Lodge

Day 9: Lake Bunyonyi

Today, take an early morning drive to this gorgeous historical lake, Bunyonyi. This lake is the 2nd deepest lake in Africa, and it has a simple and unique landscape view. Reaching the lake, you will take a boat ride to one of the islands. Then we will check in at your lodge and relax under the melodies of many small birds, as the name suggests. Dinner and overnight at your lodge.

Midrange: Bunyonyi Overland Resort

Day 10: Transfer back to Kampala

Today, take a relaxed breakfast, and later take a morning drive back to Kampala with lunch en route. You will reach Kampala by the evening hours, and our driver will drive you straight to Entebbe International Airport for your next flight back home.