ITINERARY

Day 1:  Arrival Entebbe International Airport

A representative from Native Expeditions will meet you on arrival at Entebbe International Airport transfer to your accommodation.

Day 2:  Transfer to Kibale Forest National Park

Your guide/driver will pick you up early morning on day 2 after breakfast to head to Western Uganda, Fort Portal towards Kibale Forest National Park.

This drive ordinarily takes 5 to 7 hours so you can expect to arrive in Fort Portal in time for lunch.  After having your lunch and checking in at the lodge, you will rest a while and if you are in the mood for it, we will take a walk to what locals playfully refer to as the “top of the world” along crater lakes and even as far as the Bigodi Wetland sanctuary if time allows.

Day 3:  Chimpanzee tracking experience

Chimpanzees are the most sought-after primate by visitors to Kibale Forest National Park and after your breakfast on day 3, we will be on our way to do just that. You will be allowed to spend some time (at most an hour) with our mesmerizing relatives, as you observe them swing from one tree to another, feed, play about or progress speedily on the ground right in front of you.

While Chimpanzee tracking is the core activity on this day, you should be on the lookout for the black & white colobus, red-tailed monkey or the grey-cheeked mangabey. In addition to the primates, sightings of some exciting bird species are also a given doing this tracking tour.

Dinner and overnight stay at accommodation of your choice.

Day 4: Transfer to Queen Elizabeth National Park

Early morning on the fourth day, we will embark on a journey to Queen Elizabeth National Park. Few game reserves in the world can boast such a high biodiversity rating and with landscapes including savannah, bushland, wetlands and lush forests. Covering 1978 sq km, scenic Queen Elizabeth National Park is one of the most popular parks in Uganda. The park is inhabited by 96 species of mammals, including healthy numbers of hippos, elephants, lions and leopards as well as chimps and hyenas.

We will have lunch on arrival, check-in at your lodge and relax for a while. You will then have an opportunity for an afternoon boat cruise along the Kazinga Channel.

Dinner and overnight stay at accommodation of your choice.

Day 5: Game drive

On day 5 of this tour we will be enjoying a wildlife viewing experience in the kasenyi sect as well as the Ishasha sects of Queen Elizabeth National Park. The Kasenyi sector lies east of the Kasese highway, where, with open, lawn-like plains and a magnificent Rwenzori backdrop, it ranks among QENP’s most beautiful grasslands. It is famous for the prides of LIONS that prey on large herds of Uganda Kob, especially around the Kob leks or breeding grounds. The magnificent and remote Ishasha sector lies in the extreme south of Queen Elizabeth NP, adjoining the Virunga National Park, which lies on the opposite side of the Ishasha River in the D.R. Congo.

Ishasha is home to a superb variety of animals. Hippos are common in the Ishasha River, while Buffalo, Topi, and Kob roam the plain. These are prey for Leopard and the sector’s most famous residents, the Tree-climbing Lions.

After this long but adventurous game viewing experience, you will retire to your lodge for dinner and an overnight stay.

Day 6: Transfer to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park 

All roads lead to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park on day 6 of this safari and immediately after your breakfast, we will be on our way.

Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is most famously known as the home of half of the world’s remaining mountain gorillas and is one of the most visited parks in Uganda. The park is a dense primeval forest located in the remote southwest of Uganda, on the edge of the Albertine Rift Valley across from the DRC.

Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is inhabited by 120 mammal species of which 10 are primates, 346 bird species, and over 200 butterfly species. Forest hogs, forest elephants, and numerous primates roam beneath the thick canopy of trees. The park’s afro-montane forest has more than 200 tree species, over 1,000 flowering plants, and 100 species of fern, many of which cannot be found anywhere else in East Africa.

It is believed that Uganda’s first people, the Batwa have inhabited this forest for 400,000 years, and many continue to do so.

On arrival, you will head straight to your lodge, check-in, and after lunch, a ranger guide will escort you on light but worthwhile nature walks.

Dinner and overnight stay.

Day 7: Gorilla Tracking 

As described by one first-time gorilla tracker, “The reward is an experience almost impossible to describe: it is rare that a wild animal, particularly one so large, and one generally surrounded by its young, allows even fleeting access to the workings of its inner world – rarer still that it seems to positively enjoy the close proximity of humans.”

On day 7 of this safari, you will get the chance to meet with the mighty gorillas of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park

Depending on the duration of the track you can either relax in the afternoon at the lodge or enjoy another walk around the village or hike up to the hills for a breath-taking view ever!

Dinner and Overnight stay at an accommodation of your choice.

Day 8:  Transfer to Volcanoes National Park

After your Gorilla tracking experience in Bwindi, we will be heading out to Volcanes National Park in Rwanda.

Volcanoes national park is home to the highest number of mountain gorillas in the Virunga Conservation area. Besides gorillas, Volcanoes National park is a home for golden monkeys, a variety of birds, reptiles, amphibians, and insects among other creatures which together make a complete Rwanda Wildlife safari package.

We expect to arrive in the afternoon and have enough time for you to visit the Karisoke Research Centre to learn more about Dian Fossey’s work in the National Park and the history of Gorilla conservation.

Dinner and overnight stay at an accommodation of your choice.

Day 9: Gorilla tracking Volcanoes National Park

After an early breakfast, you will be transferred to the park headquarters for gorilla briefing. When venturing into this gigantic forest, a packed lunch, comfortable clothes, shoes and a walking stick is a must before gorilla tracking. The time spent gorilla tracking varies from 2-8 hours before an encounter with the family of these gentle creatures. The location of each gorilla family depends on temperature, their feeding range and movement of the previous day.

Enjoy this1 hour (only time allowed in the company of each gorilla family a day) watch and capture this memorable experience as they go about their day-to-day activities; the young ones playing around the old ones, feeding each other and eating foliage. The sight of these outstanding creatures is the climax of this entire safari.

Dinner and overnight stay at an accommodation of your choice.

Day 10: Musanze to Gisenyi – Lake Kivu

After breakfast on the 10^th day, you will transfer to Gisenyi town which is located on the shores of Lake Kivu. On arrival, check into the hotel and embark on a variety of relaxing activities like swimming, sport fishing, and boat cruise.

Dinner and overnight stay at an accommodation of your choice.

Day 11: Gisenyi – Kigali

Transfer to Kigali from Gisenyi, visit communities en-route, and continue to the Genocide memorial center, before proceeding to the airport for your departure flight

**END OF TOUR**