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AHSUG001 -
Uganda Safaris/
Gorilla Trek
12 Days
Entebbe |
Lake Victoria | Kibale | Quee Elizabeth | Bwindi | Lake Bunyoyi
Day 1 On your arrival at Entebbe International Airport, you will be
met by your Safari guide who will transfer you to your hotel in Kampala. If
your flight arrives in the morning, you will have a chance to visit some of
the interesting places around Kampala. These include Kasubi Toms, Uganda
Museum, African Craft Market, Namirembe Cathedral etc.
Overnight at Speke Hotel/Hotel Africana (BB)
Day 2 Your safari guide will collect you from your hotel and depart
by road to Murchison Falls National Park arriving in the early afternoon.
The drive will take approximately 5-6 hours and will give you a good insight
on the Uganda way of life. Before reaching the Lodge, you will stop at the
top of the falls which is a fantastic sight. Here the Nile, the longest
river in the world, is forced through a narrow gap in the rock (only 7
meters wide), before ferociously plunging down 43 meters. From here you will
continue on, taking a ferry across the river to Paraa Safari Lodge. Game
viewing on the way is very good; look out for hippos, elephants, buffalos
and many other animals, seen grazing on the banks of the river.
Overnight at a Luxurious Paraa Safari Lodge/Midrange Sambiya River
lodge/Budget Red Chili Camp (Full Board).
Day 3 After breakfast, we will go for a morning Chimp tracking in
Kaniyo Pabidi Forest. This is an undisturbed area of natural forest within
Budongo Forest Reserve where you can walk beneath mature mahogany and iron
wood trees. Chimpanzee tracking is the most famous activity. You will
certainly see many forest birds, including the chocolates-backed Kingfisher,
the white-thigh hornbill and puvel's illadopsis found nowhere else in East
Africa.
We will drive back to the lodge for lunch and a chance to relax by the side
of the swimming pool before taking an afternoon boat trip to the foot of
Murchison Falls. This boat trip along the Nile is often cited as being the
highlight of a trip to Murchison since it allows you to get up-close and
personal with the animals. Along this stretch of the river, there are
reported to be around 4,000 hippos in addition to some enormous Nile
crocodiles. The bird life is stunning with brightly colored kingfishers and
bee-eaters darting along the riverbanks. If lucky, you may see the rare and
prehistoric looking shoebill, which is a cross between the dodo and a
dinosaur. The boat takes you to the base of the falls which only adds to
their impressiveness.
Overnight at a Luxurious Paraa Safari Lodge/Midrange Sambiya River
lodge/Budget Red Chili Camp (Full Board)
Day 4 Following a morning breakfast, we will depart with our packed
lunch to Kibale Forest National Park. We will pass close to Lake Albert. On
a clear day, the view on the top of the Albert rift is spectacular. We will
arrive Fort portal town in the late afternoon. Tonight you will sleep in
Ndali Lodge/Rwenzori View guest house prior to your chimpanzee tracking in
the morning.
Overnight at Ndali Lodge/ Rwenzori View Guest House/Kanyankyu Ecological
site (FB)
Day 5 A relatively early morning start, to report to the ranger
station in Kibale National Park at 08.00am to track habituated chimps –
these delightful apes, more closely related to humans than to any other
living creature, are tremendous fun to watch as they squabble and play in
fruiting trees. The incredibly diverse forest is home to over 13 species of
primates including red Colobus monkey, the rare L’Hoest, blue monkey, grey
mangabey, pottos, black faced vervet monkeys, baboons and also bush babies.
A network of shady forest trails provides much to delight botanists and
butterfly lovers, while birders are in for a treat with 335 species recorded
including the endemic Prirogrine’s ground thrush. The elusive forest
elephant, smaller and hairier that its savannah counterpart, moves
seasonally into the developed part of the park, while other terrestrial
mammals include buffalo, giant forest hog and a half dozen antelope species.
Overnight at Ndali Lodge/ Rwenzori View Guest House/Kanyankyu Ecological
site (FB)
Day 6 Following a morning breakfast, we will depart for Queen
Elizabeth National Park. We will enter the park via the Northern crater
Area. With beautiful lakes and rich grasslands which are set deep in the
crater valley, this is truly the most breathtaking scenery in the park.
Queen Elizabeth is host to a large variety and volume of wildlife. It boasts
one o the highest bio diversity ratings of any game park in the world, from
the open Savannah to Rain forest, dense swamps and beautiful crater lakes to
the vastness of Lake Edward. Almost 100 species that include Hippos, Lions,
Buffaloes, Leopard, Spotted Hyena and the elusive giant forest hog. There
are over 606 species of birds found here including the martial eagle, black-rumped
buttonquail, Verreaux’s eagle owl and African skimmer to name but a few. The
primates include Chimps, Black and white Colobus Monkeys, Blue, Black Faced
Red Colobus, and Red Tailed monkeys and Olive Baboons.
Relax after lunch and later go for an evening game drive.
Overnight at Mweya Safari Lodge/ Albertine safari camp (FB)
Day 7 This morning we will leave for the 08.00am chimp trek in
Kyambura Gorge. These delightful apes, more closely related to humans than
to any other living creature, are tremendous fun to watch as they squabble
and play in fruiting trees. We will return to the lodge for lunch and a
chance to relax by the swimming pool.
In the afternoon a boat trip along the Kazinga Channel gives you the
opportunity to view wildlife up close: hippo’s huff and spray mere feet away
from the boat, buffalo linger in the shallows. The shores of the channel are
also home to an array of birds including pink backed pelicans, pied and
malachite kingfishers, saddle billed stork and many others. After this
wonderful afternoon, a slow drive back to Lodge.
Overnight at Mweya Safari Lodge/ Albertine safari camp (FB)
Day 8 This morning, we will leave for Bwindi Impenetrable Forest. We
will drive through the southern sector of Queen Elizabeth called Ishasha.
Here we will take lunch by the Ishasha River and try to find the famed
Ishasha tree-climbing lions before continuing on to Bwindi, home to the few
remaining mountain gorillas. Bird life and primate life in Bwindi is quite
superb, and there is an incredible variety of flora. Bwindi is the Bird
watchers haven! It holds 348 species of birds and supports 24 of 26
Albertine Rift Endemics that occur in Uganda; and seven red data book
species. Once continuous with the forests of the Virunga Volcanoes (Dian
Fossey’s stomping ground), Bwindi is now an ecological island, surrounded by
cultivation on the rich volcanic soils.
Overnight at Gorilla Resort/Buhoma Community Bandas (Full Board)
Day 9 You will rise relatively early for a hearty breakfast to give
you the energy needed for gorilla tracking. Report to the ranger station at
08.00 am where the guides will take you through the forest, slashing at the
undergrowth, parting thick creepers, to track gorillas. This trek can take
from half an hour to five hours so a reasonable degree of fitness is
required as well as a sturdy pair of walking shoes. You sit in the forest
among the gorillas listening to them grumble at each other and marvel at the
sheer size of the dominant male, the silverback. It is amazing to think that
there are only 650 or so of these creatures left in the world!
If you have the afternoon free, you will take a guided village walk to see
how the Ugandans live.
Overnight at Gorilla Resort/Buhoma Community Bandas (Full Board)
Day 10 After a hearty breakfast, you will depart to Kampala stopping
in one of the towns for lunch. This drive will take you across the Equator
where you will stop for a photographic opportunity as well as an informative
talk. On arrival in Kampala, your safari guide will transfer you to your
hotel.
Overnight at Speke Hotel/Hotel Africana (BB)
Day 11 After an early breakfast, you will be driven to the shores of
Lake Victoria to meet your 9.00am or 12:45 launch. The boat trip takes about
45 minutes across to Ngamba Island, crossing the equator en-route. On
arrival at the island, home to 39 chimpanzees, you will be given a short
introduction and briefing on the sanctuary. After which, it’s feeding time!
It is fascinating to watch the chimps interact with each other and with
their keepers. In the relatively short amount of time you are there you will
be able to see such different personalities amongst the group, with some
whistling for food and others clapping. Obviously the ideal option would be
to re-introduce these orphaned chimpanzees to the wild however this is not
possible for a number of different reasons and the sanctuary is not bad for
second best. You will return to the mainland before driving to the Entebbe
Wildlife Education Centre (zoo). Here they have replicated some of the
country’s ecological zones such as savannah, wetlands and tropical forest.
If you have not managed to see the shoebill in the wild you are guaranteed a
sighting here, as well as rhino. You will return to your hotel in the late
afternoon.
Overnight at Imperial Botanical Beach Hotel or similar (BB)
Day 12 Take a breakfast then go for a city tour and later shopping in
the city craft shops. After lunch, you will be transferred to Entebbe
International Airport for your outbound flight.
The Uganda Gorilla Trekking Safari price includes;
* The cost of all ground transportation and Fuel
* Gorilla tracking and permit
* Chimpanzee tracking
* Full time safari guide and his associated expenses
* Park entrance fees
* Accommodation and meals
* Boat trip
* Game drives and other related activities
* But it excludes; Items of personal nature like Laundry, Beers, tipping of
staffs at the lodges.
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Gorilla Permits in Rwanda
Uganda
UGANDA
Permits to view gorillas in Uganda are on high demand, with only 24 permits
available per day in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park. A percentage
of the permits in Bwindi are sold in advance to memebres of the Association
of Uganda Tour Operators, and the rest sold three months prior to trekking
to any individual.
Clients who are interested in gorilla viewing should book as early as
possible. We can always try to secure permits at short notice for clients to
track in Rwanda.
RWANDA
There are four family groups for trekking in Rwanda, with a total of 32
permits per day being available. These may be pre-booked as in Bwindi, but
being a big number of permits per day, chances of securing a permit even at
short notice are quite high except in the high season period of July and
August. Gorilla viewing is excellent.
Uganda Gorilla Permits Booking Procedure:
1. Booking Office
Booking for all gorilla permits in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National
Park is done at UWA Headquarters in Kampala. Permits as of January 1st 2008 are
US$500.
Trekking permits for Rwanda cost US$600.
2. Long Term (Two Years in Advance) Booking Allocations
Advance booking shall be allowed up to two years as long as a deposit of
30% is made and the balance shall be paid 91 days to the tracking date.
80% of all the gorilla permits in each month can be booked for two years
in advance by the Association of Uganda Tour Operations (AUTO) members only.
Foreign tour operators must book through local tour operators.
Each tour operator (AUTO) shall book up to only 20 permits for that
particular month on the day the booking opens, which is the first working
day (Monday to Friday) of the month.
3. Short time booking (three months in advance)
· Individual trackers can buy from Uganda Wildlife Authority not more than 2
permits for the month. There is no guarantee, which dates or how many per
day will be available. Booking can be done on the day the booking opens,
which is the first working day of the month.
4. Refunds
UWA shall refund the full tracking fee, if the visitor fails to track due
to illness, this will be at recommendation of the Warden in Charge and this
clause only applies to visitors who have already tracked BINP or MGNP.
Visitors who have tracked the whole day and failed to view the gorillas
for one reason or another will be refunded 75% of the tracking fee. All
refunds shall be effected through the Reservation Office at UWA Headquarters
in Kampala.
The tracking time is limited from 8:30 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. All visitors are
expected back at the campground by 7:00 p.m Gorilla safaris
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Thank you
and enjoy!. |
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