12 Days Tanzania Safari Tour Big Five Uganda Gorilla, Chimpanzee

The first port of entry is Entebbe International Airport on the shores of Lake Victoria – Africa’s largest lake where you will be welcomed by our representative before transferring to the lodge for relaxation and overnight.

Accommodation

Midrange: Boma Hotel Entebbe

Luxury: Protea Hotel Entebbe

After breakfast at your place of stay in Entebe, transfer to Fort Portal area 300km about 6 hours’ drive exploring the scenic views of en route landscapes including Mubende inselbergs. Hot lunch will be served in Fort Portal town after which can proceed to the lodge in Kibale Area or choose to visit the Amabere g’ Nyinamwiru caves and hike the Fort Portal crater lake field – an activity which lasts about 2 hours.  The Amabere caves have breast-like features which the locals believe that they are breasts of Nnyinamwiru – a daughter of Bukuku a self-enthroned King of the Bachwezi who denied his daughter a chance to breast feed her son in fear that her son would over throw him.  The hike to the Fort Portal crater field offers incredible views of various crater hollows and lakes that mark this explosion crater which is one of the four of its kind existing in Uganda. The views of Rwenzori Mountains can be viewed at a distance.

Accommodation:

Midrange: Kibale Forest Camp – En suite Safari Tent

Luxury: Primate Lodge – Luxury Cottages  

Briefing for Chimpanzee trekking commences at 8am from Kanyanchu Tourism Center and in the company of the armed Park ranger guides, you head to the forest in search of Chimpanzees – the closed Ape to man in terms of DNA.  Kibale Forest is a mature tropical forest noted to have survived the last ice age and hence with great flora including very tall trees, flowering plants, 375 species of birds including the Green-Breasted Pitta and 13 primate species. The moment with Chimpanzees is a lasting one, as you view the chimps forage, hunt, make pant hooting calls, socialise among other behaviours for a period of one hour. The general duration for Chimp trekking is 2 – 5 hours after which you retreat to the starting point and transfer to Queen Elizabeth NP gaining incredible views of Rwenzori Mountains dubbed the legendary Mountains of the moon en route.

Accommodation

Midrange: Enganzi Game Lodge

Luxury: Mweya Safari Lodge – Deluxe room

Settle for breakfast at 6:30am and transfer to the park to start at the game drive at 7am. The savannah plains of Kasenyi sector offers incredible chances of viewing a range of wild game including four of the Big five namely; Elephants, Buffaloes, Lions & Buffaloes, other wild game such as Defassa waterbucks, spotted hyena, Topis among others. The game drive lasts 3 – 4 hours.  Drive to Mweya peninsular for hot lunch at Tembo restaurant before gathering at Mweya jetty for an afternoon Kazinga Channel boat ride departing at 2pm. The majestic Kazinga Channel boat cruise lasts for 2 hours offering good recreational moments, likely views of Nile crocodiles, Hippos, bird species on the shores and wild game drinking on the shores. From the boat, you do an evening game drive along the channel track for more wild game viewing possibilities.

Accommodation

Midrange: Enganzi Game Lodge

Luxury: Mweya Safari Lodge – Deluxe room

After breakfast, embark on the transfer to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park 309km about 10 hours’ drive. You undertake a 1.5 – 2-hour game drive in Ishasha sector in the south of Queen Elizabeth National Park in search of tree climbing lions and other wild game. The Ishasha is one of the only two places in the world where tree climbing lions can be encountered. They tend to lie in fig tree branches in the day time. Continue on the drive to arrive in Bwindi in the evening for relaxation, dinner and overnight

Accommodation

Midrange: Gorilla Mist Camp

Luxury: Haven Lodge Buhoma

Gorillas in the mist moment awaits you this morning as you approach the mist covered Impenetrable forest of Bwindi for briefing at 8am.  Depending on the region and the respective gorilla family allocated, you follow the respective trail (some trails involve some bit of driving while others start from the briefing point) with company of the armed park ranger and other guests if they are there. The trek through the forest is a magical one as you hike steep slopes, descend down narrow valleys and traverse the dense vegetation of Bwindi amidst lush flora and enchanting bird songs. You eventually come across these gentle giants in their natural habitat as they feed on their preferred plant material, socialize and the young ones playing in the tree branches and with fellow members. The Silverback can choose to offer you a courteous welcome or ignore you and proceed with its feeding. You spend great time with these critically endangered Apes and take million-dollar photoshoots. The duration of the trek is 2 – 8 hours depending their movement though the actual gorilla viewing time is limited to one (1) for purposes of conservation. After your one hour with the gorillas, return to the starting point and transfer to Kigali Rwanda for relaxation and overnight

Accommodation:

Midrange:  Hotel Chezlando – Bungalows

Luxury: Hotel Mille Collines – Garden rooms

After breakfast, connect to Kigali International Park at 8am to check in for your flight to Kilimanjaro International Airport. You are welcomed by our representative to transfer to Arusha for relaxation and overnight

Accommodation

Midrange: African Tulip Hotel

After breakfast, your driver-guide will pick you up from your hotel and you will enjoy the 2hrs leisure drive southwestwards to Tarangire NP.

The Tarangire National Park has the highest concentration of elephants in North – Tanzania and you can view these animals all year round where elephant herd populations can reach as many as 3,000. The Tarangire River has water all year around. During the dry season (July-October), many animals from the surrounding areas come to the river to drink. If you visit the park during the dry season, you will witness an unforgettable natural wonder as you observe exotic big mammals such as lions, giraffes, buffaloes, wildebeests, zebras and various types of antelopes such as gazelles. During the dry season, Tarangire is a haven for bird watchers with over 550 different species including the Maasai Ostrich-the world’s largest bird. Around lunchtime, you will stop at a suitable picnic place. The afternoon is dedicated to more wildlife watching.

Accommodation

Midrange: Sangaiwe Tented Camp

After breakfast, we will head to the Lake Ndutu area, situated in the Ngorongoro conservation area, part of the southern Serengeti eco-system. Lake Ndutu is alkaline, most of the other Rift Lakes, however the water is still drinkable and used by a wide array of local wildlife. We will do game drive until lunchtime. After lunch proceeds to Serengeti for game drive; arrive at the camp for evening leisure and hot dinner.

Accommodation:

Midrange: Serengeti Kati Kati Camp

Before breakfast, depart for early morning game drive on the central plains searching for wildlife (morning game drives are always the best because animals are very active in the morning). We descend into the heart of wild Africa-the Serengeti national park-with it’s endless plains, rolling into the distance as far as the eye can see. We head to Seronera area, one of the richest wildlife habitats in the park, featuring the Seronera River, which provides a valuable water source to this area and therefore attracts wildlife well representative of most of the Serengeti’s species.

Accommodation:

Midrange: Serengeti Kati Kati Camp

 After breakfast, depart with picnic lunch for final game drive in Serengeti. After lunch drive to Ngorongoro for evening leisure and hot dinner.

Accommodation:

Midrange: Ngorongoro Farm House

After an early breakfast, you will depart with a picnic and drive for about 45 minutes to the crater entry then descend into the crater floor for game viewing. The crater has a unique ecosystem that is inhabited by more than 25,000 resident animals. In the grass steppes and acacia forest, you can encounter almost every animal species of the East African savanna, including the “Big Five” (rhino, elephant, Cape buffalo, lion, leopard). Later on, ascend and proceed to Kilimanjaro airport for a late evening flight back home