8 Days Uganda Safari Itinerary – Gorilla Trekking, Chimpanzee Tracking, Wildlife Safari Trip.

Uganda tour designed to maximize your Uganda safari experience in Uganda in the shortest time possible

8 Days Uganda Safari Itinerary - Gorilla Trekking, Chimpanzee Tracking, Wildlife Safari Trip

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8 Days Uganda safari is a 7nights/8day safari in Uganda tour designed to maximize your Uganda safari experience in Uganda in the shortest time possible. The 8 days Uganda trip itinerary features primate tracking, wild game viewing, community culture tours, and beautiful viewing scenery.

The 8 Days Uganda tour safari takes you through Kibale National Park dubbed the primate capital of the world for Chimpanzee trekking, Fort Portal crater field for amazing hiking encounter and tour to the Amabere Ga’ Nnyinamwiru caves, wild game viewing in Queen Elizabeth National Park with possibilities of seeing lions including tree-climbing lions, leopards, buffaloes, elephants, buffaloes, Kobs, deffasa waterbuck, side stripped jackals, hyenas among other species, recreational boat cruise on the 45km long Kazinga channel, trekking the world’s critically endangered mountain gorillas in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park which has close to a half (400 out of 880) mountain gorillas that are currently known to be thriving in the wild not forgetting the recreational boat encounter at the lake of a thousand islands as it has been dubbed because of its 29 islands – Lake Bunyonyi which is also the second deepest Lake in Africa.

Experience 8 Days Uganda Safari

Day 1: Transfer to Kibale National Park & do Fort Portal Crater Lake hike & visit Amabere Ga’ Nnyinamwiru caves.

Day 2: Do Chimpanzee trekking & Bigodi wetland encounter

Day 3: Visit Sempaya hot springs & Pygmies of Ntandi & transfer to Kasese (Visit Rwenzori Art foundation – the only bronze casting center in Africa & Ruboni wax & craft center.

Day 4: Whole day Rwenzori hiking

Day 5: Morning game drive in Queen Elizabeth National Park & Kazinga Channel launch cruise.

Day 6: Transfer to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park & do Ishasha game drive en route (tree climbing lions).

Day 7: Do gorilla trekking & transfer to Lake Bunyonyi

Day 8: Do a morning boat ride & transfer to Kampala.

Day 1 of the 8 Days Uganda safari: Transfer to Kibale National Park & do Fort Portal Crater Lake hike & visit Amabere g’ Nnyinamwiru caves

Depart after breakfast at 6:30am local time from your place of stay in Kampala for Kibale National Park 358km about 7 hours’ drive. You will drive through the country side landscapes with unique features like Mubende inselbergs, valleys and forested landscapes of Kyegegwa and Kyenjonjo. You will have lunch in Fort Portal town before continuing to visit the Amabere g’ Nnyinamwiru caves – the breast like features that date back in the pre historic era with great attachment to the Chwezi heritage. The breasts (Amabere) are believed by the locals to belong to Nnyinamwiru the daughter of Bukuku who was a self-imposed King of the Bachwezi. The maiden daughter cut her breasts in protest of being refused to breast feed her only son Ndahura who later became a prominent King of the Chwezi Empire. The encounter also involves the hiking the Fort Portal Crater field. The famous Kyeganywa hill rises in a conical shape and its summit presents great sight-seeing moments of the range crater hollows and crater lakes including Saaka, Bikere among others not forgetting the distant views of Mount Rwenzori on a clear day. Transfer to Kibale area for dinner and overnight.

Accommodation: Primate Lodge (Upmarket/luxury), Chimpanzee Guesthouse (Midrange/standard) or Kibale Forest Camp (Budget/Basic)

Day 2 of the 8 Days Uganda safari: Do Chimpanzee trekking & Bigodi wetland encounter

After breakfast, gather at Kanyanchu tourism center for briefing at 08:00am from the park rangers about the Chimp trekking conduct. Set off to this forest of Kibale after the short briefing in quest of Chimpanzees. The 2 – 5 hour trek will expose you amazing tree species and wildlife including other 12 species of primates like Colobus monkeys, vervet monkeys, Red tailed monkeys and olive baboons. The sights of Birds cannot be avoided while their songs will offer you natural entertainment through the jungle. You will marvel at the Chimpanzees as the roll themselves on tree branches, munch fruits and make their pant – hooting calls. After utilizing your one hour, you will have a picnic lunch and return to the starting point for short relaxation and preparation for another activity. In the afternoon, you will visit the Bigodi wetland to encounter the swamp animals like Sitatunga and birds like Ruwenzori Turaco and an encounter with local people including the traditional healer.

Accommodation: Primate Lodge (Upmarket/luxury), Chimpanzee Guesthouse (Midrange/standard) or Kibale Forest Camp (Budget/Basic)

Day 3 of the 8 Days Uganda safari: Visit Sempaya hot springs & Pygmies of Ntandi & transfer to Kasese (Visit Rwenzori Art foundation – the only bronze casting center in Africa & Ruboni wax & craft center.

After an early breakfast, set off for Semuliki National Park 78km about 2 – 3 hours’ drive passing through Fort Portal town. The sights of mystical mountains of the moon – the Ruwenzori will welcome you at a distance before approaching Bundibugyo district and eventually Semuliki National Park. The Sempaya nature walk will see you traverse one of the pre-historic forests in East Africa that survived the last ice age and with great concentration of Guinea-Congo biome species. The walk which lasts between 2 – 4 hours takes you down to the female (Nyansimbi) and Male (Bitente) hot springs with the largest spring spouting up to 2m high. Here, you have to be careful as the emerging water has a temperature of more than 100 degrees Celsius and the pools that surround are also hot. You are free to boil some plantains and eggs which gets ready within a couple of minutes. The walk also exposes to chances of encountering the red-tailed monkey, grey cheeked mangabey and black and white colobus monkey. Upon return from this encounter, you will visit the Bambuti Pygmies at Ntandi about 5km from Sempaya along the Bundibugyo road. The Bambuti Pygmies have got close coloration to the Batwa forest people of south western Uganda and Rwanda not forgetting the Basua pygmies of Congo basin. The Bambuti of Ntandi are not forest dwellers but are short in height than an average person. You will return to Fort Portal for lunch after which you will transfer to Kasese region. You will visit the Rwenzori Art Foundation – the only bronze casting center in Africa to have a look at the process of various sculpture making and the final products. A fine cup of coffee can be arranged at the site before proceeding to visit the Ruboni craft & wax center to have a look at how the local people extract different products like candles from bees wax and also encounter the craft making process. It is an experiential and if interested you can have some time and participate in making if various crafts like baskets among others. Proceed to your lodge for dinner and overnight.

Accommodation: Ihamba Safari Lodge (Upmarket/Midrange) or Ruboni Community Camp (Budget/Basic).

Day 4 of the 8 Days Uganda safari: Whole day Rwenzori hiking

Transfer early after breakfast to Mount Rwenzori (Nyakalengija) for the whole day Rwenzori hiking encounter. The hiking encounter exposes you to raised landscapes of Mount Rwenzori offering impressive scenic views of the ridges and glaciers and the rift valley flats below. It is a perfect one day active adventure exploring the legendary mountains of the moon as described the famous Greek geographer Ptolemy in 150AD towering to 5,109m above sea level making it the tallest mountain range in Africa and the third highest in Africa. Return from the activity at 5:30 pm and transfer to your lodge for relaxation and overnight.

Accommodation: Ihamba Safari Lodge (Upmarket/Midrange) or Ruboni Community Camp (Budget/Basic).

Day 5 of the 8 Days Uganda safari: Morning game drive in Queen Elizabeth National Park & Kazinga Channel launch cruise.

Wake up very for a cup of coffee before setting of for the game drive activity in the savannah game park of Queen Elizabeth. The early departure at 06:00 gives you an opportunity to see night hunters like hyenas getting back to their hiding places and early risers setting off to look for what to eat. The drive through the Kasenyi and channel tracks gives a probable opportunity to see a range of game including; Lions, buffalo, elephants, elusive leopard (if too lucky), defassa water bucks, Uganda kobs, Oribis, side stripped jackal among other wildlife. Return to the lodge after this 3 -4 hour game drive and relax till lunch time. After lunch, you will gather at Mweya for a recreational afternoon launch cruise leaving at 03:00pm taking 2 hours exploring the magical offerings of Kazinga Channel including the sights of water birds and wild game drinking on the channel side, the Nile crocodile and the Hippos. The 45m channel that stretches from Lake George to Lake Edward has tranquil waters that always give pleasure and psychological satisfaction to any traveller on Uganda safaris. Retire from the boat at 5 pm for relaxation and overnight.

Accommodation: Mweya Safari Lodge (Upmarket/Luxury), Enganzi Lodge (Midrange/Standard) or Pumba Safari Cottages (Budget/Basic).

Day 6 of the 8 Days Uganda safari: Transfer to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park & do Ishasha game drive en route (tree climbing lions)

After breakfast, embark on the transfer to the gorilla trekking haven of Bwindi south (Rushaga) 309km from Mweya. You will pass through the Ishasha sector of Queen Elizabeth National Park and do simple game drives in search of the unique tree climbing lions that tend to rest on fig tree branches during day time – something that you can only find in Queen Elizabeth National Park Ishasha sector – Uganda and Lake Manyara National Park in southern Tanzania. Proceed with the journey, have lunch en route and arrive in Rushaga late in the evening for dinner and overnight.

Accommodation: Chameleon Hill Lodge (Upmarket/Luxury), Gorilla Valley Lodge (Midrange/standard) or Wagtail Eco- Safari Camp (Budget/Basic)

Day 7 of the 8 Days Uganda safari: Do gorilla trekking & transfer to Lake Bunyonyi

It is this long waited date when you will come across the critically endangered mountain gorillas that only exist in Bwindi and Virunga Volcanoes. You will wake up early for a heavy breakfast before gathering at the Park headquarters Buhoma for briefing at 08:00 about the conduct of gorilla trekking. You will head to the forest after briefing in search of these apes and though the trek is a bit challenging, it is one of those activities that you will never forget to have done in Uganda. The 2 – 8 hours activity involves hiking up the hills, descending down the valleys, walking through swamps and maneuvering the way through thickets which have formed the background of this Impenetrable forest before coming in direct contact with gorillas. The one full hour is at your disposal to maximize your experience with gorillas as you them forage, play, socialize and also gaze at you in a sign of welcoming and saying good bye. The opportunity to take as many photos as you can is availed to you while asking questions to your guide about these apes is up to your discretion. The experience is rewarding and worth undertaking. Your picnic lunch will take you through the activity after which you will descend to the starting point and embark on the transfer to Lake Bunyonyi for relaxation and overnight.

Accommodation: Birdnest@Lake Bunyonyi (Upmarket/Luxury), Arcadia Cottages (Midrange/Standard) or Byoona Amagara Island Retreat (Budget/Basic).

Day 8 of the 8 Days Uganda safari: Do a morning boat ride & transfer to Kampala.

After breakfast, undertake a morning boat ride on Lake Bunyonyi not exceeding 2 hours exploring a few of its islands amidst the mist-covered Kigezi highlands. After the activity embarks on the transfer back to Kampala 437km about 6 – 7 hours’ drive. Make a lunch stop at Igongo cultural center 12km past Mbarara town and another stop can be made at the equator crossing Kayabwe for amazing water experiments and photo shoots if time permits. Arrive in Kampala in the evening.

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