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DETAILED ITENERARY

The 10-Day  Primates and wildlife Safari is an adventure by road to three of Uganda’s most rewarding attractions on the western circuit. The safari begins in Entebbe and drives the longest southwest but breaks the 10-hour drive to Bwindi with a night at Lake Mburo National Park. Though tiny and lacking big game, Lake Mburo is perfect for a relaxed safari and is plentiful with antelope, zebra, buffalo, hippo, and more than 300 bird species. Here, you can even take a walk to meet the grazers up close on foot. Take a guided evening walk on the plains and a short game drive the following day before continuing your journey southwest.

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You’ll have two nights in Bwindi forest at an elegant and nice lodge available at the time of booking. Pared with warm-linen nights in spacious private cottages and hearty meals. Spare no emotions when you lock eyes with a silverback mountain gorilla and let the experience change you for the good of the wild.

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You’ll meet the local forest Batwa tribe, walk through local communities, and the oldest foot trails across the Bwindi impenetrable jungle. From Bwindi, you’ll travel north to Queen Elizabeth National Park for a game drive and boat safari. Here, herds of elephants, buffalo, lions, hippos, crocodiles, leopards, hogs, and mischievous monkeys. You’ll spend a night here and continue to the rainforest jungle of Kibale to meet the naughty, wild chimpanzee troops. Spend two nights at Primate Lodge or equivalent, explore the scenic area, meet the locals and relax at your forest camp.

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The 10-days social, primates and wildlife safari is a scheduled small group adventure perfect for a solo traveler who wants to share costs with like-travelers, a family, or a group of friends dreaming of Africa. If you want to travel privately on this same trip, yes, you can customize for just yourself with the help of our local safari expert consultants.

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DAY 1 . ARRIVAL AT ENTEBBE INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

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Arrive and transfer to an eco-friendly accommodation facility to relax you off and get you ready for a once in a life time safari adventure, if you cant wait, Optionally, there is a Mabamba Shoebill Tracking.

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Arrive at Entebbe International Airport, and our driver will be there to pick and transfer you to your hotel in the Entebbe suburbs. If your flight arrives in the morning, you can opt-in for one of the introductory tourist activities in Entebbe, like Mabamba shoebill tracking on Lake Victoria, a visit to Ngamba Chimp Island, or downtown shopping. Otherwise, you can relax at the lodge and tone down the jetlag.

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If you planned your itinerary to take the Mabamba shoebill tracking excursion on Lake Victoria, the departure is at 2:30 pm or 3:00 pm. A driver will pick you up from the lodge and transfer you to the jetty, where you’ll catch a speedboat or motorized canoe to Mabamba Swamps. The boat will slow down to spot the shoebill, usually wadding in the long swampy grass. The shoebill is a massive stork-like bird with a grotesque bill that looks like a shoe. It is believed to have lived through the dino age, occupying the East and Central African mashes. It’s a popular attraction among birding enthusiasts and the like.

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The excursion can take 3-4 hours and is managed by an expert guide, who will show more swamp inhabitants, including the African Fish Eagle, Purple Swamphy, African Green Pigeon, African Jacana, African Marsh Harrier, African Pigmy Goose, Black Crake, Black Heron, Black-crowned Night Heron, Black-crowned Waxbill, Black-headed Heron, Black-winged Stilt, Blue Swallow, Blue-cheeked Bee-eater.

Meal Plan
Bed and Breakfast

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DAY 2 . LAKE MBURO NATIONAL PARK

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Entebbe to Rwakobo Rock Lodge or equivalent in Lake Mburo National Park. Drive time: 5-7 hours 

Start the Primate and wildlife Safari adventure with a country drive west of Kampala across dazzling landscapes, cattle farms, beautifully cultivated gardens, and banana plantations. Your next destination is Lake Mburo National Park, one of Uganda’s smallest game reserve great for buffering the arduous journey to the mountain gorilla destinations.

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You’ll have a couple of brief stops along the highway at the Equator Stop and at the local crafts centers to watch local experts use traditional skills to make musical instruments and artifacts. If all factors remain constant, you’ll be at the lodge in Mburo for lunch.

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After your first wilderness lunch in Uganda, your guide will take you on your first game viewing drive on the pack’s tracks to watch the resident buffalo, impala, and zebra herds. Eland, pushback, and warthog are also common sightings on these drives.

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Because of the absence of ferocious predators in the park, you can also take a guided walking safari or horseback ride (both optional) among these carefree savannah dwellers.

If you have the time, a one-hour boat safari on the lake’s fringes will bring you the closest to crocodiles, hippos, and plenty of water birds.

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Accommodation: Rwakobo Rock Lodge OR equivalent
Meal Plan:  Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

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DAY 3 . LAKE MBURO TO BWINDI IMPENETRABLE FOREST

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Drive from Lake Mburo to Bwindi. Drive Time: 5-7 hours

An early start will get you on the sunrise game tracks to sight early risers like eland, Impala, zebra, and buffalo before you get on the long-stretch highway to the southwestern tip.

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This part of the  Safari drives through the most beautiful country side  with beautifully cultivated rolling hills, winding tea plantations, tropical rainforest, and the dark blue Virunga Volcanoes backdrop. The steep winding roads through the mountains will demand a smooth drive, allowing you to capture the landscape’s beauty.

You’ll drive via the major towns of the western part of the country like Mbarara, Kabale, before turning onto the countryside dirt roads to the impenetrable forest of Bwindi. The roads may seem bumpy, but the stress will be absorbed by revealing scenery enchantment as you drive deeper into the remote country to your reserved forest cottage at the lodge.

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After checking in, take a stroll in the Batwa communities, and get first-hand experience with the forest tribe that once occupied Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, now a UNESCO world heritage site. The walk will help you ease into the environment and stretch your legs after that long drive in the back of a four-by-four. Maybe, stay back at the lodge, troll through the healing gardens, and feed on the quintessential views. The following day in the jungle will be physically demanding.

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Accommodation: Rushaga Gorilla Lodge or equivalent
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

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DAY 4 . GORILLA TREKKING EXPERIENCE IN BWINDI

The gorilla trekking excursion in Bwindi sets off at exactly 8:00 am after briefing about the activity. Trekkers have to be at the trailhead by 7:30 am.

The lodge will prepare an early energy-giving breakfast of mostly fruits and give you a lunch pack. Your driver will transfer you to the visitor center, arriving in time for the briefing. 

After a short briefing, the warden groups all travelers and assigns a gorilla group based on their physical ability. Pick up a free walking stick and a porter (if you have to) and join rangers and an expert guide on the trekking trail.

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The trek is physically demanding and can take anywhere from 30 minutes to 11 hours to locate the gorilla group. Duration depends on the location of gorillas and how rangers can keep up with their daily movements. That is why some trekkers go with a porter to assist in carrying their backpacks and navigating tough terrain. Otherwise, most trekkers can take on the challenge.

You’ll be allowed to spend 60 minutes with the gorillas when you find them. That is for the regular gorilla trekking permit of $700. But to spend more time of up to 4 hours with the gorillas, you will have to book the Gorilla Habituation experience which is $1500 per permit.

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The thrill of spending time observing these gentle and endangered giants is an incredible, exciting experience to be long-savored. Many find it to be a rare and moving opportunity.

After your experience with the gorillas, and if you still have the guts to explore the region, you can take an evening guided walk to meet the local tribespeople, the Batwa. You can also visit a single-family home, listen to their age-old tales and delve into their hidden cultures, song, and music.

Back at the Lodge, as the night cools down, you have a roaring campfire and local songs to look forward to, as well as a deep massage, perfect for soothing any aching muscles after a day of hiking.

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Accommodation: Rushaga Gorilla Lodge or equivalent
Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner.

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DAY 5 . QUEEN ELIZABETH NATIONAL PARK

Behind breakfast, our driver guide will transfer you to the Queen Elizabeth National Park through the forested and adventurous routes and if you’re lucky, you’ll meet some wild forest inhabitants like chimps, forest elephants, duikers, forest buffalo, and the plethora of colorful butterflies that decorate the dark forest.

At the other end, you will be welcomed into the Ishasha savannah plains, for rounds of safari game viewing drives with a target  for you to catch sight of the incredible tree-climbing lions native to this sector of the park on addition to several African safari game like the elephants, buffalos, antelopes, leopards to mention but a few. Later in the day, you’ll be checked in at the lodge for refreshments and dinner.

Accommodation: Buffalo safari Lodge or Equivalent  
Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner.

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DAY 6. QUEEN ELIZABETH NATIONAL PARK

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Early in the Morning around 6am, it will be time for the game drive in the savannah plains of Queen Elizabeth National park and later in the afternoon you will take on a Boat Safari on the Kazinga channel for more wildlife viewing opportunities , then Transfer to Kibale

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This part of the Primate and wildlife Safari is all bout watching wild game of the savannah plains with the first half of the day spend in the back of a four-by-four safari truck. You’ll break the dawn with a game drive on the Kasenyi Game Tracks, north of Kazinga Channel.

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The best lion-watching expeditions in Uganda occur on the Kasenyi Plains, especially if you’re up early or late in the evening. Large numbers of lions here prey on the abundant Uganda Kobs around the Kob breeding grounds. Mention Africa Safari to anyone and the first images that come to mind are lions hunting on the open plains. Be alert as not to miss out on the unfolding action as the golden sunlight perforates the steamy morning plains. Carry extra batteries for your camera, because you may spend the better half of the day on the beaten tracks.

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Expect some Elephant, Buffalo, Waterbuck, and Warthog sightings on the drive. Giant Forest Hog, Hyena, and perhaps even a Leopard, with luck, may cross your vision. As the midday heat intensifies in the back of the truck, your driver will take you back to the lodge to have lunch and a short break before you embark on another wildlife viewing adventure on Kazinga Channel.

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At the Mweya jetty, you’ll board the Kazinga Channel boat launch that will bring you the closest to the park’s famous game while floating in the comfort of the viewing deck. Hippos huff and spray a few feet away, elephant dip, and buffalo linger in the elephant shallows. The channel’s shores are spotted with riparian birds like pink-backed pelicans, yellow-billed stork, malachite kingfisher, pied kingfisher, saddle-billed stork, fish eagle, martial eagle, and many others.

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The 25-mile long Kazinga Channel linking lakes Gorge and Edward bisect the park, feeding the grasslands and forests and creating an oasis in the Great Rift Valley stretching almost 1978 sq km (763 sq mi). The boat launch is one of the top highlights of this Primate and wildlife Safari—one of the top African Safari Adventures.

After the boat launch, your driver will get on the 3-4-hr drive to Kibale, check into your forest lodge in time for dinner, a hot shower, and warm bedding. The following morning is another adventure with loud and cheeky apes (the chimpanzees).

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Accommodation: Turaco Treetops Lodge or Equivalent
Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner.

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DAY 7. CHIMPANZEE TRACKING IN KIBALE FOREST N.P

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Chimpanzee Tracking  Experience, and Bigodi Walking Trail

Your jungle breakfast will be ready by 6:00 am, and your trip manager will make sure you’re at the Kanyanchu visitor center by 7:30 am for the trekking briefing. Suppose you’re joining researchers on the Chimpanzee Habituation Experience. In that case, you’ll have to be at the visitor’s center by 5:00 am to catch the chimps as they wake from their nightly nests and follow them on their foraging expeditions.

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There’s no doubt that this part of the Primate and wildlife Safari brings you to the most endowed rainforest with the highest concentration of primates in Africa. You definitely will be magically swept away in the jungle’s freshness like a Disney character. With over 1,500 chimpanzees in this jungle, chimp sightings in Kibale are guaranteed 98% of the time.

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All you have to worry about is if you can keep up with their swift movements. Unlike gorilla trekking, where you sit and observe nonchalant dark giants in silence, chimpanzee bands are hyper-active and will keep you on your toes, only stopping for a few minutes to hoot, eat, fornicate, fart, groom each other. You’ll be amazed at how similar they are to our very own race (human race).

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On this jungle adventure, it’s typical for other primates to cross your paths, like the red colobus monkey and the rare L’Hoest’s monkey. Even though your primary goal is to find the chimps, you’re most like to see the black & white colobus, red-tailed monkey, blue monkey, olive baboon, and grey-cheeked mangabey swinging under the forest canopy. Forest mammals like elephants and duikers may cross your path but are most unlikely because they usually shy away from aliens.

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For those with an eye for colorful birds, carry your binoculars and look out for the great blue turaco, yellow-spotted nicator, green breasted pitta, the crowned eagle, rumped tinker bird, little greenbul, and black bee-eater. Although, your spiked adrenaline to meet your primitive cousins may overshadow your concentration to other sightings.

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Your security within these untamed jungles will be high on UWA’s watchlist. So you’ll have a bunch of armed rangers flanking your trekking group and an expert guide to lead and feed you with relevant information. Pay much attention to the guide; there’s so much you’ll learn from them. Return to the lodge for lunch and later in the late afternoon, you’ll join the expert guides on the Bigodi walking trail.

 

The afternoon excursion to the Bigodi Wetland Sanctuary is an excellent example of a community-based approach to natural resources management that can benefit the residents living within this area and the tourism industry. This sanctuary is a paradise for bird watchers, and skilled birders can spot up to 50 new species on a bird list. Today 138 bird species have been recognized within the Bigodi Wetland Sanctuary, the Great Blue Turaco. Bigodi is also regularly visited by many primate species from the nearby national park.

After that walking adventure, you need not do anything to disrupt your memory bank but jungle quietness, birdsong, and a meditational evening at your forest lodge. A good conversation with your mates about the day’s experience will bring home the revered experiences and end the  Primate and wild Safari on a warm note!

Accommodation: Turaco Tree Tops or equivalent
Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner.

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DAY 8. KIBALE FOREST & TRANSFER SOCIAL INNOVATION ACADEMY

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Transfer from Kibale Forest to Social Innovation Museum via Mubende. Drive time is 3-5hours.

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After a relaxed Primate and wildlife Safari breakfast, you’ll depart for the social innovation museum and           academy in Mpigi the muesum or academy is a cost-effective and self-governed community approach which is providing a pathway, tools and the mindset for marginalized youth and refugees to shape a vision for their future and create new solutions in form of social enterprises with benefit to society and the environment., with a lunch break at the museum. In the afternoon, continuation to the different projects and have a time with the community members to share experiences.

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Accommodation: SINA VILLAGE

Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner.

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DAY 9.  SOCIAL INNOVATION ACADEMY-EXPERIENCE

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The social innovation  academy or museum is a cost-effective and self-governed community approach which is providing a pathway, tools and the mindset for marginalized youth and refugees to shape a vision for their future and create new solutions in form of social enterprises with benefit to society and the environment., during the experience, you will share more with the innovators, community based projects , and as you wish, you can join the daily activities of any project that interest you. from water projects,  bottle construction to women empowerment the list is endless and you will also share the  lunch break at the museum with the community members. In the afternoon, continuation to the different projects and have a time with the community members to share experiences.

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later in the afternoon you can engage in the sports activities with the community members or have an evening walk around the villages if you are not interested in visiting the community market.

Evenings are more related with a camp fire as you sip on your favorite Ugandan cold beers and beverages before you go to bed.

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Accommodation: SINA VILLAGE

Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner.

 

DAY 10.  SOCIAL INNOVATION ACADEMY & TRANSFER EBB AIRPORT

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Depending on your departure flight, we can book a day-use or an overnight room at  an eco friendly Guest House in Entebbe. Kindly note that we recommend booking only night flights or overnight in Entebbe to be on the safe side. The drive takes about 1–2 hours.

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