Gorillas & Chimps: Uganda Primate Safari

This morning you set out on a scenic drive west towards Kibale National Park, home to the finest chimpanzee tracking in Uganda and one of the richest primate forests in Africa. The journey takes you across the Ugandan countryside of rolling hills, tea plantations, banana groves and busy roadside towns, offering a fascinating window into everyday life, with stops for photographs, coffee and perhaps the equator crossing. You arrive at your forest lodge in the afternoon, set amid tall trees and birdsong, with time to settle in and relax. As evening falls, the forest hums with the calls of insects, frogs and nocturnal creatures, and anticipation builds for tomorrow. Enjoy dinner at the lodge and an early night, ready to head into the forest in search of our closest wild relatives at first light. Rest well amid the sounds of the great Kibale forest.

After an early breakfast and a briefing, you set off with an expert ranger into the towering forest of Kibale in search of wild chimpanzees. Following the hoots, screams and drumming that echo through the trees, you track a habituated community until you find them feeding, grooming, resting or swinging noisily through the canopy overhead, and spend a thrilling stretch of time in the presence of these charismatic, intelligent great apes, our closest living relatives. You may also see red colobus, mangabeys and blue monkeys along the way. Back at the lodge for lunch, your afternoon brings a guided walk through the community-run Bigodi wetland, a wonderland of monkeys, dazzling birds such as the great blue turaco, and clouds of butterflies, supporting the local village. This evening, savour dinner and reflect on a day among the primates. Rest well.

After breakfast you drive south into Queen Elizabeth National Park, one of Uganda's greatest wildlife destinations, set beneath the Rwenzori Mountains between two lakes. The scenic journey brings you through the crater lakes region and rolling countryside into the park, with the chance of your first savanna wildlife along the way. After settling in and enjoying lunch at your lodge, the afternoon highlight is a boat cruise along the Kazinga Channel, the broad natural waterway between Lake Edward and Lake George. Gliding slowly along the banks, you watch huge pods of hippo, elephants and buffalo coming down to drink, basking crocodiles, and one of the greatest gatherings of water birds in Africa. After the forests of Kibale, this gentle cruise is a wonderful, restful contrast. As the sun sets over the water, you return to your lodge for dinner. Rest well.

This morning you journey south through the remote Ishasha sector of Queen Elizabeth National Park, famous for its celebrated tree-climbing lions. Your guide drives slowly through the beautiful, open savanna, scanning the great fig and acacia trees for tawny bodies draped along the branches, an unusual behaviour seen in only a few places on Earth, while watching for elephant, buffalo and Uganda kob across the plains. Continuing south, the landscape rises and greens as you climb into the folded mountains towards Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, home to almost half the world's mountain gorillas. You arrive at your lodge on the edge of the ancient, mist-wrapped forest in the afternoon, with time to settle in and take in the dramatic setting. This evening, savour dinner as anticipation builds for tomorrow. Rest well ahead of the great gorilla trek.

Today is the profound climax of your primate safari. After an early breakfast you gather at the park headquarters for a briefing, then set off with your ranger and trackers into the dense, dripping forest of Bwindi, home to almost half the world's mountain gorillas. The trek may be short or several hours of steep, muddy, exhilarating hiking through tangled vegetation, and a porter is warmly recommended to help you and to support the local community. When you reach the habituated gorilla family, everything else falls away, and you spend a breathless, closely regulated hour just metres from a mighty silverback, gentle mothers with infants and playful youngsters. It is one of the most moving experiences in all of nature. You return to your lodge tired, muddy and elated, to celebrate an unforgettable encounter over dinner. Rest well, having met both great apes of Uganda.

After a relaxed breakfast you leave Bwindi and drive north and east through the green, rolling hills of western Uganda towards Lake Mburo National Park, a gentle, scenic finale to your primate safari. The journey passes farmland, tea country and busy roadside towns, offering a window into everyday Ugandan life, and your guide is happy to stop for photographs, coffee, a local market or the equator crossing. You arrive at your lodge in the afternoon, set amid peaceful acacia savanna beside the shining lake, with time to settle in and enjoy the change of pace after the intensity of the forests. Compact Lake Mburo, home to zebra, impala, topi, eland and giraffe, has no lions or elephants, so it can be explored on foot. This evening, savour dinner beneath the wide African sky. Rest well, ready for a peaceful safari finale tomorrow.

This morning you enjoy the special pleasures of Lake Mburo, perhaps a guided nature walk with an armed ranger among grazing zebra and antelope, followed by a relaxed boat trip on the lake, gliding past hippos, crocodiles and abundant water birds with the chance of the shy sitatunga. After a final lunch you begin the scenic drive back towards Entebbe, pausing perhaps at the equator for a photograph or at craft markets along the way. Depending on your international flight time, you are transferred to Entebbe International Airport for your onward departure, leaving with the profound memories of wild chimpanzees swinging through the forest of Kibale and a gorilla family in the misty mountains of Bwindi, linked by the lions and hippos of Queen Elizabeth. You depart already dreaming of a return to the primate forests of the Pearl of Africa.