7 Days chimpanzee trekking and wildlife safari
The 7 days chimpanzee trekking and wildlife safari will take you to Kibale national park which is also known as the primate capital in that it harbors about 13 primate species including the chimpanzees, olive baboons, black and white colobus monkeys, l’hoest monkeys, vervet monkeys among others. While in kibale national park you will engage in chimpanzee trekking which will give you an opportunity to spend time with the chimpanzees in their natural habitat. You will also visit Queen Elizabeth national park which is the second largest national park in Uganda harboring animal species like the elephants, buffaloes, lions, leopards, Uganda kobs, waterbucks, bushbucks, warthogs among others and Lake Mburo national park where you will have spectacular views of wildlife species such as giraffes, zebras, elands, giant forest hogs, warthogs among others.
Highlights of the 7 days chimpanzee trekking and wildlife safari
Day 1: Pick up and transfer to Lake Mburo national park
Day 2: Game drive and boat cruise
Day 3: Transfer to Kibale national park
Day 4: Chimpanzee trekking and Bigodi swamp walk
Day 5: Transfer to Queen Elizabeth national park
Day 6: Game drive and boat cruise
Day 7: Departure to Kampala
Detailed itinerary
Day 1 of the 7 days chimpanzee trekking and wildlife safari
Transfer to Lake Mburo national park, depending on the time of arrival at Entebbe airport on the first day of the 7 days chimpanzee trekking and wildlife safari you will be welcomed by our driver guide who will give you a short briefing about your safari and then start the journey to Lake Mburo national park. The national park is located in southern region and on your way you will pass via the Equator where you will take photos, buy souvenirs like art pieces and craft items. The journey takes about 4 to 5 hours drive with en-route lunch on the way and upon arrival you will check into the lodge, have dinner and overnight.
Day 2: Game drive and boat cruise
Game drive, after breakfast on the second day of your 7 days chimpanzee trekking and wildlife safari you will meet up with your driver guide and go for the morning game drive in Lake Mburo national park. During the game drive you will follow various tracks like the Zebra track, Kazuma track among others which will offer you great views of animal species like bushbucks, reedbucks, oribi, zebras among others along the road and bird species like the black bellied bustard. After the game drive you will drive back to the lodge for lunch.
Boat cruise, after lunch you will go for an afternoon boat ride on Lake Mburo which starts at around 2:00pm. the boat cruise takes about 2 hours and offers you with great views of the animals such as buffaloes, antelopes, warthogs among others along the water banks, hippos and crocodiles in water and various water birds including blue headed weaver , herons, shoebill stork, malachite kingfisher, African fish eagle, pied kingfisher, rufous long tailed starling among others. After the boat cruise you will drive back to the lodge for dinner and overnight.
Day 3: Transfer to Kibale national park
You will have an early breakfast on the third day of the 7 days chimpanzee trekking and wildlife safari, check out of the lodge, meet up with your driver guide for a short game drive in the park. The game drive will give you an opportunity to view some animals which you will have missed during the previous game drive. After the game drive you will drive out of the park and start the journey to Kibale national park. The journey takes about 4 hours drive with en-route lunch on the way and spectacular views of the landscape, homesteads, tea plantations among others. Upon arrival you will continue to the lodge, check in have dinner and overnight.
Day 4: Chimpanzee trekking and nature walk
Chimpanzee trekking, after an early breakfast on day 4 of the 7 days chimpanzee trekking and wildlife safari you will meet up with your driver guide and transfer to Kanyachu visitors center park for a briefing about the rules, regulations and expectations of chimpanzee trekking. After the briefing you will be allocated a chimpanzee group to trek and a park guide who will be sharing information about the chimpanzees and also well conversant with the trails in the forest.
Trekking of chimpanzees in Kibale national park starts at around 8:00am and takes about 30 minutes to 4 hours depending on the location of the chimpanzees because they like to move from one area to another in search of food and once they are found you will be allowed to spend one hour with them in their natural environment. During the one hour with the chimpanzees you will be able to learn more about the chimpanzee’s lifestyle, behaviors, habits, take photos and record videos to show people back home after the safari. After the encounter with the chimpanzees you will trek back to the park headquarters, meet up with your driver guide and transfer to the lodge for lunch.
Nature walk, after lunch you will go for a guided nature walk in Bigodi swamp where you will pass through the lush vegetation in the sanctuary with pathways and boardwalks which give you great views of the bird species such as great blue turaco, hornbills, kingfishers, primates like red tailed monkeys, black and white colobus monkeys, l’hoest monkeys, blue monkeys, grey checked mangabey and some animals like bushbucks, otters among others. Nature walk takes about 2 to 3 hours and after you will meet up with your driver guide and drive back to the lodge for dinner and overnight.
Day 5: Transfer to Queen Elizabeth national park
On day 5 of the 7 days chimpanzee trekking and wildlife safari you will have breakfast, check out of the lodge and meet up with your driver guide for the tour to Ndali kasenda crater lakes where you will have spectacular views of the explosion craters, landscape, Rwenzori mountains, tea plantations, Kichwamba escarpments, Lake George, Kibale national park among others. After the crater lakes tour, you will start the journey to Queen Elizabeth national park with en-route lunch. The journey takes about 3 hours drive and offers spectacular views of tea plantations and some animals as you drive through the park going to the lodge where you will check in, have dinner and overnight.
Day 6: Game drive/lion tracking and boat cruise
Game drive, after an early breakfast on day 6 of the 7 days chimpanzee trekking and wildlife safari you will meet up with your driver guide and transfer for a morning game drive or lion tracking experience in Kasenyi plains. Kasenyi plains is the major area for the game drives in that it harbors abundant wildlife species therefore during the activity you will be able to view various animals like lions, leopards, elephants, buffaloes, warthogs, bushbucks, waterbucks, Uganda kobs, bird species among others. After the game drive you will drive back to the lodge for lunch.
Boat cruise, after lunch you will go for an afternoon boat cruise which is carried out on Kazinga channel a water body that connects Lake George and Lake Edward. The boat cruise starts at 2:00pm at a landing site near the luxury lodge Mweya safari and takes about 2 hours. During the boat cruise you will be able to cruise near animals like hippos and Nile crocodiles in water, elephants, buffaloes, waterbucks, warthogs along the water shores drinking water and water birds like the cormorants, herons, kingfishers, fish eagles among others. After the boat ride you will head back to the lodge for an evening relaxation, dinner and overnight.
Day 7: Departure to Kampala
On the last day of your 7 days chimpanzee trekking and wildlife safari you will have breakfast, check out of the lodge and meet up with your driver guide for a short game drive in the park where you will be able to view some of the animals that you will have missed. After the game drive you will drive out of the park and start the journey to Kampala. You will have en-route lunch on the way and continue with the journey to Kampala where your driver guide will drop you off at any place of convenience or at the airport for your next flight.
End of 7 days chimpanzee trekking and wildlife safari
Tour includes
- Chimpanzee trekking permit
- Nature walk in Bigodi swamp
- Boat cruise fee
- Crater lakes tour
- An English speaking driver guide
- Full board accommodation
- Park entrance fees
- Pick up and drop off
- Vehicle and fuel
- Bottled water
Tour excludes
- Air flight tickets
- Visas
- Optional activities not included on the itinerary
- Personal expenses like buying souvenirs, crafts, drinks, laundry services, hiring a porter, tips among others.
