8 Days/7 Nights Chimps, Gorillas and Game

Drive south to Fort Portal, past big tea plantations, lunch en route. Proceed to your lodging in Kibale. Either explore a crater lake nearby or relax at your lodging. [Approximate driving time: 6 hour(s)]

Fort Portal, town located in western Uganda. Fort Portal is situated at an elevation of about 5,000 feet (1,500 metres) and overlooks the mountains of the Ruwenzori Range and the Mufumbiro volcanoes. It is linked by road with Rubona, Kyenjojo, and Kyegegwa. It is an important market and processing centre for cotton, peanuts (groundnuts), sesame, corn (maize), coffee, tobacco, castor-oil seeds, tea, tropical fruits, and vegetables. A number of tea estates are concentrated east of the town. Tea, coffee, vegetable oils, leather, fruit, dairy products, meat, cotton, grain, and tobacco are processed. Industrial products include beverages, textiles, furniture, paper, soap, confectionery, shoes, and metal goods. Fort Portal provides a base for mountaineering in the Ruwenzori Range and has the palace of the omukama (“king”) of Toro. The Bwamba Pass, the Hot Springs of Bundibugyo, and the Ileri Forest are nearby points of interest. Pop. (2008 est.) 44,900

The fort may be gone, but this city is definitely a portal to places that offer sublime scenery, abundant nature and genuine adventure. Explore the beautiful Crater Lakes, track the chimps in Kibale National Park or drop into Semuliki National Park with its hot springs and central African wildlife.

Fort Portal is the heartland of a verdant tea-growing area and an important commercial centre. Its pleasant cool climate and central location make it a very convenient base from which to explore the area, so many people end up staying here for a few days

Bigodi Wetland visit and Crater lakes visit.

Drive to Queen Elizabeth park. Evening visit to Kasoga Community, neighbouring queen Elizabeth Park to see local people and their lifestyle.

O/N: Buffalo Lodge, FB

Chimps tracking. and boat excursion Kazinga Channel.

Evening game drive –

After breakfast, go for a chimpanzee tracking in the park.

In the afternoon 2.00pm, a boat cruise on the Kazinga Channel is a rewarding experience because it harbours both aquatic animals and birds which is a good opportunity for you to see what Uganda is both on water and on land and a good spot for photography. Did you know that the channel is a natural waterway between the Edward- and George Lake? An incomparable nature experience awaits you. Hippos cavort on the river banks, waterfowl bask and elephants playing on the edge of the channel. Recognize also one of the well-camouflaged crocodiles?

Queen Elizabeth National Park (QE), below the famous Rwenzori Mountains, is an African savannah park, consisting of plain surroundings. The park which is part of the western arm of the Great East African Rift Valley is centered around Lake Edward and Lake George. The launch trip along the Kazinga Channel linking these two lakes is especially good for viewing hippo, buffalo, elephant and a large host of birds amounting to over 500 species!  Around Ishasha go on the hunt for the famous tree-climbing lions which lounge nonchalantly in the upper branches of high trees! The beautiful steeply forested Kyambura Gorge nearby, is home not only to chimpanzees but also the red-tailed monkey, black and white colobus and many bird species.

O/N: Buffalo Lodge, FB

Drive to Ishasha, for a morning game drive  and thereafter to Bwindi for overnight. Ishasha Sector, too has the tree climbing lions which are a joy if one gets the chance of seeing them. Tree climbing lions are normally in the trees because down below in the savannah, there are insects that make them uncomfortable.

The drive takes you along the mystical Rwenzori Mountain Range with its partly snowy hilltops. Stunning views of the ”Mountains of the Moon” opens up before your eyes.Your driver guide will tell determines the legend of these mountains. The Queen Elizabeth National Park is strongly influenced by glacial melt water. The two large lakes – George and Edward – are the home to many hippos. Open savannah landscape provides habitat for elephants, lions and buffalo. The variety of birds is the largest in all of Africa.

After breakfast, Go gorilla tracking, carrying a packed lunch. You will be accompanied by a guide and porters who will carry your shoulder pack for you.

 You will then set off to the thick forest in search of gorillas. The terrain can be difficult, with steep slopes covered in dense vegetation that gives the park its name. In addition, the altitude of 5200 feet and more means participants do need to be physically fit. The time taken to track the gorillas varies enormously, from as little as half an hour to as much as 8 hours before one return to the hotel. Difficulty, however, is not impossibility and coming face to face with the great primates is well worth it!

To Mburo park. Visit Igongo Cultural Center, cultural museum and have lunch here and thereafter continue to the park.

Evening Game drive and safari walk, and evening boat cruise on Mburo Park (optional, on payment of extra).

Drive to Kampala via Mbarara and Masaka. Brief stop at the equator for pictureque and souvenir shopping.