Compare Uganda & Rwanda: African Primate Safari by MT Sobek (Mountain Travel Sobek) vs 7-Days Uganda Wildlife And Primate Experience Safari by Africa Adventure Vacations

Day 1: Arrive in Entebbe, Uganda.

Meals: Dinner

Accommodation: Protea Hotel Entebbe

You may arrive anytime today into Entebbe, Uganda.  A Mountain Travel Sobek representative will meet you outside the customs and immigration area at the airport. He or she will answer questions, brief you on the immediate arrangements, and escort you to our group hotel located on the shores of Lake Victoria, Africa’s largest freshwater lake.

Day 2: Entebbe to Kibale Forest National Park

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Accommodation: Primate Lodge

We board our Land Rovers in the morning and drive into the lush green countryside of Uganda, a country described by Winston Churchill as “the Pearl of Africa.” We pass through landscapes where African farmsteads crammed with bananas and tropical trees mingle with wetlands and patches of forest or bush, and give way to tea plantations as we gain elevation. After a picnic lunch en route, we enter Kibale Forest National Park, where we may catch our first glimpse of chimps, baboons, or other primates. While in Kibale, we’ll stay at Primate Lodge, a luxury tented camp consisting of eight deluxe safari tents. They are raised on wooden platforms and feature verandas, comfortable beds, and en-suite bathrooms. We gather for meals in the open-air restaurant and can relax in the cozy bar, lounge, or around the fireplace. (6-7 hours driving)

Day 3: Kibale Forest National Park

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Accommodation: Primate Lodge

Kibale is home to more than 500 chimpanzees and twelve other primate species, including black-and-white and red colobus, galagos, and L’Hoest’s monkeys. The forest, which averages about 3,300 feet in elevation, is inhabited by three large communities of chimps, each numbering more than 100 individuals. Over time, scientists have cut a grid of walking trails through the forest, which facilitates tracking these well-studied and protected chimps.

After a hearty breakfast, we’ll spend the morning in the forest tracking chimps! Chimp tracking sessions are carefully regulated by the Uganda Wildlife Authority. Morning and afternoon tracking sessions take place at Kibale.* Each is limited to a maximum number of 16 visitors, who are divided into groups of four. Each group is accompanied by an experienced ranger-guide and a tracker. Typically, we locate the chimps by listening for their pant-hooting calls, then rush to the area where they are calling. They spend the majority of their day high in the fig trees, eating fruit and socializing, though it is not uncommon for one to swing down from the canopy to watch as we pass by. Getting this near to one of mankind’s closest relatives is an awesome experience that you won’t soon forget!

After a traditional Ugandan lunch, we’ll take a swamp walk (along the edge of the swamp—not through it!), looking for other primates which may include red-tailed monkey, red colobus monkey, black-and-white colobus, gray-cheeked mangabey, olive baboon, and vervet monkey. The forest is also the habitat of a wide array of birds, including the spectacular great blue turaco and the African gray parrot, and is alive with the tantalizing sounds of elusive birds such as the Angola pitta. On our walk, we’ll have the opportunity to learn more about the wetland flora, and how these natural resources are used in daily life and protected by the people of Uganda.

In the evening, we walk in search of nocturnal primates, including pottos and bushbabies. On all walks at Kibale, expert national park guides accompany us. They will use their tracking skills and share their knowledge of primates and birds, as well as reveal some of the botanical secrets of the forest. Twenty percent of your park entrance fees help support the local Batooro and Bakiga tribes.

*NOTE—we may be assigned either morning or afternoon tracking sessions, in which case we will adjust the rest of the day’s activities accordingly.

Days 4-5: Drive to Queen Elizabeth National Park

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Accommodation: Jacana Lodge

Today we drive 3-4 hours to Queen Elizabeth National Park, located in the western branch of Africa’s Great Rift Valley. With 2,000 square miles of deep jungle, volcanoes, crater lakes, and open savannahs, this diverse landscape is home to a similarly broad array of wildlife, including nearly 100 mammal species and 606 species of birds spotted (so far). We will delve into the varied landscape and waterways of the park in search of elephants, leopards, waterbucks, topis, and horned kobs, to name a few of the regularly sighted species. In addition to game drives, we’ll take an exciting launch trip on the Kazinga Channel that connects Lake Edward with smaller Lake George to get a different perspective on the wildlife. This is an absolutely spectacular experience: we are certain to see tremendous numbers of hippos and water birds of every type and hue, plus elephant and leopard are often encountered along the shore. From the thick tree canopies and chattering chimps of Kyambura Gorge to the world’s largest congregation of hippos (30,000!) in the Kazinga Channel, Queen Elizabeth National Park offers a truly world-class safari experience.

And, you’ll have incredible wildlife experiences even when you’re not out on a game drive—you can enjoy some of the best birdwatching in East Africa right from your deck at Jacana Lodge! Set on the edge of Uganda’s largest crater lake, the tree house lodge is naturally built of rock, wood, and rope. Seven luxury chalets have en-suite bathrooms with hot water and enclosed verandas with large windows offering panoramic views of the forest and Lake Nyamusingire. Enjoy evening sundowners or morning tea in the lounge area, beautifully accented with a large stone fireplace and handmade Persian carpets.

Twenty percent of your park entrance fees help support the local community surrounding the park, including funding schools and medical clinics.

Days 6-7: Maramagambo Forest – Ishasha

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Accommodation: Ishasha Wilderness Camp

We'll explore the remote southern Ishasha region of Queen Elizabeth National Park, known for herds of elephant, buffalo, and many species of antelope. Game drives provide a good chance of seeing buffalo, elephants, kob, topi, and the park’s renowned tree-climbing lions. It’s not known how the lions learned to climb fig and acacia trees here, but they seem to do it to escape the heat.

At night, we'll relax around the fire at Ishasha Wilderness Camp. Each of the ten spacious East African Meru tents is comfortably furnished and has an en-suite bathroom and dressing area with a hot water shower. Because the camp is within the park boundaries, they maintain a low energy profile by using solar power and eco-friendly toilets.  This is often our guest's favorite lodging on the trip!

Day 8: Kisoro – Kinigi

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Accommodation: Gorilla Mountain View Lodge

Drive through the region known as “the Switzerland of East Africa” for its awe-inspiring mountains. We travel through the famous Kanaba Gap, one of East Africa’s most scenic areas, before arriving in the lovely town of Kisoro, which is dominated by volcanoes—Sabinyo (11,923'), Mgahinga (11,397'), and Muhabura (13,540'). We cross over into Rwanda, then continue through volcanic uplands to Kinigi, headquarters of Parc National des Volcans (Volcanoes National Park). We settle into the simple comforts of Gorilla Mountain View Lodge, our base for gorilla trekking in the Parc National des Volcans.  This is our longest driving day--about 9-10 hours with stops for lunch, photography, and the border crossing--but it's incredibly scenic.

Day 9: Parc National des Volcans

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Accommodation: Gorilla Mountain View Lodge

Local trackers lead us through misty rainforest for our first adrenaline-filled encounter with the mountain gorillas. Although park rangers try to keep tabs on the whereabouts of the gorillas, they are free-ranging wild creatures and can be difficult to locate depending on the animals’ movements. Sometimes finding them is very easy, as they may remain close to the area where they had been feeding the previous day. On other occasions, they require lengthy tracking, which can be arduous. Once found, we will stay with the gorillas and observe them closely for up to one hour (the park service requires we maintain a distance from them of 22 feet).

Six to eight people per day are allowed to visit each gorilla group; each day, we will try to assign group members to track the gorilla family most appropriate to their strength and hiking abilities. The difficulties we may encounter include steep muddy slopes, stinging nettles, safari ants, hanging and low-lying vines, and rain. The reward is an extraordinary opportunity to observe the gorillas at close range.

NOTE—These gorillas are NOT tame, but they have been scientifically habituated to accept the presence of quiet and non-threatening human observers.

Day 10: Virunga Volcanoes – Kigali

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Accommodation: Kigali Serena

Today we trek up the forested slopes of the Virunga Volcanoes for our second gorilla encounter. There are currently 10 family groups of gorillas in the park which are available for tracking by the public. Each family group lives in a very different part of the park. The Sabinyo Group lives on the hills below the jagged peak of Sabinyo Volcano. These hills are mostly covered with forests of giant bamboo. Umubano and the Amahoro Groups live on the forested slopes between Visoke Volcano and Sabinyo. Visoke is a lovely volcano that reaches up to 12,175 feet on its rim, and its interior is filled with a crater lake. Fortunately, the gorillas tend to range in the moss-draped hagenia forests of its lower slopes. Group Susa lives on the middle-level slopes of the largest volcano, the giant Karisimbi (14,787'). Although the Susa Group tends to inhabit the forest at altitudes of 9,000-10,000 feet, they do range widely and sometimes venture higher up on the mountain, into the zone of bizarre and wonderful Afro-alpine vegetation. Susa is therefore considered the most strenuous group to track. Other family groups we may track include the Kwitonda, Ugenda, Bwende, Karisimbi, Agashya, and Hirwa Groups. The number of gorillas in each family group varies from 11 to 33.

After returning from our second memorable visit with the gorillas, we drive through the scenic countryside and quickly understand why Rwanda has been nicknamed “the land of a thousand hills.” These hills are intensively cultivated by rural people who live on tiny farmsteads, so they form a terraced patchwork of banana plantations, sorghum fields, and vegetable gardens. Rwanda is densely populated so we may see many people walking along the roads and working their fields while en route to the nation’s capital, Kigali. Here we stay at the Kigali Serena Hotel, a full-service, western-style hotel with a gym, swimming pool, lounge, terrace, and a taste of the “real” world—Internet access!

Day 11: Kigali

Meals: Breakfast and Lunch

We’ll tour bustling Kigali, including a tour of the genocide museum, the Kigali Memorial Centre, commemorating the one million Rwandans killed in 1994. Transfer to the airport for departure on homeward-bound flights via Entebbe or Nairobi.  It's best not to schedule departure flights before 2pm.

Day 1: Arrival at Entebbe international airport – Meet and greet and be transferred to your booked Hotel in Entebbe town

Meal: Dinner

Accommodation: 2 Friends Beach Hotel (Mid-range)

On arrival at Entebbe international airport, you will be warmly met by a company representative with your professional English-speaking safari guide for meet and greet and then be transferred to your booked hotel in Entebbe town to check in, freshen yourself and later meet with our company representative and safari guide at the hotel reception to brief you about your 7- days Uganda wildlife and primate experience safari. The hotel is about 10-20 minutes’ drive from Entebbe international airport.

Later, if time allows, drive to Botanical gardens for a nature walk and later visit Lake Victoria where you will spot some water birds as well as getting used to the Uganda’s beautiful nature. Lake Victoria is the largest water body in Africa and second largest fresh water body in the world and shared by three East African Countries (Uganda, Tanzania and Kenya).

Day 2: Entebbe city – Drive to Kibale Forest national park – Bigodi sanctuary swamp and community tour

Meal: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

Accommodation: Isunga Safari Lodge (Mid-range)

Today, after your fantastic breakfast, have all your travel bags loaded into your safari vehicle, check out of your lodge and then start your journey to Kibale Forest National Park, which is famously known for its biggest population of chimpanzees, amounting to more than 1500 individual chimpanzees, and some of these are well habituated for tourism and research. The park is also referred to as Africa’s primate capital, with over 13 primate species recorded than any national park or wildlife reserve in Africa, hence making the park a primate lover’s haven. The park is also home to East Africa’s largest populations of the threatened and rare L’hoest’s monkey and red colobus monkeys. While at Kibale Forest national park, you will see several primates such as the black-and-white colobus, blue monkeys, red-tailed olive baboons, grey-cheeked mangabeys, and over 375 species of birds. Along the way to Kibale Forest national park, you will enjoy the spectacular views of tea estates, several forests, and the shadow of the legendary Rwenzori Mountain that forms a mystic backdrop to the beautiful volcanic landscape. Have a stopover in Fort Portal City to have lunch, move around the city on foot and later continue with your journey to the park to check in at your booked lodge and later drive to Bigodi Swamp for a nature walk and community experience.

Bigodi sanctuary swamp is punctuated by biodiversity and lovely scenery and is a paradise for bird lovers, with over 138 bird species and eight species of primates. These include the grey-cheeked mangabey, black-and-white colobus, l’Hoest’s and blue monkeys, red-tailed monkeys, and olive baboons, plus other mammals like bushbucks and mongooses can also be found here. The swamp is managed by the surrounding local community with the purpose of preserving exclusive environmental features along with the wetland for future generations. So, during this walk, you will have an opportunity to spot several monkeys and bird species. The Bigodi community walk, will take you through the nearby community to have a chance to interact with local people to learn how they harmoniously live with wildlife species, take you through how they locally do their daily activities without applying modern technology, such as making nice gins from bananas, making delicious coffee, and making art crafts. Return to your lodge after the walk to relax, be served dinner, and an overnight.

Day 3: Kibale Forest national park – Chimpanzee tracking safari experience – Drive to Queen Elizabeth national park – Visit Katwe salt mining community

Meal: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

Accommodation: Buffalo Safari Lodge (Mid-range)

After breakfast, meet your safari guide and transfer to the park information offices to join other guests for a briefing about the dos and don’ts to follow while looking for chimpanzees in the forest, and how to behave around chimpanzees. Then embark on your guided forest walk to search for the intelligent chimpanzees, the closest living relatives sharing 98.8% of human DNA. During your forest walk, you may encounter other wildlife species, both mammal and bird species, such as other primates, and bush pigs, among others, and your guide will be able to give you a lot of interesting information about everything that you will encounter, which will make your walk so adventurous. Once you meet the chimpanzees, you will spend with them a maximum of one-hour watching how they play in the tree branches, feeding and taking care of their babies, and taking as many photos as you want. After staying with chimpanzees for an hour, return to the starting point to relax, have refreshments plus lunch, and then drive to Queen Elizabeth National Park, a “medley of wonders”. Queen Elizabeth National Park is known for its variety of wildlife species with over 95 mammal species, which includes four big mammals, big cats and other predators, 10 species of primates, aquatic mammals, and about 600 recorded bird species, and with the Kazinga channel, the main water stream which connects Lake Edward and George. Before checking in at your booked lodge, visit the Katwe community, which is surrounded by the salty Lake Katwe, and whose main economic activity is extracting salt from this lake. This is one of the most famous communities due to the traditional salt mining that has been practiced since the 16th century. While at the Katwe salt mining community, you will have a chance to take part in salt mining and your local safari guide will give you information about how they have managed to maintain their salt mining activities for decades. After the community tour, drive to check in at your booked lodge to spend your evening at leisure until it’s time to have dinner and overnight.

Day 4: Queen Elizabeth national park – Morning game drive safari – Afternoon boat cruise on the Kazinga Channel – Evening game drive safari

Meal: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

Accommodation: Buffalo Safari Lodge (Mid-range)

Begin your day with a hearty breakfast (0600 am) and then drive to the park to spot wildlife such as Uganda Kobs, Waterbucks, Elephants, Caped Buffaloes, Lions, Warthogs, Leopards, and a variety of primates and bird species. Your safari guide will ensure that you spot as many wildlife species as possible and give you as much information about everything that you may encounter during your game drive. Queen Elizabeth National Park is a feeding ground for over 95 mammal species and 600 recorded birds, making it an ideal destination for a game drive. Game drive safaris at Queen Elizabeth National Park are one of the highlights of activities to explore Queen Elizabeth National Park, spot several mammals, and enjoy the beautiful views of the savannah. Later, have a short break to relax, have lunch plus other refreshments, and then drive to the Kazinga channel for the 2-hour afternoon boat cruise safari. The Kazinga channel is the main water channel that goes through the park and connects Lake George and Lake Edward. During the boat cruise safari, you will see a good number of both aquatic and land animals such as hippos, crocodiles, alligators, Caped buffaloes, elephants, and Uganda kobs, among others, and also a collection of bird species like the malachite kingfishers and pink-backed pelicans on the banks of the channel, which will be so adventurous. After your 2-hour boat cruise along the Kazinga channel, go for an evening game drive to search for more wildlife species and to enjoy the sunset from the jungle. The best time to see big cats and other predators are during evening game drives because that is when they begin to hunt. Return to your lodge to relax, have dinner, and an overnight.

Day 5: Queen Elizabeth national park – Morning game drive safari – Game drive to search for the tree climbing lions – Drive to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest national park

Meal: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

Accommodation: Bakiga Lodge (Mid-range)

After having your tasty breakfast, get all your luggage packed in the vehicle, check out of your lodge and then drive to the park for a second-morning game drive safari to search for more wildlife animals, and birds. Queen Elizabeth National Park is understandably one of Uganda’s most popular national parks and an ideal habitat for classic big game such as Lions, Leopards, Elephants, Buffaloes, several antelope species, primates, warthogs, and many others. Game drives are one of the highlights of Queen Elizabeth National Park to spot several mammals, and enjoy the beautiful views of the savannah. After the game drive, start your drive to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest national park. On your way to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park, you will do a game drive safari through the Ishasha sector in the southern parts of Queen Elizabeth National Park to look out for the unique tree climbing lions, which are only found in the Ishasha sector of Queen Elizabeth National Park in Uganda with 5 families, Lake Manyara National Park in Tanzania with about two families, and Kruger National Park in South Africa. The Ishasha sector is the best destination to see them since it has many families with climbing characters and there is a higher chance to meet them. Have lunch and proceed with your drive to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park. Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is famous for being home to half of the world’s remaining mountain gorillas and one of Uganda’s oldest as well as most biologically diverse rainforests, dating back over 25,000 years, with almost 400 tree species that form the huge impenetrable forest that is evergreen. It is home to approximately 500 mountain gorillas, 120 mammal species such as numerous primate species, and over 350 bird species, including 23 Albertine Rift endemics, and is the ancient home of the Batwa bush people. Dinner and an overnight

Day 6: Bwindi Impenetrable Forest national park – Mountain gorilla trekking experience – Drive to Lake Bunyonyi

Meal: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

Accommodation: Bunyonyi Rock Resort (Mid-range)

Day 6 of the 7-day Uganda wildlife and primate experience safari. Rise very early in the morning (0600 am), pack your backpack with all the recommended equipment you will need during your mountain gorilla trekking experience, such as a camera, binoculars, insect repellents. Get well-dressed in a recommended style for the best mountain gorilla trekking experience, such as long khaki or jean trousers, long sleeved shirt, water proof hiking boots, a rain jacket, heavy duty gloves, and round hats, and then meet your safari guide to drive to the park information offices to join other guests for the briefing session about how the mountain gorilla trekking experience is done, dos and don’ts, what to expect during the mountain gorilla trekking, and how to behave in the presence of mountain gorillas. The grouping and mountain gorilla family allocation will be done during the briefing, so you have to communicate with your company guide to choose a family depending on your physical fitness, since some of the families can be far from the starting point and others nearer. We would recommend you hire a porter to help you carry your packed bag and other items you would need during the mountain gorilla trek. After a pre-mountain gorilla trekking session, start your forest walk in search of the endangered mountain gorillas in their natural habitats. The time taken before encountering your allocated mountain gorilla family is not known, but it may be between 45 minutes and 4 hours depending on the movements and location of the gorilla family. Therefore, you should be physically and mentally prepared to walk a long distance through the forest that is made of hills and with no clear walking trails that are only made at that particular time of tracking by your guide depending on the direction that can easily lead you to the location of the gorilla family. That is why it is recommended to carry enough water to keep you hydrated and snacks to keep you energized since you use a lot of energy when walking through the forest in search of the mountain gorillas.

Once you encounter the mountain gorilla family, the excitement of seeing the mountain gorillas in their natural habitat will outweigh the hardship you went through while searching for them. A mountain gorilla family can be made up of several members, such as the giant silverback, who is always the head and protector of the family, mothers, infants, and juveniles. The time you will spend with the mountain gorillas, you will get to know much about their behaviours, how they socialize and be excited by their actions, like the playful babies, mothers grooming their babies and Mr. Silverback, watching the situation silently as he is ready to protect the family from any kind of attack. You will spend a maximum of one hour with the mountain gorillas and you will be free to capture as many photos and record videos as you want to keep your great memories with the mountain gorilla family in the jungle. After an hour with the mountain gorilla family, return to the trekking start point to receive your mountain trekking certificate in appreciation of your contribution to the conservation of the endangered mountain gorillas in Uganda. Have refreshments, enjoy your full lunch, and then drive to Lake Bunyonyi to relax while enjoying a boat canoeing safari on Lake Bunyonyi. Dinner and an overnight

Day 7: Lake Bunyonyi – Morning boat canoeing on Lake Bunyonyi – Return to Entebbe international airport

Meal: Breakfast & Lunch

 Today, wake up at your convenient time, be served breakfast and then go for your morning boat canoeing safari on Lake Bunyonyi, which takes approximately 2 hours of exploring the lake and visiting different islands in the lake with a local canoe guide who is well experienced with the places and all the things around. Lake Bunyonyi is framed by 29 islands of varying sizes across the water, making it one of the most magical views. Each of the 29 islands on Lake Bunyonyi has its own unique and interesting story behind it, which your local guide will narrate to you during the canoeing safari, such as the Akampene island, also known as the “punishment island,” which was used by the Biga community to punish girls who would get pregnant before official marriage by isolating them there to death as a way to teach a lesson to the rest not to make the same mistake. So, poor men who could not afford to pay the bride price would go to this island to get free wives from amongst those that could have been exiled to this island. In an African society, it was a disgrace for a girl to get pregnant before her official marriage, and this would cause the family to lose community respect. So, this made parents be strict with their girl children as a way of protecting them. After canoeing on Lake Bunyonyi, return to the lodge to check out, and then start your return journey back to Entebbe international airport to prepare for your return flight. On your way back to Entebbe international airport, you will have a stopover at Igongo cultural museum to visit the museum, which is a cultural heritage of south-western Uganda that will take you centuries back into Uganda’s culture and lifestyle of the western people, and later proceed with your journey to the Uganda Equator line, located in Kayabwe, which is believed to be separating the planet into two parts; the Northern and Southern hemisphere.

While at the equator landmark, you will see the water experiment, which is done to show how forces move differently on each side of the planet and to prove the difference between the two hemispheres. For example, water drains from the funnel in a clockwise motion on the northern hemisphere, whereas it drains down in an anti-clockwise motion on the southern hemisphere. Here, the sun rises and sets rapidly, and the temperatures and weather are largely constant all year through. While at the Equator landmark, take some memorial photos with one foot in the southern hemisphere and another one in the northern hemisphere, which will give you an opportunity to take a photo while standing on both sides of the world at the same time. It is also said that while standing at the equator line, your body weight is reduced by about 3 kg, so you will have a chance to prove this statement right or false. After the water experiment, have lunch, visit the craft shops which sell souvenirs that are made locally and fully in Uganda art style. Later, proceed with your tour straight to Entebbe international airport to prepare for your return flight. This will be the end of your 7-day Uganda wildlife and primate experience safari.