Day-by-day itinerary

What the operator has planned, day by day, across 6 days.

1. Day 1

   Arrive in Kibale Forest National Park

   The drive runs from Kampala to Fort Portal along the Mubende road, with lunch taken on the way. Once you have eaten, there is a walk in Bigodi Swamp to look for birds and for the monkeys living in the swamp. Dinner and the night are at Ndali Lodge, Primate Lodge Cottages or Rwenzori View Guest House.

2. Day 2

   Chimpanzee Tracking in Kibale

   Breakfast is early, then you transfer to the headquarters for a briefing before setting out to track the chimpanzees. You listen for their pant-hooting calls and move quickly towards wherever they are calling from. Along the way you should also pick out black-and-white colobus, red-tailed monkeys, olive baboons and black-faced red colobus, together with a wide range of birds including the great blue turaco. The night is again at Primate Lodge Cottages, Ndali Lodge or Rwenzori View Guest House.

3. Day 3

   Drive to Queen Elizabeth National Park

   After breakfast you drive on to Queen Elizabeth National Park, with game viewing on the way in; buffaloes, leopards, elephants, warthogs, hyenas, various antelopes and lions are all possible. Once inside the park there is an afternoon launch cruise down the Kazinga Channel, which brings you close to the animals gathering to drink and to a range of water birds. Dinner and the overnight are at the Institute of Ecology, Mweya Safari Lodge or Kingfisher Lodge.

4. Day 4

   Game Drive and Transfer to Bwindi

   The morning is spent on a game drive looking for the tree-climbing lions that usually rest in the old fig trees. You then transfer to Bwindi Impenetrable National Forest in the southern part of Uganda. The rest of the day is free at the lodge to get ready for the following day's tracking. Dinner and the night are at Buhoma Community Bandas, Gorilla Resort or Lake Kitandara Lodge.

5. Day 5

   Gorilla Tracking

   You take an early breakfast and go to the park headquarters, where a ranger guide briefs you before the tracking starts. The forested ground is steep and thickly criss-crossed by animal trails, which is what gives visitors a way through it. Besides the mountain gorillas the forest holds the uncommon golden monkey, buffaloes, elephants, black-fronted duikers, bushbucks, leopards and giant forest hogs. How long you walk before finding the gorillas cannot be predicted, since it depends on how the family has moved. Dinner and the night are again at Buhoma Community Bandas, Gorilla Resort or Lake Kitandara Lodge.

6. Day 6

   Departure

   After breakfast you return to Kampala, with lunch on the way and a stop at the Equator for photographs. Arrival in Kampala is in the evening.