8-DAY EXCLUSIVE SAFARI

Introduction
Uganda is all about its friendly people and the diversity in landscapes and activities. This trip will show you the best of what Uganda has to offer. Queen Elizabeth National Park features grassland savannah teeming with wildlife and Bwindi Forest is full of interesting endemic flora and fauna. All of this is on top of all main highlights like gorilla tracking, chimpanzee tracking and the boat safaris. And, as with all our luxury, you will stay in some of Uganda’s very best lodges!

Itinerary:

Day 1: Arrival in Entebbe

Day 2: Travel to Fort Portal/ Kibale Forest

Day 3: Chimpanzee Tracking in Kibale Forest

Day 4: Travel to Queen Elizabeth National Park

Day 5: Safari and Boat Trip

Day 6: Ishasha (Tree climbing lions), to Bwindi forest

Day 7: Gorilla Tracking in Bwindi Forest

Day 8: Travel back to Kampala

Day 1: Welcome in Uganda!
You will be picked up from the airport by a representative of your accommodation for tonight. You will meet your driver/ guide from EVERASTING TOUR UG tomorrow morning when he picks you up from your accommodation in Entebbe.

Hotel No. 5, nested in the leafy suburbs of Entebbe and close to the airport, this is a great option for guests looking for an intimate stay in a tranquil setting. It is a stylish boutique hotel with all luxurious rooms opening onto the garden and swimming pool. The restaurant brings you a flavorsome dining experience, with carefully planned menus paired to an international selection of wines. Attention to detail and an attentive guest experience are synonymous with this hotel, making it the perfect choice for a restful stay. Make yourself at home – pamper yourself with a spa treatment, or work up a sweat in the hotel gym.

Depending on the time of your arrival, you might be able to explore Entebbe. All activities today are at your own expense and can be arranged via your accommodation.

Day 2: To Fort Portal/ Kibale Forest
After an early breakfast, you pick up your packed lunch, and time has come to leave Murchison Falls National Park and travel to Fort Portal. The drive to Fort Portal is long, but incredibly scenic. You’ll pass through villages, lush green forests and hills dotted with tea plantations which characterize this part of Uganda.

Surrounded by the evergreen landscapes of the Great Crater Lakes region and with stunning views over the majestic Ruwenzori Mountain Range you’ll find an oasis of luxurious cottages situated on the extinct volcano crater’s slope. Enjoy the breath-taking views over the turquoise waters of Lyantonde Lake in complete privacy. Papaya’s fine cuisine combines culinary traditions from all corners of the world, prepared using only top quality and fresh products. This lodge is established with great passion, esteem for local culture and the high attention detail.

Day 3: Chimpanzee tracking in Kibale Forest
Chimpanzees share 98% of human genes making them our closest living relatives. They are found in 21 countries throughout Africa, but are most easily sighted in Uganda due to their dense populations. Today, in Uganda, there are approximately 5,000 chimpanzees left in the wild. The Chimpanzee Trekking experience

here is done on several well maintained walking trails. There is also a wonderfully diverse concentration of other primates, more than any other forest in East Africa, in fact. Besides our delightful cousins, the chimpanzees, you can find red colobus, red-tailed guenon, white-nosed monkey, gray-cheeked mangabey, blue monkey, L’Hoest’s monkey, and the black and white colobus monkey. In addition, you may see olive baboons, bush babies and nocturnal pottos.
The aim for your trekking through the jungle under the care of professional guide, is 1 hour of eye to eye contact with the chimpanzees. We can however cannot guarantee 100% for you to see them as they are still wild animals, nevertheless your chances are very good.

Your next activity will take you to the Bigodi Wetlands Sanctuary which features 8 primate species, over 200 bird species and many reptiles. During the walk – which takes 2 to 3 hours – you have a chance to many animals but the highlight is catching a glimpse of a famous bird; the Great Blue Turaco. The sanctuary is operated by KAFRED, a registered community based organization. The income from the walk is used for community development projects such as schools and hospitals.

Day 4: Queen Elizabeth National Park
Scenic Queen Elizabeth National Park is located in south western Uganda and is most often included in visitors’ itineraries. It is the second largest park in the country and located at the base of the majestic Rwenzori Mountain range, next to Lake Edward and Lake George which are joined by the Kazinga channel. Few reserves in the world have such a high biodiversity with landscapes including savannah, bushland, wetlands and lush forests. On your first game drive, it is time to explore the Queen Elizabeth National Park with her 200 kilometers of well-maintained game viewing tracks. We advise for you to be alert and pro-active on your game drive to help the ranger spot as many animals as possible.

You’ll stay at Mweya Safari Lodge, a unique luxurious encounter in the heart of Queen Elizabeth National Park, surrounded by the ‘Mountains of the Moon’ and endless wilderness. From your private deck terrace, the restaurant and the infinity pool, a panoramic view over the Kazinga Channel awaits to be marvelled accompanied with a carefully selected cocktail or choice from a range of exquisite Continental, Indian and International cuisine.

Day 5: Park Game Drive & Boat Safari
After an early breakfast, you go for a long game drive in time to see the sun rise. The morning is the best time for a game drive as the African animal kingdom tends to me most active when during the golden hours of the first sunlight touching the savannah. You will continue the search for all the wildlife. With an astonishing 5000 hippos, 2500 elephants and over 10,000 buffalo thriving in its grasslands and shorelines, this park guarantees sightings of some of Africa’s most iconic species. All being well you see elephants, giraffes, buffaloes, different species of antelope and just maybe some of the exciting predators such as; lion, leopard, civet, genal and serval cats. Ten species of primates enjoy the park’s diverse habitats
In the afternoon you will take a boat safari along the Kazinga Channel which joins Lake George and Lake Edward.

Here, you will see a lot of hippos (more than you can possibly imagine!), as well as a variety of other animals which come to the waterhole to drink or bathe. You can expect to see buffalo, crocodile, bathing elephant, and a range of beautiful birds. This will undoubtedly be one of the highlights of your tour.

Optional activity: Lion Tracking
For visitors who yearn to get up close to wild African fauna, a research trip is a rewarding adventure. This unique experience allows visitors to actively participate in monitoring some of lions in the park, using locator devices.

The additional cost for this optional activity is $100 per person

Day 6:Tree climbing lions

After breakfast you will drive in about 3 hours to the southern part of Queen Elizabeth National Park. This part is famous for its’ tree-climbing lions. While lion cubs around the world frequently climb trees for fun, adults rarely do. However, these lionesses enjoy spending the hot afternoons snoozing in fig trees to get away from the tsetse flies and to enjoy a cool breeze. This is the most memorable sight in the park as you have never seen such photogenic lions posing for your camera before. During a game drive you will try your luck! Meanwhile don’t miss the stunning scenery and superb birdlife in this southern remote section of the park either.

You will game drive on your way out of the park for a last chance at spotting those tree climbing lions. Lunch will be at the lodge in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest; home of the Mountain Gorillas.

For the coming two nights you’ll stay at the remarkable and intimate Buhoma Lodge, which has spectacular uninterrupted views over the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest. Being one of the only two lodges located in the park, this truly is a unique location. You’ll stay in one of the ten chalets which are carefully and spaciously designed using locally sourced materials. Among others, the private veranda, en-suite hot rain-shower and complimentary massage should give you all that you need to unwind and relax during your stay.

Day 7: Gorilla Tracking in Bwindi Forest
Today is the big day… Prepare yourself for an encounter with one of Bwindi’s gentle giants: the rare Mountain Gorilla. For most people this is the absolute highlight of their tour in Uganda.

Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is a highlight for many visitors as this is where they will be visiting the home of the gentle giants. The park lies in southwestern Uganda on the edge of the Rift Valley. Uganda’s oldest and most biologically diverse rainforests lies on the mist-covered hillsides. This magnificent forest dates back over 25,000 years, even surviving the last Ice Age (most forests disappeared). Bwindi forest has an incredible diversity of flora and fauna and is the only forest in Africa which can make claim to host both mountain gorillas and chimpanzees. In fact, half the worlds’ population of gorillas live here divided over nine habituated family groups. Also 5 other primate species, 120 species of mammal, over 220 butterflies and 360 birds species call Bwindi home. This it THE place to see the critically endangered mountain gorillas up close for your very own ‘Gorillas in the Mist’ moment.

Face-to-face with a Mountain Gorilla
The gorillas you will trek belong to one of nine family groups who can tolerate the presence of humans for a brief period every day. Your trek will be an exciting (for some also challenging) journey along forested (sometimes slippery) slopes, entwined vines, bushes and bamboo before you eventually reach the gentle giants. En-route, your guide will point out signs of previous gorilla activity. Think of dung, nests and chewed bamboo shoots. The time to complete the gorilla trekking can be as little as 2 hours to as much as 7 hours! Once the the family of gorillas has been located, you will be allowed a maximum of one hour observing them. Coming face-to-face with the mountain gorillas is a truly humbling and emotional experience. This is a fantastic part of your tour you will definitely remember for the rest of your life.

Day 8: End of your tour – Airport transfer

After breakfast at the lodge, you will drive back to Kampala or Entebbe (Airport) stopping at the equator for the requisite snapshot and a bit of souvenir shopping.

Accommodation for tonight is not inclusive in the itinerary. If you wish to depart tonight from Entebbe Airport, make sure your flight is at 8 pm or later. If you want us to book one (or more) nights in Kampala and/or Entebbe, please let us know.

THE NATURE IS CALL