7-Day Safari Sighting Primates, Big Games and Birds

Arrive early enough to explore the Entebbe Botanical Garden and overnight in the booked accommodation. Transfer to Kibale Forest NP with detour shoebill stork sighting in Mabamba Swamp. Expect chimp trekking in Kibale Forest. Exit to Queen Elizabeth where you will enjoy the big game sighting and boat trip along the Kazinga Channel. Transfer to Bwindi for the ultimate gorilla trekking experience. After gorilla trekking, proceed to Lake Bunyonyi for relaxation and sightseeing. Return to Entebbe.

Day 1 of Uganda safari

Arrive, tour Entebbe Botanical Garden and overnight in the booked accommodation

            Upon arrival at Entebbe International Airport you will be met by  Alpha Adventure Safaris Guide/driver who will welcome you to Uganda – the Pearl of Africa. Thereafter, you will be transferred to your booked accommodation. In case you had an early landing in Uganda, you may opt to visit the Entebbe Botanical Garden.

Entebbe Botanical Gardens is one of the places around Entebbe where you can spot many species of birds e.g. orange tufted and red chested Sun birds and orange weaver. There is a small ruminate patch of rain forest where Guereza Colobus and vervet monkeys can be observed next to Great Blue and Ross’ turacos, and Diederik Cuckoos, Woodland Kingfisher, Black and white casqued horn bill and splendid starling.

It is also a place of tranquility and peace, a feast for the eyes and there is notable absence of people and you simply immerse in nature, the sounds of birds breaking the stillness of the moment.

Day 2 of Uganda safari

Go shoebill stork sighting and proceed to Kibale Forest NP

You will have your breakfast at the accommodation and then depart for Kibale Forest National Park. The park is popular for its primate’s population like the chimpanzees, colobus monkeys, red cheeked monkeys and red tailed monkeys. On your chimpanzee trails, these are regularly seen swinging in the forest trees and others feeding on the wild fruits.

En route, you will detour for the shoebill stork sighting in Mabamba swamp. This is one of the best and most convenient places to see the elusive Shoebill. The bird is easiest seen in the morning when they stalk their main prey, the mudfish or frogs, but may be spotted all day. They may stand absolutely still for long periods awaiting the movements of their prey and then suddenly strike with a marvelous speed. It’s fascinating to watch the behavior of this elusive and endangered bird firsthand in their natural habitat. You will thereafter continue to Kibale Forest NP.

Day 3 of Uganda safari

Go chimp tracking Kibale Forest and Transfer to Queen Elizabeth NP

Today you will experience some serious primate business! Kibale Forest National Park boasts the highest number of primate species in the world, including the chimpanzees. Approximately 5,000 chimpanzees live in the wild in Uganda, which makes it a perfect place to spot them! An experienced ranger will take you chimp tracking in the morning. Once you locate the chimpanzees, you will have a full hour with them.

You will return to the lodge for lunch after which you will head out for Queen Elizabeth National Park. Queen is understandably Uganda’s most popular tourist destination. The park’s diverse ecosystem which include sprawling savanna, shady, humid forests, sparkling lakes make it the ideal habitat for classic big game, ten primate species including chimpanzees and over 600 species of birds. You will arrive in time for your dinner and overnight at the booked accommodation.

Day 4 of Uganda safari

Queen’s game drive and afternoon boat trip on the Kazinga Channel

Be up early and have your breakfast. Proceed for a morning game drive in the park during which you will see Lions, Elephants, Leopard (if you’re lucky), Cape bushbuck, Cape Buffalos, Defassa Waterbucks, Giant Forest Hogs, Uganda kob, among others. Return to your accommodation and have your lunch.

In the afternoon you will go for a two-hour boat cruise on the Kazinga Channel which connects Lakes George and Edward and you will surely be fascinated by the concentrations of giant hippos, elephants and crocodiles among others. You will also see many varieties of birds at the water shores. You will have dinner and overnight at your accommodation.

Day 5 of Uganda safari

Transfer to Bwindi with en route game drive in Ishasha area

Have breakfast then set off for Bwindi NP through the Isasha sector of Queen Elizabeth National Park – famously known for its resident tree-climbing lions. The chance of spotting these lions is about 70% though sometimes they are really hard to spot (most especially when they’re down in the grassland looking for prey). Hoping you get the chance to spot them, the sight will be spectacular!

Continue to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. Bwindi is a big habitat for mountain gorillas in Uganda, harboring an estimated 400 mountain gorillas – roughly half of the world’s population, including several habituated groups which can be tracked. Its mist-covered hillsides are blanketed by one of Uganda’s oldest and most biologically diverse rainforests which dates back over 25,000 years and contains almost 400 species of plants.

With a strenuous day ahead, you will do less on arrival but just check in your accommodation, relax as you prepare for the Bwindi gorilla trekking experience the next day.

Day 6 of Uganda safari

Go gorilla trekking Bwindi and later transfer to Lake Bunyonyi for relaxation

After an early breakfast and a briefing by a ranger guide, you will enter the gorilla sanctuary for your adventure. The beauty of this rain forest is spectacular! The area offers dramatic steeply forested landscape and is incredibly dense, but crisscrossed by numerous animal trails allowing access to tourists. The time taken and the terrain vary with the movements of these great primates. Once you locate a gorilla group, you will be allowed an hour in their presence. The thrill of spending time observing these gentle and endangered giants is an awesome, exciting experience to be long savored.

Return to your lodge. Have your lunch and thereafter check out for a transfer to Lake Bunyonyi. Lake Bunyonyi is framed by lush, green-terraced hills that reach a height of (2,200 – 2,478m) but it’s the 29 islands of various shapes and sizes scattered across the water that make it most magical — you could admire them all day.

Day 7 of Uganda safari

Depart Bunyonyi for your outbound flight in Entebbe Airport

Have a relaxed breakfast at the accommodation with spectacular view of the Bunyonyi little islands just right in front of you and thereafter embark on your return journey to Entebbe Airport. Expect enroute stopovers in Mbarara town for lunch and the Uganda Equator line mark in Kayabwe for some memorable photos (if you didn’t stop on the first day) and may be buying some art pieces of interest. Proceed with the journey arriving late afternoon/evening for drop off at the airport.

We do recommend for a late afternoon/evening outbound flight schedule for this day (if flying out). We hope to see you (or any referral) when next, you visit and thanks for choosing Alpha Adventure Safaris!