
Best Gorilla Lodge for Photography in Bwindi
June 22, 2023
High-end Gorilla Trekking in Uganda
June 22, 2023A Uganda one-week Safari is one of the best safari to do for those visiting Africa, as the country is known for its diverse wildlife, stunning landscapes, and warm hospitality. During your week-long safari in Uganda, you can explore some of Uganda’s most famous national parks and enjoy various wildlife encounters. Here’s a suggested itinerary for a Uganda one-week Safari:
Day 1: Arrival in Entebbe Upon arrival at Entebbe International Airport, you’ll be transferred to your accommodation in Entebbe or Kampala. Take some time to relax and recover from your journey.
Day 2: Travel to Murchison Falls National Park In the morning, depart from Entebbe or Kampala and head north to Murchison Falls National Park. It’s a scenic drive, and you’ll have the opportunity to enjoy Uganda’s beautiful countryside. Arrive at the park in the afternoon and take a boat cruise along the Nile River to the base of Murchison Falls, where the river squeezes through a narrow gorge, creating a magnificent spectacle in Africa.
Day 3: Game Drives in Murchison Falls National Park Embark on morning and afternoon game drives in Murchison Falls National Park. The park is home to an array of wildlife, including elephants, giraffes, lions, buffalos, hippos, and numerous bird species. Explore the park’s vast savannah landscapes and spot the diverse wildlife that inhabits this area.
Day 4: Transfer to Queen Elizabeth National Park After breakfast, drive to Queen Elizabeth National Park, located in southwestern Uganda. The journey takes you through the beautiful Albertine Rift Valley and offers breathtaking views. Arrive at the park in the afternoon and enjoy a game drive in the Kasenyi plains, where you can spot lions, elephants, antelopes, and other wildlife.
Day 5: Chimpanzee Tracking and Boat Safari Start your day with chimpanzee tracking in the Kyambura Gorge. Trek through the forest in search of our closest primate relatives, the chimpanzees. In the afternoon, take a boat safari along the Kazinga Channel, which connects Lake Edward and Lake George. Marvel at the abundant wildlife, including hippos, crocodiles, buffalos, and a variety of bird species.
Day 6: Bwindi Impenetrable Forest Travel to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, a UNESCO World Heritage Site renowned for its population of endangered mountain gorillas. Enjoy a scenic drive through the beautiful landscape, passing terraced hills and small villages. Arrive in Bwindi in the afternoon and have some leisure time to prepare for the gorilla trekking experience.
Day 7: Gorilla Trekking in Bwindi Today is the highlight of your safari—an unforgettable gorilla trekking experience. Accompanied by experienced guides, venture into the dense forest in search of a gorilla family. Once you find them, spend a precious hour observing these magnificent creatures in their natural habitat. After the trek, return to your accommodation and reflect on the incredible encounter.
Day 8: Departure After breakfast, depart from Bwindi and drive back to Entebbe or Kampala. Depending on your flight schedule, you can explore some of the attractions around the city before your departure.
Please note that this itinerary is a general suggestion, and you can customize it based on your preferences, budget, and available time. It’s also important to book your safari through a reputable Uganda tour operator like Eco Adventure Safaris who can assist with logistics, permits, and ensure a safe and enjoyable experience in Uganda.
Here are the other Top Things to do on Uganda one-week Safari.
Primate tracking
Primate tracking is one of top Uganda safari activity to do in the new normal, Uganda is a home to various primate species including Mountain Gorillas, Chimpanzees, Golden Monkeys, among others. On this activity you will be able to explore various forests in search for the famous primates major activities include Gorilla trekking, Chimpanzee trekking and Golden monkey trekking. These are all done in a group of 8 tourists trekking a given family and during all treks COVID-19 preventive SOPS, new guidelines and measures will be followed to ensure safety and health of all tourists and the primates.
Gorilla Trekking in Uganda
Gorilla Trekking in Uganda on a low budget camping safari in Uganda is done in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park and Mgahinga Gorilla National Park, for you to be allowed to go for the gorilla trek you will need to have a gorilla permit which costs USD700 for the foreign non residents, USD600 for the East African Residents and USD70 for the East African Citizens, this gives you an opportunity to spend one hour encounter with the mountain gorillas. You can as well opt for a 4 hour encounter experience that is Gorilla Habituation which costs USD1500 per person per trek, this is gives an opportunity to spend more time with the Mountain Gorillas in Bwindi Forest National Park
Chimpanzee Trekking in Uganda
Chimpanzee tracking in Uganda is done in Kibale Forest National Park, Kyambura Gorge in Queen Elizabeth National Park, Kalinzu Forest and Budongo Forest close to Murchison Falls National Park. The chimpanzee tracking is done in the morning and afternoon and we can book for you the permits and organize this trek for you depending on the itinerary and timing of the activities. For the normal chimpanzee tracking, a Chimpanzee permit costs USD200 for the foreign non residents, USD150 for the residents and USD30 for the citizens this gives you one hour encounter with the chimpanzees. You can as well do the chimpanzee habituation experience which gives you a half day encounter with the chimpanzees; this is only done in Kibale Forest National Park
Golden Monkey Trekking
Golden Monkey tracking is only done in Mgahinga Gorilla National Park, Golden monkey tracking permit costs USD100 giving you an opportunity to spend one hour encounter with the Golden monkeys, then a Golden monkey habituation permit costs USD140 giving you 4 hour encounter with the Golden monkeys.
Gorilla Habituation Experience
Gorilla Habituation Experience is a gorilla activity done in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park that involves trekking/walking and hiking through the forest to search for semi-habituated mountain gorillas which leave together in a given gorilla family group but are not used to human presence, once you find them you will participate in activities geared to making these mountain gorillas get used to human presence. Gorilla Habituation Experience gives you an opportunity to spend much time with the mountain gorillas that is four hours encounter different from the one hour encounter during the normal gorilla tracking. This experience is unique given the fact it gives you an opportunity to learn more about mountain gorillas. It is done is a group of 4 visitors tracking a given semi-habituated gorilla group.
Wildlife viewing
You will be able to do various game drives in savannah national parks of Kidepo Valley National Park, Murchison Falls National Park, Lake Mburo National Park and Uganda’s most popular National park Queen Elizabeth National Park, wildlife to see includes tree climbing lions, Buffaloes, Elephants, warthogs, Giraffes, Zebras, Leopard, among others.
Experiential Tourism Activities
Experiential tourism activities is one of another item you should not miss including in your itinerary, these include lion tracking, Mongoose tracking, Hippo Census and Bird counts these are all done in Queen Elizabeth National Park. Depending on the time you have on your safari you will you do one of the activities which normally give you a great up-close experience with animals in their natural habitat.
Cultural experiences
Uganda is ranked among countries with most diverse cultures with more than 50 ethnic tribes and languages, you will be able to enjoy various cultural experience, you will be able to visit many communities in various national park part of your itinerary where the local community will share with you the hard experience of living near the park and how they have managed to co-exist peacefully with wildlife you will as well enjoy the cultural encounters and traditional dances.
Mountain Hiking and Cycling
Mountain Hiking and cycling is another amazing adventure activity that you can add onto your safari to Uganda. Uganda is a land of various hills, mountains and various highlands giving you a great opportunity for hiking activities and cycling. Mountains include Elgon, Rwenzori, Moroto, Sabinyo, Muhavura and Gahinga among others which are common for hiking.
Bird watching
With over 1000 recorded bird species in Uganda, Uganda is one of the best destinations for birding in Africa; it is home to various migrant birds and Albertine endemics with the Shoebill as one of the must see bird specie the major birding areas include Bwindi Forest, Mabamba swamp, Mubwindi swamp, Bigodi wetland and Kazinga Channel in Queen Elizabeth National Park among others many birds as well can be spotted during game drives in various national parks. Some of the Birds include, Collared pratincole, Palm-nut vulture, Pel’s fishing-owl, Rare Swamp flycatcher, Gray crowned crane(Uganda’s National bird), Giant Kingfisher, Giant Heron, Shoebill stork, Abyssinian Ground Hornbills, Nightjars, Marabou stork, Black headed lapwing, Back-bellied Bustard ,Swamp Fly catcher, Giant Heron, African Jacana, Secretary Bird among others.
Boat Safari excursions
With various lakes and rivers in Uganda boat trips and excursions is one of another top Uganda safari activity to do, Kazinga Channel in Queen Elizabeth National Park, River Nile Excursions to the top of the falls and the Delta give you an opportunity to enjoy wildlife up-close and various water animals in Murchison Falls National Park.
What is the best time to Visit Uganda
The best time for visiting Uganda is during the months of December to February and then June to October which is relatively drier than March to May and November. Uganda is crossed by the equator making it experience a modified equatorial type of climate with two rainy seasons and because of this people tend to associate drier seasons to be the best time to visit Uganda. This is true because when it is raining, it becomes hard to drive through the park for wildlife viewing because of the heavy rains that make the trails too slippery.
Why plan and book your Uganda one-week Safari with Eco Adventure Safaris
At Eco Adventure Safaris we are committed to the well-being of our staff and guests as well as to having a positive impact on the communities and wild places that our operations reach. Contact us here about planning and booking a Uganda one-week Safari.