16 Days Uganda

Half Day Chimpanzee Trekking

After breakfast, transfer to the Park offices to meet your Chimpanzee tracking Guide/Ranger. Following a pre-tracking briefing, you drive to the trailhead for the start of an unforgettable adventure – hiking in the footsteps of the big habituated family of chimpanzees, over 120 strong, that has made Kibale the foremost tourism destination in Uganda. 

Upon sighting the chimpanzees, you will stay with them for one unforgettable hour as they go about their daily life – growling, grooming, barking, feeding, taking care of their young; agilely climbing up trees and dropping off like thuds before disappearing like they were spirits all over and around you. Hike back to the trailhead to re-join your Driver/guide and return to the lodge for a well deserved shower and lunch.

Half Day Bigodi Swamp Walk

Head out to the Bigodi Swamp Walk, an initiative of the local community. The Bigodi Swamp is known for its rich
diversity of birds and primates. The path and board walk maybe flooded and muddy after heavy rainfall and gumboots are recommended.

Approximately – 385km/6hrs drive

After an early breakfast depart for Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park, home of the
endangered mountain gorillas. En route you will pass the vast savannah plains of Queen Elizabeth
National Park where you will go in search of the tree climbing lions. Enjoy a picnic lunch en route before finally reaching Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park, for an overnight in the middle of the African jungle.

Half day Gorilla Tracking 

Following breakfast, transfer to the park offices where participants are divided into groups of 8 and allocated a gorilla family as well as a tracking guide. Please remember to bring your passport for registration, appropriate water proof hiking boots and a light rain coat. After a pre-tracking briefing by your guide, you drive to the trailhead for the start of your thrilling adventure – participants can expect to walk long distances in steep and sometimes muddy conditions with rain overhead, which can be tough and require a degree of fitness. Granted, the time taken can be quite unpredictable taking anything from 2 to 8hrs or longer however the thrill of coming face to face with a giant Mountain Gorilla silverback will more than compensate for the effort in your quest. Upon sighting the gorillas, you spend the allowed one hour with them as they go about their daily life. Afterwards, you hike back to base where your Driver will be waiting to transfer you to the lodge for a well deserved shower and lunch or dinner depending on the time taken on the trek.

Half Day Batwa Cultural Experience

In the morning, you will be taken to visit the Batwa – enjoy the walk in the forest as you prepare to meet the Batwa who have a lot in stock for you.

As the original dwellers of this ancient jungle, the Batwa were known as “The Keepers of the Forest”. The history of these small-statured people is long and rich. The Batwa survived by hunting small game using arrows or nets and gathering plants and fruit in the rain forest. They lived in huts constructed of leaves and branches, moving frequently in search of fresh supplies of food. The Batwa lived in harmony with the forest and its creatures, including the mountain gorillas, for millennia. Some anthropologists estimate that pygmy tribes such as the Batwa have existed in the equatorial forests of Africa for 60,000 years or more.

Half day Munyaga Waterfall hike

On the Munyaga waterfall hike you will explore the mysteries of Bwindi, its plants, trees, monkeys, butterflies, and unique birds  – it is always amazing what one encounters along this trail. It is a guided trail and one of the most popular ones, you will be sure to meet a lot of local residents. Your guide will point out things to you that you might not notice or miss and it is guaranteed to be an enriching part of your time in the Buhoma region of the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest.

Approximately – 250km/5-6hrs drive (including the one hour stop at the boarder) 

Transfer to Kigali from Bwindi National Park via the cyanika boarder post between Rwanda and Uganda. After clearing customs, continue to Rwanda with lunch enroute.

Check in your hotel for overnight

Transfer to Kigali Airport for your direct flight with Auric Air to the Central Serengti Airstrip.

Arrive at Seronera Airstrip in the early afternoon. You will be warmly received by your professional driver guide who will assist you with your luggage to the safari vehicle. Enjoy a little bit of afternoon game drive activity before heading to Matawi Camp for dinner and overnight.

After breakfast, go for a full day of game viewing and photo safari in Serengeti National Park which is as big as Northern Ireland. It is the greatest game sanctuary in the World, fantastic in its natural beauty and unequalled in its scientific value. Serengeti contains about 4 million different types of animals including the big cats, lions, leopards, cheetah as well as many elephants and buffalo. 

Return to Matawi Camp in the afternoon. 

Spend another day exploring the Central Serengeti, also considered the predator capital of Africa.

Depart the camp with packed lunch and drive towards the Ngorongoro Conservation Area with game drive en route. Check into Ndutu Safari Lodge for dinner and your overnight stay.

You will spend the day game viewing around the Ndutu area. Consisting mainly of sweeping grasslands, the Ndutu area in the northern part of the Ngorongoro Conservation area joins the Serengeti. As such, it forms part of the annual migratory route of hundreds of thousands of wildebeest, zebra, antelope and their predators who come to graze and calve between November and March, depending on the rains. The forests around Lake Ndutu and small kopjes are also home to prolific resident wildlife. Enjoy picnic lunch in in the park and return to Ndutu Safari Lodge in the later afternoon.

Enjoy another day game viewing and explore this game rich area.

After breakfast, depart from Nduti Safari Lodge and drive to the Ngorongoro Crater.

Ngorongoro Crater is oval in shape, extends over an area of 300sq km and is 610m deep. The Crater is a repository of Africa’s finest wildlife. All the big five are present, living a privileged existence on the Crater floor and so placid you can move right among them. Enjoy a nice picnic lunch whilst in the Crater. Later in the afternoon, ascend from the Crater and drive to Karatu to check in to Gibb’s Farm Lodge.

Today after breakfast, leave on foot, directly from your cottage on a two-hour walking safari through the forested slopes of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. Discover towering waterfalls and the incredible elephant caves created by elephants digging through dense rock with their tusks to ingest the vitamin-rich soil.

Return to Gibb’s Fram for lunch and an afternoon of relaxation.
 

After breakfast, depart from the lodge and drive to Kilimanjaro International Airport for your flight home.