This 8 days rafting, chimps, Rwenzori and gorilla safari is well spiced up for you. Start with rafting in Jinja along the mighty River Nile, then get down to Kibale National Park for a chimpanzee trekking tour. You will enjoy another great highlight of your tour with mountain Rwenzori hiking for 2 days before heading down to Bwindi Impenetrable for gorilla trekking.
In this well planned rafting, chimps, Rwenzori and gorilla safari you will get lasting memories of Uganda, the Pearl of Africa, with well selected budget lodge facilities.
Rwenzori and Gorilla Safari Itinerary:
Day 1: Arrival Entebbe Airport – Entebbe
Upon arrival at the airport, you will be warmly welcomed by the guide who will then take you to Entebbe Airport Guest House (budget end), for an overnight and dinner. Meal Plan: Dinner
Day 2: Rwenzori and Gorilla Safari: Entebbe – Jinja Full Day Rafting
Get on an early morning drive to Jinja for rafting and then continue for rafting after briefing from the guides and operators. Here, you can choose to raft in the paddle-powered boats for one of the wildest raft rides on the planet, or opt to be rowed downstream by a professional guide in the safety raft.
After buffet lunch, you will hit a series of more wild rapids and wind down the evening with BBQ snacks, after rafting. You will then return to Kampala.
Dinner and overnight stay at Forest Cottages Kampala (budget-end). Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner.
Day 3: Kampala – Kibale National Park
Leave Kampala after breakfast for the fascinating drive through papyrus swamps and thick jungle of the Nile Delta to Kibale National Park just below the Rwenzori Mountains. Get on an afternoon guided walk in the crater lakes area of the park for outstanding cultural visit. Meals and overnight stay at Chimpanzee Guest House (budget facility). Meal Plan: B L & D.
Day 4: Chimpanzee Trekking Kibale Forest National Park – Rwenzori Mountains
Enjoy a half day search for chimpanzees and 10 other primates including L’Hoest, red colobus, blues and red-tailed monkeys and grey-cheeked mangabeys. The guide will provide detailed explanations, not only on primates, but also on all the forest fauna and flora and will ensure that your walk is both informative and enjoyable. This walk is excellent for viewing birdlife and seeing primates at close quarters.
After lunch, you will drive to Rwenzori and arrive in the afternoon.
Dinner and overnight stay at the Ruboni Community Camp (budget facility). Meal Plan: breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Day 5: Nyakalengija 1,600m – Nyabitaba Hut 2,650m
From the Rwenzori Mountains National Park headqarters at Nyakalengija (1,646m), you will receive the briefing from the guides, with the possibility of hiring climbing equipment. The hike starts through the plantations and homes of the Bakonjo People, people of the mountain, gradually reaching garden plots and elephants grass. You will follow the Mobuku River and cross the Mahoma River.
The trail passes through an open bracken fern slopes and Podorcarpus Forest, up to Nyabitaba Hut, (2,652m), which is the arrival point for the day. This will take from 5 to 6 hours. From this location, you are facing the North of the portal peaks, 4.627m, that is in front of Mount Kyniangoma. During day, you might see monkeys, the Rwenzori Turaco and hear the sounds of chimpanzees.
Wilderness camping at the mountain with sleeping mats. Meal Plan: F/B
Day 6: Nyabitaba Hut 2,650m – Descend – Bwindi
Trek from Nyabitaba Hut as you descend to back to Nyakalengija. Descend steeply off the ridge and notice enter the warm rainforest. Look for the tropical forest birds and monkeys. After lunch, proceed to Bwindi via Queen Elizabeth National Park and here you may spot many wildlife including Elephants, Buffaloes, among others. This is the lushest highland rain forest on earth, filled with primates and exotic birds, valleys, hilltops and papyrus swamps.
Dinner and overnight stay at Buhoma Community Bandas (budget facility). Meal Plan: breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Day 7: Bwindi Gorilla Trekking – Rwenzori and Gorilla Safari
Begin the day with breakfast as you get ready for a gorilla trekking tour, which begins at 8:00am with briefing from Uganda Wildlife Authority staff. Ensure that you carry along with you a rain jacket, drinking water, snacks and jungle boots among others.
Guides will lead you inside the jungle to see the shy primates for a group you have been booked for. Do not forget to take your lunch boxes and all the necessary gear to track the rare mountain gorilla, which is perhaps one of the most exciting wildlife experiences on earth. Tracking may take between 2 to 6 hours but it’s well worth the effort.
The afternoon is spent on a village walk, so the Buhoma Village Walk gives you a great opportunity to see how the people surrounding Bwindi Impenetrable Forest live. It is also a great way to support the local community in a direct way. The walk begins with your guide at Buhoma Community Rest Camp and is more informative and rewarding to visitors. It will amaze you how resourceful the local people are as you see and learn their ways.
Dinner and overnight stay at Buhoma Community Bandas (budget facility). Meal Plan: breakfast, lunch and dinner
Day 8: Bwindi – Kampala/Entebbe
Return to Kampala, then Entebbe, with lunch en-route and stopover at Igongo Cultural Centre to explore the lifestyle of the Ankole and Bahima. Thereafter, you will proceed to Entebbe International Airport for your departure flight. Meal Plan: B & L
Rwenzori and Gorilla Safari Inclusions and Exclusions:
Includes
- Airport Transfers
- Rafting Full day
- Transportation by a 4 x 4 Safari Vehicle
- One Gorilla permit per person
- One Chimpanzee permit in Kibale
- Hiking Mountain Rwenzori
- Community walks Bwindi
- Crater Tour Kibale
- Accommodation and meals as per the Itinerary and while on the mountain
- Igongo Cultural Centre visit
- Park fees
- Driver/guide subsistence allowance.
- Enroute lunches
- Ranger guide fees
Excludes
- Expenses of personal nature like drinks, laundry, tips, telephone and cigars,
- Hire of mountain hiking equipment