Jinja ‘the adventure capital of Uganda’

Jinja ‘the adventure capital of Uganda’

Jinja is the industrial and tourist heart beat of Uganda with an attractively lush location on the northern shores of lake Victoria above the Ripon falls identified by Speke in 1862 as the source of the Nile but submerged following the construction of the Owen falls dam.

The adventure capital is known for the source of the Nile Africa’s longest river, the seat of the Busoga Kingdom, numerous hotels and resorts, the Nile high bang jumping, white water rafting, Bujagali falls, Bujagali shrine, art centres, plantations and industries.

Activities during the tour expect to visit Mabira forest for forest walk, Ssezibwa Falls and plantations for those interested in agritourism as stopovers. In Jinja you will visit Endowoza Art center, scenic view of Bujagali falls and the source of the Nile, Nile riverboat ride, birding.

Other option activities will include horse riding, Kayaking, Bungee jumping, white water rafting, quad biking, cycling and mountain biking.

Wellcome to The Pearl of Africa Uganda, Rwanda and DR Congo +Tailor made and flexible tours across the Uganda, Rwanda and DR Congo with a dedicated guides drivers who knows the best places to visit and stay

Wellcome to Uganda , The Pearl of Africa

Tailor made and flexible tours across the Uganda, Rwanda and DR Congo with a dedicated guides drivers who knows the best places to visit and stay.

Visit Uganda and Rwanda top tourist attractions with the comfort and experience of Kisoro Tours Uganda dedicated team of experts, always ready and willing to take you an extra mile.

Guaranteed Flexible Group Departure tours

In order for us to be competitive in the market given the current status of the economy, we came up with special group programs with the best low rates ever, These trips will still run at the same price even if there are only 2 people on safari and clients can also have the luxury of their own dates of travel.

Choose from either saloon cars, 4x4’s Mini buses and Landcruisers depending on you destination or size of group.

GORILLA TRACKING: BWINDI IMPENTRABLE NATIONAL PARK

3days 2nights

A day to remember in life time: trekking the Mountain Gorillas

Day 1 cross the Equator, pass villages bananas and tea plantations to Bwindi (9 hours)

Day 2 The day has come: briefing early morning then trek the Gorillas

Day 3 Say bye to the spectacular rainforest head back Kampala

Tariffs: $ 1350pp for 3days, $1540pp for 4days

$1790pp for 5days (minimum 2people)

QUEEN ELIZABETH NATION PARK

3days/2nights

A great weekend popular safari

Day 1 Cross the Equator, lunch en route, great rift valley, enjoy on evening game drive

Day 2 Early morning game drive and afternoon fabulous boat cruise to see hippos, birds, sundowner

Day 3 Track Chimpanzees in Kyambura gorge. Drive back to Kampala

Tariffs: $630pp for 3days, 995 for 4days

(minimum 2people)

MURCHISION FALLS NATIONAL PARK

Ugandan most popular safari

Day 1 Scenic drive to Murchison Falls with a visit to Zziwa Rhino sanctuary, lunch break in Masindi Town

Day 2 Scenic game drive in morning, Enjoy a boat cruise on the placid Victoria Nile, up stream to the base of the Falls, hike to the top of the Falls to see the rainbow created by water plunging 40meters through a 7-meterconyon

Day 3 Return to Kampala with excellent bird watching and primates galore at pabidi forest

Tariffs,$493pp for 2days $765pp for 3day $985pp for 4days (minimum 2people)

KIBALE NATIONAL PARK

A home to 13 types of primates: Chimpanzee Tracking

Day 1 Start from Kampala, the landscape is packed with beautiful crater lakes with tea plantation and tropic forest of Kibale National park.

Day 2 Early morning briefing then track Chips, Kibale forest is a home to 13 types primates including Chimpanzee and Red Colobus and 355 bird species.

Day 3 Drive back to Kampala through beautiful landscape with stopover for lunch in Mubende Town

Tariffs: $497pp for 2day, $782pp for 3day (minimum 2people)

LAKE MBURO NATIONAL PARK

Game Viewing and Horseback safaris

Day 1 Depart by road to Lake Mburo National Park (the drive will take approximately 3-4 hours). You will have a stopover to look at and stand at the Equator for a photographic opportunity and also listen to some few interesting facts. Continue to Lake Mburo National Park, After checking in at your accommodation and having lunch, you will take a late afternoon boat trip or a dugout canoe.

Day 2 Take an early morning game drive through the park in search of plain game like zebra, hippos, crocodiles, eland, antelope, impala and a variety of birds. You will return to your accommodation for breakfast after go for Horseback safari

Day 3 In the morning after breakfast it’s the park exploration there after we will travel back to Kampala and have lunch there.

Meet The Local People

Meet the local people and spend days with them, have a meal together, visit a schools or a typical African Church Ceremony, or visit one of the projects. Kisoro Tours Uganda supports the local people and we encourage our clients to visit some of our community programs and give them support.

Kisoro Tours Uganda donates $5per client to our community Programs

Kisoro Tours Uganda Community Best Tourism

Kisoro Tours Uganda is working together with Beekeeping projects, coffee farmers, Community local primary schools, Vocational Training Project and Community Based Tourism. This unique combination gives the opportunity to meet the local people of Uganda and visit local tribes. It’s not a treasure to see Uganda without meeting the local people, so shape your safari with local people!

ASK ABOUT OTHER DAY TRIPS

Kampala city tour

Entebbe full day tour

Jinja/Source of the Nile full day tour

Fishing, Birding and Horse Riding full day

Golfing and Tennis

White Water Rafting full day tour

Ssesse Island tour

Bungee Jumping

Equator with Mabamba full day tour

Ngamba Island full day tour

Zziwa Rhino Sanctuary full day tour

LONGER TOUR SUGGESTIONS

3 days Ssesse Island Explore

4 days Bwindi and Queen Elizabeth National park

4 days Gorilla and Chimp Tracking in Rwanda

5 days Uganda Gorilla and Wildlife Safari

7 days Uganda wildlife and Chimp Tracking Safari

10 Days Ruwenzori Mountain hiking

10 Day Uganda Birding Safari Bird Watching in Uganda

12 Day Uganda Primate and Wildlife Safari

14 Days Bird Watching and Primate Safari in Uganda

14 Days Uganda Purely Primate and Gorilla Tracking in Uganda

17 Days Discover Uganda

RWANDA Safaris

Rwanda is landlocked Country in Central Africa also known as the land of a thousand hills. Rwanda has five Volcanoes, twenty three lakes and numerous rivers, some forming the Source of the River Nile.

The Country lies 75 miles south of the Equator in the Tropic of Capricon , 880 miles as the crow flies west of the Indian Ocean and 1,250 miles east of the Atlantic Ocean literally in the heat of Africa Rwanda with a land area of 26,33km2,is bordered by Uganda to the North, Tanzania to the East Burundi to the South and the Democratic Republic of Congo to the West.

TOUR SUGGESTIONS IN RWANDA

3 days Gorilla Tracking tour

3 Days Rwanda Chimp Tracking Safaris

4 Days Gorilla and Chimp Tracking in Rwanda

4 Days Gorillas and Golden Monkey Tracking in Rwanda

7 Days Rwanda Chimps and Gorillas

10 Day Experience in Rwanda Tour

3 Day Gorilla Safari +Golden Monkey Tracking Rwanda, Price Budget, Mind Range and Luxury

3 Day Gorilla Safari +Golden Monkey Tracking Rwanda, Price Budget, Mind Range and Luxury

3 Days Rwanda Safari, Gorilla Tracking

On your 3 day Gorilla safari in Rwanda, you will be delighted to visit Volcanoes National Park. Parc National des Volcans has an amazing tourism view; you actually enjoy nature at its best. As you adventure with the gorillas, trekking will be done in the volcanoes adjacent to the border of Rwanda along with the Democratic Republic of Congo. Hiking through the lush rainforest in search for gorillas will be existing. Visit Rwanda for an adventurous safari.

Day 1: Kigali City tour and transfer to Volcanoes National park.

From Kanombe airport in Kigali, you will be welcomed by our own guide who will gladly take you for a city tour. On arrival, you will be mesmerized by the natural beauty of Rwanda the land of thousands hills. It’s such a clean city with hospitable people who will be warmly happy to receive you. The first spot that tourists visit when on a city tour in Rwanda is the genocide memorial museum; it has information about how this war started. You continue visiting the national museum and other attractive sites in the city. You will enjoy an adventurous drive through the terraced hills as you access the Volcanoes National Park. It’s a famous home for the great mountain gorillas. Our Accommodation ranges from luxury, moderate as well as budget, whichever you decide to choose, you will enjoy a comfortable stay in the wilderness. Dinner and overnight.

Luxury Accommodation: Mountain Gorilla View Lodge

Moderate Accommodation: Le Bambou Gorilla Lodge

Budget Accommodation: Muhabura Hotel/Kinigi Guest House

Day 2: Gorilla tracking and afternoon Nature walk/Cultural walk.

Have a lovely breakfast in the morning and proceed to the headquarters for briefing about the gorillas and meeting the park rangers. The experience is exhilarating as you get ready to hike through the jungle in search for the gorillas. Some level of physical fitness is required as you head out to track the gorillas; this is because you ought climb the hills in order to catch a glance at them. The experience is tiresome but amazing when you confront the great mountain gorillas. You will see them in groups as they do their daily routine work, mothers feeding their young ones, playing, feeding and some resting.

The local people will be happy to entertain you and get more information about their lives. After a wonderful evening, you return to your lodge for dinner and rest.

Luxury Accommodation: Mountain Gorilla View Lodge

Moderate Accommodation: Le Bambou Gorilla Lodge

Budget Accommodation: Muhabura Hotel/Kinigi Guest House

Day 3: Golden Monkey tracking and transfer back to Kigali.

Have breakfast early morning and proceed for golden monkey tracking, this is another existing moment. Prior to meeting the golden monkeys, you will see other primates, fauna and flora.

Finally get face to face with the beautiful golden monkeys. You will see them play as they jump from one branch of tree to the other; all this will be amazing and memorable for your safari. Drive back to Kigali and if you still have time, you can visit some craft shops and buy for yourself a souvenir. Continue to the airport for your flight and say farewell to Rwanda.

COST PER PERSON SHARING

Budget USD, 1345 per person

Midrange USD, 1455 per person

Luxury USD, 1571 per person

Exploring DR Congo with Kisoro Tours Uganda

Exploring DR Congo with Kisoro Tours Uganda

Rich in natural resources and staggering beauty, the Congo’s recent history has been a long and tragic struggle that in many ways can be traced back to that first exploratory river journey made by Stanley back in 1874.

Known as Zaire until 1997, the Democratic Republic of the Congo is Africa’s third largest country. The country had been the private kingdom of the Belgium King Leopold II for over 20 years, before pressure from other European powers, in particular Great Britain, forced the Belgian parliament to declare the territory a Belgium colony in 1908. European involvement in the Congo was largely one of brutality and exploitation and in 1960 a growing nationalist movement under Patrice Lumumba gained independence, paving the way for what many hoped would be a democratic future for the old Belgian colony.

Independence however was followed by internal struggle and civil unrest, until a 1965 coup saw Mobuto Sese Seko seize power. Decades of corruption and political repression then saw Mobuto himself overthrown in 1997, but only for the Congolese to see their country enter a protracted conflict involving neighbouring Rwanda and Uganda.

Today the Congo still has plenty of problems. However there are areas, particularly running along the banks and tributaries of the mighty Mountain Gorillas, Lowland Gorillas, face the active lava of Nyiragongo, Congo River to mention few that offer the adventurous traveller some true off-the-beaten-track encounters. As usual Kisoro Tours Uganda are trail-blazing hot these new routes.

MOUNTIAN GORILLA GUIDELINES WHILE TRACKING GORILLAS IN UGANDA

MOUNTIAN GORILLA GUIDELINES WHILE TRACKING GORILLAS IN UGANDA

Rules and guidelines while tracking mountain gorillas have been carefully developed to try to protect the mountain gorillas’ health and safety. As mentioned previous, Gorillas are extremely susceptible to human diseases and infections, and become stressed if too many visitors arrive or approach too closely. Remember that they are wild individuals, and very protective of their young. To remain healthy and survive these apes need to be undisturbed by visitors, and allowed to eat, rest and socialize with their own species.

If a tourist is ill, the park Staff have the right to refuse a visit to gorillas.

WHY: To protect the great Apes from contracting an illness or disease. Only one visit is allowed per day and the number of tourists is limited to eight per group.

WHY: To minimize behavioural disturbance, stress and possible risk of infection,Visitors must be at least fifteen years old.

WHY: To minimize risk of exposing Gorillas to childhood diseases (e.g. Mumps, Chickenpox Measles) and cold or Flu viruses.

The time spent with great Apes is limited to one hour.

WHY: To minimize behavioural disturbance, stress and possible risk of infection,Flash photographic is not permitted.

WHY: It can upset or frighten Gorillas and may provoke an aggressive reaction or charge.

All visitors must remain at least seven meters away from Gorillas at times. If the great apes approach to two or three meters (as curious juveniles sometimes do), then visitors should slowly retreat back to five meters. If this is not possible, then the visitors will be asked to remain where they are. The guide’s instructions should be followed at all times. Keep your backpack and other items in places where young Gorillas can’t approach and investigate them.

WHY: To minimize disease transmission, stress and behavioural disturbance, to reduce the chance of possible future aggression towards tourists; and to prevent the Gorillas becoming too habituated to humans.

Tourists should remain in a tight group, without spreading out or surrounding the great apes.

WHY: This allows the apes plenty of room to move where they want to, without felling threatened (which may provoke a charge).

Where possible, visitors should sit or crouch whilst watching the Gorillas.

WHY: It can be very intimidating or threatening to Gorillas if you stand taller than they are, and stare. Standing biped ally is part of the great apes’ threat or aggressive displays. Body language is important , and visitors should not raise hands or arms, or point, nor stare at them.

WHY: To gorillas there behaviours are signs of threat or aggression. Visitors should not clear vegetation close to Gorillas so that they get a better view.

WHY: This can disturb or frighten the Gorillas. The guides will clear away vegetation, if it is possible and necessary If a silverback gorilla beat his chest, displays or charges at you, do not run away. Tourist guides are asked to stop tourists from moving or running.

WHY: Although a charge may be frightening, the safest thing to do is remain quietly where you are.

Eating, drinking and smoking are not permitted near the Gorillas, nor within 200 meters of them.

WHY: The behaviours could distract them and cause problems if they approach out of curiosity. Food and other remains can be a source of infection.

Visitors should be as quiet as possible, and whisper. If bitten by Safari ants or struck by stinging nettle, do not scream.

WHY: To minimize behavioural disturbance and avoid frightening and avoid frightening gorillas. Newly habituated gorillas may be afraid to come anywhere near noisy tourists, and if gorillas are already present, they may leave.

If you, the tourist, need to sneeze or cough, turn away from the great apes and try to cover your nose and mouth.

WHY: To minimize the spread of airborne bacteria or viruses that you might unknowingly be carrying.

All faucal materials must be buried. A machete may be borrowed from guides, a thirty centimetre (ten inch) hole dug and then the hole filled.

WHY: Fasces can be highly infectious to great apes and other animals.All rubbish must be removed from the park, and visitors are asked to be particularly careful not to drop small items, such as, film boxes / canisters, tissues or handkerchiefs.

WHY: Apart from being unsightly, rubbish can interest animals, can cause problems if swallowed, and can be a source of germ or disease transmission.

Face the active lava of Nyiragongo (3 days / 2 nights)

Face the active lava of Nyiragongo (3 days / 2 nights)

Day 1

Arrival at Kigali International Airport and transfer to Goma –Congo on a smooth road through the beautiful hilly Rwanda’s countryside. Overnight: Goma.

Day 2

Breakfast followed by the transfer to Virunga national park office for the briefing and start ascending the active volcano. Hiking will take 3 or 4 hours depending on your fitness. Overnight: Tents on the top of the volcano.

Day 3

Descend the volcano after your morning tea and arrive Goma town for lunch, Afternoon transfer to Kigali-Rwanda for your onward flight.

5 DAY UGANDA GORILLA AND WHITE WATER RAFTING. (BUDGET SAFARI)

5 DAY UGANDA GORILLA AND WHITE WATER RAFTING. (BUDGET SAFARI)

Day 1:Entebbe\Kampala to Jinja.

You will be picked up by our guide who will drive you to Jinja for the magnificent Uganda adventure experience. On your way have a stopover at the Sezibwa falls-the cultural site well known for its spectacular falls. According to the local beliefs the river is known to have been born by humans. Visit the Mabira Forest, the largest remaining tropical rain forest in Central Uganda and then proceed to Jinja. After lunch , you will have a brief drive through the historical Jinja town, explore the source of the Nile by taking a boat ride to the source of the Nile, go for souvenir shopping from the gift shops.

Meal plan: Breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Lodges: 2 friends Guesthouse\Sunset Guesthouse.

Drive time: 2hours.

Day 2: Rafting and Transfer back to Kampala.

After breakfast, go for a full day adventure of white water rafting. Enjoy the most thrilling white water rafting at different grade stages in the morning. The white water rafting begins at the Source of the Nile with a comprehensive briefing and the fitting of lifejackets and helmets. The rafting is done on an 18 kilometer stretch of the Nile River. The first few rapids are low grade (1,2) and gives you a sense of confidence. As the river meanders through beautiful scenery, the rafts are guided into the mighty challenges of the best “grade 5” rapids on the Nile. Eight major rapids are rafted plus lower graded runs to maximize the adrenaline rush of this adventure. Return to Kampala\ Entebbe reaching late evening for overnight.

Meal plan: Breakfast and lunch.

Lodge: Airport Guest House\African Roots Guest House.

Drive time: 2hours.

Day3: Transfer to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park.

After early breakfast, you will depart from Entebbe\Kampala by road and head south-West to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park. Have a stopover for some informative talk and photographic opportunity and some experiment at the Equator and then continue to Mbarara for Lunch. Travel through the rolling green hills of Banana and Tea plantations and head to the National Park

.

Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner.

Lodge: Buhoma community Rest camp

Drive time: 9-10 hours.

Day 04: Gorilla Trekking

Early morning, breakfast with your packed lunch, you will report to the Park headquarters for registration and join other trackers in a briefing about the dos and the don’ts during your Gorilla Tracking at 7:45 am. You will trek through thick creepers and undergrowth with your guides to find the Gorillas, which can take you half an hour to three quarters of the day. The steeply forested landscape is incredibly dense but crisscrossed by numerous animal trails allowing access to tourists. It is an extraordinary feeling being with these beautiful yet endangered Creatures.

Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner.

Lodge: Buhoma community Rest camp

Day 05: Transfer back to Kampala\Entebbe.

After an early morning breakfast, you will drive back to Kampala\ Entebbe International Airport for your flight out late in the evening.

Meal plan: Breakfast and lunch.

Lodge: Airport Guest House\African Roots Guest House.

Drive time 9-10hours.

BWINDI GORILLA TREK- 9 DAYS GORILLA AND WILDLIFE GROUP TOUR

BWINDI GORILLA TREK

9DAYS GORILLA AND WILDLIFE GROUP TOUR

Day one: Arrivel for your gorilla trekking tour

We pick you up from Entebbe International Airport upon arrival, meet and greet with your guide who will advise you on changing some money as you need some local currency. He will help you carry your luggage to the vehicle and then drive for approximately 30 minutes to your accommodation at Central Inn Entebbe. This night is booked on bed and breakfast due arrival time. Should you arrive early, take an optional visit to Botanical Gardens, Uganda Wildlife Education Center or Ngamba Island Chimpanzee Sanctuary located approximately 23 km in Lake Victoria. This Island is home to orphaned chimpanzee that have been rescued from animal traffickers and are un able go back to their natural habitats and are thus kept on this Island. You visit will help save these close cousins of ours. Overnight at Entebbe Central Inn on Bed and Breakfast.

Day Two: Kibale Forest National Park

Our journeys starts with an early breakfast at the guest house. We drive through Entebbe to Kampala, sometimes you might encounter traffic jam as this is rush rush hour. From Entebbe to Kampala, the journey takes you through suburbs of Uganda and you get to see the real lifestyle of Ugandans. After you have beaten this traffic jam, you will drive to western Uganda through Mityana, Masindi and some other several small towns to reach Fort Portal town. The journey is punctuated with great sightseeing, tea plantations, changes in vegetation, and rolling hills.

This drive is approximately 5-6 hours and you may take with you packed lunch or have it in Fortportal town. This night will be spent at Mountain of the Moon and all meals are included-Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner.

Day Three: Chimpanze Trekking and Wetland Walk

This day is for exploring one of the best places to view primates in Uganda. After breakfast, we will drive for approximately 30 km to Kibale Forest National Park headquarters in time for briefing. You will join other trekkers for briefing conducted by Uganda Wildlife Authority guide. He/she will take you through a session that will introduce you to types and species of birds, primates, insects, plants and other attractions in this forest that harbors over 1000 chimpanzees, and other 11 species of primates. He will also take you through the dos and don’ts while with chimpanzees. With your walking stick, you will start your walk to the forest and once you encounter chimpanzee, you will be allowed one hour of viewing and photography. Chimpanzees live in communities of about 150 individuals which then separate into parties during day. Each party is trekked by a maximum of 6 people.

After your chimpanzee tracking, we will go for a lunch break and then proceed to Bigodi wetland for a walk. All our itineraries emphasize walking and visiting community projects around protected areas. This walk not only enables you contribute to community development but it also enables you view several bird species and other primate species that you could have missed in Kibale forest Nationap Park. We will then drive back to mountains of the moon for Dinner and overnight. Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner included.

Day Four: Transfer to Queen Elizabeth National Park

We will have break at leisure and then drive to Queen Elizabeth National Park. This drive is punctuated with great site seeing as from Fort Port to Kasese, you enjoy great views of Mountain Rwenzori ranges all the way through. Chances of viewing the snow capes are slim but you will view the ranges. This drive takes you through small towns, farms located on the rift valley floor, crossing several rivers that originate from the melting snow on top of mountain Rwenzori. After Kasese, you drive past the Equator and then to Queen Elizabeth National Park. This distance of approximately 140 km is driven in 3-4 hours. As part of our community campaign, this day will be spent in Katwe where you will visit Katwe salt lake and mines to observe how the local communities are exploiting resources within the National Park for their survival.

This community visit is conducted by one of the resident community guide who explains how salt is mined how all proceeds are geared towards community development. Queen Elizabeth National Park is one of the few conservation areas where wildlife and human beings are co-existing in harmony. We will then drive to Bush Lodge or Similar for Dinner and overnight as lunch will be served en route.

Day Five: Morning Game drive and evening boat cruise on Kazinga Channel

Queen Elizabeth National Park is the second largest conservation area after Murchison Falls National Park and thus a game drive to the grasslands of Kasenyi is rewarding. Depending on the luck of the day, you may have an opportunity to view cats hunting, buffaloes, elephants, hippos, among others. After your game drive, you will drive back to your lodge for breakfast and some relaxation. After lunch, you will drive to Mweya Peninsula which is the starting point for a two hour boat cruise on Kazinga Channel. Kazinga channel boat is the highlight of all activities in Queen Elizabeth National Park and boasts of over 600 species of birds and has the highest concentration of hippos in the whole world. An informative talk from your guide is truly rewarding. Photography of wildlife is excellent as chances of viewing wildlife on this channel is more higher compared to game drives in this part of the National Park. Drive back to Bush Lodge or similar for Dinner and overnight.

Day six: Transfer to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park

You may go for an optional chambura gorge walk this morning. Chimpanzee permits for Chambura are at USD50.00 per trek. We advice that this activity is organized on ground as this is a group tour. If there is no body interested in Chambura Gorge walk, then you will drive to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park a journey that takes approximately 4-5 hours drive. Enjoy your lunch en route or at the Silver Back Lodge. Spend the rest of the evening relaxing as you prepare for your gorilla trekking exercise the next day. Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner included.

Day Seven: Gorilla Trekking and community walk

Today is the time for the long awaited gorilla trekking exercise. After breakfast and with your packed lunch, you will walk to the park headquarters of Bwindi. Approximately 720 mountain gorillas are remaining on this planet earth and half of these are resident in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park while the rest are in the Virunga Ranges which are shared between Uganda, Rwanda and the Republic of Congo so conservation of these endangered primates species is a responsibility of all of us. The Uganda Wildlife Authority guide will brief you on how to behave while you are with the gorillas. After briefing, you will head to your trail head depending on the gorilla permit you will be holding to start your trek into the forest. Gorilla trekking can be strenuous and thus requires a certain degree of fitness for you to enjoy this dream activity in the jungles of Africa. Once you encounter these rare species, you will spend one hour with them and there after you will walk or drive back to your lodge for dinner and overnight.

Time allowing and if you return early from gorilla trekking, you will go for the famous Buhoma Village walk that starts from Buhoma Community Rest Bandas.

This two hour walk takes you through the village of Buhoma where communitymembers are always glad to show case their way of Living, to take you to their medicinal man, banana and tea plantation and you will have a chance to visit the Batwa who once upon a time used to live in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest before it was gazatted as a National Park. They will dance for you and tell you their forest stories and how they used to survive in the forest. Return to the lodge for dinner and overnight at Silver Back Lodge. All meals included

Day Eight: Transfer to lake Mburo National Park

After your breakfast, we drive through the hilly Kigezi region to Mbarara town for a lunch and then to Mburo National Park.

It is approximately 6-7 hours drive from Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. This small National Park is popularly known for having the only population of impalas in Uganda, and other wildlife which include Zebras, buffaloes, Uganda Kobs among others. We utilize Lake Mburo National Park not as a wildlife germ but as a stopover from the gorillas to break the long drive. You will enjoy an evening boat cruise on lake mburo which is a one of the very few down warped lakes in Uganda. You will then retire to Mantana Tented Camp for Dinner and overnight with all meals included.

Day Nine: Drive to Entebbe International Airport

After an en route morning game drive, we will drive back to Entebbe with stops at the Equator and then proceed to the Airport for check in depending on your flight out details. Breakfast and Lunch is included. The drive time is approximately 5-6 hours.

End of service

PRICE PER PERSON IN A GIVEN GROUP

PRICE PER PERSON IN A GROUP OF 2 PEOPLE USD2890.00

PRICE PER PERSON IN A GROUP OF 3 PEOPLE USD2520.00

PRICE PER PERSON IN A GROUP OF 4 PEOPLE USD2335.00

SINGLE ROOM SUPPLIMENT USD450.00

PRICE INCLUDES:

Airport pick up and transfer on arrival and departure, transport in a 4x4 vehicle, Services of an English Speaking driver guide, Park Entry fees to Kibale National Park, Queen Elizabeth National Park, Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and Lake Mburo National Park, Boat cruise on Kazinga Channel in Queen Elizabeth National Park and Lake Mburo National Park, Two Game drives in Queen Eliazbeth National Park, Bigodi wetland walk and Buhoma Village walk, Drinking water in the vehicle.

PRICE EXCLUDES:

Air Tickets, Drinks outside the vehicle, tips and any expenses of personal nature, gorilla permits for Bwindi Impenetrable National Park each at USD600.00 per person per trek, Chimpanzee permit at Kibale National Park each at USD150.00 per person and Chambura Chimp and Gorge walk at USD50.00 per person, visits to UWEC and Ngamba Island.

8 Days Uganda Wildlife & Chimp Trekking Safari

Day 1: Arrival and transfer to Kampala

One of our company representatives will pick you from the airport. Transfer to Kampala at a hotel of your choice for dinner and overnight.

Day 2: Kampala –Murchison Falls National Park

Depart Kampala early morning taking a panoramic drive north-west through the famous Luwero Triangle. Stop over at the Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary. Opened up in 1998, the Rhino fund aims at re introducing black and white Rhinos in to Uganda’s protected areas as well as educating the local communities on endangered Rhinos, poaching and environmental conservation. The Rhino trek takes 1-2 hours and you will get an opportunity of viewing them at close quarters. Have a lunch stop in Masindi and continue on to the top of the falls. Proceed to accommodation of your choice for dinner and overnight.

Day 3: Murchison Falls National Park

Early morning game drive to search for giraffes, lions, hart beasts, elephants, cape buffalo and many other mammals. Birds include the Black Chested Snake Eagle, Blue Napped Mousebirds, the Secretary bird, Swallow Tailed Bee-eaters and the Silver Headed Agama. After lunch, enjoy a boat ride on the placid Victoria Nile to the foot of the magnificent Murchison Falls where the Nile plunges through a narrow crevice . Disembark from your boat and take a 45 minutes hike to the gorge where the river explodes in to several cascades to form the falls. Dinner and overnight stay .

Day 4: Murchison Falls National Park– Kibale Forest National park

Take a scenic drive on to fort portal town, proceed to accommodation of your choice for dinner and overnight.

Day 5: Kibale Forest National Park - Queen Elizabeth National park

This is a day of great expereince ; chimpanzee trekking in Kibale Forest. Early morning walk in Kibale Forest to track the habituated chimps. Watch the delightful apes as they squabble and play in trees. Have an early lunch at the lodge and drive through the foot hills of Rwenzori ranges on to Queen Elizabeth National park. Dinner and overnight stay at accommodation of your choice.

Day 6: Queen Elizabeth National park

Get up ready 6.30 for a morning game drive. The park’s diverse ecosystem of grassy plains, tropical forest, rivers, swamps, lakes and volcanic craters is home to an incredible abundance of wildlife. Look out for buffaloes, lions, elephants and other wild life in their natural habitat. Return to the lodge for a late breakfast. After lunch go for the afternoon launch cruise on the Kazinga Channel. This is a home of a variety of water birds and on a hot day, hippos, elephants, buffaloes and waterbucks can be sighted as they bathe and drink water at the water edge. Crocodiles are occasionally sighted along the channel banks. Dinner and overnight stay.

Day 7: Queen Elizabeth National Park – Lake Mburo National Park

Have an optional visit to Katwe salt lake. Take note of how salt is mined using traditional methods. Continue to Lake Mburo National Park with a stop over for lunch in Mbarara town and game driver in the evening game drive, diner and overnight at Rwakobo Rock

Day 8 Lak Mburo National Park

Early morning go for game drive and enjoy the rich biodiversity including large herds of zebra, impala, gigantic eland, topis and a variety of bird species. Return to your accommodation for breakfast after transfer to Kampala/Entebbe with an opportunity to a stop at Equator for photo shoots and buying souvenirs and have tea or coffee,

End of Safari

TYPE: Mid range Safari

Ground price: $ 1439USD per person

Price includes:

• Accommodations and meals on Fullboard

• All Ground Transport and Fuel

• English speaking Driver Guide and his associated Expenses

• Forest walk fees

• Park entrance fees and ranger guides in National Parks

• one Chimp permits per person based on availability

• All government Taxes

• Picnic Lunches in the Field

• 4 bottles mineral water pp./day

The price excludes:

• International flights

• Visa

• Tips

• Drinks

• Personal travel insurance

• Other activities of personal request e.g. laundry, phone calls, beverages, etc.

• Money exchange loss

Bwindi Impenetrable National Park (BINP)

Bwindi Impenetrable National Park (BINP)

Bwindi Impenetrable 331kms is located in South Western Uganda, on the edge of the Albertine Rift Valley, on an altitude range from 1.160 meters to 2.607 meters. This is a real Tropical Rainforest, which is spread over a series of steep ridges and valleys. It is regarded as one of the most biologically diverse Forest in Africa. In the local language "bwindi" from "mubwindi" means "dark place", referring to the impenetrable nature for human beings of the Swamp located into the South East of the actual Park, that is according to the people’s local legends.

Bwindi Impenetrable National Park Species.

There are about 11 species of Primates, including Chimpanzee, La-Honest, Red‐tailed and Blue Monkey, Black and White Colobus, Olive Baboon. Bwindi particularly is home to 360 Mountain Gorillas, approximately more than half of the total remaining world population of 700. There are 346 species of Birds recorded (Bwindi contains 90% of all Albertine Rift Endemics, difficult to see in any other place in East Africa) and 200 of Butterflies. Mammals count only 30(Buffaloes, Leopards, Elephants). There are 324-recorded species of trees.

Bwindi Impenetrable National Park Activities and Attractions:

The main activity is "Gorilla Tracking” to the habituated families of Mountain Gorillas. Hiking trials are open to people to view Birds, Butterflies, Primates and Tree species along the Munyaga Waterfall, Rushura, River Ivi and Bamboo zone trials. Specially recommended for Bird watchers and enthusiast are the River Ivi and Mubwindi Swamp Nature Walks. Cultural walk to Buhoma community Village, traditional homesteads, the local healer, the banana brewing, handicrafts and a cultural performance.

Mountain Gorillas Information -Rwanda

Mountain Gorillas Information -Rwanda

The most celebrated resident of Virunga Mountains is the Mountain gorilla, distinguished from other forms of gorilla by several adaptations to its high altitude home, most visibly a longer and more luxuriant coat. Approximately 300 mountain gorillas live in the Virungas, with their total range of 420km spread across three countries: Rwanda, Uganda and the DRC. Current estimates place Rwanda’s & DRC’s gorilla population at around 300 plus (being approximately 50%), about half of which move in two large groups of between 30 and 40 individuals, and the remainder in smaller groups of between five and 15 animals. While European biologists first described the lowland species of gorilla in the mid-18th century, the mountain gorilla was unknown to Western science until 1902, when two individuals were shot in the Virunga Mountains by Oscar van Beringe.

The first detailed study of wild mountain gorilla behaviour was undertaken in the 1950s by George Schaller, whose pioneering work formed the starting point for the most recent and better-publicised study done by late Dian Fossey in Rwanda. Mountain gorillas are on the average bulkier than other species of gorilla, weighing up to 200kg, though the heaviest individual gorilla recorded is a 210kg Eastern Lowland gorilla measure in DRC (Zaire). Like other gorillas, they are highly sociable, moving in defined troops of anything from five to 50 animals. A troop typically consists of a silverback male [males back turns silver when he reaches sexual maturity at about 13 years old], his three or four “wives” and several young animals. Unusually for mammals, it is the male who forms the focal point of a troop; when he dies, the troop disintegrates.

A silverback will start to acquire his harem at about 15 years of age, normally by attracting a young sexually mature female from another troop. He may continue to lead a troop well into his forties.

Female gorillas reach sexual maturity at the age of eight, after which they often move between troops several times.

However, once a female has successfully given birth, she will normally stay with the same silverback until he dies, and she will even help defend him against other males [if a male takes over a troop, he will kill any nursing infants which are not his, a strong motive for a female to help preserve the status quo]. A female gorilla has a gestation period similar to that of a human, and if she reaches old age she will typically have raised up to six of her offspring to sexual maturity. A female status within a troop is based on the length of time she has been with a silverback; the longest serving member of the harem is normally the alpha female.

Mountain gorillas have a primary vegetation diet, and are known to eat 58different plant species. Gorillas also eat insects, with ants being a particularly popular protein supplement. A gorilla troop will spend most of its waking hours on the ground, but it will generally move into the trees at night, when each member of the troop builds itself a temporary nest. Gorillas are surprisingly sedentary creatures. Typically moving less then 1km in a day, which makes tracking them on a day-to-day basis relatively easy for experienced guides. A troop will generally move a long distance only after a stressful incident, for instance an aggressive encounter with another troop.

Gorillas have few natural enemies and they often live for up to 50 years in the wild, but their long-term survival is critically threatened by poaching, deforestation and increased exposure to human-borne diseases. Unlike their lowland cousins, mountain gorillas have never been reared successfully in captivity. Dian Fossey’s “Gorillas in the Mist” is a good [see Further Reading] is a good starting point for anybody who wants to know more about mountain gorilla behaviour.

Visiting the gorillas in Rwanda

Mountain gorilla tracking in the Virungas is a peerless wildlife experience, and one of Africa’s indisputable travel highlights. It is difficult to describe the simple exhilaration attached to first setting eyes on a wild mountain gorilla. These are enormous animals: the silverbacks weigh about three times as much as the average man, and their bulk is exaggerated by a shaggily luxuriant coat. And yet despite their fearsome size and appearance, gorillas are remarkably peaceful creatures, certainly by comparison with most primates – gorilla tracking would be a considerably more dangerous pursuit if these gentle giants had the temperament of vervet monkeys, say, baboons [or for that matter, humans].

More impressive even then the gorilla’s size and bearing is their unfathomable attitude to their daily human visitors, which differs greatly from that of any other wild animal.

Anthropomorphic as it might sound, almost everybody who visits the gorillas experience an almost mystical sense of recognition: we regularly had one of the gorillas break off from chomping on bamboo to study us, its soft brown eyes staring deeply into ours, as is seeking out some sort of connection.

Equally fascinating is the extent to which the gorillas try to interact with their visitors, often approaching them, and occasionally touching one of the guides in apparent greeting as they walk past. A photographic tripod raised considerable curiosity with several of the youngsters and a couple of the adults – one large female walked up to the tripod, stared ponderously into the lens, then wondered back off evidently satisfied. It is almost as if the gorilla recognise their daily visitors as a troop of fellow mates, but one too passive to pose any threat – often a youngster would put on a chest- beating display as it walked past us, safe in the knowledge that we’d accept its dominance, something it would never do to an adult gorilla. It should be here that close contact humans can expose gorillas to fatal diseases, for which reason the guides try to keep the tourists at least five meters away – but the reality is that there is little anybody can do can stop the gorillas from flouting rules of which they are unaware.]

The magical hour with the gorillas is relatively expensive and getting there – have no illusions – can be hard work. The hike up to the mountain gorillas’ preferred habitat of bamboo forest involves a combination of steep slopes, dense vegetation, slippery underfoot conditions after rain and high altitude. For all that, the more accessible gorilla groups can be visited by reasonable fit adults of any age, and in 15 years of African travel we have yet to meet anybody who has gone gorilla tracking and regretted the financial or physical expenses.