9 Days Self Drive and Primate Trekking
Those who wish to experience all of Uganda’s animal species from the mountain gorillas, chimpanzees to the common big mammals, a nine day Uganda self guided safari tour is a perfect package for you.
On this safari trip, you visit three national parks of Uganda in Kibale national park, Queen Elizabeth national park and Bwindi impenetrable national park. At the death of the tour, you will go for sunbathing at one of the beaches of Entebbe.
Main activities or place on this safari
- Kibale chimpanzee tracking
- Bigodi wetland visit
- Game viewing at Queen Elizabeth national park
- Boat ride experience at Kazinga channel
- Bwindi gorilla trekking experience
- Batwa cultural encounter
- Relaxation at Lake Bunyonyi.
- Entebbe Beach Tour
Detailed Itinerary
Day 1: Travel to Kibale Forest National Park
This will be the first day of your Uganda self drive safari where you will pick up the car from the Airport. You will do vehicle inspection and signing of the rental agreement and then set off to western Uganda where Kibale national park is located.
On your way, you will pass through beautiful towns of Mityana and Mubende. By afternoon, you will be in Fort Portal city, a great area within the Tooro kingdom. You will have lunch in one of the fine restaurants in Fort Portal. Finally, you will drive to your lodge for a night stay.
Travel Distance: From Entebbe to Kibale National park about 315km
Travel Time: about 6hours.
Day 2: Kibale Chimpanzee trekking and Bigodi Wetland Walk
Before the day becomes bright, you will wake up and have breakfast and head straight to Kibale Forest national park head offices for briefing about chimpanzee trekking.
At the end of briefing, you will be assigned to a park ranger who will lead to the forest in search of one of the closest relatives of mankind, the chimpanzees. It will take you 30mins-1hour of trekking to find the chimpanzees in their exact habitats.
The chimpanzees, most of times live on tree canopies and are agile animals, it will require to be very attentive to fully enjoy the experience. The chimpanzees are playful and intelligent animals; you will enjoy every bit with them.
After the chimpanzee trekking experience, you will lead out of the forest and go for lunch at either your lodge or a place of your choice. In the late afternoon, you will go to Bigodi Sanctuary where you will encounter different species of monkeys and birds. You will also visit the vulnerable people organisation of Bigodi to support their initiatives by buying some craft items.
Day 3: Drive to Queen Elizabeth national park – Katwe explosion crater
At the completion of your morning meal, you will head to Queen Elizabeth national. As you escape tooro kingdom, you will be rewarded with a magnificent view of the mountains of the moon.
You will get to Queen Elizabeth national park through Kasese where you will have lunch. After lunch, you will enter into Queen and go for sightseeing at katwa explosion craters.
These are very beautiful features that make one appreciate nature more. In the evening, you will get to your lodge for a night rest.
Travel distance: From Kibale to Queen Elizabeth national park is about 252km
Travel time: 4hours30mins
Day 4: Wildlife Viewing and boat ride experience
This will be an action pack day as you will have two massive activities to do. You will have your breakfast early in the morning and get into the vehicle for a game drive in the savannah plains of Queen Elizabeth national park. You will visit game tracks like Kasenyi plains and the mainland of kazinga channel.
On the wildlife viewing expedition, you will have a chance to see animals like lions, elephants, buffaloes, antelopes, topis, spotted hyenas, Uganda kobs and so many more. The game drive will take about 3-4hours and you will get back to your lodge for lunch.
In the afternoon, you will go for a boat ride experience at Kazinga channel. This is a water stretch that connects two lakes of George and Edward. The boat ride will start from Lake Edward side to Lake George and then back.
On the boat ride, you will be able to see marine animals or species like Nile crocodiles, a school of hippos, a mammoth of flamingos, waterbucks and a variety of bird species.
In the late evening, you will drive back to your lodge for dinner and retire to bed.
Day 5: stopover at Ishasha– Travel to Bwindi national park
On this day, you will leave Queen Elizabeth national park for Bwindi impenetrable national park. As you leave queen Elizabeth national park, you will have a stopover at Ishasha sector where the tree climbing lions reside.
You will look at them relax on the fig tree and take some photographs. Afterwards, you will lead out of the park and get to Kihihi for your lunch and proceed to Kigezi highlands where Bwindi is located.
Travel distance: From Queen to Bwindi is about 180km
Travel Time: about 3hours
Day 6: Bwindi gorilla tracking experience & Batwa Encounter
On the day of gorilla trekking, you will wake up earlier than the usual time, have some breakfast and head to Bwindi head offices for briefing.
In the briefing session, your gorilla permits and identification will be verified and also taught the dos and don’t of gorilla trekking. You will then be assigned to a group of people to track a certain gorilla family.
Your park ranger will lead you to the starting point and then get into the thick forests of Bwindi to track the mountain gorillas.
The gorillas live in far and hidden places therefore you will trek through the forest for some good hours before you meet them in their feeding place. When you meet the gorillas, you will be given strictly one hour of interaction.
In this interaction moment, you will observe the gorilla feed, correlate with one another as they play around, communicate and also show compassion to each other. You will also do so photography and videography of the gorillas.
At the end of the trek, you will lead out of the forest and get back to your driver guide to take you for lunch.
When the evening approaches, you will go for stroll in the local villages to meet and greet the Batwa pygmies. The Batwa are very cultural people though backward and leave in absolute poverty. A visit to their communities changes a lot to their livelihood.
However, it is not only a noble gesture that will make you visit these people but also their traditional culture is very interesting. You will visit their herbal clinics and pharmacies and also watch traditional art performances of music, dance and drama.
Late in the evening, you will go back to your lodge for a night rest.
Day 7: Lead to Lake Bunyonyi
There is no so much adventurous activity to be done on this day other than travel to Lake Bunyonyi to unwind and relax so that you recharge your batteries which would have been drained out by the previous busy days.
Lake Bunyonyi is one of the most beautiful places you can ever visit. It has amazing islands painted with scintillating greenery. At Bunyonyi, you will engage in a boat ride where you will come across the different islands.
You will also go bird watching and visiting of the fish landing sites. In the evening, you will relax and rest at your preferred resort.
Driving distance: From Bwindi to Lake Bunyonyi is approximately 70km
Travel Time: About 2 hours.
Day 8: Transfer to EntebbeIn the morning after breakfast, you will check out of your lodge and immediately embark on the journey to Entebbe.
You will make a stopover in Mbarara for lunch and proceed with your voyage to the central part of Uganda. you will reach Entebbe in the late evening and check in at your lodge for a night stay
Driving distance: From Kabale to Entebbe is about 478km
Travel time: about 8hours.
Day9: Entebbe Beach Tour and Entebbe Airport Vehicle drop off
You will have breakfast at your guesthouse, check out and head to one of the beaches at the lakeside. You will spend some good time, enjoying the sea breeze, sun and sand and the music.
Don’t forget to order for a fried fish at the beach as it is so delicious!. After the beach, you will head to the airport to catch up your flight. Our staff will meet at the airport parking lot to drop-off the vehicle.