Itinerary

Today you arrive in Europe and connect to your flight to Entebbe, Uganda.  

In the morning, you arrive at the newly refurbished and modern Entebbe International Airport, where we will meet you for a welcome drink and a briefing. We then set off west to Kibale Forest. In the afternoon we arrive at our lodge.

Your accommodations will be at Mantana Tented Camp (basic but well-located)/Ndali Lodge (more luxurious, but further away from Kibale Forest) – B, L

This 766-square-kilometer tropical rain forest is the natural habitat for an amazing 12 primate species, and contains the highest primate density of an area on Earth. Here, on a guided forest walk, you may find families of Chimpanzees and Red Colobus Monkeys chattering and swinging through the ancient forest trees. Some of the trees are 50 to 60 meters (150 to 180 feet) in height, and provide a majestic canopy for the profusion of rain forest life, including 325 bird species. Even though you may only rarely see them, the park is home to the largest population of Forest Elephant in Uganda, and is also home to Buffalo, Uganda Kob, Genet, Civet, Waterbuck and Bushbuck. This morning we take a guided walk through this fascinating forest, following the well-marked trails. After lunch we visit a nearby forest swamp that is excellent for viewing more primates and other forest animals.

Your accommodations will be at Mantana Tented Camp (basic but well-located)/Ndali Lodge (more luxurious, but further away from Kibale Forest) – B, L

This morning we travel to a nearby airstrip to take an air charter to the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. This is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is one of the most biologically diverse areas in the world. On arrival, we are welcomed to our camp. The rest of the afternoon is at leisure to relax or explore. After dinner, we retire for the night, lulled to sleep by the sounds of one of Africa’s most incredible natural environments.

Gorilla Forest Camp (B, L, D)

The next two days activities may be amongst the most exciting and challenging of our entire expedition. The Mountain Gorillas in Bwindi are part of a worldwide population of just 600 individuals. The gorillas we are allowed to track belong either one of two habituated family groups. For up to five years each, these groups have undergone an extremely delicate process that has gradually brought them to tolerate the presence of humans for a brief period every day and allowed a few privileged visitors to interact with them in the wild.

The gorillas are by no means tame, and are completely wild animals. However, experienced guides will accompany us on our tracking, many of who have been involved in the habituation process themselves. The guides will use their knowledge of the gorillas’ habits and information from the previous day to locate the group’s whereabouts.

Because of this, the time taken to track the gorillas varies enormously, from as little as half an hour to as much as 9 hours before one returns to camp. Once the gorillas are located, our group will be allowed a maximum of one hour with them. This is one of the world’s truly memorable experiences – a look into one of these magnificent creatures’ eyes brings home the bond that exists between them and us. It also brings home the poignant fact that they are on the edge of extinction, and that our presence here contributes to ensuring their continued survival. The hour is often over all too quickly, and we slowly make our way back to camp to recount the day’s adventures.

Gorilla Forest Camp (B, L, D)

Today is another flight back to Entebbe. Both the flight to Bwindi and the return flight today are highlights of this trip. The huge vistas that open up on our one-and-a-half-hour journey belie Uganda’s small size. We see in the distance the hills and plains of Rwanda and Tanzania and the Rift Valley dropping away from us towards Lake Edward and the Congo. Below us rolling ranchland soon gives way to dry scrub and gigantic wetlands just before our final approach over Lake Victoria. Later in the day, we will transfer to the nearby landing site and travel by speedboat to the Ngamba Island Chimpanzee Sanctuary, 23 kilometers (14 miles) off Entebbe on Lake Victoria. The lake, at 69,000 square kilometers (27,000 square miles) is the second-largest fresh water lake in the world, and this boat ride will give you some idea of its sheer size.

Ngamba Island Sanctuary is a program run by the Jane Goodall Institute for orphaned chimpanzees rescued within Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The environment on the 97 acres (45 ha) island is the same as for wild chimpanzees: an African tropical rainforest with more than 50 species of plants that chimps are known to utilize in Uganda. There is plenty of room for the chimps to explore their forest environment. However the forest is not large enough to provide long-term sustenance for the 34 chimps at the sanctuary, so staff members feed them four times every day. Two of these feeds are delivered from the viewing platform, providing an opportunity for the islands many visitors to observe and photograph the chimps. After lunch on the island, we will get a chance to view the afternoon feeding.

We then relax for the rest of the day on our return to our hotel to prepare for our evening flight out.

Imperial Resort Beach/Boma Day Rooms (B, L)

2007 RATES:

All expenses of a personal nature

Beverages other than mineral water, tea and coffee in the vehicle and Mineral water at the hotels and lodges

International Air Fares, entry visa fees, domestic and international departure tax

UGANDA GORILLA PERMITS

GORILLA PERMIT AVAILABILITY CANNOT BE GUARANTEED UNTIL WE RECEIVE FULL PAYMENT FOR PERMITS AND ACTUALLY PAY FOR THE PERMITS. 

IN CASE OF A CANCELLATION UGANDAN GORILLA PERMIT PRICE IS REFUNDABLE AS FOLLOWS:

91 DAYS AND ABOVE 25% CANCELLATION FEE

TO GUARANTEE A PERMIT A DEPOSIT OF US$750.00 PER PERMIT MUST BE PAID AT THE TIME OF BOOKING.

IN CASE OF A CANCELLATION RWANDAN GORILLA PERMIT PRICE IS NON REFUNDABLE UNLESS WE CAN SELL THE PERMIT ON TO ANOTHER PARTY.

PLEASE NOTE THAT RWANDAN PERMITS AFTER 01 JUNE 2007 WILL BE PRICED AT US$500 PER PERSON PER DAY.

WE RESERVE THE RIGHT TO AMEND THE STATED ITINERARY IN RESPONSE.

TO UNEXPECTED CHANGES IN LOCAL CONDITIONS.

AIRCRAFT WEIGHT AND TIME RESTRICTIONS.

PLEASE NOTE THAT WE ONLY USE LIGHT AIRCRAFT IN UGANDA, ALL OF THEM SINGLE PILOT, AND MOST SINGLE ENGINED.

LARGER GROUPS WILL HAVE TO USE COMBINATIONS OF ONE OR MORE SMALLER AIRCRAFT.

THE FOLLOWING COMBINATIONS ARE TYPICAL BUT NOT GUARANTEED, AND WILL DEPEND ON CLIENT WEIGHTS,

CLIENT PREFERENCES AND CLIENT LUGGAGE