June 22 – July 1, 2012

Trip Itinerary

The dates below do not include travel time to and from the destination. Please consult our tour operator, Natural Habitat Adventures, to discuss your best flight options.

Wednesday, June 22, 2012: Entebbe, Uganda
Arrive in Entebbe and transfer to the hotel. Meet your expedition leader at a welcome dinner. Lake Victoria Hotel (D)

Thursday & Friday, June 23 & 24: Kibale Forest National Park
The drive to Kibale Forest traverses the verdant highlands of Uganda, where fertile volcanic soil supports a tapestry of tea, coffee and banana plantations. This equatorial rain forest reserve has the highest concentration of primates in the world, including 500 chimpanzees. You may also see red colobus, black-and-white colobus, red tails, gray-cheeked mangabey and other monkeys. A “swamp walk” through a wetland sanctuary reveals more than 100 species of birds. Spend the night at a lodge with eight thatched cottages perched on the rim of a crater lake. Ndali Lodge (B,L,D daily)

Saturday, June 25: Kibale / Queen Elizabeth National Park
After a morning forest walk, drive to Queen Elizabeth National Park along the western Rift Valley and to our lodge on Uganda’s largest crater lake. The treehouse-style eco-lodge is built with local materials and sits in one of the last untouched tracts of forest in Uganda. Each cabin overlooks the lake and lively troops of colobus monkeys in the trees. Jacana Lodge (B,L,D)

Sunday & Monday, June 26 & 27: Queen Elizabeth National Park
During a boat trip in the Kazinga Channel, look for crocodiles, baboons and the world’s largest concentration of hippos. Elsewhere in the park you may spot lions, leopards, buffalo, elephants and antelopes. The Ruwenzoris, “Mountains of the Moon,” provide a dramatic backdrop, rising more than 16,000 feet. Visit bat caves in Maragambo Forest before continuing on an afternoon wildlife drive. Jacana Lodge (B,L,D daily)

Tuesday, June 28: Queen Elizabeth / Bwindi
Visit the Ishasha sector, home of tree-climbing lions, before driving to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. Visit a school in town then settle in to our well-appointed tented enclave on the side of a misty mountain. This will be our trekking base. Gorilla Forest Camp (B,L,D)

Wednesday & Thursday, June 29 & 30: Gorilla trekking
Awaken early each of two mornings for an adventure that will surely rank among your top travel experiences – the chance to look into the face of a gorilla in the wild. The trail through the primeval rain forest is lush and challenging; it’s no wonder early explorers called it the “Impenetrable Forest.”

This forest is home to about 300 mountain gorillas, a population under severe threat. Three groups are habituated to human contact, and we hope to reach one of them by midday. Tracking them to their last known location, the guide looks for signs of their presence: broken vegetation revealing a night nest, stripped bark indicating feeding, and dung. We may see a range of ages: youngsters playing in the trees, mothers carrying babies and the mighty silverback, patriarch of the troop. No wildlife encounter will surpass the thrill of meeting these magnificent animals, so much like us, in their own habitat. Gorilla Forest Camp (B,L,D)

Friday, July 1: Entebbe / Home
Take a charter flight to Entebbe where you’ll enjoy a farewell meal together with your fellow travelers before transferring to the airport for departing flights. (B,L)