3 Days Chimpanzee Trekking Safari in Kibale Uganda Tour – DETAILED SAFARI ITINERARY

Day 1: Travel from Kampala to Fort Portal Area, Visit the Amabere Caves, Hike the Fort Portal Crater Lake Field & Transfer to Kibale National Park.

After breakfast at your place of stay in Kampala (at around 6.30 am), we’ll embark on a 300km (5-6 hours) drive to Fort Portal Area. We’ll drive through the impressive countryside landscapes of Uganda with impressive scenic views including the scenic Mubende inselbergs not forgetting the small towns en route including Mpigi, Mityana, Mubende, and Kyenjojo. We’ll arrive in the town of Fort Portal, a very scenic area of the country at around lunchtime. We will enjoy lunch at one of the best restaurants in town.

After lunch, we’ll visit the Amabeere Caves which are named after the live stalactite formation, Amabeere ga Nyinamwiru (literally, Breast of Nyinamwiru). These breast-like features in the caves are believed to have belonged to Nyinamwiru, the daughter of King Bukuku who is said to have been so beautiful that no man could leave her alone. When Nyinamwiru father King Bukuku became weary of receiving marital requests from unsuitable suitors, he took the extreme measure of cutting off his daughter’s breasts to make her less attractive.

From the caves, we then embark on the hike to the dramatic Fort Portal Crater Lake field where you traverse the challenging slopes of Kyeganywa hill, surrounded by a range of picturesque crater lakes and crater hollows (some of them over 400 meters deep) presenting one of the beautiful scenic sites in Uganda. The top of Kyeganywa hill offers spectacular views of the Rwenzori Mountains on a clear day.

Retreat from the activity and connect to Fort Portal town from where you will drive 26km to Kibale National Park for relaxation, dinner, and overnight.

The highlight of the day: – A heritage tour to Amabere Cave and a hike to the scenic Fort Portal Crater Lake Field.

Accommodation:-

Luxury/Upmarket: – Crater Safari Lodge/Kyaninga Lodge/Primate Lodge Kibale

Midrange/Standard: – Chimpanzee Forest Guesthouse/Kibale Forest Camp/Turaco Tree Tops

Budget/Basic: – Chimpanzee Forest Guesthouse/Kibale Forest Camp

Meal Plan: – Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

Drive distance & time: – Approx.  326km or 6 – 7 hours

Activities & services of the day:-

• Transfer to Fort Portal Area
• Visit Amabeere Cave
• Hike to the Fort Portal Crater Lake Field
• Drive to Kibale National Park

Optional activities you can choose to do on this day:-

• Nocturnal walk in Kibale to see nocturnal creatures like Pottos, Bushbabies, Nightjars and Tree hyrax.
• Cycling in Mpanga Tea Estate

Day 2: Morning Chimpanzee Trekking In Kibale National Park & Afternoon Bigodi Wetland Walk.

After an early morning breakfast (at around 6.30 am), we’ll drive to Kanyanchu Visitor Centre where you’ll meet the expert local ranger guide who will lead you into the magnificent rainforest of Kibale on your unforgettable Chimpanzee tracking encounter which starts at 8 am. In fact, beforehand you’ll be given a short briefing on the chimpanzee tracking experience as well as do’s and don’ts. After the briefing, you’ll embark on a trek in search of the chimps.

Kibale’s chimps have been tracked since 1993 and there are over 95% chances of locating some of Kibale’s 1500 Chimpanzees. The trek to see these intelligent apes lasts between 2-5 hours. Contact time with chimpanzees is limited to one hour; group size is limited to 6 visitors and participants must be aged 12 or over.

While tracking in the depths of the lush green forest, you’ll be surrounded by bird song, and colorful butterflies and can expect to see at least 5 or 7 other types of monkeys, most probably the Black and white colobus, Uganda red colobus, Uganda mangabey, Red-tailed monkey, Vervet monkey, L’Hoest’s monkey, and Olive baboons.

Finally, you approach the common chimpanzees which have been fully habituated and thus offer you an opportunity to draw closer, watching them (from a safe but the intimate distance of 8-10 meters) and take pictures. Coming face to face with your closest relatives in the animal kingdom is a surreal experience.

You will feel a fascinating sense of familiarity as the chimpanzees mirror distinctly human behaviors and emotions. Whether you witness a mother’s love for her baby or the mischief of a younger sibling, chimpanzee trekking is the ultimate adventure.

You have 1 hour availed to you to encounter these precious apes and you are free to take as many photos as you can.

Retreat from the activity and connect to the starting point where you connect with your company guide, and settle for your packed lunch. After lunch, we’ll connect to community-run Bigodi Wetland Sanctuary for a 2 hours swamp walk. The wetland sanctuary is a major eco-tourist attraction and shelters a count of 200 bird species but importantly features a heritage encounter with the local people and a craft center that enables you to explore the local way of life. Retreat from the activity for relaxation, dinner, and overnight.

The highlight of the day: – Chimpanzee tracking in Kibale National Park

Accommodation:-

Luxury/Upmarket: – Crater Safari Lodge/Kyaninga Lodge/Primate Lodge Kibale

Midrange/Standard: – Chimpanzee Forest Guesthouse/Kibale Forest Camp/Turaco Tree Tops

Budget/Basic: – Chimpanzee Forest Guesthouse/Kibale Forest Camp

Meal Plan: – Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

Activities & services of the day:-

• Chimpanzee tracking
• Drive back to Kampala

Optional activities you can choose to do on this day include:-

• Chimpanzee Habituation Experience
• Birding
• Visit the community-run Bigodi Wetland Sanctuary

 

Day 3: Cycle in Mpanga tea estate (optional) & transfer back to Kampala with a visit to the Nakayima tree en route.

After breakfast at around 8.00 am, embark on the transfer back to Kampala. You connect 26km to Fort Portal town and then 300km about 5 hours’ drive to Kampala. You can opt to take Mpanga Tea Estate Cycling where you explore the beautiful tea plantation on the bike in the company of the local guide. Another stop can be made in Mubende to visit the Nakayima Tree, the best-known Bachwezi-associated sacrificial site in Buganda.

The tree is estimated by scientists to be between 500 and 1,000 years old. It is a compelling piece of natural engineering towering almost 40m above its park-like surrounds like an oversized surrealist sculpture whose fin-shaped buttresses fan out from the base to create around a dozen cavernous hollows, each of which is dedicated to a particular spirit.

The most popular spirit dedicated to the tree is of course Nakayima (fertility and various illnesses) and Ndahura (smallpox), but others with their buttressed ‘rooms’  include Nabuzana (marriage), Walumbe (death and diseases) Mukasa (lakes and rivers), Bamweyana (madness). The tree remains an active shrine visited by Bachwezi cultists from all around Buganda and Bunyoro to pay homage or leave sacrifices (coins, cowrie shells, gourds, food, etc) to relevant spirits.

Every so often, a group of cultists will spend a night by the tree, where they might roast a goat or pig in honor of the incumbent priestess, who claims to have left below the tree and serve in that role since the 1960s.

We will have our lunch in Mubende after which we will continue on the drive to Kampala and this marks the end of our 3 days on Chimpanzee Trekking Safari in Kibale Uganda Tour.

Meal Plan: – Breakfast & Lunch

Activities & Services of the day:-

• Transfer back to Kampala

Drive distance & time: – Approx. 326km or 6 – 7 hours

Optional activities you can choose to do on this day:-

• Cycling in Mpanga tea estate
• Visit Nakayima Tree

End of the 3 days Chimpanzee Trekking in Uganda Safari Tour

3 Days Chimpanzee Trekking Safari in Kibale National Park Uganda Tour − SAFARI INCLUSIONS

 Chimpanzee Permit (for chimpanzee trekking safaris)

 Full Board Accommodation on Safari

 Transportation in either 4X4 Safari Van or 4X4 Safari Land Cruiser all with Pop up roof & AC

 Fuel

 Professional English Speaking driver guide. Any other foreign language speaking guide can be arranged on request.

 Entrance fees to the tourist sites including Protected areas mentioned

 Activity fees of the tourist activities mentioned

 Bottled water while on safari

 Border crossing fees (for cross border safaris)

3 Days Chimpanzee Trekking Safari in Kibale National Park Uganda Tour − SAFARI EXCLUSIONS

General tips for the driver guide, site guides and service staff at the lodges

Laundry Services

Other Beverages/drinks of personal nature like Alcohol

International Flights (Arranged on request)

Domestic Flights (Arranged on request)

Visas

Optional Activity fees

Other extras not mentioned in the Itinerary

Airport Transfer (Arranged on request)

Accommodation in Kampala or Kigali unless it is part of the Itinerary (Arranged on request)

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