5 Days Uganda Gorillas & Chimpanzee Habituation Safari
Highlights
- The opportunity to accompany the researchers through areas of the park normally off-limits to tourists
- Spending 4 hours with a family of semi-habituated Mountain Gorillas and another 4 hours with a family of Golden monkeys and enjoying the thrilling moments of watching them as they respond to simulation of researchers in the process of making them get used to the presence of humans.
- Gaining insights into the habits, behaviour, security consciousness and survival mechanisms of these highly social creatures that have a lot in common with human beings
- Getting the additional bonus of viewing several other wildlife in the parks visited for habituation and tracking experience and An opportunity to film and capture perfect photo shots of the habituation exercise
- You can also make a valuable contribution to longstanding research projects as the data collected is used by the researchers to improve the tourism industry.
Overview
This 5 Day Experiential Uganda Gorillas & Chimpanzee Habituation Safari is for those who want to spend more time with the world’s great primates; the Mountain Gorillas and Chimpanzees by going beyond casual tourism to learning experientially about their lifestyle, behaviour, security consciousness and survival mechanisms. Habituating Gorillas is conducted from nowhere else in the world except in the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest in Southern Uganda while habituating Chimpanzees is done in Kibale Forest National Park in mid-western Uganda. This is one of a kind experience that never leaves you the same!
- Day 1 - Travel to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park
You will after breakfast set off for an 8-9 hour drive to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park in the south western part of the country. You will have a stopover at the Equator where you will have an opportunity to stand in 2 hemispheres at the same time and take some photos. You will make another Uganda Gorillas & Chimpanzee Habituation Safari stopover for lunch en-route before continuing with your journey to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park arriving in the evening.
Dinner and overnight will be at Mutanda Lake Resort / Rushaga Gorilla Camp. - Day 2 - Gorilla habituation experience in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park
You will wake up early in the morning and head to the park headquarters to join other visitors for a briefing about dos and don’ts while with Mountain gorillas on a habituation exercise. After the briefing, you will start your trek into the forest guided by researchers and guides to find a family of Gorillas under habituation.
Unlike a normal Gorilla trek, this experience offers something far more intensive and educative as you will spend about 4 hours watching the moves of the Gorillas as they respond to the simulation by the researchers to make them get used to humans.
This exercise presents you with the opportunity to film and capture the perfect shots of the Gorillas and to gain insights into their daily activities, mannerism and survival instincts.
The exercise is incredibly stupefying.
You will return to your lodge for dinner and overnight. Same Lodge - Day 3 - Travel to Kibale Forest National Park
You will have breakfast and drive from Bwindi Impenetrable National Park to Kibale Forest National Park. This Uganda Gorillas & Chimpanzee Habituation Safari part is a 4-5 hour journey that will take you through a country side richly endowed with scenic geographical features, lush green savannah grasslands, bamboo forests, farm gardens, tea plantations and traditional homesteads along the way.
You will arrive late in the afternoon and spend the rest of the day at the lodge: Kibale Forest Camp/ Isunga Lodge - Day 4 - Chimp Habituation experience in Kibale Forest National Park
Today you will spend the whole day in the forest with guides and researchers for a chimp habituation experience. You will get to the forest early enough to watch the chimps as they leave their overnight nests between 6:00 – 6:30am and follow their moves as they hunt for food, feed, copulate, breastfeed, rest, patrol and play until it is time to build new nests around 7pm.
Unlike a normal chimpanzee trek, the unrushed nature of the habituation trek allows for a far more relaxed study of the exciting life of the chimpanzees; enables you to gain an insight into their behaviour and to appreciate the challenges of the researchers in getting these elusive apes get used going on with their daily activities without being concerned about the presence of humans.
You will also gain an understanding of the forest, the plant life, and the other species found there. The exercise ends as the chimpanzees climb into their newly built nests for the evening. This is an experience never to leave you the same!
- Day 5 - Travel to Entebbe and Departure
You will have a relaxed breakfast and set off on the Uganda Gorillas & Chimpanzee Habituation Safari return journey to Kampala/ Entebbe. You will have a stopover at Fruit markets, Tea plantations to take some photos.
- Gorilla and chimp permits
- To and From airport transfers
- Bottled dring water
- Experienced English Driver Guide
- All park fess
- 4X4 Safari vehicle
- Accommodation as per the itinerary
- 3 Meals per day
- Flights
- Tips
- Travel Insurance
- Porter fees
- Other expenses of personal nature
Important Information
Gorilla permits are booked in advance and are not refundable but one can reschedule to another date.
NB: Please note that these tours run whole year around but because on the platform you have to choose dates and month for the tour that's why they appear like fixed departure tours.