What to Pack for Chimpanzee Tracking in Uganda2 — 7 Days Uganda Gorillas & Chimps safari

Overview

This 7 Days Uganda Gorillas and Chimpanzee Safari is designed for travelers seeking Uganda’s most rewarding primate experiences combined with wildlife viewing and spectacular scenery. The safari takes you to Kibale Forest National Park for chimpanzee tracking, Queen Elizabeth National Park for wildlife encounters, and Bwindi Impenetrable National Park for the unforgettable experience of mountain gorilla trekking.

Along the journey, you will explore tropical rainforests, savannah plains, crater lakes, and the famous Kazinga Channel while searching for chimpanzees, mountain gorillas, elephants, buffaloes, lions, hippos, crocodiles, and numerous bird species.

Safari Highlights

Chimpanzee trekking
Gorilla trekking
wildlife viewing
Nature walks

Detailed Itinerary

Day 1: Transfer from Entebbe or Kampala to Kibale Forest National Park

Upon arrival or after breakfast at your hotel, meet your driver guide and begin your journey to Kibale Forest National Park. The drive takes you through beautiful countryside, tea plantations, local villages, and the scenic landscapes of western Uganda.

Arrive in the Fort Portal area in the afternoon and check into your lodge. Spend the evening relaxing while enjoying views of the surrounding forest and crater lake region.

Accommodation: Chimpanzee Forest Lodge / Turaco Treetops / Kibale Forest Camp / Isunga Lodge

Meal Plan: Lunch and Dinner

Day 2: Chimpanzee Tracking and Bigodi Wetland Walk

After breakfast, transfer to Kibale Forest National Park headquarters for a briefing before starting your chimpanzee tracking adventure.

Kibale is home to over 13 species of primates including chimpanzees, red colobus monkeys, black and white colobus monkeys, vervet monkeys, and L’Hoest’s monkeys. Once the chimpanzees are located, spend one hour observing their behavior as they feed, groom, communicate, and move through the forest.

After lunch, visit Bigodi Wetland Sanctuary for a guided nature walk. The wetland is renowned for its rich birdlife and primates and offers excellent opportunities for photography and nature observation.

Return to your lodge for dinner and overnight.

Accommodation: Chimpanzee Forest Lodge / Turaco Treetops / Kibale Forest Camp / Isunga Lodge

Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Day 3: Transfer to Queen Elizabeth National Park and Evening Game Drive

After breakfast, depart Kibale and drive to Queen Elizabeth National Park. Along the way, enjoy views of the crater lakes region and the Rwenzori Mountains.

Upon arrival, check into your lodge and have lunch before heading out for an evening game drive. Search for elephants, buffaloes, Uganda kobs, warthogs, waterbucks, and other wildlife found within the park.

Return to the lodge for dinner and overnight.

Accommodation: Buffalo Safari Lodge / Twin Lakes Safari Lodge / Elephant Hab Lodge / Enganzi Game Lodge

Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Day 4: Morning Game Drive and Kazinga Channel Boat Cruise

Begin the day with an early morning game drive in the Kasenyi Plains. This area is one of the best locations in Uganda for wildlife viewing and offers opportunities to spot lions, elephants, buffaloes, hyenas, antelopes, and numerous bird species.

After lunch, enjoy an afternoon boat cruise along the Kazinga Channel, which connects Lake Edward and Lake George. The channel attracts large numbers of hippos, crocodiles, elephants, buffaloes, and water birds along its shores.

Return to the lodge in the evening.

Accommodation: Buffalo Safari Lodge / Twin Lakes Safari Lodge / Elephant Hab Lodge / Enganzi Game Lodge

Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Day 5: Transfer to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park via Ishasha Sector

After breakfast, depart for Bwindi Impenetrable National Park through the Ishasha Sector of Queen Elizabeth National Park.

Ishasha is famous for its tree climbing lions, and you will have the opportunity to search for these unique predators resting in fig trees. Continue through the beautiful landscapes of southwestern Uganda before arriving at Bwindi in the afternoon.

Check into your lodge and relax ahead of the gorilla trekking experience.

Accommodation: Buhoma Community Haven Lodge / Bakiga Lodge / Ichumbi Gorilla Lodge / Gorilla Mist Camp

Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Day 6: Gorilla Trekking Experience in Bwindi

After an early breakfast, proceed to the park headquarters for a briefing before starting your gorilla trek.

Accompanied by experienced rangers, you will hike through the dense rainforest searching for one of Bwindi’s habituated gorilla families. The trek can take between two and eight hours depending on the location of the gorillas.

Once found, spend one hour observing these magnificent primates in their natural habitat. Watch family interactions, feeding behavior, and the powerful silverback that leads the group.

After the trek, return to the lodge for relaxation and celebration of this remarkable achievement.

Accommodation: Buhoma Community Haven Lodge / Bakiga Lodge / Ichumbi Gorilla Lodge / Gorilla Mist Camp

Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Day 7: Return to Entebbe or Kampala

After breakfast, begin the return journey to Kampala or Entebbe. Enjoy the scenic drive through Uganda’s rolling hills and countryside.

Stop at the Equator crossing for photographs, shopping, and lunch before continuing to your hotel or Entebbe International Airport for your departure flight.

Accommodation: No Overnight Accommodation

Meal Plan: Breakfast and Lunch

Optional Activities

Kibale Forest National Park

Chimpanzee Habituation Experience
Crater Lakes Tour
Bird Watching Excursion
Coffee Farm Experience
Community Cultural Walk
Nature Walk Around Fort Portal

Queen Elizabeth National Park

Lion Tracking Experience
Chimpanzee Tracking in Kyambura Gorge
Maramagambo Forest Walk
Katwe Salt Lake Experience
Bird Watching Safari
Crater Lakes Exploration
Cultural Community Visit
Sundowner Experience

Bwindi Impenetrable National Park

Batwa Cultural Experience
Gorilla Habituation Experience
Guided Forest Nature Walk
Waterfall Trail Walk
Bird Watching Excursion
Community Village Visit

Tour Includes

Travel in a 4×4 car
Professional guide
Park fees
Accommodation
Meals
All Activities In Itinerary

Tour Excludes

Alcoholic drinks
Laundry
Tips
Shopping
Insurance
Anything not included per itinerary

Two Primate Species in One Trip

This itinerary combines Bwindi’s mountain gorilla trekking with chimpanzee tracking in Kibale Forest National Park, East Africa’s premier chimpanzee destination given its high habituation success rate and consistently strong sighting record across multiple habituated communities.

The two treks offer genuinely different experiences: gorilla trekking is slow and deliberate, tracking a family that generally stays within a contained territory, while chimpanzee tracking in Kibale moves faster and covers more ground, since chimpanzee groups range more widely and travel through the canopy at speed, calling and displaying as they move.

Practical Notes

A Uganda e-visa or East Africa Tourist Visa, arranged before travel, is required for most nationalities, along with a yellow fever vaccination certificate if arriving from a country with risk of transmission. Travel insurance covering trekking or wildlife activities and medical evacuation is strongly recommended, and malaria prevention is worth discussing with a travel health clinic ahead of your trip given the range of altitudes and habitats this itinerary covers.

US dollars printed after 2009 are widely accepted for park fees, permits and lodge bills across this itinerary, while Ugandan shillings are more practical for tips, markets and smaller day-to-day purchases along the route. Mobile network coverage is generally reliable at lodges and along the main connecting roads, though it becomes patchy inside the parks and forest reserves themselves.

Because permits and lodge availability are limited, particularly during the June to September and December to February peak seasons, we recommend booking this itinerary at least three to four months in advance for peak-season travel, with somewhat more flexibility available during the quieter shoulder months.

Tipping is customary though not compulsory across this itinerary. Rangers, trackers and guides typically receive a tip at the end of any trekking or guided activity, generally scaled to group size, while your driver-guide is usually tipped separately at the end of the full trip given their role extends across every day of the itinerary.

A private 4×4 safari vehicle with an experienced English-speaking driver-guide accompanies you for the entire trip, handling both park game-viewing tracks and the road transfers this itinerary involves, with the same guide staying with you throughout.

Who This Itinerary Suits

This itinerary suits travelers who want both of Uganda’s headline primate experiences within a single trip, rather than choosing between gorillas and chimpanzees, and who are comfortable with the moderate additional travel time involved in connecting Bwindi’s southwestern forests with Kibale further north.

Because both treks require a reasonable level of fitness, though gorilla trekking involves steeper terrain while chimpanzee tracking covers more ground at a faster pace, we recommend discussing your fitness level candidly when booking so the itinerary can be paced appropriately across both trekking days.

Gorilla Permits and Booking

Only a limited number of gorilla trekking permits are issued for Bwindi each day, one per visitor per habituated family, which keeps groups small and disturbance to the gorillas to a minimum — a maximum of eight visitors are allowed with each family per day. Because demand regularly outstrips supply during the peak dry seasons, permits are best secured well in advance of travel; we handle the full booking process through the Uganda Wildlife Authority as part of your itinerary so you arrive with everything confirmed. Each permit covers one hour with the gorillas once they are located, though the trek itself to reach them is unregulated in length. Visitors under fifteen years of age and anyone showing symptoms of a communicable illness are not permitted to trek, a rule designed to protect the gorillas, which share close to 98% of human DNA and are highly susceptible to human respiratory infections.

Tree-Climbing Lions of Ishasha

The Ishasha sector in the southern part of Queen Elizabeth National Park is famous for a rare behavioural trait: lions here regularly climb into the branches of the sector’s large fig trees, reportedly to escape biting insects and the heat of the savannah floor, and to get a better vantage point for spotting prey. Spotting a pride draped over the low branches of a fig tree is one of the more memorable sightings on a Uganda safari, though it requires patience since the behaviour is not guaranteed on any single game drive. Ishasha is quieter than the park’s main Kasenyi plains, seeing far fewer vehicles, which makes for a more private and unhurried game-viewing experience.

Chimpanzee Tracking in Kibale Forest

Kibale Forest National Park protects one of the highest densities of primates in Africa, and its main draw is tracking habituated chimpanzee communities through the forest understory. Treks typically last one to three hours and reward visitors with close views of chimps feeding, grooming and moving through the canopy, along with their loud, distinctive pant-hoot calls echoing through the trees. Beyond chimpanzees, Kibale is home to eleven other primate species, including L’Hoest’s and red colobus monkeys, grey-cheeked mangabeys and the elusive nocturnal potto, making it a rewarding stop even beyond the headline chimp trek. For visitors wanting a deeper experience, a full-day chimpanzee habituation permit allows several hours with a community from dawn, following researchers as they carry out their morning routine.

Hiking the Rwenzori Mountains

The Rwenzori Mountains, straddling the border between Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, are Africa’s tallest mountain range and, unlike Kilimanjaro or Mount Kenya, are not volcanic in origin — their jagged peaks were formed by tectonic uplift. Margherita Peak, the range’s highest point at 5,109 metres, requires technical climbing experience, but shorter multi-day treks through the lower zones pass through several distinct vegetation belts, from montane forest to bamboo, heather and the surreal giant lobelias and groundsels of the afroalpine zone. Known locally as the Mountains of the Moon, the range’s near-permanent cloud cover and glacial history make it a fundamentally different trekking experience from East Africa’s other major peaks.

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