10 Days Experiential Safari : Mongoose & Golden Monkey Tracking

10 Days Uganda Experiential Safari package in which you take part in the habituation processes of Mountain Gorillas and Chimpanzees to make them get used to the presence of human beings around them and to track Golden monkeys, Lions and Mongooses to learn experientially about their group dynamics, behaviours and lifestyles.

Habituating Gorillas is done from nowhere else in the world except in the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest in Southern Uganda and is an experience that leaves an indelible mark on your memory. Chimpanzees are habituated from Kibale Forest National Park in mid-western Uganda, tracking Golden monkeys is done from Mgahinga Gorilla National Park in Southwestern Uganda while tracking Lions and Mongooses is conducted from Queen Elizabeth National Park.

The experience of habituation and tracking these fascinating animals never leaves you the same!

Uganda Experiential Safari Highlights

• Day 1: Travel to Murchison Falls National Park via Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary
• Day 2: Game drive in Murchison Falls National Park
• Day 3: Travel to Kibale Forest National Park
• Day 4: Chimpanzee habituation experience in Kibale Forest
• Day 5: Travel to Queen Elizabeth National Park & Viewing the Rwenzoris and Crater lakes
• Day 6: Lion tracking experience in Kasenyi Sector & Boat Launch on Kazinga Channel
• Day 7: Tracking Lions in the Ishasha sector and Transfer to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park
• Day 8: Gorilla habituation experience in Bwindi Forest
• Day 9: Golden monkey habituation exercise in Mgahinga Gorilla National Park
• Day 10: Return to Kampala & Departure

Uganda Experiential Safari Itinerary

Day 1:  Travel to Murchison Falls National Park

You will have an early breakfast and drive to Murchison Falls National Park via the Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary where you will have the opportunity to trek the Rhinos. The sanctuary houses Uganda’s Rhino reintroduction project. There are 9 white rhinos and tracking is done on foot for 1 and half hours.

You will continue the Uganda Experiential Safari to Masindi Town for lunch and later drive to Murchison Falls National Park. The entire journey takes 6-7 hours. You will have dinner and overnight at the lodge of your booking.

• Destination: Murchison Falls National Park
• Accommodation: Pakuba Safari Lodge (Mid-Range), Nile Safari Lodge (Luxury)
• Meal Plan: Full Board

Day 2: Game drive in Murchison Falls National Park

You will wake up very early and set off at 6.30 am for a sunrise game drive in the Nyamsika plateau to see the Cape buffaloes, Rothschild’s giraffes, Uganda kob, hartebeest and waterbucks. You may also spot oribi, bushbuck, Bohor reedbuck, shy sitatunga, bush duiker, warthog and bush pig plus large carnivores including lions, leopards and spotted hyenas. Chimpanzees and olive baboons head the list of six species of primates found in the park with crocodiles and hippos along the banks of the Nile River.

Some of the more common birds that can be seen include goliath heron, Egyptian geese, pelican, bee-eaters, kingfishers, hornbills, cormorants, saddle-bill storks and the rare shoebill stork.

You will return to the lodge for lunch and some relaxation and set off for a boat launch on the placid Victoria Nile, upstream, to the base of the falls.

En route, you will see hippos, crocodiles, waterbuck and a wide variety of birds like the rare shoebill stork sunbathing on the river banks. The boat stops just tens of meters from the “Devil’s Cauldron” for pictures to be taken of the photogenic and majestic Murchison Falls.

• Destination: Murchison Falls National Park
• Accommodation: Pakuba Safari Lodge (Mid-Range), Nile Safari Lodge (Luxury)
• Meal Plan: Full Board

Day 3: Travel to Kibale National Park, guided primates walk in Bigodi Swamp

Start the 3rd day of the Uganda Experiential Safari with breakfast and travel to Kibale Forest National Park in western Uganda. You will be driven through a beautiful countryside of rolling hills and plains dotted with homesteads, gardens and plantations of Bananas and tea. This is a 5-6 hour journey with lunch en route and you will get to the Park in the early afternoon hours.

You will check in at the lodge of your booking for a short rest after which you will visit a nearby forest swamp to see primates like black and white colobus monkeys, L’Hoest monkeys, grey-cheeked mangabey, red-tailed monkeys, bush babies, pottos and other forest animals.

Expect to see a variety of birds like the yellow spotted nicator, rumped tinker bird, little greenbul, green-breasted pitta, the crowned eagle, black bee-eater and the rare great blue turaco. At the eastern edge of the Kibale forest is Bigodi Wetland Sanctuary which is maintained by the local community.

• Destination: Kibale National Park
• Accommodation: Kibale Forest Camp (Mid-Range), Kibale Ndali Lodge (Luxury)
• Meal Plan: Full Board

Day 4: Chimpanzee habituation experience in Kibale Forest

Today you will accompany researchers on a chimpanzee habituation exercise. You will get to the forest early enough to watch the chimps as they leave their overnight nests between 6:00 – 6:30 am and follow them throughout the day as they hunt for food, feed, copulate, breastfeed, rest, patrol and play until it is time to build new nests around 7 pm.

Unlike a normal chimpanzee trek, this experience offers something far more immersive, complex and powerful. The unrushed nature of the habituation trek allows for a far more relaxed study of the exciting moves 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 to get used to going on with their daily activities in the presence of humans without changing their natural behaviours.

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.

• Destination: Kibale National Park
• Accommodation: Kibale Forest Camp (Mid-Range), Kibale Ndali Lodge (Luxury)
• Meal Plan: Full Board

Day 5: Travel to Queen Elizabeth National Park & Viewing the Rwenzoris and Crater lakes

After breakfast, the Uganda Experiential Safari guide will transfer you to Queen Elizabeth National Park with stopovers for sightseeing and lunch. One of the remarkable stopovers will be to see the Crater lakes region and visit the Amabeere Ga Nyina Mwiiru caves. These are caves of wonder with milk-like substances oozing out of the rocks and cultural legends attached to them.

You will learn about their cultural significance and also get a scientific explanation of their existence. You will drive to Fort Portal town where you will have lunch and later continue to Queen Elizabeth National Park. Dinner and overnight will be at the lodge of your booking.

• Destination: Queen Elizabeth National Park
• Accommodation: Twin Lakes Safari Lodge (Mid-Range), Mweya Safari Lodge (Luxury)
• Meal Plan: Lunch & Breakfast

Day 6: Lion tracking experience in the Kasenyi plains and Boat Launch on Kazinga Channel

We set out early in the morning for an Uganda Experiential Safari game drive in the northern part of the park called Kasenyi in search of lions. This is the best area for viewing the cats in action owing to the vast population of Uganda kobs in this part of the park.

The pride (family) of lions and the family of mongooses to be tracked each have a member with a radio collar attached to it that enables the researchers to know where to find the family. The researchers will explain the fascinating habits, behaviours, instinct attributes and security consciousness of these cats and the various tricks used in tracking them. You will learn about how the lions leave trails of bent grass as they move, how they scent mark their territories and why they spray sticky urine in particular areas.

You will learn special features about the banded Mongooses particularly their gigantic appetites and their complex social and communication systems which are fascinating.

The tracking sessions last 1-3 hours and as a bonus expect also to see teeming herds of impala-like, as well as topi, elephants, giant forest hogs, and Cape buffalos.

You will return to the lodge for lunch and later go for a boat launch along the Kazinga channel whose shores harbour a profusion of water animals and birds including pink-backed pelicans, pied and malachite kingfishers, saddle-billed storks and many others. You will return to your lodge for dinner and overnight.

• Destination: Queen Elizabeth National Park
• Accommodation: Twin Lakes Safari Lodge (Mid-Range), Mweya Safari Lodge (Luxury)
• Meal Plan: Lunch & Breakfast

Day 7: Tracking Lions in the Ishasha sector and Transfer to Bwindi

You will have breakfast and drive to the southern sector of Queen Elizabeth National Park known as Ishasha for another Uganda Experiential Safari game drive in which you will see herds of kobs, elephants, topi, giant forest hogs, Cape buffalo etc. You will visit the Kob Mating Ground – a defined area specifically used by these stunning antelopes for challenging other males, enticing females and mating. Ishasha Sector is famous for its tree-climbing lions which you will see resting on the branches of Fig trees as they scan for kobs, their favourite prey, in the neighbouring mating grounds. You will later set off and drive south to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park arriving in the late afternoon hours.

Time allows you will visit a community of former forest people, the Batwa, who used to live in this forest before it was gazetted as a national park. You will learn about their former life as gatherers, hunters, and warriors and about their survival skills in challenging forest life.

Dinner and overnight will be at the lodge of your booking.

• Destination: Bwindi Impenetrable National Park
• Accommodation: Gorilla Mist Camp (Mid-Range), Nkuringo Gorilla Safari Lodge (Luxury)
• Meal Plan: Full Board

Day 8: Gorilla habituation experience in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest

You will wake up early in the morning and head to the park headquarters to join other visitors for a briefing about the 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 Uganda Experiential Safari experience offers something far more intensive and educative as you will spend about 4 hours watching the moves of the Gorillas to see how they respond to the simulation by the researchers to make them get used to the presence of people around them. This exercise presents you with the opportunity to gain insights into their lifestyle, mannerism and survival instincts and to film and capture perfect photo shots.

• Destination: Bwindi Impenetrable National Park
• Accommodation: Gorilla Mist Camp (Mid-Range), Nkuringo Gorilla Safari Lodge (Luxury)
• Meal Plan: Full Board

Day 9: Golden monkey habituation exercise in Mgahinga Gorilla National Park

You will wake up early and transfer to Mgahinga Gorilla National Park to participate in a habituation experience of the Golden Monkeys. You will get to the forest early enough to catch up with the Golden Monkey as they come out of their sleeping habitats between 6:00 – 6:30 am. You will watch them as they stretch to exercise their bodies, make noises to communicate, care for the young, go food hunting, patrol and play until late in the afternoon when they vanish to their hiding places to sleep.

You will watch as the researchers carry out simulation activities to make the Golden monkeys get used to the presence of human beings and be educated by the researchers about their feeding habits, the kind of noises they make to communicate the invasion of their space by strangers, what they do when they sense danger, what they eat, how the mothers care for the young, and how the members of the family keep together. You will also gain an understanding of the forest, the plant life, and the other species found there. This is an experience never to leave you the same!

• Destination: Mgahinga Gorilla National Park
• Accommodation: Traveler’s Rest Hotel (Mid-Range), Mount Gahinga Lodge (Luxury)
• Meal Plan: Full Board

Day 10: Return to Kampala & Departure

You will have a relaxed breakfast and set off on a return journey to Kampala. You will have a stopover at the Equator where you will have an opportunity to stand in two hemispheres at the same time and take some photos. You will arrive in Kampala in the late afternoon and either be transferred to the airport for your departure flight or to the hotel of your booking for dinner and overnight.

End of the Uganda Experiential Safari.

• Requirements for Chimps, Gorilla & Golden Monkey Habituation Experience
• Uganda Visa (USD50) which can be paid on arrival at the Airport
• Chimpanzee and Gorilla habituation permits (paid for in advance through our company)
• Travel & Health insurance arranged for from your home country
• Yellow fever vaccination certificate
• Physical fitness