Gorillas, Chimpanzees, and More in Uganda

The Trip

The Pearl of Africa is a perfect name for Uganda, a biologically rich and diverse jewel of a country with subtropical jungles, cloud-shrouded forests, savannas filled with wildlife, snow-capped volcanic peaks, and many lakes and rivers, including the famous Nile River.

Uganda has a troubled past, but has modernized with a stable government, which have encouraged improvements in conservation, including helping to save mountain gorillas from extinction. Using a unique, lucrative, and controversial approach, Uganda provides tourists with the opportunity to visit with habituated mountain gorillas in the wild. The proceeds from this experiment has worked to increase the number of mountain gorillas to over 1,000. In addition to visiting mountain gorillas, we track chimpanzees and golden monkeys, and have a chance to view 13 other species of primates, including ancient nocturnal primates called galagos that have changed little in 60 million years. On our journey we will see hippos, lions, cape buffalo, elephants, Rothschild’s giraffes, Ugandan kob, Jackson’s hartebeest, leopards, gazelles, southern white rhinos, warthogs, zebras, and maybe an aardvark. The areas we visit have over 1,000 species of birds, many brilliantly colorful. With such avian treasures we will devote energy to spotting and learning about some of these wonderful birds. Interacting with the local people to learn about their culture and how tourism has affected them will also be a rewarding feature of our trip.

Our adventure begins and ends in Entebbe on Lake Victoria, which is close to Kampala, the capital of Uganda. We will spend two nights and a full day in Entebbe enjoying a Mabamba Swamp boat tour and a visit to the Entebbe Botanical Gardens. After this introduction to East African wonders, we will drive to Murchison Falls National Park (NP), which is the largest protected area in Uganda and is bisected by the Victoria Nile that crashes through a narrow cleft in the Rift Valley Escarpment. Bugungu and Karuma wildlife reserves are adjacent to the south and contain the Budongo forest, where we will track chimpanzees.

After spending three nights in this exciting area we drive to Kibale National Park, situated in the foothills of the Rwenzori Mountains. The forests of Kibale National Park are Uganda’s premier chimpanzee tracking area and have its greatest diversity of primates and 370 bird species. Also part of our adventure are chimpanzee tracking in Kibale NP, touring the Bigodi Wetland Sanctuary, and visiting a research and monitoring station, Sunbird Hill, that boasts 240 species of birds.

We move on after three nights in this fascinating area to Queen Elizabeth National Park, the second largest and most biologically diverse of Uganda. It is set in the Rift Valley on the equator south of the Rwenzori Mountains. Lion tracking, a boat safari on the Kazinga channel, and a night drive will be highlights of our two-night stay in this Park. Traveling south we will arrive at our comfortable home on Lake Mutanda, which will be our base for visiting Bwindi and Mgahinga National Parks in the forest clad Virunga volcanoes. Bwindi National Park is famous for being the first to habituate mountain gorillas. During our four nights here, we will track mountain gorillas for two days and golden monkeys for one day and enjoy beautiful Lake Mutanda.

Our final destination on our return journey to Entebbe will be Mboro National Park, where we will spend two nights. While there we will do a walking safari in the morning with an armed Uganda Wildlife Authority guide and then an afternoon game drive. This Park has abundant wildlife (including zebras that are uncommon elsewhere on our journey) and 350 species of birds have been spotted there. Our stay at Mboro will also provide some time for relaxation before our journey home. On our final day, we will drive to Entebbe, enjoy a farewell dinner, and then be dropped off at the airport for evening flights.

Day 1: Entebbe

You will be met upon arrival at the international airport in Entebbe and driven to our hotel in Entebbe, about 20 minutes from the airport. Arriving a day or two early is strongly recommended to decompress from a long flight, adjust to the jet lag, and allow for flight or baggage delays. Extra nights may be reserved at our hotel or another in the vicinity. We will meet for a trip briefing at 7 p.m. on the first day.

Day 2: Entebbe

Starting our journey will be a boat tour on the Mabamba Swamp. Over 300 species of birds can be seen in Mabamba Swamp, including the very unique shoebill. Mabamba Swamp is a Ramsar site (a wetland of international importance) and an Important Bird Area identified by BirdLife International. In the afternoon, we visit the Entebbe Botanical Garden, established in 1902. It is an attractive mix of indigenous forest, horticulture, and some cultivated areas. The garden is rich with birdlife and we also have a good chance of seeing vervets and white colobus monkeys.

Day 3: Murchison Falls

On our drive to Murchison Falls, we will stop at Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary where we will hike, with a guide, to see some of the southern white rhinos (once almost extinct) that call this 27-square-mile preserve home. In 2005 the NGO Rhino Fund Uganda bought four white rhinos from Kenya and two from Disney Animal Kingdom in the U.S. to live and reproduce in this Sanctuary. The numbers have increased to over 20 and when the population expands sufficiently, they will be introduced to Murchison Falls NP and other wild areas of Uganda. Unfortunately, the northern white rhinos and black rhinos that were once common in Uganda have been poached to natural extinction in Africa. The remainder of our day will be spent driving to Murchison Falls and settling into our accommodations for three nights on the Nile River.

Day 4: Murchison Falls

This morning we will go on our first game drive, hoping to see some of the wide variety of large mammals that are emblematic of Africa such as giraffes and elephants. Smaller mammals and birds will not be ignored along the way. After lunch we will enjoy a boat safari on the Victoria Nile from Paraa to the base of Murchison Falls. We can expect to see many hippos, crocodiles, water buffalo, waterbuck, and Udandan kob. Rothschild’s giraffe, bushbuck, and elephants are regularly seen and maybe a lion or leopard if we are lucky. The birdlife is abundant and varied, such as the malachite kingfisher and the dazzling red-throated bee-eater, which nests along the banks. We will enjoy the views of the spectacular Murchison Falls from the boat, but will also disembark to hike on a tree-shaded path to the rim of the gorge to enjoy more views of spectacular Murchison Falls.

Day 5: Murchison Falls

Today we will be treated to our first tracking challenge as we look for chimpanzees in the Budongo Forest. Each primate tracking hike is different and unique. Go two days in a row and chances are you will have a totally different experience each day. There is an elaborate process for each of our tracking experiences. We will be briefed, assigned a ranger (who may or may not be armed), and divided into groups of no more than 8 (usually). The calls of the chimpanzees are loud, raucous, and melodic -- all at the same time. All the other primate species we will see, including gorillas, are much quieter. It might take 30 minutes for a group to find their chimpanzee community or it might take 3 hours. In the afternoon we will do a guided bird walk along the Royal Mile, considered to be Uganda’s single most rewarding birding hotspot. The Royal Mile received its name because it was a favorite place of Omukama Kabalega, the ruler of Bunyoro from 1870 to 1899.

Day 6: Kibale National Park

If only we could tap our ruby slippers like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz to get to our destination today. But since we can't, we will need to drive all day to get to Fort Portal, Kibale NP and our pleasant cottages for the next 3 nights. The trip requires driving on 125 miles of dirt road, often in disrepair, especially after it rains. There are plans to surface the entire road, which would make the journey much shorter and more comfortable.

Day 7: Kibale National Park

After an early ranger briefing at Kibale NP headquarters, a ranger leads us on a hike to find our chimpanzee community. Uganda is home to about 5,000 chimpanzees in the wild and Kibale NP boasts the highest number of primate species in the world. Once we find the chimpanzees, we are allowed one hour with them, which will be the routine with all our primate tracking experiences. This is to ensure that we do not have an adverse impact on the primates we are visiting. The chimpanzee families in Kibale have been habituated by the rangers for over 20 years to tolerate humans and they mostly ignore us. After lunch, we will visit Bigodi Wetland Sanctuary, a preserve protected by a local conservation organization, Kibale Association for Rural and Environmental Development (KAFRED). A guided walk through the swamp (boardwalks where needed) will allow us to view several monkey species such as the red colobus, red-tailed monkey, Ugandan mangabey, and, maybe if we're lucky, the L’Hoest monkey. This is also a great birding area where we can view many species, including the African grey parrot and the black-and-white casqued hornbill.

Day 8: Kibale National Park

This morning we will visit Sunbird Hill, started by primatologist Julia Lloyd, which comprises 16 hectares of regenerating famland on the edge of Kibale NP. It is a private birding spot that coordinates the Nature Uganda Bird Population Monitoring Programme for the Kibale area. Regular visitors include chimpanzees, other primates, and forest elephants at night. There are also many reptiles, frogs, birds, and butterflies here. Our focus will be on the birds and butterflies. Fourteen of the 38 species of sunbirds in Uganda can be found here. Sunbirds are flying jewels and are a little like hummingbirds, which are strictly a New World family of birds. The afternoon will allow time to relax and prepare for a night walk (optional). We can only do this walk if there has been no rain for 3 or 4 hours prior to the walk. Also, there is an $80 cash per person charge that is not included in the trip price because it is dependent on it being dry. We could see an unusual ancient species of galagos, a small night primate with very large eyes (e.g. Demidoff's Dwarf Galago or Thomas's Dwarf Galago) on our night walk.

Day 9: Queen Elizabeth National Park

We move on to the savannas of Queen Elizabeth NP, which lie at the base of the snow-capped Rwenzori Mountains. We travel through lush, scenic hills and local villages, passing people pushing bicycles top-heavy with bananas to outdoor markets and seeing majestic birds like the long-crested eagle along the way. From our lodging on the edge of Queen Elizabeth NP we can see many animals day and night, including elephants, buffalo, waterbuck, hippos, kob, lions, hyena, and maybe a leopard. We will enjoy a game drive in the afternoon as an introduction to this biologically rich NP.

Day 10: Queen Elizabeth National Park

The next morning, we awaken early for a unique opportunity to track radio-collared lions with the Uganda Carnivore Program, a research organization dedicated to the conservation of large carnivores in Uganda, including lions, leopards, and hyenas. One of the research staff accompanies us as we go off-road to find and observe a pride of lions that is being studied. In the afternoon, we will take a boat safari on the Kazinga Channel, connecting Lake George and Lake Edward. At one point on our boat excursion, we will only be a few miles from the Democratic Republic of Congo, which shares Lake Edward with Uganda. From the safety of our vessel we will float among hundreds of hippos, watch groups of cape buffalo and elephants on shore who come to the channel to drink, see crocodiles and large Nile lizards, and be treated to a wide array of birds, including hundreds of African skimmers, dozens of pied kingfisher and the large, if not very attractive marabou stork. Our adventure today continues with a night game drive to maybe see some of the more unusual animals in the area such as aardvarks.

Day 11: Bwindi and Mgahinga National Parks

This is a travel and leisure day as we move to Lake Mutanda. On this drive we leave the savanna behind and start climbing into higher country. As we near the lake we will see the volcanic cones of the beautiful Virunga Mountains, which are shared by Uganda, Rwanda, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Lake Mutanda is studded with many islands and hosts a variety of birds, including the stunning grey-crowned crane.

Day 12: Bwindi and Mgahinga National Parks

Today we have our first gorilla tracking in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, a remnant of the montane rainforest that once covered much of Central and East Africa. This is the only forest that both gorillas and chimpanzees inhabit, along with five other primate species, 113 different mammals, over 200 butterfly species, and 360 species of birds. Only small groups can hike with a ranger to find one of nine family groups habituated to humans. The hike can last several hours over steep, slippery, muddy terrain with some bushwhacking. Local porters are available to hire for $20 cash (not included in trip price) to carry your daypack and help on the rough or slippery parts of the hike. You are not required to hire a porter, but it is worth the $20 and this money helps the local families and encourages them to protect instead of poach the gorillas.

Day 13: Bwindi and Mgahinga National Parks

We continue tracking today, but this time we are looking for golden monkeys, an endangered species. Our adventure today will be in Mgahinga NP, one of Uganda’s smaller NPs in the Virunga Mountains. We will climb to the bamboo forest zone where the golden monkeys typically live. It took four years to habituate this troop of golden monkeys to humans. There are about 3,000 to 4,000 golden monkeys that live in Mgahinga NP. On our hike we can also see a variety of birds and possibly a forest elephant.

Day 14: Bwindi and Mgahinga National Parks

Today we will return to Bwindi for our second opportunity to track gorillas. The basic plan will be the same as Day 12, but we might end up in a completely different area of this large Park or visit a different mountain gorilla family. Even if you visit the same gorilla family, each experience is surprisingly unique and special. And as before the hike to see the gorillas can take several hours over steep, slippery, muddy terrain with some bushwhacking. Local porters will be available for hire to carry your daypack and help on the rough or slippery parts of the hike as they were on Day 12. (You are not required to hire a porter.) 

Day 15: Lake Mboro National Park

Today will be a travel day. It will take us about 6 to 8 hours to drive to Lake Mboro National Park. After arrival we will check into our comfortable lodge for the next two nights and relax, enjoying the peaceful ambiance of this special place.

Day 16: Lake Mboro National Park

In the early morning we will do a 2- to 4-hour walking safari, and in the afternoon a game drive, looking for zebra, giraffe, impala, eland, waterbuck, topi, warthog, bushbuck, reedbuck, oribi, vervet monkey, baboon, mongoose and if we are lucky klipspringers (a small antelope found nowhere else in Uganda). Leopards are not uncommon here as the impala are favorite meals, but we are unlikely to see them during the day. In the evening we will have a pleasant sundowner experience or take a night game drive, where we might see leopards, bushbabies (long-tailed galagos), bushpigs, hyenas, and jennat cats. We will not miss seeing some great birds, like the African finfoot, white-backed heron, papyrus gonolek, fish eagle, Narina trogon, bare-faced go-away-bird, and many others.

Day 17: Entebbe

Leaving this unusual and magical world will be difficult, but we will drive 6 hours to Entebbe on our final day. We will share a farewell dinner together before being taken to the airport for our evening flights home. Many flights to the United States leave in the evening, but if you need to stay overnight we will help you find suitable accommodations.

Our itinerary should be considered a working plan. We hope that the trip will unfold just as described, but a host of unexpected circumstances can occur, especially in developing countries, that could force us to make changes.

Getting There

Airfare and flight arrangements are not included in the trip price. The trip begins with pick-up from Entebbe International Airport on Day 1 and ends with drop-off at Entebbe Airport or an Entebbe Hotel on Day 17. Typical airline routing is through Europe and KLM has a convenient flight from Amsterdam to Entebbe, and back to Amsterdam. The KLM flight arrives around 9 or 10 p.m. and departs at a similar time. Arrangements can be made for extra nights at our hotel in Entebbe. The leader will provide additional travel guidance once you are approved for the trip. Your passport must be valid for at least six months from your return date from Africa. Do not purchase non-refundable airline tickets before being notified to do so by the trip leader. Also, an East Africa visa will need to be obtained and the leader will explain that process later. A yellow fever vaccine will be needed and additional guidance on vaccinations and health considerations will be provided later.

Accommodations and Food

All lodging, meals, and tips are included in the the trip beginning with breakfast on day 2 and ending with lunch on day 16. The only exceptions are $80 (cash) per person for the optional night walk in Kibale NP on day 8, and the $20 (cash) per person tip for porters. There will be five times where porters can be hired, but hiring porters is optional although recommended. Rooms are double occupancy. We will be staying in smaller, locally owned and operated lodges and hotels to benefit local economies. Single rooms are sometimes difficult to obtain, but a single supplement might be possible for an additional fee. Our accommodations all have private bathrooms and showers and vary from room-size safari tents or individual cottages to hotel rooms in small hotels. Most of our meals will be enjoyed at our accommodations, but we will sometimes have packed lunches on travel days, and we will occasionally have a meal at a local restaurant. We will have opportunities to enjoy local foods and fruits. Our meals will be satisfying and occasionally excellent, but keep your expectations modest. The food is safe as we have not had anyone become ill on our East Africa trips. Tea, coffee, and water will be included with all our meals and provided in most of our rooms. Soft drinks, alcoholic beverages, and snacks are not included, but may be purchased if desired. Our vehicles will have bottled water available for us while traveling.

Trip Difficulty

Most days are not physically demanding, but there are hikes and tracking experiences that are moderately strenuous and may require hiking for up to five hours at higher altitudes with 1,000 feet of ascent on muddy, slippery, brushy terrain. The highest elevation reached while tracking will be about 8,000 feet and our highest overnight elevation will be about 5,500 feet. Porters will be available to hire as noted above. Although tracking experiences will usually start on trails, the animals do not respect “stay on trails” signs, requiring us to push through the brush off-trail. Arriving fit will make the challenging hikes manageable and allow you to fully enjoy all the wonderful wildlife we will encounter. Specific recommendations for conditioning will be provided later.

Uganda lies near the equator, with wet and dry seasons. Although we will be going in the dry season, it would be more accurate to consider the season as “less wet.” Heavy rain and thunderstorms can happen at any time but usually do not last longer than a couple of hours. At Murchison Falls and Queen Elizabeth NP, which are at lower elevations, the temperatures will be warm with considerable humidity. The other areas we will travel are at higher elevations and will have cooler temperatures.

Equipment and Clothing

Luggage will be packed in the modest storage areas of our safari Land Cruisers (with pop-up tops) limiting luggage to a medium size duffel and daypack. Staff at some of our lodgings will launder our clothing for a reasonable price. Since we are near the equator, and even though we are sometimes at higher elevations, it is never cold; a light jacket is all that is needed. Sturdy, well broken-in hiking boots with good tread and ankle support and hiking poles will be helpful when we are hiking in steep, slippery, or muddy terrain.

Everyone on the trip will benefit from having high quality binoculars for birding and spotting wildlife (a guide to choosing binoculars will be sent later). A camera, notepad, or sketchpad will be invaluable in helping create some personal memories of this introduction to the wildlife, birds, and people of East Africa.

A detailed equipment list will be sent to all approved trip members in a later communication.

References

Books:

• Philip Briggs and Andrew Roberts, Uganda, 9^th ed. 2020, Bradt Travel Guides. This is an excellent travel guide that provides valuable information on the history and wildlife of Uganda along with maps and discussions of all the places we will visit. If you decide to purchase only one book for this trip, the trip leader would suggest it be this one. It is available in a Kindle edition, which is much easier to use while we travel.
• Hanson, Thor, The Impenetrable Forest: Gorilla Years in Uganda. 2014, Curtis Brown Unlimited. Strongly recommended by the trip leader. Hanson was a Peace Corps volunteer in Bwindi Impenetrable NP where we track gorillas. Hanson worked with the local people for two years to help develop the gorilla tourism that we will enjoy. He also provides a lucid history of Uganda with all its heartaches and tragedies and will help you understand the foods, unique alcoholic beverages, poverty, and superstitions of Ugandan culture. With time and effort, he grows to admire, respect, and love the people and gorillas he works with in Uganda. After reading this book, you will likely come away with enthusiasm for visiting Uganda and experiencing its culture and natural wonders.
• Safina, Carl, Becoming Wild: How Animal Cultures Raise Families, Create Beauty, and Achieve Peace. 2020, Henry Holt & Co. The last third of this fascinating book examines the culture of chimpanzee communities in the Budongo forest in Uganda, the same place we will track chimpanzees on day 5. Safina will help prepare you for what you will witness when we visit the Budongo forest. Safina also explores the question of how birds became so outrageously colorful and beautiful by considering macaws and parrots (very relevant as we will see a number of very colorful birds) and how families of sperm whales raise their young.
• Estes, Richard D., The Safari Companion. 1999, Chelsea Green Publishing. A compendium of the mammals of Africa with descriptions of their habits and behaviors. This book is useful in not only helping you name the animal you are looking at, but also understanding a little about its behavior and ecology. Available as a handy Kindle edition.
• Stevenson, Terry, John Fanshawe, John Gale, and Brian Small, The Birds of East Africa: Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, 2^nd ed. 2020, Princeton University Press. This recently published guide is widely used in East Africa and has been updated. The trip leader strongly encourages you to purchase the app for your smartphone. It is invaluable in helping you identify and maintain a list of the birds you see. Buy the app instead of the book for this trip (or both), but leave the weighty book at home for later review.
• Fossey, Dian, Gorillas in the Mist. 2000, Mariner Books. Originally published in 1983, two years before her murder, this is a classic work by the woman who worked tirelessly to preserve the mountain gorillas that we will visit.
• Goodall, Jane, In the Shadow of Man. 2010, Mariner Books. Originally published in 1971. Recognized as a world-renowned primatologist, conservationist, and humanitarian, this is Dr. Goodall’s remarkable account of her life among the chimpanzees of Gombe.

Media:

• "Jane" directed by Brett Morgen, 2017. A vivid documentary of the life and work of this amazing pioneer in understanding the behavior and culture of chimpanzees. Highly recommended.
• "Gorillas in the Mist" by Michael Apted starring Sigourney Weaver as Dian Fossey. 1988. This popular film about the life and work of Dian Fossey was generally reviewed favorably, but some critics thought Weaver was not allowed the room to play Fossey as she was, a very eccentric and maybe mentally unbalanced woman. Despite these criticisms this is a gripping account of a woman, who, to this day is crucial in helping to save the mountain gorilla from extinction.
• "Virunga" by Orlando von Einsiedel (Netflix), 2014. This is a moving documentary of efforts to save the mountain gorilla in the Democratic Republic of Congo from war, poaching, and oil exploration. The efforts of the rangers to protect the gorillas is moving. The Congo shares a border with Uganda and Rwanda in the Virunga mountains and gorillas can freely roam across the remote borders. In Bwindi and Volcanoes NP’s we are only a few miles from the Congo border!
• Nature Documentaries (PBS): Jane Goodall’s "Wild Chimpanzees" (1996) and "The Gorilla King" (2011). Both documentaries are worthy accounts of the plight and challenges of chimpanzees and mountain gorillas in the wild.

Conservation

Uganda suffers from the same environmental issues that plague many growing, developing countries such as access to clean drinking water, habitat loss from clearing land for farming, poor or absent health care, limited educational activities, few employment opportunities, uncontrolled population growth and haphazard urban development. Uganda has seen wildlife populations decimated through poaching during internal political struggles (e.g. northern white rhinos and black rhinos were poached to extinction for their valuable horns). Of these issues, rampant population growth is the most serious, exacerbating all other problems. Uganda’s population was 7.2 million in 1962, is 35 million now, and is expected to grow to 100 million by 2050. As the country with the third-highest African population growth rate at 3.2 percent per year, Uganda faces difficult challenges balancing the needs of nature, wildlife, and people. The Uganda Wildlife Authority, Uganda Conservation Foundation, and NGOs like Conservation Through Public Health are working together with the government and local communities to provide education and employment in tourism, improve health and farming techniques, and reduce people’s encroachment on protected national parks and reserves. A thriving tourist industry provides much needed employment, encourages higher education, and protects the environment and wildlife that tourists come to see. However, as more farms have been built adjacent to Kibale NP, chimpanzees have less habitat and are increasingly coming onto the encroaching farms. Last year the chimpanzees snatched and killed a couple of children. In Queen Elizabeth NP squatters have settled and grown into communities with inevitable conflicts with wildlife including lions abducting and killing the occasional unattended babies. With such people and wildlife conflicts, how long can these animals last?

During our travels we will observe some of these problems firsthand and discuss what options exist to address these conservation and development dilemmas.

Evacuation and Travel Insurance

The Sierra Club provides evacuation insurance to all participants on international trips. Since this coverage does not include any trip cancellation or interruption insurance, we suggest you purchase another policy separately to provide coverage for your trip and other travel costs. This policy also does not cover pre-trip and post-trip travel. Please note the evacuation insurance provided does not cover claims resulting from any pre-existing condition that occurs within 60 days of the trip departure. If you have specific questions about this exclusion, please review the insurance brochure. For information on purchasing a separate policy, please see our travel insurance page.