9 Days Experience Uganda Primate Safari

Cancellation by Us

Occasionally we may have to cancel a confirmed booking, we always endeavour to avoid cancellations, but we may have to cancel if conditions deem necessary. We shall not cancel your confirmed holiday less than 30 (thirty) days before departure unless you fail to make all payments due in full and on time or we are forced to do so as a result of unusual and unforeseeable circumstances beyond our control, the consequences of which we could not have avoided even with all due care. If we cancel your safari booking except where you have failed to make a payment or as a result of force majeure, we shall offer you the choice of purchasing an alternative holiday from us of a similar standard to that originally booked if available. If the chosen alternative is less expensive than your original holiday we shall refund the difference but if it is more expensive, we shall ask you to pay the difference. Alternatively, you are entitled to a full refund of all monies you have paid to us, not including that paid for trekking permits which can only be refunded if the refund has been made available to us by the responsible authority. Except where we cancel for reasons other than those mentioned in this clause, we shall have no further liability to you. We regret we cannot pay any expenses, costs or losses incurred as a result of any cancellation. We reserve the right, without prior notice, to terminate the holiday of any person in your party if, in our opinion or in the opinion of any other person in authority, the persons concerned behave in such a way to cause or be likely to cause danger, annoyance or distress to any third party or damage to property. In this situation, the person(s) concerned will be required to leave the accommodation or other services immediately. We shall have no further responsibility towards such person(s). No refunds will be made and we shall not pay any expenses or costs incurred as a result of the termination.

Cancellation by You

Should you or any member of your party be forced to cancel, you must advise us in writing. Cancellation is not effective until we receive a copy of your written notice. To cover our estimated loss caused by the cancellation and as we may be unable to resell your package, cancellation fees, excluding insurance, will be levied per person as follows as percentage of total ground handling price paid where applicable; More than 30 days 25%, 30 days – 16 days 50%; 15 days – 8 days 75%, Within 7 days 100%.

• Optional Lion Tracking in Queen Elizabeth NP, $120 per person
• Optional flight Entebbe to Kibale day 2, $300 per person
• 4x4 Specialized Safari vehicle with popup roof for game viewing and photography
• English speaking guide included, Other language (Italian, German, French, Spanish, Japanese, Chinese) guides available upon request.

Travel to Uganda Information

Uganda is the ‘Pearl of Africa’, as referred to by Sir Winston Churchill after exploring this lovely country. Located Astride the Equator and covering a land area of 236,580 square kilometres in the East Africa region.

The Republic of South Sudan borders Uganda to the North, the Republic of Kenya to the East, the United Republic of Tanzania and Rwanda to the South and the Democratic Republic of Congo to the West.

Uganda is majorly a plateau with an average altitude of 1,100 meters above sea level. Uganda features mountains like Rwenzoris in the great East African Rift Valley, rain forests, lakes, and rivers. The country is located north and shares part of Lake Victoria, the 2nd Largest lake globally and the source of River Nile, the 2nd longest river globally.

Conservation and Tourism

Uganda is putting increasing efforts on the conservation of nature, with about 60 protected areas. Some of these include ten national parks and 6 Wildlife reserves. Game parks include; Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and Rwenzori Mountains National Park, both UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Kibale National Park, Kidepo Valley National Park, Lake Mburo National Park, Mgahinga Gorilla National Park, Mount Elgon National Park, Murchison Falls National Park, Queen Elizabeth National Park, and Semuliki National Park. With unexploited nature and the country’s robust and diverse culture, all the above pose an authentic tourism experience in the Pearl of Africa, Uganda.

Weather and climate

Uganda’s Climate is generally Equatorial and temperate but varies depending on altitude. Areas of central Uganda near along the shores of Lake Victoria and near Mabira forest receives rainfall most of the year. The mountainous regions around Mt. Elgon, Mount Rwenzori, and the volcanic areas of southwestern Uganda are generally wetter with rain than the Northern and North-Eastern parts of the country, which are semi-arid.

Most parts of the country lie within the tropics, with a temperature range between 16 – 260C for the majority of the year; April to November. However, during the warmer months of December to March, temperatures can rise beyond 300C.

When to visit

Based on the above weather and climate Uganda can be visited all year-round; the months of January, February, June-October and December are generally dry and considered high season; it could be the best time to visit as the rains are less. The dry season is also the best time for gorilla trekking adventures in Uganda.

While March-May and November are usually wet months and are regarded as the low season with low numbers of visitors to the tourism destinations, this could be the best time for travellers who don’t like visiting destinations with and the influx of many people. Some accommodations usually offer low season discounts, and the cost of travel is low during this season.

People and Culture

Though Uganda has diverse tribes of people and cultures, speaking different languages, Ugandans are one of the most hospitable people in the world. Various kingdoms, music, handicrafts and art are part of the strong culture in the Pearl of Africa.

Among the 40 different Indigenous languages, the most commonly spoken include; English and Swahili are the official languages. Luganda is a significant language spoken in the central part of the country and countrywide among the most Bantu speakers.

Gorilla Trekking in Uganda

Gorilla trekking in Uganda occurs in two distinctive places; Bwindi Impenetrable Forest protecting close to half of the total gorilla population, and Mgahinga National Park contingent with Rwanda’s Volcanoes and DR Congo’s Virunga National Park. Both parks offer the best gorilla trekking adventures globally and protect the highest number of animal and plant species. Bwindi impenetrable is rated as the top travelers’ choice and most affordable for gorilla trekking accommodations and permit availability. Between the parks, over 20 gorilla families are habituated for human visits and are available for gorilla trekking within the five distinctive sectors spread around the park boundaries.

Between Mgahinga and Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, Uganda protects more than half the world’s Gorilla population; you’ll most probably have a great chance to see the mountain gorillas in Uganda than in Rwanda and DR Congo.

To access Uganda gorilla trekking adventures, one flies into Uganda through Entebbe International Airport located on Lake Victoria shores near the capital, about 500 kilometers from the gorilla destinations. With the gorilla permit booked in Kampala, the capital city of Uganda, one can either drive 10 hours by road through the southwestern highlands to get to the gorilla destinations or take a one-hour flight to one of the two small airports 2-hours drive outside Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. You can then book accommodation at any of the five trailheads, spend a night, and track the gorillas early morning the next day.

Gorilla trekking in Uganda excursions occur in four major sectors of Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, including Buhoma sector with 4 Habituated Gorilla families, Ruhijja sector with 4 Habituated gorilla Families, Nkuringo Sector with 3 habituated Family and Rushaga Sector with 6 Habituated Gorilla Families. The fifth sector is in Mgahinga National Park with 1 habituated gorilla family.

Gorilla trekking starts at about 8:00 AM at the main hall in all of the five sectors. The Park superintendent briefs the visitors on tracking guidelines, COVID-19 SOPs and then assigns which gorilla group to track based on physical fitness. Visitors are then selected in groups of 8 tourists, 2 armed rangers, and an expert local tracker guide to lead the trekkers into the jungle to find the gorillas.

You will walk in the dense forest searching for the gorillas, and the trek can last from a few hours to as much as a whole day, depending on where they built their nests last night and how far they would have moved to search for food. Once you find these close relatives of ours, you are allowed 1hour interaction due to conservations purposed. Coming face-to-face with a mountain gorilla is a life experience exiting that will always have a fresh memory on your mind.

Uganda Gorilla Trekking Rules

Before you embark on the trek, you need to take precautions and safety guidelines; this will be mostly told during the morning briefing just before your guide leads you to the jungle to search for these incredible apes. Here are some of them you need to observe.