| Day 1 and 2
Arrive - Queen Elizabeth National Park (Ishasha Sector)
In the morning, you arrive at the newly refurbished and modern Entebbe International Airport, where we will meet you for a welcome drink and a briefing. You are then transferred to a nearby airstrip for your charter flight to Ishasha, the southern sector of Queen Elizabeth National Park.
Ishasha – a much more remote and less-traveled part of Queen Elizabeth National Park, but one which has a sense of exclusivity and remoteness. The game densities here are high, and this region has reported some of the largest herds of Elephant anywhere in Uganda, as it is the main migration corridor between Uganda and the DRC.
 There is prolific plains game here - primarily Topi and Uganda Kob, Buffalo, Hippo and of course Elephant. There is plenty of smaller plains game and a number of primate species and this of course means that predators are in attendance. Spotted Hyaena is a common visitor, and Leopard is occasionally sighted. However, a prime attraction for Ishasha is that is has a large lion population, and the frequency of sightings for this magnificent animal is higher here than anywhere else in Uganda.
An added bonus is that they have learned to climb trees to escape the midday heat and insects, and one is usually rewarded by the slightly surreal sight of anything up to six lions relaxing high up in a Sycamore Fig, Arbisia or Acacia. These are the only other lions apart from those in Tanzania’s Lake Manyara National Park known to exhibit this behaviour.
Overnight: Ishasha Wilderness Camp
Meal Plan: Full Board
Day 3
Queen Elizabeth National Park-Bwindi Impenetrable National Park
 After breakfast, we travel further south to the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest. This is a leisurely drive, taking most of the day. We climb out of the Rift Valley at first, and then travel through the Kigezi Highlands of South-Western Uganda.
The scenery gets increasingly breathtaking as we switchback up and down the hills. Thirty kilometers (18 miles) before the end of our journey, we see our objective – the mist-swathed mountains of the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. This is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is one of the most biologically diverse areas in the world.
On arrival, we are welcomed to the luxurious Gorilla Forest Camp with hot towels and a welcome drink. We retire to our enormous tents for a hot shower (or a hot bath if you prefer), and meet later around the campfire to recount the day’s activities. After dinner, we retire for the night, lulled to sleep by the sounds of one of Africa’s most incredible natural environments.
Overnight: Gorilla Forest Camp
Meal Plan: Full Board
Day 4 and 5
Bwindi Impenetrable National Park
These two days activities may be amongst the most exciting and challenging of our entire expedition. The Mountain Gorillas in Bwindi are part of a worldwide population of just 600 individuals. The gorillas we are allowed to track belong either one of two habituated family groups. For up to five years each, these groups have undergone an extremely delicate process that has gradually brought them to tolerate the presence of humans for a brief period every day and allowed a few privileged visitors to interact with them in the wild.
The gorillas are by no means tame, and are completely wild animals. However, experienced guides will accompany us on our tracking, many of who have been involved in the habituation process themselves. The guides will use their knowledge of the gorillas’ habits and information from the previous day to locate the group’s whereabouts.
 Because of this, the time taken to track the gorillas varies enormously, from as little as half an hour to as much as 9 hours before one returns to camp. Once the gorillas are located, our group will be allowed a maximum of one hour with them.
This is one of the world’s truly memorable experiences – a look into one of these magnificent creatures eyes brings home the bond that exists between them and us. It also brings home the poignant fact that they are on the edge of extinction, and that our presence here contributes to ensuring their continued survival.
The hour is often over all too quickly, and we slowly make our way back to camp to recount the day’s adventures.
Overnight: Gorilla Forest Camp
Meal Plan: Full Board
Day 6
Bwindi Impenetrable National Park - Entebbe
 Today is another flight back to Entebbe. Both the flight to Bwindi and the return flight today are highlights of this trip. The huge vistas that open up on our one-and-a-half-hour journey belie Uganda’s small size.
We see in the distance the hills and plains of Rwanda and Tanzania and the Rift Valley dropping away from us towards Lake Edward and the Congo.
Below us rolling ranchland soon gives way to dry scrub and gigantic wetlands just before our final approach over Lake Victoria.
On arrival we relax for the rest of the day at our hotel to prepare for our evening flight out.
Imperial Resort Beach Hotel/Boma
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch
Click Here to Enquire
|
