Gorilla tracking in Uganda
If you could see a long string of lakes, north from Lake Albert and all the way down to Lake Kivu in Rwanda and Lake Tanganyika in Tanzania. To the east you would see the world's second largest water reservoir – Lake Victoria, the source of the Nile. Most geologists, zoologists, historians and botanists believe it is the most interesting area in all of Africa: The Albertine Rift Valley.
Day 1: Norway Uganda
Arrival in Uganda late evening or early morning. Overnight in Entebbe if we land late at night.
Day 2: Kibale Forest National Park
We leave Entebbe early in the morning and travel west to Kibale Forest National Park. Kibale Forest is located in Western Uganda, between lush cultural landscapes to the southeast, the snow- and ice-capped Rwenzori Mountains to the west, and forests, lakes and savannah landscapes to the south.
Day 3: Kibale Forest National Park
Chimpanzee tracking in the morning. The national park was first established in 1993, and is best known for its many primates (13 different species). Kibale Forest is one of the places in Africa where you are most likely to come into close contact with chimpanzees, and the chimpanzees in Kibale are one of the best protected on the continent. Here you are almost certain to see them up close, but you can never
promise something. They are wild animals, after all.
Day 4: Queen Elizabeth National Park
Today we continue west towards the Rwenzori Mountains bordering the Democratic Republic of Congo. On the way to QENP we cross the equator. Together with the Kyambura and Kigezi Wildlife Reserves, Queen Elizabeth National Park forms one of the most species-rich ecosystems in Africa.
Dag 5: Ishasha
Ishasha is located in the southern sector of Queen Elizabeth National Park. Here we make a couple of attempts to find the now famous tree-climbing lions. Apparently this is one of two populations in Africa that have this as a regular behavior. In Ishasha there are many old fig trees that these lions prefer. We know where the trees are, and we will visit most of them. Other key species in Ishasha are elephant, buffalo, Uganda kob, topi, waterbuck, hippopotamus, hyena, leopard, warthog, etc.
Dag 6: Bwindi Impenetrable Forest nasjonalpark
Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park is a true African rainforest, and is considered one of the most biodiverse in Africa. It is over 25,000 years old and spans an area that varies between 1,160 m to 2,600 m. Over half of the world's mountain gorillas live here and the population is increasing year by year.
Day 7: Gorilla tracking in Bwindi
Over half of the world's mountain gorillas live here and the population is increasing from year to year. In addition to 10 other primate species, there are over 120 mammal species, 350 bird species, 320 tree species, 51 reptile species, 310 butterfly species and 88 moth species. The park rangers know where the family groups are at all times, so it would take a lot for us not to experience seeing mountain gorillas up close today. The mountain gorillas that we tourists visit are so-called habituated family groups. This means that they have been made accustomed to humans by regular visits by researchers and tourists.
Dag 8: Lake Mburo nasjonalpark
The national park is only 370 km2 in size and one of the youngest in the country. Due to the geographical extension of the lowlands of Tanzania, species such as zebra, giraffe and impala can be found here. Species that do not have a natural range anywhere else than in northern Uganda.
Day 9: Lake Mburo - Entebbe
Transport stage. We arrive in Entebbe in the afternoon and are thus back at our starting point in Uganda.
Day 10: Home
Today is set aside to look for clog-billed grebes in Mabamba Bay, a few kilometers outside Entebbe. This rare bird is found only in tropical East Africa, from Sudan to Zambia, and Uganda has a large population of the species spread across several areas of the country.
