7 Days / 6 Nights The Best Uganda Pearl Safari

Arriving in a new and foreign place can be overwhelming. All your senses are operating in overdrive as you take in the unfamiliar sights, sounds, and smells of your new surroundings. This is certainly the case for a first visit to Uganda. Your Tours guide will be with you from the very beginning, welcoming you at the airport and navigating you expertly through the lively traffic, while you can lean back and watch your new world go by. If this is your first time traveling to Africa, you will never forget your first acquaintance with her.

The drive to your accommodation is about an hour. Along the way you will catch a glimpse of the shimmering waters of Lake Victoria on your right, see several matatus and boda bodas (local 4-wheel and 2-wheel taxis) weave daringly through traffic, smartly dressed residents in colorful fabrics negotiating the pot-holed streets, food stalls serving delicious Rolex and wooden carts heavily laden with our favorite staple food, the Matoke.

Your journey to Kibale Forest is incredibly scenic, taking you through tea plantations, lively village markets, and over rolling hills of lush green countryside that is so characteristic of western Uganda. Kibale Forest National Park itself is an extensive tract of dense tropical rainforest located just south of the town of Fort Portal. The various ecosystems in this space are reputed to harbor the highest density of primates in all of Africa. The rare red colobus monkey as well as the black and white colobus are just some of the primates you may encounter on your forest walks here. Have an overnight in Papaya Lodge

No other animal reminds us so much of ourselves as the chimpanzee. Besides many common features and mannerisms, chimpanzees also share 98% of our human DNA, making them our closest living relatives. It is not so surprising then that we find the habits and biology of these primates so fascinating to study. While Chimpanzees can be found in 21 countries throughout Africa, they are most easily sighted in Uganda due to the high concentration of the species here. On a Chimpanzee Tracking experience in Kibale Forest, you will have the opportunity to follow an experienced guide into the forest to observe these fascinating creatures at a close range. Watching them interact with each other and go about their daily routine of grooming, playing and foraging is an incredible experience.

Queen Elizeibeth National Park is Uganda’s most visited game reserve and arguably the most scenic. The national park protects the vast savannah plains, bushland, wetlands, and forests that lie at the base of the Rwenzori mountain range. Kazinga Channel, which flows through the park and connects Lake George in the east to Lake Edward in the west, attracts a rich array of animals and birds, including the infamous Nile crocodile and one of the world’s largest concentrations of hippos. On your first game drive you will explore the park along a 200-kilometre network of well-maintained game viewing tracks.

In the morning we offer you an opportunity to contribute to an important conservation program in Queen Elizabeth NP. On this unique Lion Tracking research trip you will follow a research team, off the safari jeep tracks and into the bush, in search of one of the lion prides in the park. A tracking device in the vehicle will lead you directly to the lions where you will spend some time observing these charismatic cats. The data collected by the researchers will further the conservation program in the park, while you get a unique and intimate insight into the lives and habits of these fascinating predators.

Later in the day when the sun is high in the sky and the animals make their way to the river for a drink, we will head to Kazinga Channel for a private boat safari. You will spot more hippos today than you can possibly imagine. Herds of elephants and buffalo will also wander down to the shoreline to bathe in the cooling waters. A boat safari is a fantastic way to get close to wildlife and for many visitors, the boat safari is the highlight of their visit to Queen Elizabeth National Park.

Enjoy your last sunrise in this beautiful corner of Uganda. In the early morning, your guide will drop you off at Kihihi airstrip for your domestic flight to Entebbe.