You have the freedom to choose your morning activity today. A visit to our closest relatives, the chimpanzees, is high on most people’s list. On a Chimpanzee Tracking experience in Kibale Forest you will have the opportunity to follow an experienced guide into the forest to locate and observe these fascinating primates 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. While your chances of encountering chimpanzees are high during your tracking excursion, it is never 100% guaranteed. These are, after all, wild animals with wills and minds of their own!

Chimpanzee Tracking Permit: USD 200 per person

There are other primates to observe in Kibale Forest besides the chimpanzees. On a guided walk through Bigodi Wetland Sanctuary you may encounter the rare red colobus monkey and the black and white colobus as well as several bird and butterfly species. Should you prefer to spend some time with the local communities, opt for the community walk instead and get an insight into the daily lives of the people who live here.

Both the Community Walk and Swamp Walk are operated by KAFRED, a registered community-based organization. The income from the walk is used for community development projects such as schools and hospitals.

Swamp Walk or Community Walk in Bigodi Wetland Sanctuary: USD 25 per person

The activities in Kibale Forest this morning are optional and at an additional cost. We want you to have the freedom to choose the activity that interests you the most. Should you crave a lazy morning at the lodge, that is ok too!

Please let your Matoke Tours Travel Consultant know which activity you prefer at the time of booking.

In the afternoon we will gather up the troops and drive to Queen Elizabeth National Park.

Queen Elizabeth NP 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 connects Lake Edward and Lake George on either side of the park, 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 game drive you will explore the park along a 200 kilometre network of well-maintained game viewing tracks.

A female ranger will accompany you on your safari. Besides being able to tell you all about the park and its inhabitants you will have the opportunity to get a unique insight into the life of a female park ranger, what her work entails and the challenges she faces in her role.

You will leave the savannah today and head south to higher elevations in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. In the afternoon you will meet the communities who live in the outskirts of Bwindi Forest and get an opportunity to support the locally founded and managed women’s empowerment initiative, Ride 4 A Woman. The organisation was founded to support local women struggling with issues associated with HIV, domestic violence and poverty. At the Ride 4 A Woman community center women learn new skills like sewing and basket weaving and through the organisation’s microfinance scheme they are given the opportunity to help themselves make a better living form themselves and their families.

Join the women as they go about their daily lives today and learn from them how to weave baskets, sew with traditional fabrics and cook local dishes. Through several optional activities you will get a unique Ugandan cultural experience while supporting this important initiative.

Your accommodation for the night is basic but managed by the community. Sustainable tourism is important for us at Matoke Tours and where we can we like to support inclusive community-based tourism initiatives. The revenue that the camp makes from your stay will be used to support local community projects like schools, water and agriculture programs. Should you want to upgrade to more comfortable lodgings, we offer an upgrade to nearby Engagi Lodge for USD 85 per person per night on a shared twin/double room basis.

Encountering the rare and endangered Mountain Gorillas of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is an experience of a lifetime. Half of the world’s population of gorillas live under the mist-covered canopies of Uganda’s oldest and most biologically diverse rainforest. In the company of an experienced park ranger you will be tracking the whereabouts of one of the nine habituated family groups who reside here.

Your tracking experience will be an exciting, yet challenging, journey along forested (often muddy and slippery) slopes, tangled vines, thick vegetation and bamboo forests before you reach the territory of these gentle giants. En-route, your ranger will point out telltale signs of previous gorilla activity like dung, nests and chewed bamboo shoots.

Depending on the location of the gorillas on any given day the walk can take anything from 2 to 7 hours. Once the family has been located, settle in to your surroundings and enjoy the hour you have to quietly observe these fascinating primates whose habits and mannerisms remind us so much of our own.

Encountering the mountain gorillas in the wild is a truly humbling and emotional experience, one that you are sure to remember for the rest of your life.

Gorilla Tracking Permit: USD 700 per person

We appreciate that gorilla tracking is a bit of a financial investment, as well as a physically challenging activity. Should you prefer to do something else today there are many enjoyable activities on offer at the lodge, like stand-up paddle boarding, traditional canoeing, village walks etc. We highly recommend taking a guided nature & culture walk to explore the myths, legends and natural beauty of the Rubuguri hills as well as learn about the livelihoods of the communities who live there.

On this walk you will be guided by Agatha, who is extremely knowledgeable about the traditional ways of life and cultures in the region. She is currently the only female guide working with the Bwindi Specialist Guides, an initiative set up to promote local economic development through inclusive community-based tourism.

Nature & Culture Walk: USD 35 per person (plus transportation costs depending on group size)