Highlights of a 3 day Chimpanzee Self drive Safari in Uganda

Uganda is one of the top African Jungle destinations for chimpanzee tracking. Tour operators often offer a number of packages ranging from two days safari to a month long safari holiday in Uganda.

Gorilla trekking, chimpanzee tracking, Game drives, cultural tours, Religious tours and landscapes are often the major highlights of such safari. But; what if all you need for your trip to Uganda is Chimpanzee tracking, what should you consider;

A minimum of 2 days

Most of the tourists on self drive safaris often consider only the activity of chimpanzee tracking; however the park is located about five hours drive from Kampala. Though it might be possible to leave Kampala and track chimpanzees on the same day (afternoon) we recommend our clients to avoid the rush and consider a minimum of 2 days.

When you consider a two days self drive chimpanzee safari, then you are also considering accommodation of at least for two days; that is; one night in Kampala and another night in Kibale or Fort portal town after chimpanzee tracking.

One important thing to note; it is often hard to acquire a car for self drive for less than 3 days in case you are visiting any tourist destination outside Kampala. This is so because cars hire companies avoid hiring out their cars to individuals who are in a rush.

For the above reason, we recommend a 3 day chimpanzee self drive safari in Uganda. Below is a mini itinerary to consider for your 3 days chimpanzee self drive safari to Kibale forest national park.

3 days Chimpanzee Self drive

Day: 1

Car hire with a driver will take you 4 to 5 hours to get in Fort portal, however for the case of self drive safaris, you might have to plan for up to 6 hours.

Breakfast is taken in Kampala before starting your drive to fort portal and lunch is taken when you reach fort portal town. After lunch , we recommend  a visit to at least three of the several crater lakes in fort portal.

After a visit to the crater lakes, you can transfer to the lodge or a campsite near Kibale forest national park so that you can transfer to Kibale forest national park early enough the next morning.

Day: 2

Kibale forest national park does not offer game drive; therefore you will only drive to the briefing point before 8:00 am to attend the briefing for your chimpanzee tracking tour. Though you can do an afternoon chimpanzee tracking tour, we recommend the morning chimpanzee tracking since it will grant you the opportunity to see chimpanzee getting active to find something to eat.

During your chimpanzee tracking tour, you might encounter several other wildlife species that are found in Kibale forest national park. To fully enjoy your trip, we recommend a photography self drive safari which tags along a professional photographer who takes all the possible photos of you during the trip.

Butterflies, rare Uganda insects, reptiles mostly snakes and several other mammals may be spotted during chimpanzee tracking in Kibale forest national park.

When you opt for the morning chimpanzee tracking safari, you have the opportunity to spend your afternoon engaging in several other activities around fort portal. We recommend Bigodi wetland in case you are interesting in bird watching. Alternatively, you can use your afternoon to simply rest at the lodge where you will have your dinner or at the campsite where you will cook your supper from.

Day: 3

We often encourage our tourists to spice up their trips with community or cultural tours. Karambi tombs is one of the recommended destinations for tourist to learn of the culture of Toro. Alternatively, you can visit the communities outside fort portal to learn of the culture of people who have long lived in these communities around Kibale national park.

After a few hours of your cultural tour, you can transfer to Kampala or Entebbe at the end of your trip.

Recommended Vehicle for Self drive

Recommended Vehicle for Self drive with Camping gear