Photographing Gorilla, Tree climbing lions and Chimpanzee has been in my mind for quite some time. In fact I have been planning for the last few years but somehow couldn’t do it. I was tossing between Rwanda and Uganda but finally chose Uganda as it was beneficial in all aspects.
Tour Date : 22nd Aug ‘24 to 27th Aug ‘24
Company : Adventure in the wild Safaris
: Jonathan, +256 753750983, info@gorillaugandasafaris.com
This time again I took Ethiopian Airlines as this the only airline that offers a good connection from Mumbai. The flight is Via Addis Ababa to Entebbe. The VISA process was so simple, it's online and comes in under 24 hours.
The entire planning was done by Adventure in the wild Safaris and the execution was flawless. I had the advantage of having an exclusive game drive jeep with a Driver cum Guide which made my trip lot more enjoyable.
Plan for the first day was a visit to the Gorilla Habituation Centre in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. There are two types of Gorilla trekking. One is with a group of 8 people and once the Gorillas are sighted you are allowed to stay only for an hour. The second one is with a group of maximum 4 people and we are allowed to stay for 4 hours. I took the second one as it will give me ample time and opportunity to photograph. Of course, the cost for the second one is double the cost of the first one.
The Bwindi Impenetrable Forest is a large primeval forest located in south-western Uganda and is located in three districts of Kisoro, Kabale and Kanungu. The walk inside the forest is quite long and through dense forest. The family that I saw had 10 members including one Alpha male also known as silverback male, one young male transitioning to silverback, one juvenile female, one female mother with a 8 year old baby gorilla. The average life expectancy of the gorillas is about 40 years. The group was escorted by a ranger and two guards with rifles to protect us from any untoward incident. I had the opportunity to watch the gorillas at a very close distance.
The stay was at Ichumbi safari lodge.
Day 2 was from Bwindi to Queen Elizabeth national park through the Ishasha sector to sight the unique tree climbing lions. Though unlucky on the day I arrived, I was lucky to spot the lion the next day. It was a treat to watch the lion relaxing on a tree. This area has many Fig trees. The trunk of the tree is soft making it easy for the lions to get a good grip and climb. And the branches of the tree is quite wide making it convenient for the lion to position properly and relax.
The stay was at Enjojo jungle lodge.
Day 3 was to Kibale national park for Chimpazee trekking. Kibale National Park is in western Uganda and is 766 square kilometres in size. The Forest has one of the highest diversity and concentration of primates in Africa. It is home to a large number of endangered chimpanzees, as well as the red colobus monkey and the rare L'Hoest's monkey. I was told that there are about 13 species of primates in Kibale National Park and about 1500 chimpanzees. Like the Gorilla trekking, here also we had the ranger and guards with rifles. The walk inside the forest was through dense rain forest. Unlike Gorillas it was a challenge to photograph chimpanzees. Gorillas mostly stay in an area for long and even if they move they move very slowly. Chimpanzee on the other hand doesn’t stay in one place for long and they move very fast. Added to this the lighting condition inside the forest was very low due to dense forest.
One of the highlight of this trip is crossing the Equator. Interesting demonstration of the phenomenon between Southern and Northern Hemisphere.
My entire trip was in the South Western side of Uganda. Contrary to my understanding, this part of Uganda was green everywhere and very rich in vegetation. While driving one can see coffee plantations and farming of Plantain trees, Potato, Sweet Potato, Pineapple etc. They also believe very strongly in community development. For instance the lodges I stayed, employ only the community people and the products required for the lodge like vegetables, table mats etc. are procured only from the local community.
A big thanks to my Guide cum Driver Jorum who was very patient is taking me to all the places.
In order to make the viewing of the album easy, I have split the album into multiple albums – Gorilla, Lion and Chimpanzee.
The album can be viewed --> https://gvgops6.wixstudio.io/uganda-aug-24
Hi Gopal,
Enjoyed the photos (especially of the primates) and the blog. The mention of Entebbe evoked memories of the epic rescue mission by Mossad.
If I may share a trivia here, while there are a few countries that straddle the Equator; there is only one country in the world that lies both on either side of the Equator as well as the International Date Line. It is the Kiribati Islands!!
All in all; enjoyed your posts!!
Thanks!