Chimps & Gorillas of Uganda

By far the most emotional wildlife experience ever and a true bucket list adventure. The abundant wildlife took my breath away. From being entertained by the Chimpanzees in Kibale Forest to Gorilla trekking, even spotted 2 leopards on our night safari and a python swallowing an impala on our safari walk optional excursion. There are a few long drives but see it as free "African massage". This tour is also highly recommended for bird watchers and had to chance to see African Grey's, Shoebills, Turacos, Malachite's and Kingfishers. The Lodges on this trip will maximise your animal-watching experience and all the rooms are spacious. Haven Lodge staff even treats you with warm water bottles in your bed at turndown service. The food was delicious with a huge variety to choose from. Overall, the best experience ever.

The itinerary was full with some downtime. Many early mornings which is to be expected to see animals stirring in the cool of day. I spent a lot more on gratuities than listed as during trekking there are trackers, protectors, etc. Everyone had their hands out. The porters are Not happy with payment of 20USD plus 5 tip as listed in the notes. They were expecting almost double and became very unhappy. There is not really a guide but a driver, so don't expect to get any information/details about the country, etc. They manly drive and keep everyone on schedule. Overall is was a worthwhile trip to see the chimps and gorillas. What an amaxong opportunity to see them within 6 ft of you.

This trip was abundant with wildlife from tracking chimpanzees through the forest, to spotting leopards on a game drive. Uganda has so much to offer as you get to immerse yourself into the culture as you travel through the rolling hills, forests and lakes.

Just returned from this trip which was truly amazing. Great Lakes Safaris provided Sam and Paul as our guides and both were wonderful. We saw two gorilla families that had 4 silver backs as well as young ones at around 3-4 months old. Our hike to track the gorillas was labeled as “medium” difficulty but due to some fortunate travel movements by the gorilla family we only tracked them for around just under an hour in Bwindi before finding them. The chimps were a great experience as well and the trek was an easy trek through the forest. Watching both the Chimps and Gorillas was an amazing experience. The other game drives in the savanna areas/parks brought us leopard, elephants, giraffe, hippo, water buck and so much more. The trip did involve a number of 5-6 hour days of driving through the south west of Uganda which provided a great opportunity to view the diverse country-side and meet the wonderfully friendly Ugandan people.

We have been on several holidays with Exodus and this trip was up with the best! We were astounded by the amount of wildlife we saw on the 10 day trip. The gorillas were the obvious highlight for us but we didn't expect to get so close. There were two silverbacks, one blackback, four females and two babies, some of which came within touching distance of us. The trackers and trekkers couldn't do enough to make our encounter special and we felt privilidged to be in this beautiful and remote part of the country. No matter what your level of fitness, the guides made it possible for everyone to reach a family of gorillas and sightings were just about 100 % guaranteed. The chimps encounter was also amazing and again so close up. Aa well as these two days, the rest of the holiday did not disappoint as we embarked upon safaris in the Queen Elizabeth National Park and Kibale forest spotting hippos, buffalos,elephants, lions, giraffes and we were lucky enough to see two leopards and a tree climbing lion. We embarked on two cultural tours in the community and saw how the villages lived and worked and were overwhelmed by their friendliness towards us. The whole trip was an immersion into culture and wildlife and it was hard to believe what we saw and experienced in less than two weeks. Our guides, Robert and Sam were excellent and worked so hard on our behalf and everyone in the hotels were very accommodating, looking after our every need. There were some superb hotels on this trip and only one didn't come up to the mark. There were some long transfers during the holiday but the scenery and culture seen along the way helped pass the journey and Robert and Sam were great at stopping frequently for breaks and leg stretching!! If you want to experience the culture and wildlife of this vast and beautiful country, don't hesitate to book. You will not be disappointed!!

Best experience of travel I have ever had. Gorillas just WOW. Chimps were amazing and we saw our first one in 5 minutes. Queen Elisabeth park gave us not 1 but 2 sets of tree climbing lions!! And we spotted a Leopard. Lots of other fabulous game that was not so expected from Uganda. Friendly people everywhere.

Amazing experience seeing gorillas and chimps but make sure any extra gorilla permits are booked when you book as you will be disappointed otherwise.

I have had this trip on my bucket list for a while now and it lived up to all of my expectations! David was a fabulous leader and took care of everything!

I really enjoyed seeing the chimps and gorillas and was very pleased I had booked the additional treks. There is a lot of driving, but I enjoyed seeing the countryside and the trip leaders were good at fitting in stops and short walks to stretch our legs. The trip is quite primate-focussed, so don’t come expecting to see lots of big cats (although we did see six lions). The birds are wonderful. I also loved the boat trips, as you get to see the wildlife from a different angle.

Excellent trip for both content and standard of Guide (David).

This is a really great and varied trip. In addition to the chimps and gorillas, the safari drives in Queen Elizabeth NP and Lake Mburo also gave some super game viewings, including lions, zebra, giraffe, hippo and various types of antelope, although not the proliferation of game as the like of the Masai Mara. The boat trips are both interesting and restful, and we had the luck to see the famous shoebill stork at Mabamba Swamp. Overall this is a fantastic trip for anyone who enjoys wildlife.

First time I have used Exodus and will certainly be using them again. Well organised and action packed. Good condition of transportation vehicles and the guides were simply superb and couldn't do enough for you. The Gorilla and Chimp Trek not only exceeded my expectations, but also the other 13 travellers we met on the same tour. Couldn't fault it. Well done Exodus!!

An amazing holiday, made special by our excellent guides, David & Lawrence. The lodges we stayed in were very comfortable & unique, with helpful & friendly staff. I cannot begin to list the variety of wildlife seen on this trip & also the variety of ways to view the wildlife -walking safaris, boat safaris, sunset & sunrise safaris. The highlight was obviously seeing the chimps & gorillas in their natural surroundings & at close quarters. A wonderful holiday all round!

This trip was extraordinary in every sense of the word. The diversity of the landscape seen in Uganda is breathtaking, and coupled with the various forms of wildlife we were so close to in the wild made this trip unforgettable. From our arrival at the airport we were made to feel welcome by our brilliant guides and although there are some long car journeys on some very bumpy roads, they are all worthwhile once you arrive at the fabulous accomodation. The food is phenomenal and the staff at each lodge are attentive and greet you with a smile when returning from a long day of travelling or searching for exotic animals. We managed to spot a leopard, lions, elephants, hippos, crocodiles, gorillas, chimpanzees and so many species of primates and birds that I lost count! Truly a once in a lifetime experience.

A wonderful holiday with unforgettable experiences.

The main objective of the holiday was to see chimps and gorillas. The local organisation was well set up to see both of these and we had excellent sightings, and while nothing is certain, one would be very unlucky not to see them both. In addition we saw a lot of other animals including lions, giraffes, elephant, buffalo and various antelope. While this was not a dedicated bird watching trip we nevertheless saw and identified almost 170 species including such specialities as Crowned Crane, Finfoot and the weird, but much sought after, Shoebill Stork.

A busy trip to see unique animals and some interesting birds. Particularly good for primates. Quite a few early starts. Most accommodation in basic lodges. Food good. Local people friendly and willing to show us round. The holiday gave me an insight into how people live with basic amenities. Wonderful scenery, particularly towards the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. The gorilla trek is tough and the advice to hire a porter to help you with the terrain is good to accept. I would definitely go on this holiday again.

A wonderful exposure to wildlife in Uganda and Africa. The highlights are definitely close encounters with gorillas and chimps, but we also saw lions, leopards, zebra, antelope, Impala, hippos galore, Buffalo, etc. At times long drives over bad roads that I was glad our guides were having to worry about but definitely worth it. Food reasonable, often very good with great soups, although packed lunches were often not great but u are hungry so who cares. Hotel standards below western standards, often power and charging ability is limited, and getting a warm clean shower is often but not always available, but the location of most lodges and access to wildlife is what u came for. Come with a good attitude and the friendly people of Uganda will help u realize how lucky u are to share their beautiful country!

This was an excellent trip, in which siting gorillas is almost guaranteed. The chimps were great fun and boat trips with lots of game and birds to see at close quarters were excellent.

Whilst the focus of this trip was chimps and gorillas, Uganda rewarded us with a wide variety of mammals and bird life and in contrasting landscapes; forests, savannahs and volcanic craters.

We picked Uganda for the diverse wildlife and was not disappointed.

An amazing holiday, made special by our excellent guides, David & Lawrence. The lodges we stayed in were very comfortable & unique, with helpful & friendly staff. I cannot begin to list the variety of wildlife seen on this trip & also the variety of ways to view the wildlife -walking safaris, boat safaris, sunset & sunrise safaris. The highlight was obviously seeing the chimps & gorillas in their natural surroundings & at close quarters. A wonderful holiday all round!

This was a road trip around Uganda with an intention of seeing as many varieties of Monkey as possible. On the way we saw a great deal more, strange birds, odd looking antelopes and a few things that remain to be identified. This was a brilliant and unusual trip with a high activity content and some of the walks will stay with me for a long time.

Amazing experience with the gorillas that will stay with me forever.

A fantastic trip with almost daily opportunities to see a huge range of game, wildlife and birds. The chimpanzee trekking was great with two very different encounters, the safari park game drives were superb and the gorilla trekking in Bwindi was absolutely amazing, again with two very different encounters. The chance to see these incredible creatures close up really is a once in a lifetime experience which we thoroughly enjoyed. Uganda is a really very beautiful country and our fellow travellers, leader and guide all worked together to make this a incredibly memorable holiday.