On Safari in Uganda: Insider Advice

MAP: Noah Woods

Getting There

Abercrombie & Kent will make all travel arrangements for you, including round-trip flights. I flew via Dubai on Emirates Airlines. Some travelers may choose to spend a few days in Dubai before continuing on. The connecting flight from Dubai to Entebbe International Airport, outside Kampala, takes a little less than seven hours.

When to Go

High season for gorilla tracking is July and August, when temperatures stay in the mid-seventies, as well as December and January, when they're in the low eighties.

Who Should Go

Keep in mind that gorilla tracking is physically challenging and can involve up to nine hours of hiking through difficult terrain. (Most visitors try to schedule two treks to increase the likelihood of encountering the apes.) Travelers should be very fit and in excellent health. Chimp tracking is less rigorous.

What to Bring

In Bwindi, the volcanic mountains are steep and can be slippery when the trails are wet, so a good pair of hiking boots is a necessity. Make sure yours are comfortable and well broken in. The gorilla and chimp trackers ask that visitors wear neutral-colored clothing, which is less alarming to the animals. Don't forget to stock up on fast film, as you will most likely see the gorillas and chimps in a dark forest setting and flash photography is forbidden.

Itinerary

All A&K's Uganda trips feature customized itineraries, so you can set up a schedule that suits your interests. I spent the first of my seven nights in a safari tent on Ngamba Island: bathroom facilities were basic; the views of Lake Victoria were spectacular. Travelers who need some time to get their bearings might want to add a jet-lag-recovery stop in Kampala, the capital, before journeying on to Ngamba Island.

After spending a day in the capital and seeing the chimps on Ngamba, I traveled to Kibale National Park, where I stayed for two nights. In addition to tracking chimps, I took three nature walks in the park (one of them at night), spying monkeys, chimps and even a tiny bug-eyed primate: the bush baby.

My itinerary culminated in two days of gorilla tracking in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. From Kibale I took a thirty-five-minute flight on a chartered plane to Bwindi (which was especially memorable for the elephants I spotted in Queen Elizabeth Park from the window of the plane). On a do-over, I would add a third day in Bwindi to see the town, including the clinic (for humans) that an American doctor established there, and to walk to a waterfall in the park.

Accommodations

As the number of visitors to Uganda has increased, so have the options for upscale lodging. In Kampala, visitors can choose between two notable newcomers. The Emin Pasha, a boutique property built around a 1920s colonial residence, has twenty spacious rooms with terraces overlooking two acres of gardens and a pool. When I stayed there, filmmaker Mira Nair (director of Monsoon Wedding and Vanity Fair), who grew up in Uganda, was having dinner at the next table. The other option is the refurbished Kampala Serena, which was reopened by the Serena hotel group in late 2005 and has a brand-new spa.

In Kibale National Park, I stayed at Mantana, a comfortable but standard tented camp just fifteen minutes from the park entrance. For travelers craving more pampering and style, Ndali Lodge, an hour's drive from the park, is a better choice. Eight handsomely decorated thatched cottages have views of the Rwenzori Mountains, and the dining room overlooks a pretty crater lake. Consider adding an extra day of rest here; the countryside is absolutely beautiful.

Around Bwindi, A&K's Gorilla Forest Camp offers the most luxurious accommodations in the area. The permanent platform tents have flush toilets, electric lights, wooden decks and bathtubs that look out on the Impenetrable National Park. When you return from gorilla tracking, you can get a massage or enjoy a bubble bath in your candlelit room. And while you are happily soaking away the aches and strains of the day's hike, the staff is laundering your dirty tracking clothes.

Wildlife

The odds of finding the habituated primates are high: there's an 80 percent chance of seeing the chimps in Kibale and a more than 95 percent probability of seeing the gorillas in Bwindi. Note that none of the up-close primate experiences are allowed if you have an illness (even a cold) that might be transmitted to the animals. The Ngamba chimp walk requires a battery of immunizations, including polio, hepatitis A and B, meningitis, yellow fever and measles.

Relevant Reading

In preparation for my trip, I found the following particularly insightful and inspiring. In the Shadow of Man, Jane Goodall's first book on the chimpanzees she studied in Tanzania, is an interesting primer on chimp behavior. The Impenetrable Forest, written by Peace Corps volunteer Thor Hanson, documents his experience habituating the mountain gorillas of Bwindi. In the Kingdom of Gorillas is Bill Weber and Amy Vedder's story of living with and studying the mountain gorillas of Rwanda. An eloquent memoir of safaris in East Africa by Mark C. Ross, Dangerous Beauty, includes an account of the Bwindi massacre related by a safari guide who was taken prisoner. The Myth of Wild Africa, by Jonathan Adams and Thomas McShane, offers an analysis of why certain conservation programs fail and others succeed.

Safety

In recent years, Uganda's government has taken significant steps to improve security, especially in its national parks (you're escorted by armed guards during all your treks). Although the country is slowly reemerging as a tourist destination, given its troubled past, be sure to consult the State Department's Web site for travel advisories and up-to-date information before planning a trip. travel.state.gov.

Contact Information and Rates

Rates depend on airfare and length of stay. A seven-day trip starts at $6,100 a person, including airfare only in Africa. A nonrefundable gorilla-tracking permit ($360) must be purchased in advance. 800-554-7094; abercrombiekent.com.