SIGNATURE SAFARI
TWO COUNTIES – The best of the best.
Mountain Gorillas, Golden Monkeys, Chimpanzees
March 25-April 2, 2027
Set against the backdrop of endless green hills and soaring mountainsides, Rwanda is the premier destination for trekking with the highly endangered exotic Mountain Gorillas. The terrain in the Virunga Mountains is more open and less surrounded by thick jungle vegetation, which hugely increases your chance of incredible photographic opportunities with these magnificent Creatures. The trekking is also less difficult than the steep and extremely thick vegetation you must go through in Uganda, where the gorilla families also cover much larger territories, inevitably increasing the time spent trekking.
Home to over 5,000 chimpanzee individuals, Uganda is not only the best place to experience them, but it is one of the wildest wildlife experiences ever!
For most photographers, this is a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and there are no do-overs. Therefore, we are taking you to the best of the best: Rwanda for the Mountain Gorillas and Uganda for the Chimpanzees. The best weather for primates is cloudy. Although the weather has become increasingly unpredictable, this has been thoughtfully timed to align with the transition into the rainy season for the best chance of overcast weather.
HIGHLIGHTS
- 4 chimp treks – one is a special habituation trek
- 2 Mountain Gorilla Treks
- 1 Private Golden Monkey Trek
- 2 Private charter flights – to cut down on the extra days of long drives
Limited to 7 participants!
MOUNTAIN GORILLAS – Rwanda
Walking alongside these gentle giants is exhilarating and unlike any other experience in the world. The mountain gorillas are rare, critically endangered, and found only in a few small areas of protected forest. Approximately only 800 mountain gorillas survive in the wild. In Rwanda there only 8 groups of 8 people allowed to trek per-day; another reason photographing them is incredibley special!
GOLDEN MONKEYS – Uganda
Found in the Mgahinga national park, the rare and highly endangered Golden Monkeys live in a beautiful bamboo forest. The forest comes to life with the noise and activity that the monkeys exhibit while they jump from one bamboo tree to anther as they play and eat. They have a number neutral covers throughout their fur with a beautiful shade of orange gold giving them the name golden monkeys. There are less than 4,000 remaining in the world
CHIMPANZEE – Uganda
One of the wildest experiences to be had in nature is the exclusive half-day Chimp habituation; these special permits are very limited! You will have the unique opportunity to accompany the Kibale reserve researchers on your trek. Early in the morning you will watch the chimps wake-up, search for their breakfast, call through the forest at each other, search for females, and photograph throughout the day until they build a new nest for the evening. Your efforts will help the Uganda wildlife authority initiative to habituate chimps to human presences without changing their natural environments. You will also have two regular mornings treks, but if that is not enough you will have the option to visit them again in the afternoon.
Itinerary
ITINERARY
We will be in 4+ star locations throughout our safari. The names of the camps have deliberately not been listed as we would like to keep them exclusive for our photo safaris.
Day 1 – March 25, 2027
Upon your arrival at the Entebbe International Airport in Uganda, you will be met by a member of our ground team and transferred to the beautiful forest lodge on the shores of Lake Victoria. After your long flight/s, you will enjoy a relaxing evening with a stunning view of the lake– the perfect way to rest up for the fantastic journey ahead. (Hotel check-in time is 14:00)
As this is a travel day and most flights arrive in the evening, we have not included any meals, but meals are available and payable directly.
Day 2 – March 26, 2027
After an early breakfast, we will catch our charter flight to Kasepe where our guides will meet us as we continue our journey up to the beautiful Kibale Forest. In the afternoon, we will have our first chimpanzee trek!
BLD – included
Day 3 &4 – March 27&28, 2027
During the next two days, you will be trekking with the chimpanzees; one day will be a morning and afternoon usual chimpanzee trek, and one will be a half-day Habituation experience.
BLD – included
Day 5– March 29, 2027
After breakfast, we will hop in the Land Cruisers and make our way to the airstrip for our charter flight to the border of Uganda and Rwanda. We will stop for a scrumptious lunch, clear immigration, and then drive to our lodge in Rwanda. Early evening, we will have a private briefing from our guide about our exclusive Golden Monkey experience the next morning.
BLD – included
Day 6 – March 30, 2027
We will have an early breakfast at the lodge. After breakfast, our trekking guide will meet us, and we will proceed to the forest for our exclusive golden monkey trek. We will return to the lodge for lunch and enjoy a relaxing afternoon with the option to visit the local community or shop in the local crafts market.
BLD – included
Day 7 & 8 – March 31 & April 1 2027
Early breakfast at the lodge. Transfer to the Volcanoes National Park HQs for a briefing and then proceed to the forest for our Trek with the mountain gorillas.
BLD – included
Day 9 – April 2, 2024
After breakfast, we will depart for Kigali. Depending on the time of your outbound flight, several wonderful activities are suggested, including a city tour of beautiful Kigali and a visit to the Genocide Museum—highly recommended.
B included
Included:
- ALL airport transfers
- ALL accommodation listed on the itinerary, based on double occupancy
- All meals are listed on the itinerary. B=Breakfast, L=Lunch, D=Dinner, beginning with Breakfast on March 26, 2027, through breakfast on April 2, 2027
- Entrance fees to all national reserves, forests, and parks.
- 2 in-country charter flights
- 3 Normal Chimp treks in Uganda
- Chimp habituation experience in Uganda
- Golden monkey permits in Rwanda
- Two Gorilla trek permits in Rwanda
- Transportation and exclusive use of custom safari-built 4-wheel drive Land Cruiser vehicles
- Unlimited bottled water in the transportation vehicles
- Kigali City Tour
- Genocide Memorial ticket
What’s Not Included:
- Visas
- Travel Insurance
- Personal purchases (such as curios, spirit liquors, telephone calls, internet, laundry…)
- Gratuities for the main driver/guides, trekkers, and porters
- Optional extra activities and photo excursions
- Pre- and post-safari tours
- Meals or accommodation before or after the safari
- International flights to and from the African Continent
Important Details
The Price
The price of this two-country signature primate safari, based on double occupancy (two people sharing one room) is $17,295.00.
The price of this primate safari based on a private room (single occupancy) is $19,890.00
If a solo guest requests to share a room, we will do our best to match them with another guest of the same gender. If we cannot match a solo guest with another guest of the same gender, then the additional private room cost of USD$ 2,595.00 will be added to your invoice.
***The cost of this safari is based on 7 participants. If there are fewer than 7 participants, a small supplement fee of $1,295.00 will apply.
A USD $3,000.00 Non-refundable deposit + 4,400.00 for all the trekking permits for a total of $7,400.00 is due at the time of registration to secure your spot. The gorilla, chimp, and golden monkey permits are NON-TRANSFERABLE OR REFUNDABLE. Therefore, we highly recommend purchasing travel insurance that will refund your deposit if you have to cancel your trip.
- USD $7,400.00 non-refundable deposit to confirm your place on this safari
- 2nd payment of USD $6,000.00 + any single supplement is due March 1, 2026
- Final payment/Balance is due November 30th, 2026
We highly recommend trip cancellation insurance to protect your investment should you need to cancel your travel.
REGISTRATION AND DEPOSIT
If you are excited to join this expedition, now is the time to secure your spot. Use the buttons below to fill out your online e-registration form and to make your deposit. We must receive your completed registration form and deposit/s to confirm your spot.
Registration form –
Please complete all the required fields. At the end of the form, you will be asked to confirm your email address, which will complete the registration. A copy of your registration will be emailed to you and Piper Mackay Photo Safaris.
Deposit–
Click the deposit button under the registration button to make your deposit. You do not need a PayPal account to use this payment service. You may make more than one deposit at a time by changing the quantity on the purchase details that will come up once you click the deposit button.
