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Madagascar & Uganda 2026

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Madagascar

Go in mid winter, over the full moon to help  nocturnal observations. 

Hub Antananarivo Capital city High 70F low 50F, 10F higher at the east coast, 15F higher in arid south west. 

2 itineraries:

Long  31 days

Nairobi - Andisabe NP, Flamingos at Lake Nakuru

Madagascar - East and South lemurs

Zanzibar - old town & coast

Rwanda - Kigale break 

Uganda - Gorillas, QE NP, Chimps, Shoebill Stork

Short  21 days 

Madagascar - East and South lemurs

Rwanda - Kigale break 

Uganda - Gorillas, QE NP, Chimps, Shoebill Stork

Andisabe in East -

Large NP with rain forest lemurs ; Common Brown Lemurs, Grey Bamboo Lemurs,  Black and White Ruffed Lemurs, Diademed Sifaka, Red Belled Lemurs.

Nocturnal; aye-aye, Mouse Lemur, Fat Tailed Dwarf Lemur, Wooly Lemur. 

 

4hr drive using Mada Rent a Car that includes driver $65 a day. Stay at Mantadia Lodge.

Guides required and supplied at the park entrances - around $10-20 a day.  

Lonely Planet  suggested 1 day agenda

Early morning - Parc Villageous. Indri Lemur, aye-aye

9-12 - Parc National Analamazaotra. All other Andisabe lemurs 

2-5 - Parc Mitsinjo along forest trails, limited lemurs in pm.

7-9 - nocturnal Mitisinjo or Villageous. 

Day 2 Mantadia NP ,

Mandrare River Camp in Ifotaka,

Small private reserve, with guides, close to local desert  spiny forest reserve.  Ring Tailed lemurs, Verreaux’s Sifaka, owls, Coua (cookoo).

 

The easist way to get to Mandrare River Camp is on our schedule charter flights which operate twice a week between Antananarivo and Mandrare River Camp. The flights are direct to Ifotaka Airstrip which is approximately 5 minutes from Mandrare River Camp. The Schedule Charter flights operate on Mondays and Fridays between the end of May and beginning of November. The flights arrive back in Antananarivo by 13:30 which allows a reliable connection to the many international departure flights.

https://www.madaclassic.com/home

Madagascar Travel and Tours - https://madagascartravelandtours.com/

Alternates

Anjajavy  North West coast- charter flight Mon, Thurs, Sat $900. Stay at Anjajavy Lodge $1170 for 2 people all meals and guiding. 

Common Brown Lemur plus 3 nocturnal,  135 birds.

Kirindy Reserve in West -  Fossa (cat like), Verreaux's Sifaka. Isolated forest segment. 

Ranomafana Rainforest in South - 12 lemur species - 4-6 walk to get to primary forest and lemurs

Anja Reserve in South - ring tailed lemurs 

Ankarana in North - Crowned lemurs 

Lemur Island for orphans

Reserve de Torotorofotsy - Birding in Andisabe 

Uganda

Temperatures in July high 70F low 50F. 

 

Mission Africa 5 day Uganda Wildlife Safari  $3700 pp

Mission Africa Safaris   seems to be focused on gorilla tours for the elderly.   Arrive from Kigali Rwanda instead of Entebbe in Uganda. The driving time and distance from Kigali to Bwindi impenetrable forest is shorter. Driving from Entebbe to Bwindi can take 8 hours or more. From Kigali, it takes only 3 hours to reach Bwindi forest.

1) Kigali city tour then to Bwindi

2) Bwindi Impenetrable Forest -  Gorillas - short hike for oldies. In pm Pigmies

3)To Queen Elizabeth NP - Ishta sector.  Game drive in evening 

4) Game drive (Modify to Kyambura gorge for primates) and boat ride Kazinga Channel in am , pm  to Kibali

5) Chimps in am,  pm  to Entebbe

Entebbe - Boat trip to boat tour to see Shoebill Stork. - mabambatours.com  $180 pp

Alternates 

Golden Monkeys in Virunga NP. 

https://www.silverbackgorillatours.com/gorilla/gorilla-trekking-for-the-elderly-old-and-disabled

Madagascar wildlife 

Lemurs are primates found only on the African island of Madagascar and some tiny neighboring islands. However, chromosomal and molecular evidence suggest that lemurs are more closely related to each other than to other strepsirrhine primates. Strepsirrhini   is a suborder of primates that includes the lemuriform primates, which consist of the lemurs of Madagascargalagos ("bushbabies") and pottos from Africa, and the lorises from India and southeast Asia. For this to have happened, it is thought that a very small ancestral population came to Madagascar via a single rafting event between 50 and 80 million years ago.[

Lemurs are wet-nosed primates  of  around 100 existing species. They are endemic to the island of Madagascar. Most existing lemurs are small, have a pointed snout, large eyes, and a long tail. They chiefly live in trees and are active at night. Lemurs share resemblance with other primates, but evolved independently from monkeys and apes. Due to Madagascar's highly seasonal climate, lemur evolution has produced a level of species diversity rivaling that of any other primate group. Living lemurs range in weight from the 30-gram (1.1 oz) mouse lemur to the 9-kilogram (20 lb) indri

Ring tailed lemurs are limited to the south of the island. Indrids dominate in the tropical east.

The indri also called the babakoto,[8] is one of the largest living lemurs, with a head-body length of about 64–72 cm (25–28+1⁄2 in) and a weight of between 6 and 9.5 kg (13 and 21 lb). It has a black and white coat and maintains an upright posture when climbing or clinging. It is monogamous and lives in small family groups, moving through the canopy, and is herbivorous, feeding mainly on leaves but also seeds, fruits, and flowers. The groups are quite vocal, communicating with other groups by singing, roaring and other vocalisations. Besides humans, it is the only mammal found that can use rhythm.

Sifakas are medium-sized indriids with a head and body length of 40 to 55 cm (16 to 22 in) and a weight of 3 to 6 kg (6.6 to 13.2 lb). Their tail is just as long as their body, which differentiates them from the Indri. Their fur is long and silky, with coloration varying by species from yellowish-white to blackish-brown. Their round, hairless face is always black. As with all lemurs, the sifaka has special adaptations for grooming, including a toilet-claw on its second toe and a toothcomb. They are medium- to large-sized lemurs, with only four teeth in the toothcomb instead of the usual six.  

Sifakas move by vertical clinging and leaping, meaning they maintain an upright position leaping from tree trunk to tree trunk and moving along branches. They are skillful climbers and powerful jumpers, able to make leaps up to 10 m (32.8 ft) from one tree to the next. On the ground, they move like all indrids, with bipedal, sideways hopping movements of the hind legs, holding their fore limbs up for balance, Verreaux’s Sifaka are particularly famous example. Sifakas are diurnal and arboreal. Sifakas are herbivores, eating leaves, flowers, and fruits. When not searching for food, they spend a good part of the day sunbathing, stretched on the branches. Sifakas live in larger groups than the other indrids (up to 13 animals). They have a firm territory, which they mark with scent glands. Edges of different sifaka territories can overlap. Though they defend their territory from invasion by others of their species, they may peacefully co-exist with other lemur species such as the red-bellied lemur and the common brown lemur

The fossa is a slender, long-tailed, cat-like mammal that is endemic to Madagascar. It is a member of the carnivoran family Eupleridae.

The fossa is the largest mammalian carnivore on Madagascar and has been compared to a small cougar, as it has convergently evolved many cat-like features. Adults have a head-body length of 70–80 cm (28–31 in) and weigh between 5.5 and 8.6 kg (12 and 19 lb), with the males larger than the females. It has semi-retractable claws (meaning it can extend but not retract its claws fully) and flexible ankles that allow it to climb up and down trees head-first, and also support jumping from tree to tree.

East Africa Wildlife 

UGANDA

Bwindi Impenetrable Forest for Gorillas  It is important to note that among the gorilla trekking national parks, Bwindi is the most ideal for the elderly. Why? Because it is situated in less mountainous areas. Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is not part of the Virunga ranges of mountains like the other three national parks. It sits on lower altitude and the trails are relatively flat compared to Mgahinga and the Volcanoes National Park.​

The best time of the year when you should go for gorilla trekking in Uganda is June, July, August and September. If that is not possible, January and February should be relatively okay.​

Queen Elizabeth NP - Tree camping lions as well as the usual savannah wildlife. Unusual primates include; black and white colobus monkeys, L’Hoest’s monkeys, red tailed monkeys, blue monkeys, mona monkeys, bush babies and the grey checked mangabeys. Most especially in Kyambura gorge in dry season June to July. Located on Kyambura escarpment near Kyambura trading centre in Queen Elizabeth national Park, the over 16 kilometer long Kyambura Gorge is part of the Western Rift Valley in Uganda the sprawling savannah continues as before. 

 

Kibale National Park has easy access to chimp families. There are 13 species of primates in Kibale National Park. The park protects several well-studied habituated communities of common chimpanzee, as well as several species of Central African monkey including the Uganda mangabey (Lophocebus ugandae), the Ugandan red colobus (Procolobus tephrosceles) and the L'Hoest's monkey. Other primates that are found in the park include the black-and-white colobus (Colobus guereza) and the blue monkey. The footage of the so-called Ngogo chimps, which live in a remote region of Uganda's comes from an upcoming Netflix documentary series Chimp Empire. It premieres on April 19, 2023.

GABON 

Lope National Park Gabon is one of the only parks in Africa where you can see the Mandrills. No other park in Central Africa is considered more vital for primates than Lopé National Park, the oldest and one of the most astounding biospheres on the African continent. Lope National Park Gabon is home to over 1400 endangered mandrills as well as 420 bird species, the national park is equally a stronghold for western gorillas, sun-tailed guenon, black colobus,

RWANDA

Nyungwe Forest NP - very diverse inc. chimps and colobus monkey, accessible forest   5 hrs from Kigali. contains Mt Karonje.

Volcanoes NP for mountain gorillas and golden monkeys.

TANZANIA

Gombe Stream National Park - Jane Goodall chimps

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