5 Days gorilla trekking and wildlife safari
The 5 days gorilla trekking and wildlife safari is short adventure for tourist who want to enjoy gorilla trekking and wildlife viewing in a short period of time. The safari will take you to the misty forests of Bwindi impenetrable national park in southwestern Uganda which is famously known for harboring the highest number of endangered mountain gorillas. During the safari you will get an opportunity to spend time with the endangered mountain gorillas in their natural habitat. The 5 days gorilla trekking and wildlife safari will also take you to Queen Elizabeth national park where you will be able to view different animals like buffaloes, elephants, bush bucks, waterbucks, lion, leopards, warthogs, primates like chimpanzees, black and white colobus monkeys, red tailed monkeys among others during the game drive, boat cruise on Kazinga channel and chimpanzee trekking in Kyambura gorge.
Highlights of the 5 days gorilla trekking and wildlife safari
Day 1: pick up and transfer to Bwindi impenetrable national park
Day 2: Gorilla trekking and cultural tour
Day 3: Transfer to Queen Elizabeth national park
Day 4: Morning game drive and afternoon boat cruise
Day 5: Chimpanzee trekking and departure to Kampala
Detailed itinerary
Day 1: Pick up and transfer to Bwindi impenetrable national park
Depending on your location on the first day of the 5 days gorilla trekking and wildlife safari, you will be welcomed by our driver guide who will brief you about the safari and then start the journey to Bwindi impenetrable national park. It’s a whole day journey and on the way you will have a stopover at the Equator where you will buy souvenirs and take photos. From the Equator you will continue the journey with another stopover at Igongo cultural Centre for en-route lunch where after you will proceed with spectacular views of the countryside, terraced farmlands, beautiful landscape, hills among others. Upon arrival in the park you will check into the lodge for dinner and overnight.
Day 2: Gorilla trekking and cultural tour
After an early breakfast on the second day of the 5 days gorilla trekking and wildlife safari, you will carry your packed lunch from the lodge and meet up with your driver guide to transfer to the park headquarters for a briefing about the rules and regulations to follow during trekking. After the briefing you will be divided into groups of 8 people where each group will be allocated a habituated gorilla family to trek and a park guide. Allocation of gorilla families in Bwindi impenetrable national park is done depending of various factors such as age, physical fitness and personal preference therefore in case you are not physically fit you are advised to communicate with your driver guide. Trekking of mountain gorillas in Bwindi impenetrable national park takes about 30 minutes to 7 hours depending on where the gorillas are located because they like to move from one place to another in search of food. During trekking you will be able to view other primate species such as l’hoest monkeys, chimpanzees, black and white colobus monkeys, different plant species, birds among others. Once the mountain gorillas are found you will be allowed to spend one hour with them in their natural habitat which gives you an opportunity to observe their habits, behaviors, watch gorillas feed, breastfeed, groom young ones, take photos and record the breathtaking moments to show people back home after the safari.
After the one hour encounter with the gentle giants you will trek back to the park headquarters where you will be rewarded a certificate for participating in gorilla trekking and then meet up with your driver guide to go for an interesting cultural tour where you will be able to interact with the local people, learn about their culture, way of living, lifestyle, learn how to make local beer from bananas, how coffee is processed, enjoy their traditional entertainments among others. After the cultural tour, you will return to the lodge for dinner and overnight.
Day 3: Transfer to Queen Elizabeth national park
After breakfast on the third day of the 5 days gorilla trekking and wildlife safari, you will check out of the lodge and meet up with your driver guide to start the journey to Queen Elizabeth national park which is the second largest national park in Uganda. On the way you will have a stopover in Ishasha sector for a game drive where you will be able to view the tree climbing lions which will be lying up in acacia or fig tree branches and other animals like elephants, buffaloes, Uganda kobs, warthogs, topi among others. After the game drive, you will have lunch and then continue the journey to Queen Elizabeth national park. Upon arrival in the park, you will check into the lodge for dinner and overnight.
Day 4: Morning game drive/lion tracking and afternoon boat cruise
After an early breakfast on the fourth day of the 5 days gorilla trekking and wildlife safari, you will meet up with your driver guide to go for a morning game drive which is commonly done in Kasenyi plains. During the game drive, you will be able to view animals like buffaloes, Uganda kobs, elephants, waterbucks, warthogs, bush bucks and predators like lions, leopards, hyenas among others if you are lucky. After the game drive you will return to the lodge for lunch.
Afternoon boat cruise
After lunch you will go for an interesting boat cruise at Kazinga channel a water channel that connects Lake Edward and Lake George. During the boat cruise which takes about 2 hours you will enjoy great views of animals like elephants, buffaloes, warthogs, waterbucks among others drinking water along the shores, view large concentrations of hippo and Nile crocodiles in water, aquatic bird species such as cormorants, kingfishers, fish eagles, hornbills among others. After the boat cruise you will return to the lodge for dinner and overnight.
Day 5: Chimpanzee trekking and transfer back to Kampala
On the last day of the 5 days gorilla trekking and wildlife safari, you will check out of the lodge and meet up with your driver guide to transfer to Kyambura gorge for a chimpanzee trekking briefing. After the briefing, you will start trekking in search of chimpanzees which takes about 30 minutes to 4 hours depending on where the chimpanzees are located. Once the chimpanzees are located, you will be able to spend one hour with them in their natural habitat where you will be able to learn about their behaviors, habits, watch them carry out their daily activities, take photos and record videos. After the one hour encounter with the chimpanzees, you will trek back to the starting point where you will meet up with your driver guide and start the journey back to Kampala with en-route lunch on the way and then continue the journey to Kampala arriving in the evening and upon arrival you will dropped off at Entebbe international airport for your departure flight or dropped off at an place of convenience depending on your schedule.
End of 5 days gorilla trekking and wildlife safari
Tour includes
- Gorilla trekking permit
- Park entrance fees/game drives
- Boat cruise
- Chimpanzee trekking permit
- Full time English speaking driver guide
- Full board accommodation
- Pick up and drop off to Kampala/ Entebbe
- 4WD pop up safari vehicle and fuel
- Bottled drinking water
Tour excludes
- International air flight tickets
- Visas
- Life insurance
- Domestic flights
- Optional activities not included on the itinerary
- Personal expenses like buying souvenirs, crafts, drinks, laundry services, hiring a porter, tips among others.
