10 Days Uganda Gorilla Trekking And Wildlife Tour

After early breakfast, meet your driver guide and embark on the journey to Kibale forest national park in western Uganda. The drive will take you through green countryside and beautiful countryside while seeing the indigenous people carrying out their daily routine such as laying bricks, working on their coffee and banana plantations so you will need to keep your camera on standby to take photos of everything that will interest you. On your way to the park, you will have an en-route stop in Fort Portal city to have refreshments, lunch, take a simple city tour of the Fort portal that will take you to the headquarters Tooro Kingdom. Later, continue with your drive to the park to check in at your reserved lodge, relax and go for the Bigodi Wetland Swamp for a guided nature walk. Bigodi swamp sanctuary is one of the best place to spot several bird species with over 200 recorded bird species which makes it a bird lovers’ paradise and spotting some primates. Dinner and an overnight.

Accommodation options
Crater Safari Lodge (Luxury)
Isunga Safari Lodge (Mid-range)
Rwetera Safari Park (Budget)

Meal plan; Breakfast / Lunch / Dinner

After your morning breakfast with your packed lunch and refreshments, meet your driver and head to the park information office to meet other guests to be briefed about the dos and dots to follow during the forest walk to search for chimpanzees. Then, start the guided forest walk to search for chimpanzees and other primates. The walk may take between 1 to 5 hours depending on the location and movements of the gorilla family that you are tracking. Chimpanzee tracking is slightly different from mountain gorilla trekking because chimps are more vocal and spending much of their time on top of trees and more mobile which may require to follow them for a long time and distance before they settle down. During chimpanzee tracking, you might encounter other wildlife species such as bird species, butterfly, bush pigs, forest elephants, other primates and many others. Once you meet chimpanzees, you will have a maximum of one hour to stay with them and then return to the park information office to have refreshments, lunch and then drive to Queen Elizabeth National park via “Leopard Village” of Muhokya a good example of a local community co-existing with wildlife. The people of Leopard village provides ecotourism activities and displays their local culture to visitors such as performance and market site. The visit to the Leopard village will let you know much about the indigenous people around the park, knowing their relationship with wildlife and it is beneficial in the conservation of the area’s wildlife and supporting the villagers. Then continue with your drive to Queen Elizabeth national park to check in at your reserve lodge, relax, and have dinner and an overnight.

Accommodation options
Mweya Safari Lodge (Luxury)
Elephant Hab Safari Lodge (Mid-range)
Pumba Cottages (Budget)

Meal plan; Breakfast/ Lunch / Dinner

Walk up very early in the morning to have breakfast and then drive to the park for the early morning game drive to search for the wildlife species on the Kasenyi plain. Kasenyi plain is popularly known as the mating ground for the Uganda Kobs and hunting place to the big predators. During your morning game drive, your driver guide will help you to spot some big predators of the park such as Lions, Spotted hyenas and Leopard and on a good day, you many find them in action because they are so active during morning and evening hours. You will be able to see herds of huge Elephants, Caped buffaloes, Uganda Kobs, Water bucks, Warthogs, Giant forest fog, some primates and many others plus bird species. After your game drive, have a short break to relax, have lunch and later go for your afternoon boat launch trip on the Kanziga channel where you will meet numerous hippopotamuses, Nile Crocodiles and many bird species which made this place to be called the paradise of bird lovers. Since the Kazinga channel is the main water supply of the park, during your afternoon boat launch you may see many other land mammals on the shores of the channel drinking water and other swimming. After your afternoon boat launch on the Kazinga channel, have refreshments and then visit Kasoga community where you will be exposed to how indigenous people around the park carry out their daily activities like fishing using local methods. Dinner and an overnight

Accommodation options
Mweya Safari Lodge (Luxury)
Elephant Hab Safari Lodge (Mid-range)
Pumba Cottages (Budget)

Meal plan; Breakfast/ Lunch / Dinner

Queen Elizabeth National Park – Kyambura Gorge guided nature – Ishasha game drive to search for the tree climbing lions – Drive to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park

Wake up early morning as usual to have breakfast with all your bags already packed in your vehicle and meet your guide to drive to Kyambura gorge forest for a morning guided nature walk. The wonderful Kyambura gorge- also known as the “Valley of Apes” is found in the Eastern side of the Park. The Kyambura gorge is about 1 kilometers widest and almost 100 meters deep and is drained by the stunning River Kyambura. It boasts of a rich wildlife biodiversity which include several bird species and primates including chimpanzees. After your adventurous Kyambura gorge nature walk, transfer to Bwindi Impenetrable forest national park through Ishasha sector at southern sector of Queen Elizabeth national park to search for the tree climbing lions. Tree climbing lions are only found in Queen Elizabeth national park of Uganda and Lake Manyara of Tanzania in the whole of Africa and meeting them relaxing in the branches of huge fig trees is so wonderful because lions are known to not climb trees. Have lunch and later continue with your journey to Bwindi impenetrable forest national park the re-known home to the biggest population of mountain gorillas in Africa to check in at your reserved lodge to relax. Dinner and an overnight

Accommodation options
Sanctuary Gorilla Forest Camp (Luxury)
Silverback Lodge (Mid-range)
Ride 4 a woman (Budget)

Meal plan; Breakfast/ Lunch / Dinner

You will wake up very early to have breakfast get your packed lunch, then meet your driver and head to the park offices for briefing at 7:00 am. During the briefing session, the UWA Ranger guide will give you all the requirements information about the guidelines to follow during mountain gorilla trekking, you get assigned a gorilla family and a guide and then head to the forest to search for the mountain gorillas. Each mountain gorilla family is supposed to be met by 8 people per day so, you will be joined by other 7 people. The walk will take you through thick forest, sharp and muddy trails. The time taken while looking for the mountain gorillas is not known but it can be between 1 to 6 hours depending on the location of the gorilla family you are tracking. Once you meet them, you will have a maximum of one hour to stay with them, taking photos and asking questions as you would want. After your one hour with the endangered mountain gorillas, you will return to the starting point to pick your tracking certificate, have refreshments and lunch and then embark on your drive to Mgahinga gorilla national park where silver meets gold meaning one place park where mountain gorillas and golden monkeys leaves co-existing. When you arrive at the park, drive straight to check in at your booked lodge to relax, dinner and an overnight

Accommodation options
Mount Gahinga Lodge (Luxury)
Lake Mulehe Safari Lodge (Mid-range)
Travelers Rest House (Budget)

Meal plan; Breakfast/ Lunch / Dinner

After breakfast, your driver will drive you to the park information center to be briefed about the guidelines to follow during the forest walk to search for the golden monkeys. Then begin the forest hike over the volcanic terrain while looking for the Golden Monkeys in the bamboo forests their natural habitat. There are only three countries where you can see the endangered Golden Monkeys in the wild and there are only about 5000 individuals which are remaining in the Virunga Volcano Chain commonly called the Virunga Massif. The two safest and best places for the Golden Monkey Tracking are Uganda and Rwanda but the prime destination for Golden Monkey encounter is Mgahinga Gorilla National Park in Uganda where you can do a Golden Monkey Trek and spend one hour with the Golden Monkeys. During your forest walk, you might spot other wildlife species like the bush pigs, bush duikers other primates like the Mountain gorillas, Black and white colobus monkeys, Olive baboons and many bird species. After spending an hour with the golden monkeys, return to the lodge have lunch, relax and then in the evening go for the guided Batwa community tour. This trail of the Batwa “Pygmy” people gives a chance explore their cultural heritage and why they treasure forests as their main habitants. Their lifestyle is so unique and always looking at forests as their best gift that God gave them and they call themselves “Forest keepers” and believe that all forests belongs to them. They felt rejected by God when some forests were gazette to be part of national park for wildlife conservation such as Mgahinga forest and Bwindi Impenetrable forest. The tour will be guided by the Twa local guide who will give you much about their traditional forest life and culture, ways of gathering honey, demonstration of their past hunting techniques, making fire through use of their local tools, pointing out the medicinal plants and how to get medicine out of them, demonstrating how to make cups and other materials from bamboo trees, visiting the sacred Ngarama Cave which was a home to the Batwa King and finally enjoy their  exciting cultural dances and you may decide to participate. Dinner and an overnight

Accommodation options
Mount Gahinga Lodge (Luxury)
Lake Mulehe Safari Lodge (Mid-range)
Travelers Rest House (Budget)

Meal plan; Breakfast/ Lunch / Dinner

Early rise today to grab your breakfast and go for your morning meandering hiking in the lower slopes of Mount Sabyinyo that will take you through different vegetation zones all the way to the gorge. The park has three of the Virunga volcanoes with great hiking trails though Mount Sabyinyo is the most adventurous and best trails. Mount Sabyinyo is rocky natured with terrain along the Sabinyo’s slopes and many craters with sharp ridges and can only be hiked from Uganda. Hiking it requires someone to be physically fit to be able to reach at the final summit and it is a one day hike. At its summit, you will be in three countries that is; Rwanda, Uganda and DR Congo at the same time without using a visa, it has a breathtaking view of Mgahinga gorilla national park, Lake Bunyonyi. It takes 4 hours to reach at the summit and 4 hours to descend, but it highly depend on the weather conditions, pace and physical fitness of the climbers. The hike will take you through variety of vegetation covers like the bamboo zone between 2400 – 2800m where you might spot some wildlife species such as golden monkeys in the bamboo forest zones, caped buffaloes, forest elephant, bush pigs and many bird species such as the famous Rwenzori Turaco, and on a lucky day you may meet mountain gorillas however, these may be not habituated. After sloping, relax and drive to Lake Bunyonyi to relax, dinner and an overnight.

Accommodation options;
Birdnest Resort (Luxury)
Arcadia Lodge Bunyonyi (Mid-range)
Bunyonyi View Resort (Budget)

Meal plan; Breakfast/ Lunch / Dinner

This day after enjoying your heavy breakfast, go for an early morning boat riding on Lake Bunyonyi. Lake Bunyonyi is the deepest lake in Uganda and second deepest in Africa with 29 small islands and each island has its unique interesting story such as Akampene Island which was used to punish those girls who were found pregnant before marriage by isolating them there until death as a way to teach lesson to others not to do the same mistake. In African culture, it is an abomination for a girl to get pregnant before marriage and it cause disrespect to the family therefore, parents would work hard to keep their girls safe until they get officially married and anyone who would get pregnant before marriage, would be punished. Canoeing on Lake Bunyonyi is one of the most interesting and adventurous activity that you should never miss. After your return to your lodge to check out and start your journey to Lake Mburo National Park with an en-route stop to have lunch in Mbarara town and later continue with your journey to the park to check in at your booked lodge to relax. Lake Mburo National Park is one of the smallest national parks in Uganda but highly blessed with numerous wildlife species such as Caped buffaloes, Zebras, Elands, Impalas, Warthogs, Hippopotamuses, Nile crocodiles, Giraffes, over 300 bird species and other natural features like woodland vegetation, small lakes, rolling hills and deep valleys which provides perfect habitats to wildlife species. After relaxing, go to start your evening through the park to search for the wildlife species and night game drives to search for the search for the nocturnal species like Bush babies, Leopard, White tailed mongoose, Porcupine, and spotted hyenas and many others. Lake Mburo national park is one of the best destination in Uganda for a successful night game drive. Dinner and an overnight

Accommodation options;
Mihingo Safari Lodge (Luxury)
Rwakobo Rock Lodge (Mid-range)
Mpogo Safari Lodge (Budget)

Meal plan; Breakfast/ Lunch / Dinner

On this day, you will have a simple breakfast in the morning and then go for your early morning jungle horseback riding in the park.  Lake Mburo national park is the only national park in Uganda where horse riding can be done in the wilderness. It is an ideal activity to stop a variety of the park’s wildlife species mostly mammals such as Impalas, Giraffes, Zebras, Elands, Buffaloes and other to their feet without them being scared since they are always curious to come closer to see their strange relative without stripes. During horseback riding, there is an opportunity to get off the usual game drive tracks to go deep inside the park which allows you to spot more mammals and birds than when doing a game drive using a safari vehicle. After enjoying horse, return to your to your lodge to have full breakfast, check out to start your drive back to Entebbe international airport with an en-route stop at the Equator landmark in Kayabwe where you see the water experiment showing the movement of forces like on the northern hemisphere, waters rotates clockwise and rotate anticlockwise on the southern hemisphere and no movement at the middle of the line because all forces from different points just sink in.  Take some memorial photos at this landmark, have lunch and refreshments and later proceed with your drive straight to Entebbe international airport to meet your return flight and this will be the end of your 10 days Uganda gorilla trekking and wildlife tour

Meal plan; Breakfast / Lunch