Uganda Gorilla Tracking & Wildlife Safari

HIGHLIGHTS

Starts/Ends: Entebbe, Uganda

Country Visited: Uganda

Main Activities:  Scenic Viewing, Game Viewing, Boat Ride, Gorilla Tracking, Walking Safari

Strength Demand: Moderately Demanding

8 Day Uganda Gorilla Tracking & Wildlife Safari

Route:  Kampala – Mburo – Queen – Bwindi Forest  – Kampala

This 8 Days Gorilla Tracking & Wildlife Safari is one of the most essential Uganda gorilla safaris that enable you experience mountain gorilla tracking in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest.

Meeting these gentle giants in the middle of the misty Bwindi jungles is always an undescribable encounter, one that stays with you forever. The adrenaline kicks in when you’re up close to the imposing figure of a silver back and it’s all very imposing nature alongside its curious babies peeking through leaves as they twist, turn and somersault for your entertainment.

Like many tourists that have trekked these mountain gorillas have said `this is a not only a life time Uganda safari but the ultimate world safari’.

Safari Highlights

• The awesome and exciting experience of spending time with the Gorillas and watching at close range asthey feed, play and relax.
• Enjoying game drives in Queen Elizabeth National Park and a boat cruise on the Kazinga Channel.
• An encounter with the Batwa (former forest dwellers) for a demonstration of their former hunting and trapping techniques, and how to make ointments from native plants to cure all manner of ailments.
• A visit to a Batwa home to see the traditional huts used for grinding millet, cooking over an open fire and distilling local potent gin (Waragi).
• The rare treat at the beautifully created Lake Bunyonyi where you will enjoy cool canoe rides as you spot splendid varieties birds and wildlife;scenic views and native cultural exposures.
• The thrill of a game-walking safari in Lake Mburo National Park
• An opportunity to stand in two hemispheres at the Equator for memorable photos.

Day 1: Arrival and Transfer to Kampala

You will be met at the airport by our Gorilla Tracking & Wildlife Safari guide who will transfer you to the hotel reserved for you in Kampala.

Dinner and overnight will be at this hotel.

Day 2: Travel to Lake Mburo National Park, Boat ride and evening game drive

You will set off after breakfast for the Lake Mburo National Park in the western part of the country. You will have a stopover at the Mpigi Drum Makers village to see how the Royal drums are made using traditional methods that have been handed down over generations.

Another Gorilla Tracking & Wildlife Safaristopover will be at the Equator for photos at this international landmark where you will have the remarkable opportunity of standing in 2 hemispheres at the same time. You will continue the drive through the rolling hills and plains dotted with community homesteads and herds of the long horned Ankole cattle to Lake Mburo National Park.

You will arrive in time, have your lunch and go for an afternoon boat ride on Lake Mburo, rich with a variety of water animals such as hippos, crocodiles, and bird species. Later you will go for an evening game drive where you will see zebra, hippos, crocodiles, eland, antelope, impala, and a variety of birds. Dinner and overnight will be at your lodge of booking.

Day 3: Game drive in Mburo, Walking Safari and transfer to Queen

You will wake up early and set off for a morning game drive to enjoy the rich biodiversity of this small park that boasts of the largest herds of zebra, impala, gigantic eland, topis and a variety of bird species. You will return to the lodge for a late breakfast, after, you will have a short drive to the Rwonyo park headquarters.

This has often been a good chance of seeing hyenas coming back to the water you will see buffalo zebra, impala and topi and with a bit of luck may be even asitatunga, an antelope rarely seen living in the papyrus swamps and hit the road again to Queen Elizabeth National Park, arriving in the evening. Dinner and overnight will be at the lodge of your booking.

Day 4: Game drive and boat cruise in Queen Elizabeth National Park

After your morning breakfast, you will have an early morning Game drive where you will see the lion, leopard, giant forest hog, Cape buffalo, elephant, defassa waterbuck, Uganda Kob, topi and bushbuck among others. You will return to your lodge for lunch and in the afternoon go for a 2-hour boat cruise on the Kazinga Channel.

This is a 42km channel that joins Lake Edward and Lake George. The boat trip passes through possibly the highest concentration of hippos and offers an excellent opportunity for photography, bird watching and game viewing. The prolific bird life is colorful, with well over 550 resident species. Dinner and overnight will be spent at your reserved lodge.

Day 5: Game Drive in Ishasha sector and Transfer to Bwindi

You will have an early breakfast and go for a morning game drive in Ishasha sector in search for the tree climbing lions. Expect to see other animal species such as the warthogs, leopard, spotted hyena and birds.

We will visit the Uganda Kob mating ground which is a defined area specifically used by kobs for challenging, enticing and mating adult rams defend a circle territory (30meters diameter) and depending on the season the mating ground can have 20 and more of these small.

After, then you will transfer to Bwindi Impenetrable forest. Dinner and overnight will be at your lodge of booking.

Day 6: Gorilla Trekking (Bwindi Impenetrable NP), and Batwa Experience

Today enjoy surely. After breakfast, proceed for the morning briefing before enjoying the highlight of the trip- Gorilla trekking, which may last the entire day. We trek through the rainforest and bamboo covered slopes, accompanied by a guide and trackers, in search of a mountain gorilla family. The walking can sometimes be tough and long, but when you catch a glimpse of the magnificent silverback, any discomforts will be quickly forgotten.

When sighted, visitors will be guided to within 6 meters from the gorillas, sit around them for a whole hour while gazing into their big round eyes. Gorilla trekking is unpredictable. It’s difficult to foresee how many hours you will hike. The gorilla excursion can take from 2 up to 8 hours. Expect to walk along distance in steep and muddy conditions, sometimes with rain overhead, before you encounter any gorillas.

A good physical condition is recommended. For conservation purposes, time spent with the gorillas is limited to one hour. A ranger will brief you on how to behave with the gorillas.   Time allowing you will go for a guided community walk to experience the livelihoods of the local communities. As planned, you take on the gorilla trekking Bwindi route to visit a traditional herbalist to see how he prepares native medicine to treat a wide array of human ailments, see a black smith manufacturing local tools used in everyday life and see how local beer is brewed using local methods.

You will also be entertained by the traditional dances offered by the community.

Dinner and overnight will be at your lodge of booking.

Day 7: Transfer Lake Bunyonyi, canoe Ride, hike to the view point, visit schools and Batwa Community

You will after breakfast, transfer to Lake Bunyonyi. You will drive through a beautiful part of the country often referred to as ‘the Switzerland of Africa’ because of its unique cool weather despite being near the Equator. This lake is said to be one of the most beautiful places in western Uganda.

It is the second deepest lake in Africa [900 meters deep] and also one of the few places in the country where it is considered safe to swim as it is bilharzias free. Bunyonyi means “place of little birds”and as the name suggests, there is plenty of birdlife around the lake. The landscape around the lake is made up of terraced hills protruding from the water’s edge.

You will go for a canoe ride, swim on the lake or hike to the view point on the hills to see the exceedingly beautiful scenery of this part of the country. You will visit the local schools around and the Batwa community where you will have a chance to interact with the people of these community to know their ways of living.

Dinner and overnight will be at the lodge of your booking.

Day: 8 Transfer back to Kampala

You will have breakfast and drive to Kampala arriving in the late afternoon.