Gorilla Tracking and Wildlife Safari
Tackle your bucket list by spending an hour with the endangered mountain gorillas in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, an entire day with the chimpanzees in Kibale forest and cap it off with wildlife viewing in Queen Elizabeth National Park.
Bwindi • Kibale Forest • Queen Elizabeth National Park
Why You’ll Love This Trip
With just over a thousand of these great apes left in the world today, the opportunity to meet them up-close and spend an hour observing them is an ultimate bucket list experience. This is also a step in the right direction towards tourism with a purpose - their numbers are increasing slowly, but surely, in the recent years.
This trip also gives you the chance to follow another primate, the chimpanzees, which are the closest relatives to humans sharing about 98% of their DNA composition with us.
To wrap up the trip, you will head to the most popular savannah park in Uganda, rich in wildlife and birds.
Is This Trip Right For You?
You need to be prepared both in terms of the right gear you bring along for the trek and the fitness aspects. We will share a detailed packing list which will help you bring the right gear with you. While you're there with the gorillas, we want you enjoying every moment of it, and not wishing you had been better prepared for it all.
While you don't need to be an athlete, you should have reasonable fitness to undertake this magical experience. On the morning of your adventure, the rangers do their best to accommodate people in the right groups based on their age and fitness levels. But, it may not always be possible to find a gorilla group for you that is the closest. Based on the gorilla group you're assigned to and how they move that particular day, you may walk an hour or several to meet them.
The terrain could range from tall bamboo forests with soggy clay footing to green vine-covered jungles with unforgiving stinging nettles. Add to that the moving weather conditions where it can be rainy one moment and sunny the next.
If you are reasonably fit and exercise regularly, you will be able to enjoy this trek. If you haven't been working out recently, do your part to prepare your body for this trek so you can enjoy it. From the time you book your trip, start preparing. Walk daily and progressively build on the fitness. Mix up the routine with stair climbing. During the actual trek, you will take ample breaks for hydration and the rangers do their best to accommodate everyone in the group. You will also have the opportunity to hire a porter who will carry your day pack and help you navigate tricky sections.
Your Trip Itinerary
Day 1
Upon arrival at the Entebbe airport, you will be received and transfered to your hotel so you can relax and be well rested to take on the trip from the following day.
Day 2, 3
After a very early breakfast, you will begin your trip to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park. While you're traveling, you could choose to take a nap, enjoy the scenery, have conversations with your guide/driver who is extremely knowledgable about the bush. You will have a stopover at the equator for photography and refreshment. Lunch will be en route and you will arrive at the lodge early evening.
On the day of gorilla tracking, upon reaching the park quarters, you will be briefed on the etiquette for gorilla tracking by the senior park ranger. The hike is led by an armed park ranger. Begin your memorable gorilla tracking adventure which could take anywhere from 1 to 6 hours or so in the jungle. Once these animals are spotted, you will have the opportunity to stay in their presence for an entire hour. After the gorilla trek, your safari guide will transfer you back to the lodge for relaxation and any other activity planned for that day depending on the time of your return.
Day 4, 5
After breakfast, head to Ishasha (southern sector of Queen Elizabeth National Park) – home to the tree climbing lions. After lunch en route, you'll arrive at the Kazinga channel for an afternoon boat cruise. Expect to see great numbers of migrant bird species and animals such as hippos, crocodiles, buffalos and monitor lizards among others on the water shores.
An evening and a morning game drive will not only give you the chance to see the park at different times but also explore the different sections. With an astonishing 5,000 hippos, 2,500 elephants and over 10,000 buffaloes thriving in its grasslands and shorelines, this park guarantees sightings of some of Africa’s most iconic species. Other common herbivores include warthogs, waterbuck, Uganda kob and topi, as well as the sitatunga antelope. The park is also home to 10 primate species and over 600 bird species and big cats such as lion, leopard, and the much elusive serval.
Day 6, 7
After an early breakfast, begin your trip with a morning game drive in the northern sector of the Queen Elizabeth National Park and then continue to Kibale Forest National Park. Lunch will be en route. It's a 2-3 hour drive to Kibale from QENP.
On the day of chimpanzee tracking, after breakfast, transfer to the park headquarters to be briefed by the park warden on etiquette while tracking chimps before you begin the hike. It may take you 30 minutes to 3 hours to encounter the chimpanzees. Watch the chimps playing around, feeding and be prepared to take lots of pictures. Enjoy a guided nature walk in the Bigodi wetlands, home to a variety of bird species and primates. Visit local communities adjacent to the national park to learn about local projects such as the KAFRED among others.
Day 8
After breakfast, you will be transfered back to Entebbe/Kigali depending on your return flight. It's time to say goodbye as you board your return flight.
Inclusions
Gorilla & Chimps Permits • Full Board Accommodation • Full time English speaking Driver/Guide • Ground Transportation by a 4×4 safari vehicle • Park Ranger Fees • Relevant Government Taxes • Airport transfer, as long as your flight is on the same day on which the safari ends
International flights • Visas • Travel insurance • Gratuities • Expenses of personal nature such as drinks, tips, laundry, telephone, cigarettes, accommodation & meals not indicated in the itinerary and optional activities.