7 DAYS GORILLA TREKKING SAFARIS

Day 1: Transfer to Murchison Falls National Park. On-foot rhino tracking tour in

Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary.

Day 2: Morning game drive and afternoon boat cruise.

Day 3: Transfer to Queen Elizabeth National Park. Via crater lakes in Fortportal.

Day 4: Chimpanzee trekking in Kyambura gorge. Boat cruise on Kazinga channel.

Day 5: Early morning game drive & transfer to Bwindi impenetrable forest.

Day 6: Gorilla trekking and transfer to Lake Bunyonyi in the evening.

Day 7: Transfer back to Kampala and departure.

Detailed tour.

Day 1: Arrival at Entebbe International Airport. Pick up and transfer to your hotel.

Arrival Entebbe International Airport: on arrival, you will be picked up by your driver

guide who will transfer you to your overnight accommodation in Kampala.

For early arrival, you can undertake a short city excursion and visit the Uganda Wildlife

Education Center, Botanical gardens, local markets, or relax at the Imperial botanical

Beach and admire beautiful sunset over Lake Victoria. (This is an optional activity).

Accommodation.

Budget: Dolphin Suites, Kampala

Day 2: Transfer to Murchison falls National Park. On-foot rhino tracking tour in

Ziwa Rhino sanctuary.

Pick up from overnight accommodation in Kampala or Entebbe. You will be transferred

to Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary.

Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary is a private, non-profit, animal sanctuary in Uganda. It proudly

harbors Uganda`s endangered Rhinos.

On arrival, you will be briefed and thereafter begin your on-foot Rhino tracking.

Depending on how long this activity takes, proceed with the drive and arrive at your

lodge in Murchison Falls National Park.

Murchison Falls National Park; covering an area of 3,893 km² this particular park sits on

the shores of Lake Albert in northwest Uganda. It’s known for Murchison Falls, where

the Victoria Nile River surges through a narrow gap over a massive drop. On arrival,

you will check into your lodge and relax.

In the evening, you may go for a sunset game drive where you expect to encounter

numerous wildlife including Elephants, buffaloes, lions, leopards, water bucks,

Rothschild giraffes, antelopes and numerous species of birds.

Depending on how long this takes, return to the lodge for dinner and overnight stay.

Accommodation:

Budget: Parkside Safari Lodge

Day 3: Morning game drive and afternoon boat cruise.

With packed breakfast, you will do an early morning game drive exploring the different

tracks in the park. Expect to encounter numerous animals including Elephants, the

Rothschild giraffes, antelopes, lions, buffaloes, leopards, birds and hippos, etc.

Depending on what you see and how long this drive takes, you will return to the lodge

for your lunch.

After lunch, you will do a boat cruise on the Nile; expecting to numerous wildlife i.e.,

from birds to reptiles, you will be dropped at the bottom of the Falls; here you will take

pictures of the waterfalls from a distance and then sail back to the docking point at

Paraa.

From here you can drive to the top of falls if you didn’t visit the previous day. While at

the top, you will have up-close views of these waterfalls, take amazing photos and later

transfer you back to the lodge for your dinner and overnight stay.

Accommodation:

Budget: Parkside Safari Lodge

Day 4: Transfer to Queen Elizabeth National Park. Tour the crater lakes of

Fortportal.

After breakfast and with lunch enroute, you will embark on a journey to Queen Elizabeth

National Park.

Make a stopover in Fortportal, have lunch at Gardens Restaurant and proceed for crater

lakes exploration. Have a leisurely walk within the nearby crater lakes and or hike to

“top of the world’ and take in all the amazing view of over 38 crater lakes in Kabarole

district.

Proceed for more 1.5 hours’ drive to Queen Elizabeth National Park in Kasese district

on the foot hills of towering Rwenzori Mountains.

Queen Elizabeth National Park occupies an area of 1,978 km². It is located on foothills

of Rwenzori Mountains and is home to several savannah species of flora and fauna. It

was established in 1952 and named after Queen Elizabeth II.

Accommodation:

Budget: Pumba Safari Cottages

Day 5: Chimpanzee trekking in Kyambura Gorge. Boat cruise on Kainga channel.

Have breakfast and proceed for an adventurous chimpanzee trekking experience in

Kyambura gorge. Chimps are very vocal and their location can be identified by following

their hoots and distant cries. In case they are quiet, their footprints (in mud) and poop

can help you to locate them.

Once you locate them, you will be able to watch them play, breastfeed, mate, rest and

even fight. The chimps in Kyambura gorge have a remarkable habit of getting down the

trees each time they see visitors. This allows for great photos from a close distance.

Apart from the chimpanzees, the forest exposes visitors to unique and amazing

biodiversity.

Visitors will have an opportunity to spot rare vegetation and tall tropical trees. The forest

is also home to other primates like baboons, monkeys, forest elephants (occasionally)

and numerous birds. The whole activity takes between 2 to 3 hours.

Have lunch and in the afternoon, undertake a boat trip along Kazinga channel to view

large and small mammals, reptiles and several bird species.

Kazinga Channel is a wide, 32 - kilometers long water channel that links Lake Edward

and Lake George and a dominant feature in Queen Elizabeth National Park.

Depending how long the cruise takes, you will return to the lodge for dinner and

overnight stay.

Accommodation:

Budget: Pumba Safari Cottages

Day 6: Early morning game drive & transfer to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest.

An early game drive starts at 6:30 am to be able to spot the early risers like lions,

leopards, jackals, buffaloes, water bucks, kobs spotted hyenas among others. Others

that you can spot are elephants, antelopes and beautiful birds like African mourning

dove, swamp nightjar, grey-headed kingfisher among others.

The game drive can take 2-3 hours as you explore the savannah plains of Queen

Elizabeth national park with its beautiful scenery.

After this experience, immediately transfer southwards to Bwindi impenetrable forest;

The National Park is famous for having half of the remaining mountain gorillas and

covering an area of 321sq.km.

Also, it is home to over 340 bird species, over 120 mammals of which most of them are

small forest creatures such as monkeys and over 900 plant species. Batwa and Bakiga

are the communities that live near this park and their culture is something not to be

missed. Arrive at the park lodge in the evening for your dinner and overnight stay.

Accommodation:

Budget: Rushaga Gorilla Havens Lodge

Day 7: Gorilla trekking and transfer to Lake Bunyonyi in the evening.

Wake up at 6:00am for a warm cup of African coffee, prepare for your long-awaited trek.

At 7:00am, hike to the visitors briefing area, which is a few minutes’ drive from your

place of accommodation. Meet with the head ranger and other visitors for a general

briefing on the dos and don’ts while conducting this memorable trek.

It is during this briefing that you’ll be allocated a specific group of gorillas to track

together with a ranger, guide and porter in case you need one to carry your luggage.

The trek starts at 8.30am with simple forest hikes through designated trails and

depending on the gorilla family, trekking experience can last for about 2-8 hours. The

trek may become strenuous depending on the weather and how far the gorillas have

moved, but the epic one-hour encounter with a habituated family is truly refreshing.

Later, return back to the starting point with fellow trekkers, meet your guide or have a

quick picnic lunch and transfer to Lake Bunyonyi immediately.

This is one of Africa’s deepest lakes (2 nd only to Lake Tanganyika in Tanzania). While

here, you will admire the sweeping terraced hills on the backdrop of over 28 islands that

make up Lake Bunyonyi, each island with a unique story that you will learn when you

take a local dugout canoe under the guidance of local tour guide.

There are many activities that you might indulge in while here, including canoe

experience, boat cruise, hiking, island hopping and swimming (the lake is bilharzia free).

End the day at the lodge with dinner and a peaceful

Accommodation:

Midrange: Lake Bunyonyi Rock resort

Day 8: Transfer to Kampala.

After breakfast on the shores of Lake Bunyonyi, leave at leisure via Mbarara-Kabale

highway; pass Igongo cultural center for lunch and the equator for memorable photos.

You’ll be dropped off at the airport later in the evening for your departure flight.