This 5 days gorilla trekking and wildlife safari will take you to Bwindi impenetrable national park in southwestern Uganda where you will engage in gorilla trekking an adventurous activity that allows you to spend time to the habituated gorilla family in their natural habitat. You will also visit Queen Elizabeth national park where you will have spectacular views of animals like elephants, Uganda kobs, lions, leopards, waterbucks, warthogs, buffaloes, bushbucks, topi and colorful bird species during the interesting game drive and boat cruise on Kazinga channel.

Highlights of the 5 days gorilla trekking and wildlife safari

Day 1: Pick up from Entebbe and transfer to Bwindi impenetrable national park

Day 2: Gorilla trekking in Bwindi impenetrable national park

Day 3: Transfer from Bwindi impenetrable national park to Queen Elizabeth national park

Day 4: Morning game drive and afternoon boat cruise

Day 5: Morning game drive and departure to Kampala

Detailed itinerary

Day 1 of the 5 days gorilla trekking and wildlife safari

Arrival and transfer to Bwindi impenetrable national park, depending on the time of arrival at Entebbe international airport on day 1 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 in south western Uganda. It’s a whole day journey which takes about 8 to 9 hours drive and on the way you will have a stopover at the Equator where you will buy souvenirs, take photos and continue the journey with a stopover at Igongo cultural centre for lunch. After lunch you will continue to journey passing via Mbarara town, Kabale town with great views of the rolling hills, beautiful landscape, traditional homesteads, Kigezi hills, terraced farmlands among others. Upon arrival you will check into the lodge, have dinner and overnight.

Day 2: Gorilla trekking in Bwindi impenetrable national park

Gorilla trekking, on day 2 of the 5 days gorilla trekking and wildlife safari you will have an early breakfast, carry packed lunch and meet up with your driver guide to transfer to the park headquarters for a briefing about the rules, regulations and expectations of gorilla trekking. After the briefing you will be allocated a habituated gorilla family to trek, a park guide that is well conversant with the trails in the forest and then start trekking in the jungle. Allocation of gorilla families in Bwindi impenetrable national park is done according to physical fitness, age and personal preferences because gorilla trekking in Bwindi forest is strenuous therefore in case you are not physically fit you are advised to communicate with your driver guide so that they allocate you a gorilla family that is easy to trek

Trekking of mountain gorillas in the park starts at 8:00am and 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 gorilla trekking you will have views of primate species like chimpanzees, l’hoest monkeys, view forest bird, animals like duikers, forest elephants, buffaloes, different plant and tree species 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 learn more about their lifestyle, behaviors, habits, watch them feed, breastfeed, play, take great photos and record the 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 awarded a certificate for participating in gorilla trekking, meet up with your driver guide to transfer back to the lodge for an evening relaxation, dinner and overnight.

Day 3: Transfer to Queen Elizabeth national park

After an early breakfast on day 3 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 Queen Elizabeth national park. On the way you will pass via Ishasha sector in the southern part of Queen Elizabeth national park where you will be able to see the tree climbing lions lying up in acacia/fig tree branches staring at the prey. You will also be able to see other animals like buffaloes, elephants, warthogs, Uganda kobs, different bird species among others during the game drive. After the game drive you will have en-route lunch and then proceed to the park where you will go for a short evening game drive with views of animals like elephants, giant forest hogs, buffaloes, warthogs among others going back to their resting areas. After the evening game drive you will drive to the lodge check in, have dinner and overnight.

Day 4: Morning game drive/ lion tracking and afternoon boat cruise

Morning game drive/ lion tracking experience, after an early breakfast on day 4 of the 5 days gorilla trekking and wildlife safari, you will meet up with your driver guide to go for a morning game drive or lion tracking experience in Kasenyi plains where you will be able to view animals when they are most active. During the game drive which is carried out in a comfortable safari vehicle you will follow different game tracks which provide great views of animals like elephants, buffaloes, topi, lions, leopards, Uganda kobs, oribi, waterbucks, bushbucks, warthogs, view different bird species, vegetation types among others. After the exciting game drive you will drive back to the lodge for lunch.

Boat cruise, after lunch you will drive to the landing site near Mweya safari lodge for an amazing boat cruise on Kazinga channel a water body  that connects lake George and lake Edward. The scheduled boat cruise will start at around 2:00pm and take 2 hours ride, during the boat ride you will be able to cruise close to elephants, buffaloes, antelopes, warthogs among others drinking water along the shores of the lake, large herds of hippos in water, Nile crocodiles basking along the water banks, view water birds like cormorants, African fish eagle, hornbills, kingfishers, view fishermen preparing their nets for night fishing among others. After the boat cruise you will drive back to the lodge for dinner and overnight.

Day 5: Morning game drive and departure to Kampala

Game drive, on day 5 of the 5 days gorilla trekking and wildlife safari you will have a relaxed breakfast, check out of the lodge and meet up with your driver guide to go for another game drive where you will be able to view wildlife species that you might have missed during the previous game. After the short game drive you will drive out of the park and start the journey to Kampala with en-route lunch on the way. Upon arrival your driver guide will drop you off at Entebbe international airport for your departure flight or drop off at any place of convenience.

End of 5 days gorilla trekking and wildlife safari

5 days gorilla trekking and wildlife safari includes          

• Gorilla trekking permit
• Park entrance fees
• Lion tracking fee
• Boat cruise fee
• An English speaking driver guide
• Full board accommodation
• Pick up and drop off
• Vehicle and fuel
• Bottled water

5 days gorilla trekking and wildlife safari excludes

• Air flight tickets
• Visas
• Personal insurance
• Optional activities not included on the itinerary
• Personal expenses like buying souvenirs, cigarettes, crafts, drinks, laundry services, hiring a porter, tips among others.