8 Day Gorilla and Chimpanzee Safari - Uganda

Day 1 – Arrival

Arrive in Uganda at Entebbe Airport where a Volcanoes Safaris representative will assist you to your hotel. Overnight at Hotel No. 5 (breakfast).

Day 2 - Queen Elizabeth National Park

Transfer from your hotel to Entebbe airport where a representative will assist you with your domestic flight to Kasese airstrip, where you will be welcomed by your expert Safaris guide who will provide knowledge and assistance throughout your journey.
Drive through Queen Elizabeth National Park for approximately 2 hours to Kyambura Gorge Lodge. The lodge has stunning views of the Queen Elizabeth plains, the Kazinga channel and outstanding panoramic views of the snow-covered peaks of the Rwenzori Mountains (known as the Mountains of the Moon).
Visit the Rwenzori Sculpture Foundation, which lies in the foothills of the impressive Rwenzori Mountains, on the way to the lodge and learn about the cultural partnership with Volcanoes Safaris.
After lunch participate in the Kyambura Gorge Eco-tourism Project. Try roasting coffee with the Kyambura Women’s Coffee Cooperative, go birding in the Kyambura reclaimed wetlands, and plant a tree seedling in the wildlife buffer zone. Enjoy pre-dinner cocktails on the veranda overlooking the sweeping views of the rolling savanna and the sunken Kyambura Gorge.
Flying time between 1 to 1.5 hours, driving time 2 hours.
Overnight at Kyambura Gorge Lodge (lunch, dinner)

Day 3 - Game Drive in the Kasenyi Plains

Enjoy an early breakfast and set out for a morning game drive. The Kasenyi plains are excellent for sighting lions, leopard, elephant and buffalo. The Mweya peninsula is one of the best places to look for leopards, which live in the dense, scrubby thickets. Go on your game drive with a member of the Kyambura Wildlife Team and learn about the Kyambura Lion Monitoring Project. Overnight at Kyambura Gorge Lodge (breakfast, lunch, dinner)

Day 4 - Chimpanzee Tracking

After breakfast walk from the lodge directly down into Kyambura Gorge, to search for the ‘Lost Chimpanzees of Kyambura’. The gorge is an extraordinary natural environment and forms a stark contrast to the surrounding grasslands. Here you can track one of our closest animal relatives: the chimpanzee. This group of isolated chimps are quite mobile and viewing can be unpredictable but the walk itself is exciting and enchanting. In the afternoon take a cruise on the Kazinga Channel, which flows between Lakes Edward and George. Kazinga is home to one of the greatest concentration of hippo in Africa and herds of elephant, buffalo and other animals come to drink at the waters edge. The channel is a magnet for waterbirds, with great flocks of pelicans and others birds on the shore, and a great spot to see African fish eagle.
After your boat cruise, harvest honey with the Kyambura bee-keeping cooperative and go on a gorge walk to see birds, monkeys and other wildlife in the Kyambura Wetland.
Overnight at Kyambura Gorge Lodge (breakfast, lunch, dinner)

Day 5 - Bwindi Forest Safari

After breakfast at the lodge your safari now continues to the primeval Bwindi Forest. Driving through the Ishasha sector of Queen Elizabeth National Park, look for the famous tree-climbing lions. The fascinating journey through the rapidly changing landscape takes you up in the highlands to Bwindi Lodge situated on the edge of the impenetrable forest. Enjoy pre-dinner cocktails on the veranda overlooking the dramatic Bwindi Forest with the calls of more than 150 bird species echoing in the distance.
Enjoy a fireside chat with a vet from the Gorilla Doctors to learn more about gorilla conservation and research.
Approximate driving time 5-6 hours. Overnight at Bwindi Lodge (lunch, dinner)

Day 6 - Gorilla Tracking

After enjoying an early breakfast, you set off gorilla tracking. Trekking through the steep, densely forested hills and then finally coming across the gorillas camouflaged in the vegetation is an inspiring and privileged moment. Tracking in the Bwindi Forest can be steep and requires stamina as some gorilla families can be more elusive, and tracking can take a full day, especially if it is wet and muddy.
Visit the award-winning Bwindi Bar after your gorilla trek and celebrate with the signature Gorillini cocktail and taste the famous Ugandan ‘Rolex’ wrap! Bwindi Bar provides hospitality training to young, disadvantaged youth from the neighbouring communities. Approximate driving time to begin the gorilla trekking can be up to 2 hours, depending on the location of the gorilla groups.
Overnight at Bwindi Lodge (breakfast, lunch, dinner)

Day 7 -Plan your Day

Choose from one of these wildlife, community or conservation activities:
• Spend a second day with the majestic mountain gorillas. (additional permits required upon payment of supplement and subject to availability).
• Take a guided walk in the rainforest, passing between ferns and orchids before emerging to see three pristine waterfalls.
• Enjoy a guided birding walk along the Munyanga River Trail.
• Visit Conservation Through Public Health and learn about gorilla conservation.
• Enjoy a demonstration of our local tea processing cooperative at Bwindi Lodge.

Overnight at Bwindi Lodge (breakfast, lunch, dinner)

Day 8 - Depart

Leave Bwindi Lodge and drive to Kihihi Airport for your morning or afternoon return flight to Entebbe and connect in time for your international flight. Drive is approximately 2 hours followed by a flight time of 1 – 2 hours. Please book international flights departing after 8pm
(Breakfast at the lodge)

To relax after your day’s activities, enjoy a complimentary spa treatments and massages, including the famous Rungu massage at the Humula Forest Spa.