7 day Community and Conservation Safari in Uganda

Day 1

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

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 Volcanoes 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. Visit the Rwenzori Sculpture Foundation on the way and learn about the cultural partnership with Volcanoes Safaris to support young Ugandan artists.

In the afternoon, harvest honey with the Kyambura bee-keeping cooperative, or go on an early evening walk to the Kyambura wetlands to see birds, monkeys and other wildlife.

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 1-2 hour. Overnight at Kyambura Gorge Lodge (lunch, dinner)

Day 2

Enjoy an early breakfast and set out for a morning game drive for the best wildlife viewings in the park. Depending on the season the wildlife seen varies. The Kasenyi plains are excellent for sighting lion and large herds of Uganda kob. The Mweya peninsula is one of the best places to look for leopard, which live in the dense, scrubby thickets.

You will be joined by a member of the Kyambura Wildlife Team on your game drive who will teach you how to take lion identification photos and track your GPS, which will form part of an annual carnivore census as part of the Lion Monitoring Project,

After lunch, participate in the Kyambura Gorge Eco-tourism Project, run by Volcanoes Safaris Partnership Trust in partnership with the Jane Goodall Institute. Try roasting coffee with the Kyambura Women’s Coffee Cooperative, plant a tree seedling in the wildlife buffer zone and review camera traps along the lodge’s extensive trails and check for photos of any animals captured during the night.

Overnight at Kyambura Gorge Lodge (breakfast, lunch, dinner)

Day 3

After an early bush breakfast overlooking the park, walk along the Fig Tree Trail and then down into Kyambura Gorge, to search for the ‘Lost Chimps 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. The walk is exciting and enchanting as you look for members of this mobile chimp group, often seen moving quickly between the canopy overhead as they search for food.

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.

Overnight at Kyambura Gorge Lodge (breakfast, lunch, dinner)

Day 4

Transfer to Kasese Airstrip for an early morning flight to Kisoro. Transfer by road for 1 to 2 hours to Mount Gahinga Lodge. The lodge is located at the foot of the Virunga Volcanoes and on the edge of Mgahinga National Park.

In the afternoon visit the Gahinga Batwa Village and experience the culture and history of one of Africa’s oldest tribes. On your tour, you will visit their new village and community centre and can participate in the Batwa Heritage Tour to gain insight into their traditional life as hunter gatherers in the forest.

Enjoy pre-dinner cocktails and a fireside chat with a vet from the Gorilla Doctors and learn about their daily work looking after the health of the mountain gorillas.

Overnight at Mount Gahinga Lodge (breakfast, lunch, dinner).

Day 5

After enjoying an early breakfast, 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.

After a climb of between one and three hours the moment you find the gorillas camouflaged in the vegetation is an inspiring and privileged one. You will spend one hour in the company of the majestic and gentle mountain gorillas before returning to the lodge in time for a late lunch.

Gorilla trekking requires stamina and can sometimes take a full day, especially if it is wet and muddy.

Relax after your day’s tracking experience and enjoy a complimentary spa treatments and massages, including the famous Rungu massage at Gahinga Spa and Sauna. Visit the Batwa Vocational Center and see how the community are earning a sustainable income through craft making.

Overnight at Mount Gahinga Lodge (breakfast, lunch, dinner).

Day 6

After enjoying an early breakfast, set off to track the rare golden monkeys through the bamboo forests of the mountains. The monkeys travel in large groups and are as energetic as they are photogenic, often seen playing in the high branches or foraging on the ground for bamboo shoots.

Later in the afternoon hike the Gisozi caldera and enjoy sundowners over magical views of the Kisoro valley, with Lake Mutanda in the distance.

Overnight at Mount Gahinga Lodge (breakfast, lunch, dinner).

Day 7

Transfer from Mount Gahinga Lodge to Kisoro airstrip for your morning flight to Entebbe and then connect to your international flight.

Approximate Travel Times: Flying 1 to 1.5 hours; Driving time 1 hour.

Please book international flights departing after 7pm

(Breakfast at the lodge)