7 Day Gorilla and Chimpanzee Safari

Day 1

Arrive at Entebbe airport where a staff representative will assist you with the transfer to your domestic flight to Kasese. Once in Kasese 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 on the way to Kyambura Gorge Lodge. Enjoy pre-dinner cocktails on the veranda overlooking the savannah plains with the magnificent Rwenzori Mountains in the distance.

Flying time between 1 to 1.5 hours, driving time 2 hours.

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 can visit and participate in the Kyambura Gorge Eco-tourism Project, run by Volcanoes Safaris Partnership Trust (VSPT). 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.

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

Day 3

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, see a performance from the Omumushaka Dance Group, and go on a gorge walk to see birds, monkeys and other wildlife around Kyambura Gorge Lodge.

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

Day 4

After breakfast at the lodge your safari now continues to the primeval Bwindi forest. Driving through the Ishasha sector of Queen Elizabeth National Park who can 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.

Approximate driving time 5-6 hours.

Overnight at Bwindi Lodge (lunch, dinner).

Day 5

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 on the way back to the lodge after your gorilla trek and celebrate with the signature Gorillini cocktail! Bwindi Bar provides hospitality training to young disadvantaged youth from the neighbouring communities.

Approximate driving time up to 2 hours, depending on the location of the gorilla groups.

Overnight at Bwindi Lodge (breakfast, lunch, dinner).

Day 6

Either go for a second gorilla trek (additional permits required, upon payment of supplement and subject to availability), choose from one of the following community and conservation activities:

Take a guided walk in the rainforest to a beautiful waterfall and enjoy a guided birding walk along the Munyanga River Trail. Visit a local village and learn about community life. Visit the Bwindi Community Hospital and learn about their gorilla conservation at the Conservation Through Public Health centre. Enjoy a demonstration of our local tea processing cooperation at Bwindi Lodge.

Overnight at Bwindi Lodge (breakfast, lunch, dinner).

Day 7

Transfer from Bwindi lodge to Kihihi airstrip for your morning or afternoon return flight to Entebbe and connect in time for your international flight.

Approximate Travel Times: Flying 1 to 2 hours; Driving 2 hours.

Please book international flights departing after 8pm.

(Breakfast at the lodge)