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7 day Gorilla and Chimpanzee Safari

Our classic great ape safari in Uganda

This popular 7-Day gorilla and chimpanzee safari in Uganda takes you to some of the finest great ape locations in Africa. Choose from three unique itineraries that combine Volcanoes Safaris great ape lodges in Uganda.

Trek gorillas at either Bwindi Lodge in the ‘Gorilla Highlands’ or Mount Gahinga Lodge, on the Ugandan side of the Virunga volcanoes.

See the chimpanzees at Kyambura Gorge Lodge, home to an isolated group of chimpanzees in a magical rainforested gorge or at Kibale Lodge – the Primate Capital of the World.

Your safari will give you a unique insight into the endangered great apes, their habitats and the communities living nearby. Combine wonderful wildlife sightings with opportunities to participate in conservation and community projects, run by Volcanoes Safaris Partnership Trust.

Enjoy a fireside chat the evening before your gorilla trek with staff from one of our conservation partners, Gorilla Doctors and Conservation Through Public Health, and learn about their conservation work in the park. Join a primatologist from the Kibale Chimpanzee Project when you trek in Kibale or Kyambura and learn about their long-term research program in Kibale.

Rates start from $8,430 per person in low season for this all-inclusive 7-day safari to Bwindi and Kyambura, including one complimentary night at Bwindi Lodge worth up to $1,540.

Highlights

Gorilla Tracking in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest or Mgahinga National Park

Chimpanzee Tracking in Kyambura Gorge or Kibale Forest

Game Drives in Queen Elizabeth National Park to see the famous tree-climbing lions

Participate in community and conservation projects at each lodge

Visit the Kyambura Community and Conservation Centre and go out with the Lion Monitoring Team

Enjoy wonderful birding and nature walks

Exceptional wildlife viewing on the boat cruise on the Kazinga Channel

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Safari Activities and Wildlife

Chimpanzee Trekking

Trekking chimpanzees in their natural habitat, as they swing from the branches in the canopy high above the forest floor is nothing short of exhilarating. The chimps effortlessly cross and scamper through the trees above the gorge, and visitors on the other hand must cross the river using natural bridges in order to keep up with the chimps. So although the walk usually lasts only 2–3 hours, descending the steep gorge and crossing the log bridges over the river requires some agility and fitness.

Chimpanzee trekking is also available in nearby Kalinzu, a forest reserve 30 minutes drive from Kyambura Gorge Lodge where there is a community of about 40 habituated chimpanzees.

Gorilla Trekking

Trekking mountain gorillas through the dense African forests is a magical experience. Only eight visitors are allowed per gorilla group each day, and to minimize possible transmission of human diseases, visitors are asked to maintain a distance of 10m from the gorillas. Typically, tracking can take from 3 to 8 hours and requires some agility and fitness; however, all fitness levels can be accommodated and no one should feel deterred from missing this once in a lifetime experience.

Boat Cruise

The Kazinga Channel is a 32-kilometer long channel, rich in wildlife, that links Lakes Edward and George. Boat trips down the channel depart from Mweya Safari Lodge (about an hour’s drive through the park from Kyambura Gorge Lodge) and last 3-4 hours. The boat cruise provides a wonderful opportunity to photograph the many animals that come to cool off at the waters’ edge, including lion, buffalo, hippo, elephant, and leopard.

Lion Research Safari

Join a local scientific researcher on his daily game drive in Queen Elizabeth National Park to locate and record the behavior of a lion pride he is studying. This activity is best done in the mornings when there is ample time to track the pride and chances of finding them are high.

Waterfall Walk

This walk takes you through a beautiful part of the rainforest, passing between ferns and orchids before emerging to see three pristine waterfalls.

Conservation and Community

Beekeeping

In 2013 the VSPT started a new project of keeping bees at the Volcanoes Safaris Virunga Lodge in Rwanda. This was adapted from the project already in place in Kyambura, which has proved incredibly successful in providing honey and reducing human-wildlife conflict. The VSPT has allocated a plot of land near the lodge where 11 colonized beehives are located. Interested guests staying at the lodge are able to take a tour of the hives to see how the honey is grown and harvested. Five local beekeepers participate in this project and each has contributed one traditional beehive with a bee colony.

Kyambura Football Pitch

Opened in November 2010, the playground was built by members of the community on land purchased by the VSPT located near the Kyambura Gorge Lodge and Queen Elizabeth National Park. The playground provides a safe environment for local children to play and a focal point for the local community.

The area is used for football, netball and the local Kyenzaza Primary School’s fitness lessons. By supporting the local community, the VSPT seeks to encourage conservation of chimpanzees and other local wildlife. In March 2012, the VSPT sponsored uniforms for the Kyenzaza Men’s and Women’s Football Teams and Kyenzaza Primary School’s boys’ team. In return for these uniforms, the teams are being trained how to maintain the ground on their own.

The area is used for football, netball and the local Kyenzaza Primary School’s fitness lessons. By supporting the local community, the VSPT seeks to encourage conservation of chimpanzees and other local wildlife. The VSPT sponsored uniforms for the Kyenzaza Men’s and Women’s Football Teams and Kyenzaza Primary School’s boys’ team. In return for these uniforms, the teams are being trained how to maintain the ground on their own.

Kyambura Women’s Coffee Cooperative

The Kyambura Women’s Coffee Cooperative is a community-based initiative designed to provide vocational training to women and an alternative and sustainable source of income. Twenty local women and their families are actively involved in the cooperative, many of whom are HIV positive and widowed. They tend to over 2,500 Arabica and Robusta coffee plants in 100 acres of rejuvenated land, and process the coffee by hand at a communal processing plant. Members of the cooperative commit to growing the coffee organically, without the use of pesticides or chemical fertilizers.

The coffee is sold to Volcanoes Safaris and served in all of our luxury lodges. The coffee demonstrations are popular with lodge guests who can see how African coffees are harvested and processed before sampling the ‘best cup of coffee in Uganda’.

The coffee plantation also acts as a wildlife buffer zone between the protected area of the gorge and local farmlands, helping to reduce human/wildlife conflict.

To support this project please click on the ‘donate’ button below.

$500 will provide 500 additional coffee seedlings to help grow the project.

$1,000 will provide materials and financial support to the ladies group for three months.

Kyambura Gorge Buffer

The VSPT has worked on purchasing the 3km long buffer along the northern part of the Gorge since 2009. With the purchase completed at the end of 2018 and following the Kyambura Eco-Tourism Project launch event in February 2019, a 3-hour guided walk has been developed and is offered to guests to showcase the buffer created by the project, the scenic views over the Gorge, the Park and Kyambura reserve, and the chance to experience the local homesteads.

In 2024 we are aiming to increase the size of the buffer zone by twenty acres with an estimated cost of $160,000.

A contribution of $10,000 will purchase additional land for the Kyambura Buffer zone, contributing to the protection of wildlife and the communities in this area.

To make a larger contribution to this project please email Esme Stewart, VSPT Project Supervisor at [email protected]

Lodges

Bwindi Lodge

Kyambura Gorge Lodge

Safari Guides

Petrus Kiweewa

Guide, Uganda

Francis Kiwanuka

Head Guide, Uganda

Newsweek

Future of Travel Awards

2021

Afar Magazine

Travel Vanguard

2022

Condé Nast Traveler

Readers' Choice Awards

2022 - 2023

Newsweek

Future of Travel Awards

2021

Afar Magazine

Travel Vanguard

2022

Condé Nast Traveler

Readers' Choice Awards

2022 - 2023

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