9 Days Gorilla Trekking Safari in Uganda, Chimpanzee Trekking & Wildlife Tour Uganda – Overview

The 9 Days Uganda Gorilla trek and Wildlife safari is detailed safari package that provides travelers on Uganda safaris the chance to trek the Mountain Gorillas in the natural habitat of Mgahinga gorilla safari park– where gold meets Silver, explore the Semulki National Park famously known for its rare wildlife species including the pygmy antelope, two flying species of squirrels, forest buffaloes, monkeys, leopards, water chevrotains, hippos, bush babies, civets, elephants and even the 9 species of duikers that can be only found in the park.

The 9 days safari will also take you through the famous Queen Elizabeth national, Loviest lake Bunyonyi and the compact gem of Lake Mburo national park.

The safari will combine Uganda’s most splendid national parks with unique cultural experiences and taste of world class services from some of the finest lodges in Uganda.

9 Days Gorilla Trekking Safari in Uganda, Chimpanzee Trekking & Wildlife Tour Uganda – Highlights

• Day 1: Transfer from Kampala/Entebbe to Semuliki National Park
• Day 2: Do Game Drive and Afternoon Cultural Encounters with the Batwa
• Day 3: Transfer to Queen Elizabeth National Park and do afternoon Launch Cruise
• Day 4: Do morning game drive & Afternoon Chimpanzee trekking
• Day 5: Transfer to Mgahinga National Park and Do game drive in Ishasha sector.
• Day 6: Do Gorilla trekking and After Cultural encounters through Garama Cave.
• Day 7: Transfer to Lake Bunyonyi and do afternoon boat cruise and relaxation
• Day 8: Transfer from Lake Bunyonyi to Lake Mburo National Park.
• Day 9: Do morning Game drive and transfer to Kampala with stopover at the Uganda Equator.

9 Days Gorilla Trekking Safari in Uganda, Chimpanzee Trekking & Wildlife Tour Uganda – Detailed Itinerary

Day 1: Transfer From Kampala/Entebbe to Semliki National Park

To start your Uganda Safari, the driver guide will pick you from your respective Kampala /Entebbe Lodge after your early morning breakfast and you transfer from Kampala driving on the south western direction to Semuliki National Park.

The drive journey of 352 kilometers about 5-6hours without enroute stopovers will take you through the impressive country side landscapes with rural setting and local populations.

Arrive in Fort Portal town for lunch after which you will continue with 52 kilometers drive to Semuliki National Park.

Upon your arrival to the park, you will drive to the lodge to check-in and afterwards proceed to do an afternoon visit to the Hot springs.

The long trail which takes like one hour leads you to the outer parts meeting the Male” spring and the trail continues through a patch of forest where you may watch the red-tailed monkeys, grey-cheeked mangabeys and black-and-white colobus monkeys.

The 30-minutes hike through palm forest from the main road will lead you to the inner, “female” spring, mostly occupied by a boiling geyser where you can do live experiment of boiling Eggs and matooke within period of 30 minutes in boiling hot springs water.

After the activity, you will retire back to your lodge for dinner and overnight.

Accommodation: Semliki Safari Lodge (Upmarket/Luxury), Mountains of the Moon Hotel (Mid-Range), Kirumia Guesthouse (Budget)

Day 2: Do Game Drive and Afternoon Cultural Encounters With The Batwa Community at Ntandi

After your early morning breakfast, you will embark on early morning game drive through the well-established three tracks that cross the Savannah grassland of Toro Semliki Wildlife Reserve.

The early morning game drive rewards with the views the smaller forest and larger Savannah elephants, buffalo, waterbuck, crocodile, warthog and the Ugandan bird species called the Uganda kob.

With luck, you may have chance see pygmy hippopotami as well as leopards and elusive bush babies.

After 3 – 4 hours game drive, you will retreat back to your lodge for relaxation, lunch as you wait for an evening cultural encounter with the local communities around Semulki National Park.

Embark on drive to the local community to have refreshing cultural interaction with the Batwa also dubbed the Pygmies in Uganda.

The encounter will expose you to the local lifestyle of the Batwa people and the local guide will guide you to local homesteads, schools.

The activity will enable you to enjoy cultural performances inform of dances, drama, stories and also visit to craft shops. Retreat back to you lodge after the activity for dinner and overnight.

Accommodation: Semliki Safari Lodge (Upmarket/Luxury), Mountains of the Moon Hotel (Mid-Range), Kirumia Guesthouse (Budget)

Day 3: Transfer to Queen Elizabeth National Park And Do Afternoon Launch Cruise

Wake up early morning, take your breakfast and embark on transfer from Semliki to Queen Elizabeth National Park drive distance of 196 kilometers about 3 – 4 hours’ drive along rough road.

The drive will take you through the impressive country side landscapes with rural setting and local people that you will be by-passing on your way to Queen.

On your arrival to the park, you will connect to Mweya for lunch and an afternoon Kazinga Channel adventurous boat cruise which will offer you possibilities of encountering Hippos, Nile crocodiles, wild game drinking on the channel side and counts of water birds. Retire to your lodge in the evening for relaxation, dinner and overnight.

Accommodation: Mweya Safari Lodge (Upmarket/Luxury), Enganzi Lodge (Midrange/Standard) or Pumba Safari Cottages (Budget/Basic).

Day 4: Do Morning Game Drive & Afternoon Chimpanzee Trekking

Wake up early in the morning like at 6:00am, take your breakfast and embark on an early morning game drive at 6:30am in the rolling Savannah plains of Queen Elizabeth National Park.

The drive will take you through Kasenyi with the opportunities of meeting the nocturnal wildlife species when they are retreating back to their hiding grounds and also meet the early morning risers when they are starting their daily activities of looking for food.

The ranges of wild game which may be seen during the game drive include the elusive leopard, defassa waterbuck, Uganda kob, Side stripped Jackal; Oribis elephants, lions, buffaloes, Antelopes among others.

The tracks are well designed to increase your possibilities of encountering wild game in their natural habitat of Queen Elizabeth National Park.

After 3 -4 hour game drive covering about 200 kilometers, you will retire back to your lodge for relaxation, memory sharing and lunch.

Thereafter, embark on the interesting afternoon chimpanzee trekking in the Kyambura gorge that starts from 2:00pm.

The Kyambura Gorge experience is more than trekking chimpanzees in their natural environment, the activity stretches an extra mile to teach you about the ecosystems of Kyambura Gorge’s atmospheric “underground” rain-forest, including vegetation types; bird identification and behavior; and chimp and monkey ecology.

While at the site, you stand a pretty good chance of hearing and seeing our distant cousins-Chimpanzees as they are habituated.

The activity which lasts between 2-3 hours is very rewarding and after the activity you will retire to the nearby lodges for dinner and overnight and easy connection to Ishasha as you transfer to Mgahinga Gorilla National Park.

Accommodation: Kyambura Game Lodge (Luxury), Enganzi Lodge (Mid-Range), Pumba Safari Cottages (Budget)

Day 5: Do Game Drive in Ishasha Sector And Transfer to Mgahinga Gorilla Park.

Transfer to Mgahinga after your early morning breakfast drive distance of 371kilometres. The drive will take you through the famous Ishasha sector where you will have possibilities of encountering tree climbing lions that tend to lie on the branches of fig trees.

You will afterwards continue with the drive, having your lunch en-route. You will arrive in to Mgahinga Gorilla Park in the evening for relaxation, dinner and overnight.

Accommodation: Mount Gahinga Safari Lodge (Luxury) Kisoro Travelers’ Rest Hotel (Mid-Range) Amajambere Iwacu Camp (Budget)

Day 6: Do Gorilla Trekking And an Afternoon Cultural encounters Through Garama Cave.

After your early morning hefty breakfast, your driver guide will drive you with your packed lunch, bottled water, to the Park head Quarters for an early morning briefing at about 70:30am to 8:00am about etiquette of Gorilla trekking in Uganda`s Mgahinga Gorilla Park.

While at the park headquarters, you will meet other trekkers and you will be divided into groups of eight individuals who are only allowed to trek Nyakagezi gorilla group that is habituated in Mgahinga Gorilla Park.

After briefing, UWA experienced ranger guide will lead you to the trail heads where thrilling Gorilla trekking safari experience starts from.

You will enter in the hilly forested areas of Mgahinga Gorilla Park to begin hiking the Virunga volcanoes and slopping the valleys when looking for the unique species of the mountain gorillas inhabited in the stunning Mgahinga Gorilla Park.

The trek can take you between 2-8 hours to encounter the Nyakagezi mountain gorillas and once up close, you will be allowed to spend one magical hour with these stunning apes.

During this time you can decide to sit down listen to Gorilla crumble, study how these apes go about their daily activities of looking for food.

When the one hour is over, you will retire back to the park headquarters and thereafter proceed to the lodge for late lunch, relaxation.

After lunch, you will embark on drive to the local Communities for Cultural encounters. During this encounter, the Batwa will demonstrate their hunting styles; how they collect honey, point out medicinal plants and show how to make bamboo cups.

You will be warmly welcomed to the sacred Garama Cave which was once a refuge for the Batwa, Here the local Batwa women perform a sorrowful songs which echoes really around the depths of the dark cave, and this will impact you with a moving sense of the fullness of this disappearing culture.

After the wonderful encounter, you will retire back to the lodge for dinner and overnight.

Accommodation: Mount Gahinga Safari Lodge (Luxury) Kisoro Travelers’ Rest Hotel (Mid-Range) Amajambere Iwacu Camp (Budget).

Day 7: Transfer to Lake Bunyonyi And Do Afternoon Boat Cruise And Relaxation

After an early morning breakfast, you will depart Mgahinga Gorilla Park driving through the fascinating Kigezi Highlands for an afternoon boat cruise, relaxation, dinner and overnight in Lake Bunyonyi.

Lake Bunyonyi is another major tourist stopover that is undeniably amazing. It is the second deepest lake in Africa; it contains lots of the tasty crayfish, so get set for a culinary delight.

Bunyonyi is a local word that means “many small birds” in direct translation. It’s a perfect stopover for committed birders and travelers who are from hectic gorilla trekking activities.

On arrival to Lake Bunyonyi, you will drive to your lodge for check-in, lunch and you proceed to catch up with the afternoon boat cruise ,also participate in refreshing activities such as swimming in the bilharzia free waters of Bunyonyi, you can also enjoy the evening nature walks in the Bunyonyi Islands.

After exploring the different adventurous activities in lake Bunyonyi, you will retire to your lodge to chill in the fire place while enjoying cool evening of Bunyonyi, you will have your dinner and overnight.

Accommodation Luxury: Birdnest @Lake Bunyonyi Resort (Upmarket/Luxury), Lake Bunyonyi Eco-resort (Midrange/Standard) or Byoona Amagara Island Retreat (Budget/Basic

Day 8: Transfer From Lake Bunyonyi to Lake Mburo National Park

After an early morning breakfast, you will embark on drive transfer from Lake Bunyonyi to Lake Mburo national park drive distance of 199 kilometers.

The drive will take you through the impressive country side landscapes with rural setting and local populations.

Upon your arrival in Lake Mburo National Park, you will have your lunch and afterwards proceed to catch-up with an afternoon boat cruise which sets of at 2:30pm on the magnificent waters of Lake Mburo and it takes you across 2-3 hours of adventure.

Not only does the boat trip offer you opportunities of encountering the game drinking on the lake side, it also draws you closer to counts of Hippos, Nile Crocodiles and a range of water birds such as the colorful Kingfishers, magnificent Fish Eagles, Hammerkops and their enormous nests and the African fin foot. Retreat back from the activity to your lodge for dinner and overnight.

Accommodation: Mihingo Safari Lodge (Luxury), Arcadia Cottages Mburo (Mid-Range), Eagle’s Nest (Budget).

Day 9: Do Morning Game Drive And Transfer to Kampala With Stopover At The Uganda Equator.

After an early morning breakfast, embark on the interesting game drive through the park in search of wild game.

The connection of game tracks found in the eastern part of the park passes through a variety of beautiful landscape such as acacia woodland, wetlands vegetation, Savannah grassland which supports the survival of different wildlife grazers including gigantic eland antelope, zebras, waterbucks, Klipspringer and the rare Topi, impala, warthog, oribi, buffalo, Defassa reedbuck.

The game drive which takes 2-3hours covering a distance of 150kms is very rewarding with the views of different wildlife species and an extra view of different bird species.

After the activity, you will retire back to the park headquarters and then proceed with the drive to Kampala.

On your way, you will by-pass Mpigi village, famous for the Royal Drums Makers and of course the Ugandan Equator, where you will have your lunch stopover, take photos and shop for a souvenir.

You will arrive to Kampala late in the evening approximate at 5-6pm and the driver guide will drive you back to your Kampala /Entebbe hotel for dinner and overnight or to Entebbe international Airport for your flight back Home if the schedule is on.

End of The 9 Days Gorilla Trekking Safari in Uganda, Chimpanzee Trekking & Wildlife Tour Uganda

Safari Inclusions

• Gorilla Permit (for gorilla trekking safaris)
• Chimpanzee Permit (for chimpanzee trekking safaris)
• Full Board Accommodation on Safari
• Transportation in either 4X4 Safari Van or 4X4 Safari Land Cruiser all with Pop up roof & AC
• Fuel
• Professional English Speaking driver guide. Any other foreign language speaking guide can be arranged on request.
• Entrance fees to the tourist sites including Protected areas mentioned
• Activity fees of the tourist activities mentioned
• Bottled water while on safari
• Border crossing fees (for cross border safaris)

Safari Exclusions

• General tips for the driver guide, site guides and service staff at the lodges
• Laundry Services
• Other Beverages / drinks of personal nature like Alcohol
• International Flights (Arranged on request)
• Domestic Flights (Arranged on request)
• Visas
• Optional Activity fees
• Other extras not mentioned in the Itinerary
• Airport Transfer (Arranged on request)
• Accommodation in Kampala or Kigali unless it is part of the Itinerary (Arranged on request)