This 7 Days Uganda Gorilla and Wildlife safari has been designed to enable you explore the rich game including the possibility of encountering the big five land mammals such as lions, elephants, leopard, and buffaloes. This safari will also take you through the memorable mountain gorilla trekking in the bwindi impenetrable forest which has around 600 of the 1000 estimated population of the gorillas in the world with none known to exist in captivity. It will also involve you going through the scenic views of the kigezi highlands, Ruwenzori Mountain, the countryside plantations and cattle farms plus the famous lake of bunyonyi.
Itinerary for the 7 Days Uganda Gorilla and Wildlife safari
Day 1: Arrival at the Entebbe airport
After arrival at the airport, you will meet your safari guide and then be transferred to your hotel for an overnight.
Day 2: Visit Queen Elizabeth national park
After breakfast you will be transferred to Queen Elizabeth national park the most visited national park of Uganda. This journey will pass you through the farmed landscapes of southwestern Uganda dotted with unique scenic features like the magical bunyaruguru crater field and the Ruwenzori Mountain ranging from 5109m above the sea level. You will have lunch first and after embarking on the recreational launch cruise on the kazinga channel.
This boat cruise will expose you to the numerous counts of hippos and Nile crocodiles not forgetting the wild game such as elephants, buffaloes and antelopes drinking along the channel banks.
Day 3: Game Drive safari, Kyambura Gorge
After a very early breakfast you will go for a 3-4hours game safari in search of leopards, elephants, lions, warthogs among others. You will take thousands of pictures as u also learn a lot of important information from your guide about these animals and the park at large. You will later return to the lodge for lunch and relaxation. After lunch you will again be taken to kyambura gorge area for chimpanzee tracking in the afternoon at 2pm. You will attend a briefing your ranger guide after which head to the gorge in search of our closest cousins the chimps.
The experience is very interesting as it involves stopping down and hiking to the top again. The forest jungle which thrives below the sea level with a river flow on the gorge beds characterized hippo honking and chimp calling sounds makes the activity go beyond mere chimp trekking. When you meet the chimps, you will be allowed one hour with them swinging through the tree branches, gathering fruits and socialize not forgetting their pant-hoot calls which will leave you in a state of amazement. After the activity you shall go back to the lodge for relaxation.
Day 4: Transfer to Bwindi impenetrable forest
With a morning breakfast finished you will be transferred to the gorilla land of Bwindi Impenetrable Forest. You will pass through the ishasha sector the southern part of Queen Elizabeth national park and do a one to two hours game drive in search of the unique tree climbing lions that tend to rest on fig trees during daytime. Something that you can only find in QENP ishasha sector and lake manyara national park in southern Tanzania, you will then proceed with your journey with lunch on the way arrive in the late evening for relaxation in preparation for gorilla trekking experience.
Day 5: Gorilla Trekking, Mountain Hiking
It is this long-waited date when you will come across the critically endangered mountain gorillas. Wake up early and have breakfast before being transferred to the briefing area at 8am about gorilla trekking etiquette. After briefing head to the forest in search of our relatives the gorillas.
The 2-8hours activity will involve hiking up the hills, descending down the valleys, walking through the swamps and through thickets which have formed the background of the impenetrable forest before coming in direct contact with the gorillas. You will have one full hour with them as they forage, play, socialize and also look at you as assign of welcoming you, your packed lunch will take you through the activity after which you will move back to the starting point and return to the lodge for relaxation.
Day 6: Visit to Uganda’s Deepest Lake
With breakfast taken, it’s time to transfer to Lake Bunyonyi a 25km (15miles) with an area of 61km2 with an altitude of 1950m (6400ft.) and a depth of 44m. This will take you through Kigezi highlands with impressive scenic landscapes that the local have tamed overtime with their farming practices, leading the area to be clubbed the Switzerland of Africa. This will lead us to Lake Bunyonyi with its 29 islands that are surrounded with remarkable hills of kigezi.
Up on arrival the ball is yours whether to relax and peruse through your gorilla photos or read a novel or if need be a boat ride to take you through some islands with their history such as akampene island (punishment island) on which up to the 1940’s un married pregnant girls were left to starve to death or drown trying to swim to the shore; they were often saved poor men or slaves who could not afford the regular bride price.
Day 7: Transfer to Kampala
Once you finish breakfast, you will then be transferred back to Kampala a 437km journey about 7-8hours drive excluding stops en-route. This drive exposes you through countryside sceneries and economic activities that have sustained the lives of the local communities from western Uganda to central Uganda for centuries past among which include extensive banana plantations, long horned cattle known as ankole cattle.
You will also have a stopover at the equator crossing a 0o latitude line that justify the geographical divide between the northern and southern hemispheres. After this stopover of photos, craft shopping and toilet break, you will then proceed to Kampala or Entebbe airport for your overnight stay or flight back home.