uganda gorilla tracking

Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is located in southwestern Uganda a magnificent verdant swathe across the steep ridges of the Albertine rift valley; this ancient rainforest is one of the few in Africa to have flourished and a home to half of the world's endangered mountain gorillas. Looking into the expressive brown eyes of these giants is surely the most exciting and poignant wildlife encounter Uganda has to offer!

Apart from gorilla trekking, the park boosts of 90 mammal species, including 11 primates and prominent bird species. It is a treasure chest of flora and fauna with four gorilla groups currently available to be visited by only six persons per group on daily basis. However, strict rules have to be followed to prevent behavioral disturbances and transmission of diseases.

	RST 50	3 days		BWINDI IMPENETRABLE NATIONAL PARK
DAY 1			KAMPALA/MBARARA 07.30 Hrs Morning departure for the south with stops at the craft village at the Uganda Equator for pictures and shopping. After lunch at the Lakeview hotel in Mbarara, proceed through the beautiful evergreen mountain country referred to as the “Little Switzerland”. Arrive late evening for dinner and overnight at *Gorilla Resort Camp and Lodge. Meal Plan - Lunch and Dinner.* TRANSIT TIME 8 - 10 HOURS.
DAY 2			GORILLA TRACKING DAY BWINDI 09.00 Hrs Briefing by park ranger guides. Later with picnic lunch, start 30 minutes - 8 hours trek to find the *Mountain gorillas* . The tracking starts at the area where the gorillas were the previous day. After a full hour with the gorillas, return to your accommodations for dinner and overnight at *Gorilla Resort Camp and Lodge. Meal Plan - Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner.*
DAY 3			MBARARA/KAMPALA Transfer to Mbarara for lunch, Later depart for Kampala. TRANSIT TIME 8 - 10 HOURS.

	RST51	5 days		GORILLA EXPLORER AND 2 DAY SAFARI
DAY 1			KAMPALA / MBARARA 07.30 Hrs Morning departure for the south with stops at the craft village at the Uganda Equator for pictures and shopping. After lunch at the Lakeview hotel in Mbarara, proceed through the beautiful evergreen mountain country referred to as the “ Little Switzerland ” . Arrive late evening for dinner and overnight at *Gorilla Resort Camp and Lodge. Meal Plan - Lunch and Dinner.* TRANSIT TIME 8 -10 HOURS.
DAY 2			GORILLA TRACKING DAY BWINDI 09.00 Hrs Briefing by Park ranger guides. Later with picnic lunch, start a 30 minutes - 8 hours strenuous trek to find the *Mountain gorillas* . Overnight at *Gorilla Resort Camp and Lodge. Meal Plan - Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner*
DAY 3			SECOND DAY TRACKING BWINDI 09.00 Hrs With picnic lunch, take a second chance tracking the gorillas, return to your accommodations for dinner and overnight at *Gorilla Resort Camp and Lodge. Meal Plan - Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner*
DAY 4			MBARARA/LAKE MBURO Transfer to Mbarara for lunch before heading into the Lake Mburo Park for an afternoon game viewing on the way to your night stay at *Lake Mburo Mihingo Lodge. Meal Plan - Lunch and Dinner.* TRANSIT TIME 6.5 HOURS.
DAY 5			LAKE MBURO/KAMPALA Morning game viewing in the park. Game in the park includes; Zebra, Impala, Eland, Topi, Hippo and a variety of woodland bird species. After lunch, depart for Kampala. *Meal Plan - Breakfast and Lunch.*

	RST 52	5 days		GORILLAS IN THE MIST
DAY 1			ENTEBE / MBARARA 07.30 Hrs Arrive Entebbe, met on arrival and transfer by road to Mbarara on good tarmac road (4 hours). Along the way, stop at the Equator, Local Drum makers and take pictures of the Ankole Long Horned Cattle. Dinner and overnight at *Regency Lakeview Hotel. Meal Plan - Lunch and Dinner.* TRANSIT TIME 6 HOURS
DAY 2			MBARARA/BWINDI Breakfast early and depart for the Mountain Gorilla Sanctuary of Bwindi arriving in time for lunch at the tracking base. In the afternoon, take a self guided walk around the camp along the Munyaga River before returning for sunset views across the Bwindi Forest. Dinner and overnight at *The Gorilla Resort Bwindi. Meal Plan - Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner.* TRANSIT TIME 5 HOURS
DAY 3			BWINDI PARK Early morning breakfast, travel to the base of the mountain for a briefing before starting the gorilla trek. After picnic lunches and drinks in the Bwindi Impenetrable, we return to base for dinner and overnight at *The Gorilla Resort Bwindi. Meal Plan - Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner.* 30 MINUTES TO 8 HOURS TREKKING- STRENUOUS ACTIVITY!!!.
DAY 4			BWINDI / LAKE BUNYONYI Breakfast at Leisure, before departing for Lake Bunyonyi believed to be one of the deepest crater lakes in Africa. In the afternoon, take a canoe ride or do some Cray fishing around the evergreen islands. Meals and overnight at the *Nature* ' *s Island Tented camp. Meal Plan - Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner.* TRANSIT TIME 3 HOURS
DAY 5			LAKE BUNYONYI/KAMPALA After breakfast, depart for Kampala for lunch before proceeding to the airport for a late evening flight. *Meal Plan - Breakfast and Lunch.* TRANSIT TIME 6 HOURS.

	RST 53	7days		CHIMPANZEE AND GORILLA EXPEDITION
DAY 1			KAMPALA CITY TOUR 09.30 Hrs . Arrive at the airport, met and transferred to Kampala for a safari briefing. Later take an afternoon city of Kampala touring the Kasubi Tombs, Uganda Museum, Namugongo Basilica and the Hindu Temples. Overnight at *Grand Imperial. Meal Plan - Bed and breakfast.* TRANSIT TIME 45 minutes.
DAY 2			KAMPALA / KIBALE FOREST Head west after breakfast through Mubende arriving in Fort Portal for lunch. Later proceed to the Kibale Forest for a Nocturnal Walk tracking the Galagos, Bush babies, Pottos and the Night Jars with the use of Flashlights. Dinner and overnight at the *Ndali Lodge. Meal Plan - Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner.* TIME 5 HOURS
DAY 3			KIBALE FOREST Morning breakfast, later start a half day Forest walk in the Forest on a primate Eco walk. Look out for the Red Colubus(an endemic species only found in this forest in Uganda). Other primates include the Chimpanzee, Grey Cheeked Mangabeys and others. In the afternoon, take a swamp walk in Magombe for a closer to nature encounter. Return to *Ndali Lodge. Meal Plan - Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner.*
DAY 4			KIBALE/BWINDI Breakfast, later travel to the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest with picnic lunches (TRANSIT TIME 6 HOURS) . Drive through the Ishasha Plains the area famous for its tree climbing Lions. Arrive at Buhoma the Gorilla Staging area where dinner and overnight is at *The Gorilla Resort. Meal Plan - Lunch and Dinner.*
DAY 5			BWINDI NATIONAL PARK Gorilla trekking starts after breakfast. The rangers and trackers through the thick and steep vegetation track the Gorillas. After viewing the gorillas, have your picnic lunch and return to *The Gorilla Resort. Meal Plan - Lunch and Dinner..* TREKKING TIME - 30 Minutes - 8 HOURS
DAY 6			MBARARA/KAMPALA Take a scenic drive to Kampala, through the mountainous area of Kigezi and the Ankole area with its Long Horned cattle before arriving Kampala in the evening. Night stay at Grand Imperial Hotel. Meal Plan - Breakfast and Lunch.* TRANSIT TIME 8 - 9 HOURS*
DAY 7			KAMPALA Airport transfer.

	RST 54	9 Days		RUWENZORI MOUNTAINS CLIMBING
DAY 1			KAMPALA/KASESE 09.30 Hrs Depart for Kasese, having lunch in Fort portal before heading for Kasese. Final purchases of the fresh fruits and vegetables before dinner and overnight at Margherita Hotel. - Meal Plan Lunch and dinner.
DAY 2			NYABITABA HUT Morning, transfer to Nyakalengija for weighing and porter allocation before starting the climb of about 5 hours to the first hut. Picnic lunches will be served this day before climbing through the moss to the Nyabitaba Hut(2650metres) for dinner and overnight. - Meal Plan Breakfast, Lunch and dinner.
DAY 3			JOHN MATTE HUT Start early after breakfast and climb through the Kurt Shafer Bridge that crosses the Mobuku River Confluence. This 5 hour hike takes you through the bamboo, Lobelia and heath finally ending at John Matte Hut (3350m).- Meal Plan Breakfast, Lunch and dinner.
DAY 4			BUJUKU HUT The climb this day gets boggy as you hike through Giant heather, Lobelias and groundsel through the Cooking Pot to the overnight hut at Bujuku. The average hiking time for this section is 4.5 - 5hours . Overnight at Bujuku Hut(3977) Hut..- Meal Plan Breakfast, Lunch and dinner.
DAY 5			ELENA HUT Breakfast at leisure and proceed on a muddy hike through steep cliffs. This is a section of Giant Groundsels and Lobelias that characterized the higher section of the Mountain. Ascend further to Elena Hut which acts as a base for the final assent of the highest peak of the Rwenzori Mountains. Meals and overnight at Elena Hut(4541m)- Meal Plan Breakfast, Lunch and dinner.
DAY 6			KITANDARA HUT Rise up very early before sunrise and walk through the snow to Margherita peak (5109m). If whether conditions are favorable, sunset would find you at the peak where you would take pictures. From here, descend to the Kitandara Lakes. Meals and overnight at the Kitandara Hut 4,023m. - Meal Plan Breakfast, Lunch and dinner.
DAY 7			GUY YEOMAN HUT The descent gets you through beautiful views of the Congo and the alpine moss. The trail then leads through the Bujongolo and Kabamba rock shelters. This trip takes an average of 6 hours to Guy Yeoman Hut, 3.261 m. Meals and overnight at Guy Yeoman Hut (3260m).- Meal Plan Breakfast, Lunch and dinner.
DAY 8			NYABITABA HUT The descent of about 6 hours starts to Nyabitaba through the heather zone, Mobuku River and the Bamboo forest before heading to your final hut in the Mountains. Meals and overnight at Nyabitaba hut(2650m).- Meal Plan Breakfast, Lunch and dinner.
DAY 9			NYAKALENGIJA / KAMPALA The last 2 or 3 hours ends a morning descend to Nyakalengija trailhead (1600m). where your waiting safari vehicle will transfer you to Kampala or to Entebbe for evening flight out.- Meal Plan Breakfast and Lunch.

	RST 55	8 Days		UGANDA AND RWANDA GREAT APES SAFARIS/GORILLAS AND CHIMPANZEES
DAY 1			ENTEBBE/JANE GOODAL NGAMBA CHIMPS SANCTUARY On arrival in Entebbe/Kampala, we will meet you at the airport, and transfer to the Botanical Beach Hotel. Later after an early lunch, transfer to the Lake Victoria Shore for a speed boat to Ngamba Island for a visit to the Jane Goodall Ngamba Chimpanzee Sanctuary. Return to the hotel for dinner and overnight at the Hotel, L,and D. TRANSIT TIME 5 Minutes. Overnight at *Botanical Beach Hotel* . *Meal Plan - Lunch and Dinner.* TRANSIT TIME 5 HOURS
DAY 2			ENTEBBE/KIBALE FOREST Travel to the Kibale forest after an early breakfast. This forest known to hold over 10 primate species. In the evening, we take a nocturnal forest walk in the forest to spot the Bush babies, Galagos and pottos. Thereafter, depart for *Ndali Lodge. Meal Plan - Lunch and Dinner* .
DAY 3			MARAMAGAMBO FOREST Breakfast then transfer into the Kibale forest for a Chimpanzee walk in search of the Primates. After lunch, travel to Maramagambo forest for overnight at Jacana Camp Overnight at *Jacana Camp or Mweya Safari Lodge. Meal Plan - Lunch and Dinner.* TRANSIT TIME 3 HOURS.
DAY 4			BWINDI NATIONAL PARK Morning take a morning guided walk in the Chambura Gorge to trek the Chimpanzees and other primates. This is also a home to other wild life including the Hippos. After a picnic lunch, drive to Bwindi for dinner and overnight at *The Gorilla Resort Bwindi. Meal Plan - Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner.* TRANSIT TIME 6 HOURS.
DAY 5			BWINDI NATIONAL PARK After breakfast, report at the park offices for a briefing by the ranger guides prior to the trek to find the *Mountain Gorillas* with picnic lunch. The gorillas are tracked, located and after approximately one hour with them, return to base for a shower and cold drink. Dinner and overnight at *The Gorilla Resort Bwindi. Meal Plan - Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner.*
DAY 6			KISORO/RUHENGERI Travel to Kisoro after breakfast through beautiful mountain scenery. After lunch, proceed to the border and cross to Ruhengeri arriving at the foot of the Muhabura Volcanoes for dinner at overnight at *Mountain Gorilla* ' *s Nest Lodge. Meal Plan - Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner.*
DAY 7			VIRUNGA Breakfast early then transfer to the Virunga volcanoes for another trek of the Dian Fossey Mountain gorillas. This is the place where Dian Fossey spent 20 years studying gorillas. It is also here that the movie “ Gorilla ' s in the Mist ” was shot on location. Return to your accommodations for dinner and overnight at *Mountain Gorilla* ' *s Nest Lodge. Meal Plan - Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner.*
DAY 8			MBARARA/KAMPALA After breakfast, transfer to Mbarara for lunch at the Lakeview Hotel. Later travel to Kampala arriving late evening. Or take a two hour drive to Kigali and fly to Entebbe, Nairobi for onward flight connections.