Gorilla Tracking in Uganda, Gorilla Luxury Safari Uganda and Rwanda
Day 1; Drive to Rwanda
After breakfast, you and your guide will drive to Rwanda for the Rwanda gorilla tracking exercise. You will cross the boarder which means that you need to have your papers ready to avoid any kind of inconvenience from the Rwanda authorities but in this case you can use the single tourists’ visa to cross from one East African countries. You will be arriving late in the evening, heading straight to your lodge;
Midrange; Mt. gorilla view/ Gorilla Nest Lodge/ Le bambou lodge
Budget; Kinigi Guest House/ Virunga hotel
Luxury; Sabyinyo silver back lodge/Muhavura lodge
Day 2; Gorilla Tracking
On this second day, you will have your breakfast and then you will go to the Parc National des Volcanoes ranger station for briefing and get a ranger before you can start tracking the gorillas. You will enter the Gorilla sanctuary of Parc National des Volcans, the rain tropical forest covering the hills surrounding Virunga Volcanoes. Gorilla trekking is one of the most amazing tourists’ activities though hectic as it requires that one is physically fit since it takes 1-7hours which is why you have to carry your lunch with you and enough water to take you through this demanding but rewarding experience. Ensure you bring with you enough water and the packed lunch because the time you spend there will depend on the movements of the Gorillas in their natural environments. After the activity, you will return back to the lodge for dinner and a night.
DAY 3; Transfer to Bwindi national park
You will wake up early, have your breakfast and then drive back to Uganda heading straight to Bwindi national park either at Kisoro side or Kabale depending on your group of gorillas that you will be tracking. You will have a lunch break but your dinner will be at the lodge of your choice as you wait for the next day’s activities.
Budget – Buhoma Community bandas /Bwindi View bandas / Nkuringo campsite tents /Virunga Hotel / Nkuringo safari centre
Moderate- gorilla mist lodge/ mahogany springs/Lake Kitandara camp / Nkuringo camp site/ Wagtail Eco lodge.
Up market – Engagi lodge/ Buhoma lodge/ Gorilla Resort camp/Traveler’s rest camp /silver back lodge/ Gorilla safari lodge
Luxury – Gorilla Forest Camp/ Clouds Lodge/Gahinga Volcanoes Lodge.
DAY 4; Gorilla trekking
Your drive will take you for briefing and there you will meet your ranger at the headquarters who will guide you through the gorilla tracking, walking up steep densely forested hills before finally coming across the gorillas. When you meet them, you will have an hour with them, sitting in the forest among the gorillas for an hour, listening to them grumble to each other and marvel at the sheer size of the silver back which is the dominant male. Gorillas are among the major tourists attractions but unfortunate that currently, there are only about 650 gorillas that are still alive and the rest have died or been killed. In the evening if you still have some time you may go for a guided walk later in the afternoon on the Munyaga River trail, an ultimate short walk leading to three delightful crystal clear waterfalls, and there is abundance of tree ferns, orchids and Bwindi colorful array of butterflies. Here you may also see birds and primates from the forest edge. You will later return to the lodge for dinner and over night.
DAY 5: BACK TO KAMPALA
When you are done with breakfast in the morning, you will drive back to Kampala, arriving in the evening and drive you straight to the airport if you have a flight to catch or drop you to hotel where you will spend the night and have your dinner from. Drop off point depends on your program.
