The Classic Uganda Gorilla Safari

Driving time: ∼9-10 hours, including stops

Welcome to Uganda! Your Uganda Gorilla Safari begins the moment your guide meets you at the airport. Following a briefing, you will drive southwest towards Bwindi, pausing at the Equator in Kayabwe to take photos and see the famous water experiment. Lunch will be enjoyed en route in Mbarara. The journey then continues through the rolling hills of Kigezi, the Switzerland of Africa, and you will arrive in Bwindi late in the afternoon.

HighlightS:

• Stopover at the Equator
• Lunch stop in Mbarara

Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

Trekking time: 2-8 hours, depending on the gorilla family

Start the day with an early breakfast, then report to the park HQ by 7:30am for a briefing. Today is the highlight of your Uganda Gorilla Safari as you head into the ancient rainforest to track the Mountain Gorillas. Once you find them, you will spend 1 unforgettable hour watching them at close range. Afterwards, return to the lodge for lunch and some rest.

Optional: In the evening, a Batwa Cultural Experience lets you learn about the forest’s original dwellers.

Highlight:

• Trekking the Mountain Gorillas
• The Batwa Experience

Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Driving time: ∼5-6 hours via the Ishasha Sector

Your Uganda Gorilla Safari continues after breakfast with a drive to Queen Elizabeth NP, taking the southern route through the Ishasha Sector in search of the famous tree-climbing lions. Along the way, visit the Save Wildlife Uganda Community Centre and Simba Cafe. Arrive in the afternoon, check in and unwind. An evening game drive is optional.

Save Wildlife Uganda Community Centre & Simba Cafe: A community-run establishment that supports empowerment and conservation. On arrival, you will be greeted by the members of Women for Conservation, who are busy crafting one-of-a-kind handicrafts that are sold in our gift shop. Clean, modern restrooms are available so you can freshen up after the long drives on Ugandan roads. The women also run a vegetable garden, whose produce is used to prepare dishes at the Simba Cafe, and they grow and harvest coffee beans, which are packaged and sold.

Highlights:

• Ishasha game drive
• Visit to the Save Wildlife Uganda Community Centre & Simba Cafe

Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

A full day in the park reveals the savannah side of your Uganda Gorilla Safari. Set off early in the morning for a game drive on the Kasenyi plains, looking out for elephants, buffalo, antelope, lions, and plenty of birds. Return to the lodge in the late morning for breakfast. In the afternoon, enjoy a 2-hour boat cruise along the Kazinga Channel*, one of Africa’s finest wildlife channels, with hippos, crocodiles, elephants drinking at the bank, and abundant birdlife. Return for dinner and overnight.

Highlights:

• Game drive in the morning
• Boat ride on the Kazinga

Meal Plan: Breakfast & Dinner

Driving time: ∼6-7 hours

Following breakfast, enjoy a short game drive in the morning on your way out of the park. Then drive back to Entebbe, stopping for lunch en-route, and be dropped off at your hotel.

Meal Plan: Breakfast & Dinner

Your Uganda Gorilla Safari comes to an end today as you are transferred from your hotel to Entebbe Airport for your flight home.

Meal Plan: Breakfast