3 days Gorilla Safari in Bwindi
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Trip summary
Day 1: Transfer to Bwindi Impenetrable National park
Day 2: Gorilla trekking and community walk
Day 3: Transfer back to Kampala or Kigali
Detailed itinerary
Day 1: Transfer to Bwindi Impenetrable National park
After breakfast, you will embark on a journey from Kampala city, driving southwest towards Bwindi National Park. Along the way, you will pass through local communities engaging in their daily activities such as markets, farming, and craft centers. The journey typically takes 9-10 hours, depending on the specific sector in Bwindi where your gorilla tracking is scheduled.
During the drive, there will be a stop at the equator in Kayabwe for photography and experiments demonstrating the movements of water in a funnel, both clockwise and anticlockwise, in each hemisphere. You’ll also have the opportunity for shopping and acquiring some souvenirs. A traditional lunch stop will be made at Igongo Cultural Center in Mbarara or Kabale, depending on the day’s schedule. After lunch, you will continue the drive through the scenic Kigezi highlands.
Arriving in Bwindi National Park in the evening, you can relax at the chosen lodge for the night. Enjoy dinner and overnight accommodations at Trekkers’ Tavern Cottages (budget), Bakiga Lodge, or Ichumbi Gorilla Lodge (deluxe). If you opt for a more luxurious experience, you can stay at Mahogany Springs, Four Gorillas Lodge, or Gorilla Heights Lodge (luxury)
Day 2: Gorilla Trekking and community walk
In the morning, after having breakfast and packing your lunch, gather at the park headquarters, depending on the tracking region indicated on your gorilla permit. Receive a briefing from the senior park ranger regarding the day’s gorilla trekking activity. Once assembled with other tourists, you’ll be entertained first by the local tradition, usually from Batwa or Bakiga. Following that, the head ranger will conduct the essential 1-hour gorilla trekking briefing in Bwindi Forest.
During the briefing, various information is shared, including gorilla trekking rules and regulations, the history of gorillas and gorilla trekking in Bwindi, gorilla conservation, and the benefits of gorilla tracking to the communities in Bwindi. This typically starts at 7:30 am to 8:00 am. You will then be grouped with a maximum of 8 members, led by a ranger who will guide you into the tropical forest of Bwindi in search of the mountain gorillas. It may take an hour or more to find them, and you’ll navigate through the rugged, steep, and slippery landscape under canopies, which can make it dark even during the day.
The forest also offers views of different tree species, beautiful flowers, and other primate species like l’hoest, black-faced vervet monkeys, and black-and-white monkeys. Mammals such as bushpigs, warthogs, bushbucks, yellow-backed duikers, giant forest hogs, elephants, and butterfly species are also spotted. Gorilla tracking typically takes 2-3 hours, and you will be allowed at least an hour to interact and take photographs at a 3-meter distance with the gorillas. However, if it’s habituation, more time is spent observing these mountain gorillas, including watching the young ones play while adhering to the 7-meter rule to ensure the safety of both visitors and gorillas.
After several hours, you will return to the offices for your certificates, then drive back to your lodge. In the evening, you may opt for a community tour to the Batwa village or take a canoe ride on any of the nearby lakes, depending on the lodge where you are staying. Enjoy an overnight stay at the lodge you stayed in the previous night.
Day 3: Drive Back to Kampala
Have morning breakfast and return back to Kampala stopping en-route for lunch and arriving in the early evening.
End of the Gorilla Safari
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