11 Days gorilla trekking and wildlife safari
This 11 days gorilla trekking and wildlife safari is an exciting adventure that starts and ends in Kampala/Entebbe. The safari will take you to savannah national parks in Uganda including Lake Mburo national park, Murchison falls national park and Queen Elizabeth national park where you will enjoy great views of animals like elephants, buffaloes, lions, leopards, giraffes, hippos, waterbucks, bushbucks, impalas, zebras, Uganda kobs, hyenas, Nile crocodiles, rhinos, Jackson’s hartebeest among others during the game drives and boat cruise. The 11 days gorilla trekking and wildlife safari will also take you to Bwindi impenetrable national park where you will be able to spend four hours with the endangered mountain gorillas and Kibale forest national park also known as the primate capital where you will get a chance to spend time with chimpanzees in their natural habitat.
Highlights of the 11 Days gorilla trekking and wildlife safari
Day 1: Pick up and transfer to a hotel in Entebbe
Day 2: Transfer to Lake Mburo national park-afternoon boat cruised
Day 3: Morning game drive and transfer to Bwindi impenetrable national park
Day 4: Uganda Gorilla trekking tour in Bwindi impenetrable national park
Day 5: Transfer to Queen Elizabeth national park
Day 6: Morning game drive/Lion tracking experience and afternoon boat cruise
Day 7: Morning game drive and transfer to Kibale forest national park
Day 8: Chimpanzee trekking and Bigodi swamp walk
Day 9: Transfer to Murchison falls national park
Day 10: Morning game drive and afternoon boat cruise
Day 11: Departure to Kampala via ziwa rhino sanctuary
Detailed itinerary
Day 1: Pick up and transfer to a hotel in Entebbe/ Kampala
Depending on your arrival time at Entebbe international airport on the first day of the 11 days gorilla trekking and wildlife safari, you will be welcomed by our driver guide who will brief you about the safari and then transfer to a hotel in Entebbe for dinner and overnight.
Day 2: transfer to Lake Mburo national park-afternoon boat cruise
On day 2 of the 11 days gorilla trekking and wildlife safari, your driver guide will pick you up from the hotel to transfer to Lake Mburo national park which is the smallest savannah national park in Uganda. On the way, you will have a stopover at the Equator where you will buy souvenirs, take pictures and then continue the journey to the park.
Upon arrival, you will connect to the lodge for lunch where after you will go for an amazing boat cruise where you will get a chance to view hippos and Nile crocodiles in water, view buffaloes, giraffes, antelopes among others along the shores, view aquatic bird species among others. After the boat cruise, you will return to the lodge for dinner and overnight.
Day 3: Morning game drive and transfer to Bwindi impenetrable national park
After breakfast on day 3 of the 11 days gorilla trekking and wildlife safari, you will check out of the lodge and meet up with your driver guide to go for a morning game drive in the park where you will be able to view different animals including zebras, buffaloes, giraffes, waterbucks, impalas, oribi, topi, elands among others. After the game drive, you will drive out of the park and start the journey to Bwindi impenetrable national park with en-route lunch on the way. Upon arrival, you will check in at the lodge for dinner and overnight.
Day 4: Gorilla trekking in Bwindi impenetrable national park
Gorilla trekking,
After an early breakfast on the day 4 of the 11 days gorilla trekking and wildlife safari, you will carry packed lunch and meet up with your driver to transfer to the park headquarters for a briefing about the rules, regulations and expectations of gorilla trekking. Gorilla trekking takes about 30 minutes to 7 hours depending on where the gorillas are located. During trekking, you will have views of colourful bird species, animals, other primates, plant and tree species among others. Once the mountain gorillas are found you will be allowed to spend one hour with them in their natural environment which gives you an opportunity to watch them carry out their daily activities like feeding, breast feeding, playing, ask questions, learn about their behaviours, habits, take photos and record the beautiful moments.
After the encounter with the endangered mountain gorillas, you will trek back to the park headquarters where you will be awarded a certificate for participating in gorilla trekking and then meet up with your driver guide to transfer back to the lodge for an evening relaxation, dinner and overnight.
Day 5: Transfer to Queen Elizabeth national park
On day 5 of the 11 days gorilla trekking and wildlife safari, you will have breakfast, check out of the lodge and meet up with your driver guide to transfer to Queen Elizabeth national park. On the way you will have a stopover in Ishasha sector for a game drive where you will be able to view the tree climbing lions lying on acacia/fig tree branches if you are lucky. After the game drive, you will have en-route lunch and then continue with the journey to Queen Elizabeth national park. Upon arrival in the park you will check into the lodge, have dinner and overnight.
Day 6: Morning game drive/ lion tracking experience and afternoon boat cruise
Morning game drive,
After an early breakfast on day 6 of the 11 days gorilla trekking and wildlife safari, your driver guide will pick you up from the lodge to go for a morning game drive or lion tracking experience in Kasenyi plains. During the game drive you will have great views of animals like buffaloes, Uganda kobs, waterbucks, giant forest hog, elephants, bushbucks, lions, leopards, hyenas, views of different bird species among others. After the fascinating game drive, you will return to the lodge for lunch.
Afternoon boat cruise,
After lunch you will go for an exciting boat cruise which is carried out on Kazinga channel a 40km long channel that connects Lake Edward and Lake Gorge. The boat ride starts at around 2:00 pm and rewards you will breath-taking views of large concentrations of hippos and crocodiles in water, views of elephants, buffaloes, warthogs, antelopes along the shores, water birds like kingfishers, fish eagles, hornbills, cormorants, bee-eaters among others. After the boat cruise which takes about 2 hours you will drive back to the lodge for an evening relaxation, dinner and overnight.
Day 7: Morning game drive and transfer to Kibale forest national park
After breakfast on day 7 of the 11 days gorilla trekking and wildlife safari, your driver guide will pick you up from the lodge to go for another morning game drive where you will be able to view some of the animals that you might have missed the previous day. After the game drive, you will return to the lodge for lunch where after you will checkout and meet up with your driver guide to transfer to Kibale forest national park. On the way you will enjoy great views of the crater lakes, tea plantations and upon arrival you will check into the lodge for dinner and overnight.
Day 8: Chimpanzee trekking and Bigodi swamp walk
Chimpanzee trekking,
After an early breakfast on day 8 of the 11 days gorilla trekking and wildlife safari, you will meet up with your driver guide to transfer to the park headquarters for a Uganda chimpanzee trekking tour briefing. After the briefing you will start trekking in the forest which takes about 30 minutes to 5 hours depending on where the chimpanzees are located because they like to move from one place to another in search of food especially during the dry season. During trekking you will be able to see other primates, different bird species, animals, plants species among others. Once the chimpanzees are found you will be able to spend one hour with them in their natural habitat which gives you an opportunity to learn about their behaviors, habits, watch them feed, play, fight, hunt, mate, take photos and record the moments. After the one hour with the chimpanzees you will trek back to the park headquarters where you will meet up with your driver guide and return back to the lodge for lunch.
Bigodi swamp walk
After lunch, you will relax at the lodge and later go for an interesting nature walk in Bigodi swamp where you will get a chance to view different bird species, primates, animals like sitatungas, plant and tree species among others. After the swamp walk, you will return to the lodge for dinner and overnight.
Day 9: Transfer to Murchison falls national park-top of the falls
After breakfast on day 9 of the 11 days gorilla trekking and wildlife safari, you will check out of the lodge and meet up with your driver guide to transfer to Murchison falls national park. The journey takes about 6 to 7 hours’ drive and on the way you will have en-route lunch and enjoy stunning views of the traditional homesteads, local people, beautiful scenery, views of the Rwenzori Mountains, crater lakes, tea plantations among others. Upon arrival in the park you will drive directly to the top of the falls where you will have breath-taking views of the waterfalls, scenery among others. From the top of the falls you will drive to the lodge for dinner and overnight
Day 10: Morning game drive and boat cruise to the bottom of the falls
Morning game drive,
After an early breakfast on day 10 of your Uganda wildlife safari, your driver guide will pick you up from the lodge to go for a morning game drive where you will be able to view animals like buffaloes, elephants, waterbucks, warthogs, giraffes, Uganda kobs grazing in the savannah plains with due, view predators like hyenas, lions, leopards among others before going back to their hiding areas, view different birds among others. After the game drive you will drive back to the lodge for lunch.
Boat cruise,
After lunch you will go for an exciting boat cruise to the bottom of the falls which starts at Paraa jetty landing site and takes about 2 to 3 hours. During the boat cruise you will be able to view large concentrations of hippos and crocodiles in water, view animals like elephants, buffaloes, warthogs, antelopes along the water banks, view water bird species like fish eagle, kingfishers, cormorants among others. After the boat cruise you will return back to the lodge for dinner and overnight.
Day 11: Departure to Kampala via Ziwa Rhino sanctuary
After breakfast on the last day of the 11 days gorilla trekking and wildlife safari, you will check out of the lodge and meet up with your driver guide to start the journey back to Kampala. On the way you will have a stopover at Ziwa rhino sanctuary for Uganda rhino tracking and then continue the journey with another stopover for en-route lunch where after you will proceed to Kampala arriving early evening. Upon arrival in Kampala your driver guide will drop you off at Entebbe international airport for your departure flight or drop off at any place of convenience.
End of 11 days gorilla trekking and wildlife safari
Tour includes
- Gorilla trekking permit
- Chimpanzee trekking permit
- Park entrance fees/ game drives
- Boat cruise fees
- Rhino tracking permit
- Lion tracking experience
- Bigodi swamp walk
- Services of a professional English speaking driver guide
- Full board accommodation
- Ground transfers (in a 4WD vehicle)
- Vehicle and fuel
- Bottled drinking water
Tour excludes
- International Air flight tickets
- Visas
- Optional activities not included on the itinerary
- Life insurance
- Personal expenses like buying souvenirs, crafts, drinks, laundry services, hiring a porter, tips among others.
