7 Days gorilla trekking and wildlife safari

The 7 days gorilla trekking and wildlife safari is an amazing tour that will take you to Murchison Falls National Park which is the largest national park in Uganda. Murchison falls national park is famously known for harbouring the most powerful waterfall in Africa and different animals including elephants, buffaloes, lions, leopards, giraffes, hippos, waterbucks, bushbucks, Uganda kobs, hyenas, crocodiles, Jackson’s hartebeest among others. The safari will also take you to Queen Elizabeth national park in western Uganda where you will be able to view different animals like elephants, buffaloes, Uganda kobs, waterbucks, warthogs, lions, leopards among others and Bwindi impenetrable national park where you will be able to spend one hour with the endangered mountain gorillas in their natural environment.

Highlights of the 7 days gorilla trekking and wildlife safari

Day 1: Pick up and transfer to Murchison falls national park

Day 2: Morning game drive and afternoon boat cruise

Day 3: Transfer to Fort Portal

Day 4: Transfer to Queen Elizabeth national park- game drive and afternoon boat cruise

Day 5: Transfer to Bwindi impenetrable national park

Day 6: Gorilla trekking in Bwindi impenetrable national park

Day 7: Departure to Kampala

Detailed itinerary

Day 1: Pick up and transfer to Murchison falls national park

Depending on your location in Kampala/ Entebbe on the first day of the 7 days gorilla trekking and wildlife safari, you will be welcomed by our driver guide who will brief you about the safari and then start the journey to Murchison falls national park. The journey takes about 5 to 6 hours’ drive and on the way you will have a stopover at Ziwa rhino sanctuary for rhino tracking and then continue the journey with another stopover for en-route lunch. After lunch you will proceed to Murchison falls national park and 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, animals among others. From the top of the falls you will drive to check in at the lodge for dinner and overnight.

Day 2: Morning game drive and boat cruise to the bottom of the falls

Morning game drive,

After an early breakfast on the second day of the 7 days gorilla trekking and 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 an evening relaxation, dinner and overnight.

Day 3: Transfer to Fort Portal

On the third day of the 7 days gorilla trekking and wildlife safari, you will check out of the lodge and meet up with your driver guide to transfer to Fort Portal. On the way you will have en-route lunch and stopovers to stretch your legs and take pictures of the beautiful landscape, scenery, tea plantations among others. Upon arrival in Fort Portal, you will connect to the lodge for dinner and overnight.

Day 4: Transfer to Queen Elizabeth national park- morning game drive and after noon boat cruise

Game drive

After an early breakfast on the fourth day of the 7 days gorilla trekking and wildlife safari, you will check out of the lodge and meet up with your driver guide to transfer to Queen Elizabeth national park and upon arrival, you will go for a morning game drive where you will be able to view animals like elephants, lions, leopards, Uganda kobs, waterbucks, bushbucks, warthogs, giant forest hogs, bird species among others. After the game drive you will drive back to the lodge for lunch.

Boat cruise,

After lunch you will go for an amazing boat cruise on Kazinga channel a water body that connects Lake George and Lake Edward. The scheduled boat cruise starts at 2:00pm and takes about 2 to 3 hours, during the boat cruise you will be able to cruise near large concentration of hippos and crocodiles in water, animals like elephants, buffaloes, waterbucks, warthogs on the shores of the lake, bird species like saddle bill stork, long tailed cormorant, African shoebill, yellow billed stork, pink backed pelican, black crake, view fishermen preparing their fishing gears among others. After the boat cruise you will drive to the lodge for an evening relaxation, dinner and overnight.

Day 5: Transfer to Bwindi impenetrable national park

On the fifth day of the 7 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 Bwindi impenetrable national park in south western part of Uganda. You will pass via Ishasha sector where you will view the tree climbing lions lying up in acacia, fig tree branches staring on the antelopes which will be feeding in the open savannah plains. After the game drive in Ishasha sector you will go for lunch and then continue with the journey to Bwindi forest which takes about 3 to 4 hours’ drive. Upon arrival in the park you will check into the lodge, have dinner and overnight.

Day 6: Gorilla trekking in Bwindi impenetrable national park

Gorilla trekking,

After an early breakfast on the sixth day of the 7 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 in Bwindi impenetrable national park is an interesting activity and one of the major activities carried out in Uganda and it’s done is groups of 8 individuals where each group will be allocated a gorilla family to trek daily and a park guide who will be sharing information about the mountain gorillas and also conversant with trails in the jungle. Trekking of the mountain gorillas takes about 30 minutes to 8 hours depending on where the gorillas are located because they like to move from one place to another in search of food.

During trekking you will have views of colourful bird species, animals, 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 more about their behaviours, habits, take photos and record the moments to show people back home after the safari. After one-hour 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 7: Departure to Kampala

After a relaxed breakfast on the last day of the 7 days gorilla trekking and wildlife safari, you will check out of the lodge and your driver guide will pick you up to transfer to Kampala. On the way you will have a stopover in Mbarara town for lunch and another stopover at the Equator where you will be able to take photos and buy some souvenirs. From the Equator you will proceed with the journey to Kampala and upon arrival your driver guide will drop you off at Entebbe international airport for your next flight.

End of 7 days gorilla trekking and wildlife safari

Tour includes

Gorilla trekking permit
Rhino tracking
Top of falls
Park entrance fees/game drives
Boat cruise fees
All activities included in the itinerary
An English speaking driver guide
Full board accommodation
Pick up and drop off
Vehicle and fuel
Bottled water

Tour excludes

Air flight tickets
Visas
personal insurance
Optional activities not included on the itinerary
Personal expenses like buying souvenirs, cigarettes, crafts, drinks, laundry services, hiring a porter, tips among others