Example Itinerary
Below is an example 5-day itinerary for the Short Gorilla Safari Experience, Fly to Bwindi (shorter or longer trips available).
Note: that your itinerary is tailor-made to your interests and budget. Your tour can be extended to include Kibale Forest to see chimpanzees, Queen Elizabeth National Park for a wildlife safari and Lake Mburo, to name just a few options.
You can also include other African wildlife destinations, such as Kenya, Tanzania and Rwanada.
Send your interests, days available and accommodation preference (Lower priced, mid-range, high-end or splurge-worthy) for your tailor-made itinerary.
The Short Gorilla Safari Experience, Fly to Bwindi
The short gorilla safari flies you from Entebbe to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest for a gorilla trekking adventure.
The rate includes:
- Local English-speaking guides/driver
- Accommodation & Meals as indicated in itinerary
- Land transfers in 4x4 safari truck
- Activities & excursions as shown in itinerary
- AMREF evacuation cover, and government taxes
Day 1: Entebbe — Shoebill tracking
You will arrive at Entebbe International Airport and you will clear travel restrictions with immigration authorities with your visa. Your Nkuringo Safari driver will pick you up from the Airport and transfer you to your hotel in Entebbe. (15 minutes)
You can now enjoy optional activities around Entebbe if you arrive early in the day. These include birding around the botanical gardens or just taking a walk among these internationally acclaimed bio-diverse gardens. Many birders visit Mabamba swamps to catch sight of the monstrous historical shoebill and hundreds of other rare African endemics.
You may prefer a walk to the local market or fish market to find out a little bit about Uganda's urban culture.
You'll stay at: Boutique Hotel Number 5 (Luxury) or Papyrus Guesthouse (Comfortable)
Day 2: Fly Entebbe - Kisoro
You will catch an early morning domestic flight from Entebbe to Kisoro to start your short gorilla safari in Uganda's Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. The one-hour flight goes over Lake Victoria, beautiful central plains, into the rolling hills of the southwest region with cultivated terraces, tropical rainforest, bamboo forest, and the majestic chain of the Virunga Volcanoes. Our driver will pick you up from Kisoro Airstrip and transfer you to the lodge.
In the afternoon, you can walk the Batwa Forest Trail in Buniga Forest, a pocked forest close to the lodge. The Batwa people showcase their ancient cultural tales, hunting and survival skills on the trail.
Alternatively, from Kisoro Airport, join our walking safari guide in Kisoro Town for a community walk, canoeing excursion on Lake Mutanda, and nature hike through communities & cultivated garden trails.
It is an immersive off-the-beaten-track walking adventure connecting you with the local people and environments. It takes you to some of the most incredible scenes of rugged southwestern Uganda. The walking safari takes about 4-5 hours to Lake Mutanda, where the driver will pick you up for lunch before continuing to your night's stay at Nkuringo.
Staying at: Nkuringo Bwindi Gorilla Lodge
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner.
Day 3: Gorilla Trekking
Your butler will ensure you are up and about by 7:00 am with a packed lunch, the right trekking gear, drinking water, and a walking stick. Excursion briefing starts at 7:30 am at the visitor centre.
By 8am, your tracking guide and rangers will lead you and six other tourists into the rainforest to find a habituated gorilla group. Two gun-baring rangers will come along for your safety from wild animals. Your tracker will create a usable path through the thick jungle to the gorillas.
Once you have found the gorillas, you will be allowed to observe them for an hour at a 10 meters distance.
Your time in the forest can not be pre-determined as every day differs from the previous. However, most trekkers are out of the jungle by 2:00 pm with a satisfactory grin.
Staying at: Nkuringo Bwindi Gorilla Lodge
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner.
Day 4: Optional Activities
This day has some optional activities that can vary for travellers.
- Stay back at the lodge and relax, read a book, join a cooking class or take a walk around the property and talk to some locals.
- Go back into the mysterious jungle to meet with the gorillas for a second time. Maybe for a more extended stay, we like to call the habituation experience. But remember, you must have pre-booked the trekking permit.
- Drive down to Lake Mutanda for a traditional dug-out canoeing experience with some of the most enchanting views on the volcano lake.
- Forest walk either on a Batwa Forest Trail or on a Circular Trail through Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, this time not for gorillas but everything else ethereal about the jungle.
- Go on a sundowner picnic on top of the world with 360-degree spellbinding views of the hilly landscapes. It's a walking distance from the lodge.
Staying at: Nkuringo Bwindi Gorilla Lodge
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner.
Day 5: Fly Kisoro to Entebbe
After breakfast, lazily get your bags early in the morning and take another rural drive down the volcanic mountains to the lower Kisoro Airstrip for your local scheduled flight to Entebbe International Airport.
In Entebbe, you can use our facilities at Papyrus guest house to freshen up for your international flight back home. Accommodation for this day is not included, though. But we can book you a room at your discretion.
Accommodation (Optional): Papyrus Guesthouse
Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch.
