Gorilla Safari & Cultural experience Tour in Uganda

Your international flight will land you in Entebbe, a small town on the Lake Victoria Peninsula 30 kilometers outside the capital. Here you'll spend a night to begin the gorilla safari in Uganda the following morning.

If you arrive early and have a couple of free hours, you can do some activities around Entebbe to put you in the local scene mood.

Shoebill Tracking: is one of the most requested activities that will require an extra cost. The shoebill, a giant grotesque stork-like bird that looks like it flew out of Darwin's evolutionary stories, wades the mashes of Lake Victoria, preying on lungfish and frogs. It's quite a rare sighting that leaves many travellers in awe. You take a local fisherman's boat for about 2-3 hours in Mabamba Bay swamp, where hundreds of rare water bird species have been recorded.

Alternatively, you can take a walk or ride to the mall to buy a few things like trekking boots and exchange currency for tipping your service people.

Other activities include backroad biking with a local guide, leisurely walks in botanical gardens, visiting Ngamba Chimps Island, and brick oven Pizza evening at Goretti's.

Main Destination: Mabamba Bay, Lake Victoria

Accommodation: Papyrus Guest House
Mid-range guest house located near Entebbe Airport

Meals & Drinks: Meals at own expense
Drinks not included

Start early morning and hit the highway before sunrise driving southwest on a 310-mile (500-km) smoothly-surfaced road to the gorilla forest near the Rwanda and DRC border. It is a 10-11-hour bone-jarring drive, so your private driver will break it with a few stops in particular places of interest, like cultural centers, towns, and viewpoints.

Alternatively, fly over central Uganda’s beautiful plains, fading into the rolling hills of the southwestern region. The stunning flight goes over 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.

The domestic flight allows you to join our walking safari guide for an off-the-beaten-track local experience. The experience includes a community walk, canoeing excursion on Lake Mutanda, hike through communities & cultivated garden trails. This part is an excellent way to travel like a local, connect with the local scenery, and get to see incredible mountain scenery.

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. Take it as a great way to connect with the land and people although the journey is a short trip to see mountain gorillas in the rainforest.

Main Destination: Bwindi Impenetrable National Park

Accommodation: Nkuringo Bwindi Gorilla Lodge
Mid-range to luxury forest lodge on the southern edge of Bwindi.

Meals & Drinks: Full Board (Breakfast, lunch & dinner)
Drinks included (soft and house wines)

Wake up early, have your breakfast, and be at the trailhead in time for the gorilla tracking briefing. The Nkuringo trailhead is about a 10-meter walk from Nkuringo Bwindi Gorilla Lodge—our driver can drive you for that distance if you so choose.

The gorilla tracking briefing usually starts at 8:00 am. You’ll be assigned the gorilla group for tracking with six other trekkers and given the general observable rules in the jungle. You’ll be escorted into the African wilderness with two gun-baring rangers (for your security) and a tracker/guide with a machete to lead your way.

Once you have found the gorillas, you will be allowed to spend an hour with them. Keep your camera silent (no shutter sound of flash photography), observe a 10 meters distance from the gorillas, and keep your mask on. Your time in the forest cannot be pre-determined as every day differs from the previous.

Main Destination: Bwindi Impenetrable National Park

Accommodation: Nkuringo Bwindi Gorilla Lodge

Meals & Drinks: Full Board (Breakfast, lunch & dinner)
Drinks included (soft and house wines)

This short gorilla safari in Uganda allows you to squeeze in a few more activities that involve walking with the natives on a cultural trail.

The 2-3-hour walk takes on a cultural experience with a Batwa tribal leader, a local interpreter, and several other tribal members showcasing their original stories when they lived in the now-gazetted gorilla forest park.

The Batwa lived in the forest as nomadic hunter-gatherers for millennia, perfectly balanced with flora and fauna. They earn a living from this little pocket forest by re-enacting their historical cultures for visiting tourists.

The end of the day would be excellent for a sundowner experience at the top of the world with the sun setting on the stunning 360-degree views across southwestern Uganda’s rugged landscape.

Main Destination: Bwindi Impenetrable National Park

Accommodation: Nkuringo Bwindi Gorilla Lodge

Meals & Drinks: Full Board (Breakfast, lunch & dinner)
Drinks included (soft and house wines)

After breakfast, lazily get your bags early in the morning and take another jungle drive down the volcanic mountains to join the 310-mile highway back to Entebbe.

Alternatively, you can take a one-hour flight from Kisoro Airport (1.5-hr transfer from the Lodge) to Entebbe Airport and void the 10-hour drive.

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 your short trip to see mountain gorillas specialist can book you a room at your discretion.

Main Destination: Entebbe International Airport (Entebbe)

Accommodation: No accommodation (End of tour)

Meals & Drinks: Breakfast (Lunch & dinner not included)
Drinks not included