6 Days Gorillas & Walking Safari

Arrival in Entebbe as per your international flights and transfer to Papyrus Guest House.

Optional Extra: In the afternoon (departure from the hotel must be max at 14.30/15.00 hours) departure by car and local canoe to Mabamba Swamp, one of the best places for spotting the rare shoebill storks. Of course some fortune is needed but rarely does one leave the swamp without seeing one! Many other water birds have chosen this area as their home so birding is always very interesting.

Enjoy a relaxing sundowner on Lake Victoria and then return to the Guest House.

Accommodation: Papyrus Guest House (Garden room)

Meal Plan: Bed & Breakfast basis; Lunch & Dinner on own’s account

After an early breakfast, transfer to Entebbe International Airport for the AeroLink flight to Kisoro across central Uganda and offering a view of the country beautiful landscape of mountains, hills, cultivated terraces, tropical rainforest, bamboo forests and the majestic chain of the Virunga Volcanoes.

Upon arrival meeting with the vehicle and our walking safari guide for a briefing on the very interesting activities of the day which will be adapted to the clients’ desires. You can either walk for approx. 90 minutes - 4km to Lake Mutanda Sheba’s Camp - or drive 30 minutes to the lake. You then “settle” in a dugout canoe for 2-3 hours of gentle relaxed cruising across  the  lake, enjoying the beautiful landscape. After lunch at a restaurant on the lake shores, continuation  on foot till Rubuguri (9km  – 2/3 hours) where you meet up the vehicle and drive for another 10  km up to the Lodge in Nkuringo (approx 1 hour). Of course you can also be picked up by the vehicle at the lake and drive all the way up to the Lodge. Guests decide!

Accommodation: Nkuringo Bwindi Gorilla Lodge (Private Cottage)

Meal Plan: Full Board

AeroLink flight schedule Entebbe – Kisoro (to be reconfirmed at the time of reservation):

After breakfast, at around 7:45 am, with packed lunch and drinking water you will be transferred to the National Park Head Quarters for the briefing on the dos and the don’ts while with the gorillas. You then continue to the forest for the start of the actual gorilla tracking.

The beauty of this rain forest is spectacular. The area  offers  a  dramatic,  steeply  forested landscape and is incredibly dense, but crisscrossed by numerous animal trails allowing access to tourists. The time taken and the terrain vary as per the movements of these great primates. The thrill of spending time observing these gentle and endangered giants is an awesome, exciting experience to be long savored. Many find it to be a rare and moving opportunity. The tracking can take place at Nkuringo or at Rushaga (1 hr drive from Nkuringo), as per the gorilla permits obtained.

Upon return, relax at the lodge and, for those who like, at 5.00 pm either stroll through the community center or drive up to the “Top of the World” - the name given to the football field, high up in Nkuringo which offers amazing views over the peaks and forests around Nkuringo. A great way to stretch your legs after the gorilla tracking and to enjoy a sundowner.

Accommodation: Nkuringo Bwindi Gorilla Lodge (Private Cottage)

Meal Plan: Full Board

This morning after a hearty breakfast, enjoy birding in Nombe Pocket Forest – it was part of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and it is still quite impenetrable, however it was cut off from it as people needed more land to live on and cultivate. It can be reached on foot (approx. 1 hour to go and 2 hours to come back) or by vehicle and  the visit lasts approx. 2  hours, depending on the interest of guests.

Accommodation: Nkuringo Bwindi Gorilla Lodge (Private Cottage)

Meal Plan: Full Board

After an early breakfast, start your unforgettable hike (19km - 7-9 hours) directly from Nkuringo Lodge, following the Kashasha River Trail. This is a full day walk where there would also be the opportunity to visit the Munyaga River Falls, hidden in the forest. However, if clients prefer, they can also opt for the shorter trek and in this case they will be taken by vehicle along the Nteko Ridge till the junction of the Ivy River Trail with the forest (7 km) and they then start their hike from here (13km - 4-5 hours).

Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park is a vast unique natural reserve - monkeys, duikers, bush pigs and some of Bwindi's world renowned bird species plus many butterflies can be sighted. If you are very lucky you may even encounter gorillas! Once part of a much larger forest that included the Virunga Volcanoes in neighboring Rwanda, the park is nowadays an ecological island within a sea of villages and farmland, its conservation importance is immense. The emphasis of this activity is for your walking guide to share his knowledge of the forest with you, it is not simply an A to B hike. The trail is also an important footpath for local people, particularly on market days, travelling from Nkuringo and Nteko to Buhoma, on the northern boundary of the park. There is no road through Bwindi so vehicles driving between the two locations have an incredible 170 km bone jarring journey taking 6 to 8 hours.

Upon arrival at the park headquarters in Buhoma, continue to your lodge in the outskirts of the national park for some relax and to enjoy the “other” side of Bwindi. If interested possibility to arrange a community walk directly with the guide for later in the evening (optional and to be paid locally).

Accommodation: Mahogany Springs Lodge (Standard Room)

Meal Plan: Full Board (lunch box)

After a leisurely breakfast, departure to Kihihi Airstrip (60km – 1 hour) for your morning AeroLink flight to Entebbe. End of services.

Meal Plan: Breakfast and Lunch (lunch box); Dinner on own’s account

Depending on your departure flight either enjoy day room/overnight at Papyrus Guest House or wait for your departure flight at the Airport.

If guests prefer, they can skip the morning flight Kihihi-Entebbe and opt to drive back to Entebbe with their vehicle (thus saving 318 USD pp!) – it would be 425 km, approx. 8-9 hours.

Upon request we can also book and quote 2 hrs of chimp tracking at Kalinzo Forest (possible   at any time of the day) and/or split the long journey back to Entebbe by adding an overnight and some game drives in Lake Mburo National Park.