4 Days Fly-in Uganda Gorillas Luxury Safari

Upon arrival in Uganda at Entebbe International Airport, located on a peninsula that juts out into Lake Victoria, Africa’s biggest fresh water lake, you will be welcomed and greeted by our representative. You will be checked-in for the domestic flight – departing at 12.00mid-day to Kihihi airstrip in the viscinity of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. At Kihihi, you will be received by your driver/guide. From Kihihi, you will be transferred to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. On arrival, you will check-in at the lodge you have chosen and can have a late lunch. To prepare best for the thrilling gorilla trekking experience tomorrow, it’s advisable to have the rest of the day to yourselves as you rest and relax from all the flying. At dinner, your guide will give you a detailed brief on what to expect and what tomorrow will look like.

After breakfast, with your packed lunch, lots of water in your rucksack, your guide will take you to the Buhoma sector HQ before 8:00am for registration and briefing by Uganda Wildlife Authority staff. Once the formalities of what to do and not to do while tracking the gentle giants are communicated, you will head to the trail-head of the gorilla family you have been allocated. At the trail-head, you will commence the trek, pushing your way through the undergrowth, to track the gorillas. (the trek can last from half an hour to 8 hours – a reasonable degree of fitness is required as well as a sturdy pair of walking shoes). When you finally locate the family that you are tracking, take in everything as you watch the gorillas go about their day – feeding on the green leaves, bamboo shoots, wild celery, stinging nettle and wild fruit. If there are juvenile gorillas, enjoy them play about and take it all in. Take lots of pictures (and a selfie if you happen to have a gorilla in your selfie frame) and video as the one-hour will be over before you know it. It is an extraordinary feeling being in the presence of these majestic apes, sitting/standing in the dense rainforest with the knowledge that you are in the presence of the few remaining wild mountain gorillas. After the mandatory one hour is up, the rangers will lead you back to the starting point/trail-head where you will find your driver/guide. Once back at the trail-head, your driver/guide will be waiting to take you back to the park HQ where you receive your tracking certificates (evidence of your contribution to the conservation of the majestic gorillas). From here, you will be taken back to your lodge for a hot lunch. After lunch, relax and you have the rest of the day to yourselves. Now is a good time to look back on your awe-inspiring encounter with the gorillas through the lens of your camera. Later, dinner and overnight at the lodge.

What to bring for gorilla tracking/trekking: light but sturdy hiking shoes, light rain jacket, daypack, 2 litres of water, gardening gloves, long trousers either jeans/khakis, long-sleeved shirt/blouse, wide-brimmed hat, sun glasses, insect repellent and an energy bar.

Optional Activities

Meet the Batwa pygmies in a cultural experience

Today, you drive across and through the Bwindi mists from the north to the north-eastern sector of Ruhija so you are up at 6.00am to start. With your packed lunch, lots of water and other essentials in your rucksack, the drive will take you across the rugged gorilla highlands with wonderful views in some places to the Ruhija sector HQ before 8:00am. On arrival, you will be taken through the registration and briefing formalities by Uganda Wildlife Authority staff. Once the formalities are done, you will head to the trail-head of the second gorilla family you have been allocated. At the trail-head, you will commence the trek, pushing your way through the undergrowth, to track the gorillas. (the trek can last from half an hour to 8 hours – a reasonable degree of fitness is required as well as a sturdy pair of walking shoes). When you finally locate the family that you are tracking, take in everything as you watch the gorillas go about their day – feeding on the green leaves, bamboo shoots, wild celery, stinging nettle and wild fruit. If there are juvenile gorillas, enjoy them play about and take it all in. Take lots of pictures (and a selfie if you happen to have a gorilla in your selfie frame) and a video as the one-hour will be over before you know it. It is an extraordinary feeling being in the presence of these majestic apes, sitting/standing in the dense rainforest with the knowledge that you are in the presence of the few remaining wild mountain gorillas. After the mandatory one hour is up, the rangers will lead you back to the starting point/trail-head where you will find your driver/guide. Once back at the trail-head, your driver/guide will be waiting to take you back to the park HQ where you receive your tracking certificates (evidence of your contribution to the conservation to the majestic gorillas). From here, you will be taken back to your lodge for a hot lunch. After lunch, relax and you have the rest of the day to yourselves. Now is a good time to look back on your awe-inspiring encounter with the gorillas through the lens of your camera. Later, dinner and overnight at the lodge.

After breakfast, depart for the Kihihi airstrip from where you will fly back to Entebbe Airport on an 8.25am (there are flights that depart Kihihi for Entebbe later in the day so you can advise us if a later flight is a better fit) flight – arriving back at Entebbe in the mid-morning (11.25am). At Entebbe, connect to your onward international flight home. If your flight out of Uganda is late this evening, you spend your day in the quiet Entebbe town (we will include a day room for you at one of our partner guest houses in Entebbe). Later, you are dropped off at the airport in time for you to check-in for your onward flight home to bring to an end what we believe will have been an awe-inspiring Uganda gorilla safari whose memories will stay with you for a long time.