$4,494 to $4,584 pp (USD)
2 travelers on Start dateArrival
Arrival
Day 1
Arrival at Entebbe – Mabamba Shoebill Tracking
Arrival at Entebbe – Mabamba Shoebill Tracking
You'll arrive at Entebbe International Airport. A hotel transfer will drive you about 20 minutes to your booked hotel/guesthouse in Entebbe, a peninsula town north of Lake Victoria, 30 kilometers outside the capital.
If you arrive in the morning hours, you can join our local guide on an excursion through the swampy Lake Victoria Mabamba Bay to track the elusive Shoebill bird. Shoebill large is a prehistoric bird that attracts massive tourist attention and is found only around the southern Nile River region. Mabamba Bay is the easiest place to find this mystical bird, and it is protected as a Ramsar site of an important bird sanctuary with hundreds of unique bird species residing here. A fisherman’s speed boat leaves the jetty at your convenience and takes about an hour to reach Mabamba. You will spend about 2 hours cruising through the swampy waters.
- Main Destination:
- Mabamba Swamp
- Accommodation:
- Papyrus Guest House
- Meals & Drinks:
Day 2
Fly Entebbe to Kisoro – Canoeing and Nature Hiking
Fly Entebbe to Kisoro – Canoeing and Nature Hiking
You'll have breakfast early and catch a scheduled morning flight from Entebbe International Airport to Kisoro Airport, two hours outside Bwindi Impenetrable National Park.
A transfer vehicle will whisk you off to Kisoro town, where you will join a local walking safari guide on a 4-hour nature hike through the rural region. You’ll walk for about an hour through villages, communities, and cultivated mountain slopes to reach a serene volcano Lake Mutanda. Here, you’ll hop into a traditional dugout canoe with a local fisherman as your pilot to explore the calm lake’s gorgeous views on a 2-3 hour canoeing adventure.
You’ll have lunch at a lake resort and join your transfer driver for a short drive through the mountains to your booked lodge on the edge of the gorilla park. The views on this last drive are super charming, with the dying sunlight bouncing off the rugged landscape and the Virunga Mountains backdrop.
- Main Destination:
- Lake Mutanda
- Accommodation:
- Nkuringo Bwindi Gorilla Lodge
- Meals & Drinks:
Day 3
Gorilla Tracking in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park
Gorilla Tracking in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park
You'll 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-meter 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.
The rest of the day, stay at your cottage, order in, and enjoy the views of the dreamy landscape.
- Main Destination:
- Bwindi Impenetrable National Park (Gorillas)
- Accommodation:
- Nkuringo Bwindi Gorilla Lodge
Wildlife in Bwindi NP
- Meals & Drinks:
Day 4
Batwa Cultural Trail or Community Walk
Batwa Cultural Trail or Community Walk
This day allows you to squeeze in a few local activities like walking with the natives on a cultural trail, birdwatching in a pocket forest, or walking through communities.
The 2-3-hour Batwa trail takes you on a cultural experience with a Batwa tribal leader, a local interpreter, and several other tribal members showcasing their original stories of 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 (Gorillas)
- Accommodation:
- Nkuringo Bwindi Gorilla Lodge
- Meals & Drinks:
Day 5
Nature Walking Trail Across Bwindi Impenetrable National Park
Nature Walking Trail Across Bwindi Impenetrable National Park
The 4-6-hour ancient nature hiking trail across the impenetrable forest of Bwindi from the southern section in Nkuringo to the northern park section in Buhoma is famous, with locals trading goods between the two villages. You’ll begin the walk from the lodge through villages, into the misty jungle along the Kashasha River valley, and to the flatter trail leading out to Buhoma.
For 15 km, 4-6 hours, you’ll be immersed in the majestic beauties of the ancient jungle guided by a local expert who’ll furnish you with old tales and incredible forest knowledge and bring you close to being one with the forest trails. If you’re lucky, you’ll meet wild forest inhabitants like chimps, elephants, duikers, forest buffalos, and more.
Upon arrival at the park headquarters in Buhoma, you'll continue to your lodge on the outskirts of the national park for some relaxation and to enjoy the “other” side of Bwindi. If interested, we can arrange a community walk (optional and to be paid for locally).
- Main Destination:
- Bwindi Impenetrable National Park (Gorillas)
- Accommodation:
- Mahogany Springs Lodge
- Meals & Drinks:
Day 6
Fly Kihihi to Entebbe
Fly Kihihi to Entebbe
After a leisurely breakfast, you will depart to Kihihi Airstrip (60km – 1 hour) for your morning flight to Entebbe. End of the trip.
- Main Destination:
- Kihihi Airstrip (Bwindi NP)
- Accommodation:
- No accommodation (End of tour)
- Meals & Drinks:
