10-Day Uganda Gorillas and Mount Rwenzori Hiking Safari

• You'll be collected from the airport.
• Accommodation before the tour starts can be arranged for an extra cost.

Arrival and Transfer to Kibale Forest for Chimps Trek

You'll have breakfast then embark on a drive in the company of your driver-guide to Fort Portal. You'll drive along the impressive countryside landscapes along the way. The small towns en route including Busenyi offer you sights of the rural towns of Uganda. You'll arrive in Fort Portal town for lunch after which you connect to the Fort Portal Crater Area for amazing scenic views. You will retreat from the caves and embark on the hike to the Fort Portal Crater Lake field where you summit the famous Kyeganywa hill to gain remarkable views of the craters including the empty hollows and those that have been filled with water to form lakes including Lake Saaka, Lake Kigere and Lake Bikere. The summit of the hill offers scenic views of the area and distant views of the Rwenzori Mountains beyond. You'll retreat from the activity and connect to Fort Portal town from where you will drive 26km to Kibale National Park for relaxation.

Main Destination:

Kibale National Park (Chimps)

Best Time To Visit January to February and June to July (Chimp trekking is easiest)

High Season June to September (Peak time for Uganda)

Best Weather January to February and June to July (Least rain)

Wildlife in Kibale NP

ChimpanzeeCommon

ElephantOccasional

BuffaloOccasional

LionVery Rare

LeopardVery Rare

HippoRare

Show more

GiraffeNone

White RhinoNone

Black RhinoNone

CheetahNone

ZebraNone

WildebeestNone

Accommodation:

Chimpanzee Forest Lodge

• Mid-range guest house located just outside Kibale NP (Chimps)

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Meals & Drinks:

• All meals included
• Drinking water (Other drinks not included)

Chimpanzee Trekking in Kibale Forest & Afternoon Transfer to Rwenzori

After breakfast, you'll embark on the chimpanzee trekking encounter in Kibale National Park. You'll gather at Kanyanchu Tourism Center for a briefing at 8 am by the Uganda Wildlife Authority rangers after which you head to the prehistoric forest in search of your closest cousin. Kibale National Park offers great flora concentration with 351 Species of trees some of which are 200 years old and over 55m tall. The park also supports 70 species of mammals and 13 species of Primates among which include the common chimpanzee, Black and white colobus, and red-tailed monkey. In the late afternoon, we will transfer you to Rwenzori National Par. This drive takes you through Fort Portal town on Kasese highway, get to Kasese town in the afternoon, and go for shopping everything that you need during your Rwenzori hike.

Main Destination:

Rwenzori Mountains (Mountain Range)

Accommodation:

Rwenzori International Hotel

• Budget hotel located in Kasese (Town)

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Meals & Drinks:

• All meals included
• Drinking water (Other drinks not included)

Start the Hike from Kayanjuki at 1450 meters to Sine Hut at 2596 meters

After breakfast, your driver-guide will take you to the park ranger post for briefing and then start by hiking up the valley floor through tall forest trees of the Afro Montane Forest Zone. This hike is interesting with multitudes of birds and a chance to see some primates scampering off through the forest. If you are lucky, you may get the opportunity to see a L’Hoest monkey.
On this hike, expect to see different types of plant species from forest trees to bamboo thickets and many shrubs and flowers. You will also enjoy Enock’s Falls which is just 200 meters from Sine Hut. Your dinner and overnight stay will be at Sine Camp.

Main Destination:

Rwenzori Mountains (Mountain Range)

Accommodation:

Budget camping

Meals & Drinks:

• All meals included
• Drinking water (Other drinks not included)

Hike from Sine Camp to Mutinda Camp

After breakfast at around 7:30 am, you'll start the hike that takes you through the Bamboo-Mimulopsis area, when you reach the bamboo zone. It is steep hiking on high steps. In case it rains during the hike, it can be slippery and muddy which makes the hike slow but all in all, I must say that the atmosphere up there in the forest is really beautiful. You'll hike at a 551m altitude and a distance of 1.8km and hike up to Kalalama Camp at 3,147 meters. This area is in the Heather Rapanea Zone. You'll have a stopover for tea or coffee, after hiking up to Mutinda Camp.
Mutinda Camp is near a small river that drops off a waterfall and offers the opportunity to refresh, relax, and hike up to the top of the Mutinda Lookout. Here, you will have an amazing view across the Rwenzori Mountains, Kasese town, and Lake George. This viewing point stands at 3,925 meters. Your dinner and overnight stay will be at Mutinda Camp.

Main Destination:

Rwenzori Mountains (Mountain Range)

Accommodation:

Budget camping

Meals & Drinks:

• All meals included
• Drinking water (Other drinks not included)

Hike from Mutinda Camp to Kiharo Camp at 3380 meters

After morning breakfast, your guides will prepare you and continue with the hike starting from the summit of Mutinda peaks, hiking up past Kiharo Camp at 3,380 meters. You can also go for an optional spot of rock climbing after going for dinner and an overnight stay at Kiharo Camp.

Main Destination:

Rwenzori Mountains (Mountain Range)

Accommodation:

Budget camping

Meals & Drinks:

• All meals included
• Drinking water (Other drinks not included)

Hike from Kiharo Camp to Samalira Camp at 3174 meters

You'll hike down to Samalira camp. Today’s hike takes only about 3 to 4 hours of climbing down through the giant heather trees that make up most of the vegetation from Kiharo to Samalira. This trail is flat and easy to climb down for about 2 hours with amazingly beautiful views of river Nyamwamba. Afterward, you'll climb up a ridge for 40 minutes before sloping down to Samalira Camp for dinner and an overnight stay.

Main Destination:

Rwenzori Mountains (Mountain Range)

Accommodation:

Budget camping

Meals & Drinks:

• All meals included
• Drinking water (Other drinks not included)

Climb Down from Samalira Camp to Kilembe Base Camp in Kasese

After morning breakfast with the whole team you have been hiking with, you will climb down from Samalira through the Bamboo-Mimulopsis Zone, Afro Montane Forest Zone, and to Kilembe base camp in Kasese. Afterward, you'll drive to Kasese town for relaxation and an overnight stay.

Main Destination:

Kasese (Town)

Accommodation:

Rwenzori International Hotel

• Budget hotel located in Kasese (Town)

Meals & Drinks:

• All meals included
• Drinking water (Other drinks not included)

Transfer to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park

After a relaxed breakfast, you'll embark on your transfer back to Bwindi Forest. The drive takes you to Queen Elisabeth National Park. After lunch, you'll go for the afternoon launch cruise on the Kazinga Channel. This is a home to a variety of water birds and on a hot day, hippos, elephants, buffaloes, and waterbucks can be sighted as they bathe and drink water at the water edge. Crocodiles are occasionally sighted along the channel banks, explore the impressive undulating green tea estates where you can also engage in tea-plucking encounters with the estate staff after which you embark on the transfer to Bwindi. You will make a stop in Kihihi town for lunch, arriving in the afternoon.

Main Destination:

Bwindi Impenetrable National Park (Gorillas)

Best Time To Visit June to August and December to February (Gorilla trekking is easiest)

High Season June to September (Gorilla permits are scarce)

Best Weather June to July and December to February (Less rainfall)

Wildlife in Bwindi Impenetrable NP

GorillaCommon

ChimpanzeeRare

ElephantRare

White RhinoNone

Black RhinoNone

LionNone

Show more

GiraffeNone

LeopardNone

CheetahNone

BuffaloNone

ZebraNone

WildebeestNone

HippoNone

Accommodation:

Bakiga Lodge

• Budget lodge located just outside Bwindi Impenetrable NP (Gorillas)

Meals & Drinks:

• All meals included
• Drinking water (Other drinks not included)

Gorilla Trekking in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park

Early morning, you'll have breakfast with your packed lunch. You will report to the park headquarters for registration and join other trackers in a briefing about the dos and don’ts during your gorilla tracking at 7:45 am. You will trek through thick creepers and undergrowth with your guides to find the gorillas, which can take you half an hour to three-quarters of the day. The steeply forested landscape is incredibly dense but crisscrossed by numerous animal trails allowing access to tourists. It is an extraordinary feeling being with these beautiful yet endangered creatures.

Main Destination:

Bwindi Impenetrable National Park (Gorillas)

Accommodation:

Bakiga Lodge

• Budget lodge located just outside Bwindi Impenetrable NP (Gorillas)

Meals & Drinks:

• All meals included
• Drinking water (Other drinks not included)

Departure-Drive back to Entebbe

After morning breakfast, you will drive back to Kampala\Entebbe International Airport for your flight out late in the evening.

Main Destination:

Entebbe (City)

Accommodation:

No accommodation (End of tour)

Meals & Drinks:

• Breakfast & lunch (Dinner not included)
• Drinking water (Other drinks not included)

• Additional accommodation can be arranged for an extra cost.
• You'll be dropped off at the airport.