Our 3 Day Gorilla Trekking Uganda Safari Bwindi is a 2nights 3 day Uganda gorilla safari from Kampala or Entebbe that takes you to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park for unforgettable Gorilla trekking in Uganda, a visit to Lake Bunyonyi for amazing adventures, community tours, and priceless scenic views.
This 3 Day Uganda gorilla safari in Bwindi from Kampala/Entebbe takes you gorilla trekking in Uganda’s Bwindi forest which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site due to having the biggest number of Mountain Gorillas to a tune of 461 gorillas out of the total 1063 existing gorillas in the whole world, to search and see them within only 3 days.
The Nineteen (19) gorilla families/groups habituated for trekking in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, make this park the ultimate Uganda gorilla trekking tour destination. This Uganda gorilla safari tour takes you to Bwindi-a destination is positioned in the southwest of Uganda stretching over a geographical coverage of 321 sq. Km standing at an elevation of 1,160 – 2,607 Km above sea level.
Gorilla trekking Uganda safari tours in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park can be done in any of its four (4) trekking regions including Buhoma with three gorilla families of Mubare, Habinyaja, and Rushegura thrive.
Ruhija has three gorilla families Oruzogo, Bitukura, and Kyagurliro.
Rushaga has five gorilla families Mishaya, Nshongi, Bweza, Busingye, and Kahungye.
Lastly Nkuringo with one gorilla family named Nkuringo.
All these gorilla families are habituated and two other gorilla families are being habituated in the south which indicates that gorilla trekking safari in Uganda is on the move to prosperity.
The 3 days gorilla trekking Uganda safari tour in Bwindi can be organized based on budget, standard, and luxury lodges. We can further customize this 3-day Uganda gorilla trek itinerary to suit your personal interests, Let us know what you want and we shall offer you more than you expect.
The Magical Gorilla trekking Memories and the experience
The Unique Island hopes to provide community tour experience
Experiencing the diversity Uganda has to offer from the Landscape, the wildlife, the birds, the water bodies…this place is magical
Day 1: The Uganda Equator
Day 2: Bwindi National Park
Day 3: Lake Bunyonyi & Entebbe/Kampala
You will have an early morning breakfast and at 6:30 am, set off from Kampala for your 3 Days Uganda Gorilla Safari driving towards the south-west of Uganda to Bwindi National Park through amazing native communities as they take on their daily life activities like markets, craft centers, farming, etc, scenic rolling hills and green and lush vegetation.
You will stop at the Equator line at Kayabwe for pictures and experiments to prove the movement of waters in the funnel clockwise and anti-clockwise in either hemisphere and do some shopping crafts and souvenirs, with a traditional lunch stop at Igongo Cultural Center.
The drive to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is a 527km journey taking about will take you about 9-10 hours depending on the Bwindi gorilla trekking region you are to do gorilla trekking. You may drive through the traffic of Kampala if you are from the city center OR take the newly constructed Entebbe Express Highway to connect to Masaka road on smooth tarmac driving for 77km to make a stop at the Uganda Equator crossing Kayabwe where the world’s main latitude that partitions the world into the northern and the southern hemisphere can be encountered for an amazing experience.
It is a unique geographical site where water experiments shall be carried out for you to justify the geographical divide between the north and the southern hemispheres. Here, you have an opportunity to take magical photos with one leg in the northern hemisphere and another one in the southern hemisphere.
After about 30 minutes of your break here, you shall resume the drive to Bwindi but have a stop for a traditional lunch stop at Igongo Cultural Center 12km to Mbarara for local cuisine prepared in a modern setting, served in standard utensils serving only organic and fresh food as well as all fruits.
After your lunch you will continue with the drive entertained by the amazing green country, people in their communities doing their usual routines, the fascinating Kigezi Highlands arriving until you arrive in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park in the evening for relaxation, dinner, and overnight
Upmarket/Luxury: Chameleon Hill Lodge/ Haven Lodge Buhoma
Midrange / Standard: Gorilla Mist Camp/ Ichumbi Gorilla Lodge
Budget / Basic: Trekkers Tavern
Meal Plan: Lunch & Dinner
Drive distance &time: Approx. 530 km or 9 – 10 hours
This day will mark your reunion with your long-lost cousins – the mountain gorilla trekking in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest! You will wake up early for breakfast, have your breakfast, carry your packed lunch, and then drive to the tracking point at the Bwindi Regional Park headquarters where your gorilla permit will take you.
Once you gather at the respective park headquarters with other tourists for briefing in the morning at 8 am, you will be entertained by the local tradition usually the Bakiga/Batwa people, and after the head, the ranger will carry out the much-needed 1-hour Gorilla trekking in Bwindi forest briefing to prepare you for the Gorilla trek.
The briefing among other issues tackles the history of Gorillas and gorilla trekking in Bwindi Uganda, Gorilla behavior, Gorilla tracking rules, and regulations, Gorilla conservation, and the benefits of gorilla tracking to the communities around Bwindi and to the Gorilla conservation efforts.
Once the briefing is done, you will be divided into groups of 8 people per gorilla family, given a group of UWA (Uganda Wildlife Association) rangers under a lead ranger guide who will usher you deep into Bwindi Impenetrable Forest as you trek in search of the largest Great Apes-the mountain gorillas.
The Bwindi Gorilla trek walk is beyond the ordinary as it involves traversing the dense jungles of the Bwindi forest whose thickness would at some points necessitate using a machete to make a path by the rangers, hiking the challenging landscapes some of which are steep and slippery at times under the canopy of the mature forest which forms darkness even during the day.
You will see amazing gigantic tropical equatorial tree species, beautiful flowers, impressive birds, and other primates like the L`ohest Monkeys, Black and White Colobus Monkey, Black Faced Vervet Monkeys, and Patas Monkeys, hundreds of Butterflies, amazing landscapes, etc.
Uganda Gorilla trekking in Bwindi takes 2 – 8 hours depending on the Gorilla’s movements and once you find them, you will spend one (1) hour interacting with them, observing, photographing, and enjoying their presence, usually from a 3-meter distance away from them.
Upon approaching gorillas, their reaction is not predictable as they may give you a courteous welcome, minding less about you, move away and keep moving or even charge at you when irritated.
However, because of habituation, Mountain gorillas in Bwindi are always welcoming with the Silverback hitting his chest a little to demonstrate his might but also welcoming you to their home. The young gorillas are very playful and are at times not aware of the 7m rule thus can try to draw closer to even touching your body – save it by taking some steps away to observe the distance.
You are not limited in any way to ask as many questions about gorillas and their habitats along with taking pictures so long as you have the opportunity to do so but always keep your camera flash off! After your one hour with the gorillas, the rangers will guide you back to the starting point for the graduation ceremony and receive a certificate for those who have successfully tracked gorillas, then drive to Lake Bunyonyi for relaxation.
Driving through the fascinating Kigezi Highlands on this Uganda safari tour while watching how the locals applied terracing methods to cultivate their slopes derives an impressive scenic landscape. You arrive at Lake Bunyonyi in the afternoon for relaxation and a recreational boat ride on the lake, dinner, and overnight.
The Highlight of The Day: Coming Face to Face With The Beautiful Mountain Gorillas
Meal Plan: Breakfast, packed Lunch & Dinner
Drive distance & time: Approx. 52km or 2 hours
After breakfast, embark on the transfer back to Kampala/ Entebbe to finish your breathtaking 3 days Uganda Gorilla safari tour. You will drive through the magical highlands of Kigezi covered with mist in the morning before continuing through the impressive southwestern Uganda landscapes of Ntungamo for those heading to Kampala with extensive banana plantations and cattle farms.
A lunch break will be made at Igongo Cultural Center and another can still be made at the Equator crossing Kayabwe to get yourself a souvenir to carry back home then after proceed for 4-5 hours to back to Kampala or to the airport depending on your flight schedule.
Post-safari accommodation or a day room is arranged upon request.
Meal Plan: Breakfast & Lunch Enroute
Drive distance & time: Approx. 473 km or 7 hours 50 Minutes
End of the 3 Days Uganda Gorilla Trekking Safari
Other extras not mentioned in the itinerary above
Cate
Samuel
Robert
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