Indulgent (5/6*) Holiday to Go Gorilla Trekking in Uganda

Upon arrival at Entebbe International Airport you will be met by a representative from Thousand Hills Expeditions who will assist you with customs and immigration clearance (whilst you enjoy a cup of coffee at the VIP lounge). Having cleared the bureaucracy a representative of Boma Guest House will transfer you back to the hotel for one night.

After breakfast you be transferred back to Entebbe airport to catch a scheduled flight to Kisoro airstrip where you will be met by a driver/guide from Clouds Mountain Gorilla Lodge and take approximately a two hour drive into Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park.

With spectacular views that extend to the Virunga Massif range of volcanoes, Clouds Mountain Gorilla Lodge is arguably the most comfortable lodge in Uganda’s Bwindi area. Guests at Clouds stay in their own cottages. Built with local volcanic stone, every cottage has a large sitting room with fireplace, vast overstuffed armchairs and hand-woven carpets. Each individual cottage features the work of one of Uganda’s most respected artists (affectionately known as the ‘Clouds Nine’). The main lodge features soaring ceilings, massive exposed wooden beams and big picture windows with endless views of treetops, volcanoes and mountains. With Clouds’ warm and gentle welcome, the quiet dedication of its personal butlers and the smiles on the faces of all the staff, this can only be Uganda.

After a very early breakfast you will be collected from Clouds Mountain Gorilla Lodge at 0600hrs and drive to Bwindi National Park Head Quarters - southern sector for a briefing and receive some information about the gorilla family you will track. Then at 0800hrs, led by experienced gorilla trackers on the slopes of the volcanoes, you will head to the site that the gorillas were encountered the day before and from here the tracking begins begins. It is a humbling experience to stand just meters from man’s distant cousins as they eat rest, play and bond with their young. Follow the mountain gorillas as they range freely in the impenetrable forest, and discover their gorgeous natural habitual and the many species they share it with. You are allowed an hour with the gorillas.

The trekking can take from 1 to 5 hours; the terrain is rough and at times muddy. Although the hike is physically demanding the beauty of the forest and surrounding scenery make the trekking worthwhile. Once the gorillas are located all fatigue is forgotten, as the experience is often described as being the most profound natural history experience in the world. Cameras and plenty of fast speed film is recommended. It can rain at a few minutes’ notice; hence waterproof clothing is a good essential including zip lock bags for cameras and film. It is important to take plenty of water.

Clouds Mountain Lodge is the first of its kind in Uganda, being part of the International Gorilla Conservation Program’s tri-national program to protect this highly endangered species.

After the trek you will head back to Park headquarters and transfer to Clouds for a well earned rest and most likely a soak in the bath!

A second day of gorilla trekking, with the same schedule as the first.

As well as the obvious attraction of the gorillas, more than 350 species of birds have been recorded in the Clouds vicinity, of which many are regional endemics. The forest birding ranks best in Uganda with 23 highly localized Albertine Rift endemic present.

After another early breakfast you will be collected from Clouds Mountain Gorilla Lodge and driven to Mgahinga National Park Head Quarters for the start of your "Batwa Experience".

Visit this pygmy African community in their village. These diminutive former hunter/gatherers, the largest part of the community around in Bwindi, used to live in this forest, deriving their every livelihood from it. They were evicted when it was gazetted as a National Park and now live on its fringes. Local tribesmen will engage you in their traditional way of life: making fire from sticks and grass, laying traps for wild animals and shooting with bows and arrows.

After breakfast transfer to the Mgahinga National Park headquarters for your pre-trek briefing and then begin the four hike through the volcanic terrain in search of Golden Monkeys in the bamboo forests. Mgahinga National Park shares borders with Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda and Virunga National Park in DR Congo. The park is also the most scenic as it stands at three volcanoes of Muhavura, Gahinga and Sabyinyo.

Transfer back to Clouds for lunch and a well earned nap before supper.

Transfer from Clouds back to Kisoro airstrip to catch your scheduled flight to Entebbe airport and your international flight home.