Primates and Savanah

Fly to Kihihi in South West Uganda, from here it is a 2 hours drive to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest. In the afternoon, a Guided Community Walk where you can experience various aspects into life in Buhoma living so close to the Forest.

Wake early to the Forest calls and after a big breakfast set off for the starting point of your gorilla trek. You will meet up with your trekking guides and porters, receiving a detailed briefing on your days’ trek by your head guide. Set off with your trekking group, guides, porters, packed lunch and lots of water. Today’s activities may be amongst the most rewarding and challenging that you may ever have undertaken. The Mountain Gorillas in Uganda are part of a worldwide population of just 720 individuals. The gorillas that we are allowed to track belong to one of the eight habituated family groups. For up to five years each, these groups have undergone an extremely delicate process that has gradually brought them to tolerate the presence of humans for a brief period each day.

The gorillas are by no means tame and are wild animals. However, the experienced guides accompanying you have been involved in their habituation development. The guides use their knowledge of the gorillas’ habits and information from the previous day to locate the group’s whereabouts. Because of this, the time taken to track the gorillas varies greatly, from as little as half an hour to as much as the whole day before one returns to camp. Once the gorillas are located, your group will be allowed a maximum of one hour with them, often over all too quickly, a very memorable experience. Good to know that our presence here contributes to ensuring their continued survival.

When your precious hour is up, your guide will lead you away from the gorilla family and back to the trekking starting point and your lodge for the evening.

Another early wake up call and your second chance to find your Gorilla family.

Wake early to the Forest calls and after a relaxing breakfast, drive the short distance to meet the plane that will take you the twenty minutes from Kihihi, along the Rift Valley to Queen Elizabeth National Park.

Here you will board a private launch for a trip along the Kazinga Channel, which flows between Lakes’ George and Edward. The Channel is home to hundreds of hippos with elephant, buffaloes and many other animals drinking at the waters’ edge and also to an abundant variety of bird life. Lunch will be taken at Mweya Lodge, then after transferring to Kyambura Gorge eco-lodge, you can stroll along the Kyambura Gorge Nature Walk or go birding in the Omumashaka Wetlands or sit, relax and enjoy vast, scenic landscapes.

After an early breakfast, you will depart for the short drive to the Chimpanzee trekking start point, where you will meet your guides for the morning’s trek. The Gorge makes for an adventurous walk, with its rain forest in complete contrast to the grasslands of Kasenyi. Here, the habituated Chimpanzee Group is relatively mobile, with many species of birds and monkeys also being seen and heard alongside the Chimpanzee. In the late afternoon, take a drive and sun downers’ around the Kasenyi grasslands, in search of lions and large herds of Uganda Kob. You may even see some flamingos at the Salt Pans.

After an early breakfast, enjoy a long game drive along the Channel Tracks with early views of the Mountains of the Moon, herds of elephants and even the more elusive leopard, en route to catch your return charter flight from Mweya to Entebbe airport.

On your return you will be met by a representative from Safari Skies.