3 Days Bwindi Gorilla Trek Safari

Day 1: Transfer to Bwindi

Today morning, you shall be met and received by our company representative together with your safari guide for the transfer to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park located in south western Uganda. The drive takes you across small villages and towns, through rolling hills dotted with banana plantations, gardens of tropical pineapples to the Kigezi highlands that are commonly referred to as The Switzerland of Africa by travellers.

You shall check in at your lodge today evening, have dinner and overnight as you prepare for the great adventure tomorrow.

Day 2: Gorilla Trekking Experience

Today starts with early morning breakfast at your lodge, and thereafter transfer to the park headquarters for the briefing about your gorilla tracking experience. You shall take with you packed lunch and bottled drinking water. The tracking experience is led by a park ranger and takes between 2 to 8 hours depending on the location of the gorillas.

Once you meet the gorillas, you shall be given up to 1 hour of encounter with them. Use this chance to take as many photos as you can and videos, but above all enjoy this great Date in the wild with these critically endangered apes. You shall later return to the park headquarters where you shall be awarded your gorilla trekking completion certificate, use the few minutes left to buy your self souvenirs from the local shops and thereafter return to your lodge for dinner and overnight.

What to know about your Gorilla Trekking Experience:

• You don’t need to be a professional athlete, but you need to come prepared to hike up and down hills (usually between 2 to 6 hours). If you are concerned about your fitness, you may want to hire a porter to carry your bag and help you up the steep parts.
• Only eight permits are issued per trekking group, meaning that the time you spend with the gorillas is sure to be intimate. No other groups will be around while you’re with them.
• Once you’ve reached a gorilla family, your time with them will last one unforgettable hour. You’ll be able to watch the family as they go about their daily routines of feeding, preening, playing, snoozing, and raising the young.
• You will be accompanied on your trek by expert local guides, rangers and porters who’ll brief you on what to expect and how to act around gorillas.

What to Pack:
• Comfortable boots or trainers that you don’t mind getting wet and muddy.
• A pair of gardening gloves to prevent your hands from getting scratched when grabbing tree branches and vines.
• A light rain jacket; Bwindi is a tropical rain forest, so there’s a good chance of rain year-round.
• Energy snacks, the trekking can be tough. Pack a few snacks like chocolate muesli bars to help you power through.
• Water, it can get hot and humid in the mountains. Make sure to bring along a bottle of water (Luckily, we provide you with a Re-usable bottles)
• Long Pants and shirts. It’s best not to expose too much skin during the jungle trek, wear long sleeves and tuck your trousers into your socks to prevent safari ants from getting into areas where you really don’t want them.
• Extra camera batteries and plenty of memory space. You don’t want to get all that way and not be able to capture it!

Gorilla Trekking Permits:

In order for you to be able to trek the gorillas, you need to acquire a gorilla trekking permit. Only eight permits are issued per trekking group. The permits are highly demanded, thus advance booking for your gorilla trekking safari is advised. A Permit is $700 valid for one trek.

Day 3: Transfer back to Kampala

After your sumptuous breakfast today, prepare to check out of the lodge for the transfer journey back to Kampala with en-route lunch and a stop over at the Equator for the center of the earth experience reaching Kampala in the early evenings. You shall be dropped off at your hotel / home and this would mark the end of the safari.