Compare 8 Days Uganda Cultural & Gorilla Safari by Kagera Safaris vs Uganda: Gorilla Conservation Adventure by Discover Corps

Day 1: Arrival for your culture and Gorilla safari

Meal: Dinner

Accommodation: Up market – Kampala Serena; Mid-range – Cassia Lodge; Budget – Casa Miltu

Journey time – 1.5 hours

On arrival at the airport, you are welcomed by our Kagera safaris guide and transferred to your hotel for over night as you look to start the journey tomorrow.

Day 2: Journey to Bwindi Impenetrable national park

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Accommodation: Up market – Buhoma Lodge; Mid-range – Buhoma Haven Lodge; Budget – Buhoma Community Rest Camp

Journey time – 8 hours

Flight time – 2 hours

We start journey to Bwindi impenetrable national park the home of the ‘gentle giants of Bwindi’. This fulfilling journey takes us through the Kigezi highlands with great scenery of terraced hills. You will stop in Mbarara for lunch before proceeding to your lodge  next to the impenetrable forest for great resting as you prepare for the next day’s trek.

Day 3: Gorilla trekking in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest

Enjoy the fullness of the impenetrable forest abounding with life, host to species of birds, butterflies, primates, mammals. Your driver guide will transfer you to the briefing area where you will receive further instruction on your gorilla trekking experience. With help of your guide and park ranger, you will find yourself face to face with the enormous and rare mountain gorillas after walking through the forest for a while. The trekking experience takes anything from on hour (rarely) to about 6 hours to accomplish depending on the gorilla group you have been allocated and where they nested the previous night. Suggested activities for those not interested in gorilla tracking is a community village walk or short guided forest walk.

Day 4: Bwindi Cultural Trail

Meal: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Accommodation: Up market – BirdsNest @Bunyonyi; Mid-range – Arcadia Cottages; Budget – Crater Bay Cottages

Journey time – 3 hours

The best way to understand, appreciate, and enjoy nature is through interacting with the people (communities) that co-exist with it, who contribute greatly to its conservation. After breakfast, we shall follow one of the cultural trails by the communities co-existing with the gorillas. Be ready to learn a new skill and participate in the day-to-day lives of these people.

Lunch will be the community after which we depart for Lake Bunyonyi in the afternoon. Lake Bunyonyi is a beautiful lake with various stories to learn about the place.

Day 5: Lake Bunyonyi Island tour and transfer to Ankole cultural tour

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Accommodation: Homestead

Journey time – 2 hours

Lake Bunyonyi is known as the place of ‘many little birds’, this is the translation from the local Rukiga language. Today we will spend some time on the lake touring and learning more about the different Islands with a rich history of how some were used a damping ground of lepers and another known as ‘punishment island’ the place where young pregnant girls were left to die for conceiving outside of wedlock.

Have a tour of some of Lake Bunyonyi’s 29 Islands; engage in a cultural activity at an Island where you will have lunch with the community. After lunch we will start the journey to Ankole where we will be travelling to a rural homestead, to experience their traditional way of living. Enjoy the rolling hills in the countryside of the Ankole Kingdom.

Day 6: Traditional Homestead Experiences

You will spend the night with a family in this community. You will arise very early in the morning before daybreak and join the herdsman with milking the long horned Ankole cows, this is done before the cows are set off for the day. After this experience of milking and learning the tradition surrounding milking cows, we return home for breakfast.

We will take a take a short walk to the village visiting more homes and different stops for great views. Experience the lifestyle of these people, food, and other native habits. The trail leads through undulating hills that overlook the village.

We have an opportunity to stop by a local school so you get to interact with the children if this is of interest to you. Alternatively you choose to join the herdsmen as they go to the field to graze the cows.

Day 7: Whispers of the wild in Lake Mburo National Park

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Accommodation: Up market – Mihingo Lodge; Mid-range – Rwakobo Rock; Budget – Eagles Nest

Journey time – 2 hours

After breakfast with our host family, we depart to Lake Mburo National Park with a stopover at a Igongo cultural Museum which tells of the history of the Ankore Kingdom. Lake Mburo is the smallest Savannah park in Uganda.

We arrive at our lodge and take an afternoon boat trip on Lake Mburo – where we are likely to see Hippos, Crocodiles, Zebras, and Buffaloes. The park has amazing bird life which you will enjoy while on the boat. After the boat ride, you have an option of a nature walk in the park with a an armed ranger guide for close experience with the animals.

Day 8: Transfer to Entebbe for departure

We depart Lake Mburo after a short morning game drive. Enjoy the magnificent view one more time before we embark on journey to Kampala. We shall have stopover at Equator for shopping and lunch. Arrive at Entebbe Airport that evening for travel back or overnight at your Hotel depending on your flight time.

Day 1: Arriving in Entebbe

Arrive in Entebbe International Airport, about 45 minutes outside the capital Kampala, and transfer to our accommodation. Once a colonial estate and now a luxury B&B, the Boma Hotel boasts a swimming pool, restaurant and bar. After a delicious welcome dinner, you can spend your first evening relaxing before the adventure begins tomorrow.

Day 2: Entering Kibale National Park

After breakfast, we’ll travel to Kibale National Park and check into Ndali Lodge, the stunning hilltop boutique hotel we will call home for the next three nights. The rest of the afternoon is yours to enjoy as you wish – relax on your mountain-view veranda, take a walk around the lake or cool off in the swimming pool - before we gather for a homecooked, candlelit dinner.

Day 3: Tracking Chimps in Kibale

It’s an early start as we head into the park for a day of chimp tracking. There are more than 1,200 chimpanzees in the park, and an expert guide will lead you to a chimp family, whom you can observe up close. See them forage on the ground for food, swing across the trees and call out across the canopy. Afterwards, it’s back to the hotel for lunch and a free afternoon.

Day 4: A Visit to Kibale Village

Today’s all about getting to know the locals. In the morning, we will visit a local community school to see how Ndali Lodge is supporting local children’s education, and in the afternoon, we’ll explore the surrounding coffee plantations and meet the farmers who grow the crop.

Day 5: Driving to Queen Elizabeth National Park

We say goodbye to Ndali Lodge this morning and take a drive south alongside the stunning Rwenzori Mountains . We’ll arrive at the Mazike Valley Lodge just in time for lunch, then head into Queen Elizabeth National Park for a game drive. It is Uganda’s largest safari park, home to lions, leopards, elephants, buffalo and hyena, so there is sure to be plenty to see.

Day 6: Tracking and Spending Time with Rare Tree-Climbing Lions

You won’t believe your eyes this morning as we track tree-climbing lions and cubs. See them lounging lazily on tree branches high above the ground. With sophisticated tracking devices, you’re all-but-guaranteed to see a pride of these majestic animals in the wild. Later, we take an openair boat cruise on the Kazinga Channel to spot crocodiles, hippos and birds along the shoreline.

Day 7: Driving to Bwindi National Park

After breakfast at Mazike Valley Lodge, we’re back on the road. In the afternoon, we arrive at Mahogany Springs Lodge, a luxury hillside complex of thatched bungalows that sits just inside Bwindi National Park. After dinner, it’s early to bed in preparation for the big day tomorrow.

Day 8: Bwindi Gorilla Tracking Day

It’s the big one: gorilla day! We’ll start early and set off on a (moderate) hiking trail to track down some of the gorillas living in these forests - home to nearly half of the world's mountain gorillas. Along with a guide, we will be joined by a vet, who will collect stool samples as we’re getting up close and personal with the gorillas. That evening, we’ll help analyze these in the lab to check on the troop’s health. See next page for more details!

Day 9: A Community Visit in Bwindi

This morning, we visit a community-run charity project that supports women struggling with poverty, HIV and domestic violence. You’ll learn to weave baskets and pedal sew your own souvenirs – anything from a purse to a bandana – as well as enjoy a traditional dance (don’t worry, participation is optional!) We end today with a farewell dinner at Mahogany Springs.

Day 10: Flying to Entebbe and Home

After breakfast, hop on a flight back to Entebbe. For those with longer waits for their connecting flights home, we will head back to Boma Hotel to relax and enjoy a final dinner.