Compare Uganda to Rwanda: Gorilla Treks & Safari Drives by G Adventures vs Uganda Mountain Gorillas & Chimpanzees by Want Expeditions

Day 1 Kampala

Arrive at anytime.

Arriving early? Pre-book Nile River Whitewater Rafting in Jinja on Day 1, and be back in time for your evening welcome meeting. We strongly advise arriving one night earlier to facilitate the activity's early start.

Please note that if you choose to participate in the Jinja Rafting excursion, the pick-up will depart from The Forest Cottages in Kampala at approx 7:30am. If you have booked alternative pre-tour accommodations, please be sure to contact Nile River Explorers the day before to arrange a convenient pick-up point. See the Optional Activities section of the Tour Details page for more information.

Day 2 Kampala/Fort Portal

Take the scenic route to Fort Portal at the edge of Kibale National Park. Spend the night on a guest farm listening to the sounds of monkeys and birds.

Accommodation in Fort Portal is on a farm in simple furnished tents with shared bathroom facilities.

Day 3 Kibale National Park

Explore the evergreen rainforest and trek to spot chimps in the morning or afternoon. Enjoy a traditional lunch in the Bigodi Community.

Opt to venture deep into the wetlands to spot more wildlife on a guided walk through the Bigodi Wetlands Sanctuary.

Day 4 Kibale NP/Queen Elizabeth NP

Continue on to Queen Elizabeth NP, stopping at the equator. Head out on a wildlife safari drive in the afternoon. Keep your eyes peeled for warthogs, elephants, buffalo, five different species of primates, and hippos.

Queen Elizabeth National Park is characterized by open savannah, large areas of swamp around Lake George, the extensive Maramagambo Forest in the southeast, and the forested Kyambura Gorge along the border with Kyambura Game Reserve.

Accommodation in Queen Elizabeth NP is in simple furnished tents with shared bathroom facilities.

Day 5 Queen Elizabeth National Park

Take an early morning wildlife safari drive and enjoy lunch inside the park. Opt for an evening cruise along the Kazinga Channel.

Enjoy a wildlife safari drive with possible sightings of buffaloes, waterbucks, warthogs, lions, leopards, hyenas, giant forest hogs, and elephants.

Day 6 Queen Elizabeth NP/Bwindi Impenetrable NP

Enjoy the scenic drive south, with views of forests, volcanoes and lakes. Spend the night on the edge of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park.

Accommodation at Bwindi Impenetrable NP is in simple furnished tents/rooms with ensuite bathroom facilities.

Day 7 Gorilla Trekking

Rise early for the tour's main highlight – gorilla trekking!

Head into Bwindi Impenetrable National Park to meet the park ranger/guide for orientation. Embark on the trek, which can vary in length and difficulty, depending on the location of the gorilla family that's being visited. Spend 1 hr (max) observing these beautiful and endangered creatures, a truly privileged experience. Trek back and return to town. Enjoy free time in the afternoon.

Bwindi Impenetrable National Park has four areas; Rushaga, Buhoma, Nkuringo, Ruhija. Depending on permit availability your group could be tracking gorillas from different areas of the park, it is all still part of Bwindi.

Day 8 Bwindi/Kigali

Cross the border into Rwanda, then head to the capital city, Kigali. Visit the genocide museum to learn more about the dark history of this fascinating country. Enjoy lunch at the G Adventures supported Nyamirambo Women's Centre. Tour ends on arrival at hotel.

Day 1: Arrival/Entebbe

Accommodation: Lodge

Welcome to Uganda, home of the endangered Mountain Gorillas. International flights arrive late in the evening, so upon arrival, you will be greeted at the airport, and transferred directly to your accommodation, so you can check-in and rest for the upcoming days.

Day 2: Entebbe/Kibale Forest National Park

Accommodation: Lodge

After an early breakfast, we'll depart our accommodation, and head towards Fort Portal town, which is nestled in the shadows of fabled “mountains of the moon”, the Rwenzori Mountains. After passing through Fort Portal town, we will proceed directly to our accommodation for check-in and lunch. (Our driving distance from Entebbe is apx 324 km/201 miles and will take approximately 6.5 hrs.) Ndali Lodge is perched on the rim of an extinct volcano which, since its demise, has filled with water to become the breathtaking Lake Nyinambuga. But, before we get too taken with the view, we'll hop back into our vehicles and head to Kibale Forest National Park for a walk through the Bigodi Wetlands -home 200 birds including the great Blue Turaco and eight primate species! Our walk supports the Kibali Association for Rural and Environmental Development, and is a great way to get involved with sustainable, responsible tourism! After our walk, we'll head back to the lodge to refresh before gathering in our gorgeous restaurant for a tasty dinner and briefing for our Chimpanzee trek, beginning first thing tomorrow morning!

Day 3: Kibale Forest National Park

Accommodation: Lodge

After a relatively early wake-up and breakfast, we'll grab our pack lunches and head back to Kibale Forest National Park where we'll meet with our rangers and have a briefing on the park rules and regulations for visits to the Chimps. One of the most exciting aspects of this safari is that we will actually get to spend a FULL day with the Chimps, from when they wake up out of their nests and begin their daily foraging, until they nest down again in the evening. Along the way, we'll keep our eyes out for many other primates, including L’hoests, Red Colobus monkeys, Red-tailed and Grey Mangabeys. To make our walk more informative and enjoyable, our local guide and ranger will provide detailed explanation on primates, forest flora and fauna. Our trekking experience here will be relatively easy and over flat ground, but will last for a full day. (For those who would like to return at the half day mark, rangers will be available to escort you back to the gates, and our vehicle can drive you back to the lodge.) After we've had our fill of watching what is one of the closets link in our ancestral heritage playing, eating, relaxing, fighting and living their days out in a manner that is not too far from our own, we'll head back to our lodge for another wonderful dinner and a good night's rest!

Day 4: Queen Elizabeth National Park/Bwindi Impenetrable Forest NP

Accommodation: Lodge

To make sure you are rested from yesterday, and prepared for your upcoming Gorilla trek(s), this morning you can enjoy a late breakfast. Then according to the time set by your guide, you will depart towards Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. Along the way, we’ll enter Queen Elizabeth National Park for an afternoon game drive where you can expect to see lions, elephants, Ugandan kob, and more. We should reach our accommodation, located just outside the park entrance, by late afternoon, and you’ll have the chance to explore this amazing community that is a true example of conservation and eco-tourism. For those of you who would like to practice your photography skills, we encourage you to grab your cameras and take a stroll in search of the magnificent Red-Breasted Sunbird. With its splendid iridescence, this beautiful bird is simply captivating as it moves from flower to flower in search of nectar. Alternatively, grab a cool one, and sit back and take in the magnificent rich wall of forest, rising with steam, while contemplating how this forest protects one of the most endangered animals in the world, the mountain gorilla.

Day 5: Bwindi Impenetrable Forest NP

Accommodation: Lodge

From daybreak on, it won't take much to realize that we are in one of the most spectacular ecosystems in the world! As the mist rises out of the mountainside, an incredible array of jungle noises will serenade us to the park gates of Bwindi, which is not just accidentally called "Impenetrable". The National Park is part of the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, and is situated along the Democratic Republic of Congo border next to the Virunga National Park, and on the edge of the western Rift Valley. It comprises 331 square kilometers of jungle forests and contains both afromontane -a rare vegetation type on the African continent, and lowland forest, and is accessible only on foot. The Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is a UNESCO-designated World Heritage Site. The park is a sanctuary for colobus monkeys, chimpanzees and many birds (such as hornbills and turacos). It is perhaps most notable for the 340 Bwindi gorillas, half the world's population of the critically endangered Mountain Gorillas. Currently, there are four habituated Mountain Gorilla groups: the tourist groups Mubare, Katendegyere and Rushegura, as well as one research group.

Just before 8 am, we'll grab our pack lunches, waters, and then walk the few hundred meters to the headquarters of the park to register our pre-issued gorilla permits with the rangers. After we've registered, we'll enjoy a short video presentation describing the gorilla trekking experience. After the presentation, we'll gather in a circle and our rangers will provide an orientation on how to behave in the presence of gorillas, what to expect on our trek, and what gorilla group we are assigned too. After we have completed our orientation, we'll set off in search of these magnificent and majestic animals. Rangers stay with the gorillas throughout the day. Then, just before returning back to camp, the rangers mark where the gorillas nested down for the night, and we'll pick up the trail at the last know coordinates of our gorilla group. As that the gorillas are constantly foraging, there is no guarantee how long it will take for our trek, but regardless porters will be available to assist us along the way. Once we find our gorilla group, our permit allows us to stay a full 60 minutes, taking photographs or just simply admiring the breathtaking scene. Meeting these creatures in their natural habitat is one of the most breathtaking experiences on Earth, a must for all nature lovers! Once our time is finished, we'll head back down from the forest to the headquarters for a short and rewarding ceremony dedicated to each of us. If we haven't enjoyed our pack lunch en-route, now is our chance. Then we'll slowly wind our way back through town, taking the time to admire to various stalls and handicrafts from the villagers. Alternatively, for those with energy, and time allowing, there is a short nature walk just off of the ranger station. Either way, a wonderful dinner with an unparalleled view of the forest will be served just after sunset at our camp.

Day 6: Bwindi Impenetrable Forest NP/Entebbe

Accommodation: Guest House

For those of you who would like one more opportunity to trek the gorillas, it is possible to arrange an additional permit for a fee. For the rest of us, we have a special tour through the Buhoma Community. Much of the success for Mountain Gorilla Conservation is due to the cooperation, education, and empowerment of the surrounding community. Thanks to dedicated efforts, Bwindi locals serve as protectors and employees of the park, so a village visit is a critical component. During our walk, we’ll observe their traditional ways of life, and understand how the local people have ingeniously incorporated eco-tourism into their daily life, and have become an example of empowerment and local ownership for all of Uganda. At the end of our tour, we'll have a chance to meet and dance with the Batwa pygmies, one of the most vulnerable and unique indigenous cultures left on our planet! After our tour, we'll head back to our accommodation for a wonderful dinner and the sounds of the rich Bwindi forest lulling us to sleep.

Day 7: Departure

Meals: Breakfast, we’ll transfer to the local airstrip for our flight back to the capital Kampala. Much like arrivals, international departures are in the evening, so following lunch, we will arrange a walk through the city’s botanical gardens in search of Black and White Colobus Monkeys, as well as other endemic bird life. You will then be transferred to the international airport in time for your departure.