Gorilla Trekking & Safari

7 Nights from R56,559 per adult sharing

8 Days, Kampala to Kigali. In both Uganda and Rwanda, a plethora of adventures awaits. The trips are small and intimate to enhance your experience. The itinerary includes trekking to encounter chimpanzees and gorillas, as well as wildlife drives through Queen Elizabeth National Park for sightings of elephants and hippos, The tour also prioritizes a visit to the genocide museum to delve into the recent history of the area. Rest assured, the experiences in Uganda and Rwanda will be life-changing!

Highlights of this tour with G Adventures: Admire a family of mountain gorillas in their natural habitat, Trek to see chimpanzees in Uganda, Keep your eyes peeled for the plentiful elephant and hippo populations in Queen Elizabeth National Park.

This is a small group experience with a maximum of 12 passengers.

YOUR G FOR GOOD MOMENT: G for Good is G Adventure's commitment to making travel a force for good. It stands for all of the social, environmental, and ethical good they create as a business which helps to fuel community tourism. Nyamirambo Women's Centre, Local Lunch, Kigali. Guest farm stay near Kibale National Park. Chimpanzee trek. Bigodi community lunch. Queen Elizabeth National Park wildlife safari drives. Guided gorilla trekking in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. Visit to Kigali Genocide Museum. All national park fees and trekking permits. All transport between destinations and to/from included activities.

Day 1 - Kampala

Meet your CEO and fellow group members and learn more about the upcoming itinerary. Fill out some paperwork and get ready for the adventure

Accommodation: Forest Cottages (or similar)

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: Kluges Guest Farm (or similar)

Meals included: Breakfast, lunch & dinner

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.

Activities:

- Chimpanzee Trek Kibale National Park: Embark on a chimp trek with a park ranger/guide. See more than just chimpanzees in their natural environment. Learn about the ecosystem and keep an eye out for other animals. Although chimp sightings are not guaranteed, visitors stand a good chance of hearing and seeing our distant cousins as they are not bothered by humans watching their daily behaviour.

- Bigodi Community Lunch Kibale National Park – Bigodi: Sit down to a traditional buffet-style lunch prepared with fresh, organic local ingredients. Guests dine in a grass thatched hut and learn about Bigodi dining etiquette. Your local hosts describes how the ingredients used in the dishes are grown, harvested and prepared.

Accommodation: Kluges Guest Farm (or similar)

Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

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.

Activities:

- Queen Elizabeth National Park Wildlife Safari Drive. Enjoy a wildlife safari drive inside Queen Elizabeth National Park. The park is home to Uganda's largest wildlife populations. Keep an eye out for buffalo, elephants, hippos, hyenas, lions, warthogs, and the elusive leopards.

Accommodation: Queen Elizabeth Bush Lodge (or similar)

Meals included: Breakfast, Dinner

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.

Activities: Queen Elizabeth National Park Wildlife Safari Drive. Enjoy a wildlife safari drive inside Queen Elizabeth National Park. The park is home to Uganda's largest wildlife populations. Keep an eye out for buffalo, elephants, hippos, hyenas, lions, warthogs, and the elusive leopards.

Accommodation: Queen Elizabeth Bush Lodge

Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

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: Rushaga Gorilla Camp

Meals included: Breakfast

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.

Activities: Mountain Gorilla Trek Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. Take an unforgettable guided trek (1-6 hrs) deep into volcano forests of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park for a wildlife encounter of a lifetime, and meet a family of mountain gorillas. One of Africa's major highlights, a close encounter with these amazing animals is simply breathtaking. Get prepared before heading out: bring plenty of water and waterproof clothing (it can rain on only a few minutes’ notice), and be sure to bring protective bags for cameras and film. Dress in layers with long sleeves and long pants to protect against stinging nettles found in the forests. The trek’s often chilly, at first, until you start trekking. Note: Ugandan authorities are fiercely protective of this natural treasure, and currently permit only a maximum of eight people, per day, to visit a given gorilla family. The group will be split into different sub-groups for the trek, and depending on the number of travellers, different sub-groups may do their trek on different days. Bwindi Impenetrable National Park has four areas; Rushaga, Buhoma, Nkuringo, and Ruhija. Depending on permit availability your group could be tracking gorillas from different areas of the park, it is all still part of Bwindi.

Accommodation: Rushaga Gorilla Camp (or similar)

Meals included: Breakfast

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.

Activities:

- Border Crossing (Uganda - Rwanda) Ready for a little more ink in your passport? Grab your bags and get ready to check another country off your bucket list.

- Kigali Genocide Memorial Visit: Visit the Kigali Genocide Memorial Centre, which serves as a permanent memorial to those who fell victim to the genocide in 1994. The centre opened on the tenth anniversary of the Rwandan Genocide, in April 2004, and was built on a site where more than 250,000 people are buried.

- Your G for Good Moment: Nyamirambo Women's Centre, Local Lunch. Located in Nyamirambo, the largest and most vibrant township in Rwanda, the centre provides women and girls from a diverse range of backgrounds, the opportunity to support each other and succeed, through education and training programs. Enjoy lunch prepared by women employed at the centre, allowing us to try local foods and popular dishes. After lunch, take some time to browse the centre's shop, which features handmade, high-quality crafts and clothes, made by some of the women at the shop, as well as other women's cooperatives throughout Rwanda. Proceeds from the meal and shop help support the centre’s education and training programs, including a community library.



ABOUT ACCOMMODATION

Hotel accommodation will be in simple, but comfortable twin-share rooms. All rooms are equipped with adequate mosquito netting (with the exception of your hotel in Musanze, where mosquito nets are not needed due to high-altitudes).

Tented accommodation will be in simple furnished tents on wooden platforms, with shared bathroom facilities. All tents are large, walk-in tents with mosquito-netting, two beds and provided linens. A sleeping bag or extra mosquito-netting is not needed for this tour.

Please remember that this is a developing area and as such, accommodations/service may not be of similar standard to which you are used to in your home country. As well, interruptions in electricity and water can be common. We appreciate your patience and understanding as well as your sense of adventure.

INCLUDES Meals Included (7 breakfasts, 4 lunches, 4 dinners), Transport in private van or by hiking. Standard hotel (1 night), simple furnished tents/rooms (6 nights), Services of a group leader.

7 Nights from R56,559 per adult sharing

These offers are brought to you by Travel Counsellors (Pty) Ltd. Advertised fares are per person sharing. Excludes international flights, visas, meals, and drinks not specified, travel insurance, and anything of a personal nature. Rates for other periods are available on request. Supplier's terms and conditions are available on request. Additional information available on request. Valid for SA residents only. Terms and conditions apply. Prices and information correct at time of publishing. E&OE.