Sitting for about 9 hours or more on a transfer from Kampala or Entebbe to Bwindi can be exhausting but the experiences en route including the equator experience, views of the scenic countryside, and more, are all worth it. Having had a long journey with an en-route lunch, we shall arrive at our lodge in Bwindi in the evening, check in, have dinner and rest.

Meal plan: lunch and dinner

Where we shall stay for accommodation will depend on our trekking sector

Our second day of the safari is the gorilla trekking day. It starts with an early morning breakfast, we pack our lunch because there is a possibility that the trek can last for more than 3 or 4 hours. On arrival at the park offices, we shall be briefed about gorilla trekking and then set off for the adventure. As we hike through Bwindi forest, we could spot other residents of this jungle, for example L’Hoest’s monkeys, black and white colobus monkey, baboons and birds. When we come across the mountain gorillas, we shall be allowed to stay with them for a maximum of one hour, and then return to the lodge with our trekking certificates.

Later in the evening, we shall head out to the Batwa community. Here, we spend time with these locals who are known as the real inhabitants of Bwindi forest. They entertain visitors with their traditional dances, stories about how they lived with mountain gorillas and other wildlife in forests before they were evicted.

We shall thereafter return to the lodge, have dinner and rest.

Meal plan: Full board

We shall leave Bwindi right after a morning breakfast at the lodge so that we may arrive in Queen Elizabeth national park by 3pm for the afternoon boat cruise. While there is an opportunity to see the tree climbing lions of Ishasha, we have a chance to see several wildlife species during the 2 hours boat cruise on Kazinga channel. Some of the animals we expect to see include buffaloes, elephants, crocodiles, waterbucks and warthogs. Seeing hippos is almost a guarantee as the channel is packed with these mammals. After the launch trip, our safari driver will transfer us to our lodge for dinner and the overnight stay.

Meal plan: Full board

Accommodation: Bush Lodge or Simba Safari camp (budget), Marafiki Safari Lodge (mid-range), Mweya Safari Lodge (luxury)

Game drives are one of the major activities in Queen Elizabeth national park, and we shall wake up early to go for a game drive in Kasenyi. The morning starts with a cup of coffee and go to watch animals especially grazers and some predators. Expect to see animals such as Uganda kobs, waterbucks, buffaloes, elephants, and lions. Leopards are occasionally spotted and we could sight one if luck chooses us. After about 4 hours of the drive, we shall set off to Kibale national park. Have lunch in Fort Portal, and arrive in Kibale in the afternoon.

Optional activity: visit Tooro palace or Amabere Ga’Nyina Mwiru caves

Accommodation: Chimpanzee Forest Guest House (budget), Kibale Forest Camp (mid-range), Primates Lodge (luxury)

Another early morning today starts with a cup of coffee just before stepping out to go for chimpanzee tracking. We shall transfer to Kanyanchu Visitors Centre for briefing about the activity and then enter the forest with ranger guides who will help us in searching for the apes. When we come across them, we shall have an hour with them; to observe them, learn about their behaviors and take as many photos to keep memories of this precious moment.

As we walk through the forest, we have chances of spotting other animals such as the grey cheeked mangabeys, red-tailed monkey, Red colobus monkey, black and white colobus monkeys, L’Hoest’s monkeys, common warthogs, bushbucks and forest elephants among others.

We shall return to the lodge for a relaxation, later have lunch and relax one more time as we prepare for a community walk in the evening. This walk takes us about 6kms from the park. We shall engage in local food preparation together with the locals, learning the steps of cooking and later tasting your meal. From here, hike to Kaikusa Hill where we shall a group of women who weave baskets. They will explain the process for getting the weaving materials, having them dried, how they mix colors and come up with beautiful baskets.

We retire to the lodge for dinner and the overnight stay.

After our morning breakfast, we shall drive and arrive at Bigodi Wetlands Visitors by 7:30 for a briefing. With an expert site guide, we start our 4.5 walk through the lush vegetation of the wetland. On this 3-hour walk, we expect to see some of the birds that have been recorded here including the great blue turace, papyrus gonolek, yellow-billed barbet, Double-toothed barbet, Blue-breasted kingfisher, and shinning blue kingfishers among others. Primates and other mammals such as the sitatunga, bushbucks and otters can be encountered too.

After the swamp walk, we shall embark on our journey to Kampala or Entebbe, have an en-route lunch and arrive at our hotel in the evening.

Accommodation: Forest Cottages (budget), Pineapple Guesthouse (midrange), Kampala Serena Hotel (Luxury)

On our last day of the safari, we’ll explore Kampala. Our first destination will depend on where we spent the night. Places to visit include Kabaka’s palace and the nearby Kabaka’s lake to learn about Buganda kingdom and its history, Kasubi tombs where some of the Kabaks’s were buried and Gaddafi mosque which is the biggest mosque in East Africa. Not to miss also is the Namugongo martyrs shrine where the Christian converts were burnt on orders of Kabaka Mwanga in the 80s.

In the evening, our safari guide will drop you at the airport to wait for your departure back home.