Description
Uganda Gorilla Safari 3 days road or flying tour
Day one:
Morning departure out of Kampala or Entebbe on a Uganda gorilla safari. We drive through Mbarara, stopping for lunch at the Motel Agip. Later on, drive through the Queen Elizabeth National park, see Elephants, Cape buffalo, Topis, Baboons, L’hoest Monkeys in the forested patches of the park. In the evening, drive through the town of Kihiihi, Kanyantorogo and Butogota before heading to the Bwindi Impenetrable National park. Arrive at your Lodge with a welcome juice before freshening up in your rooms. Later, have dinner at the Lodge restaurant before overnight at the Gorilla Resort Camp at Bwindi.
Meal Plan – Lunch and Dinner.
TRANSIT TIME: 9 -10 HOURS.
Day Two: Gorilla grooming a Tourist in Uganda Video
If gorillas are not in camp, have a morning wake up call by the lodge staff and have breakfast. Later, walk or have your driver guide drive to the nearby briefing point at the park headquarters. The visitors divide in groups of 8 per gorilla group on the trek. Please note that gorilla trekking is very strenuous and trekking at high altitudes through steep climbs and descents. The trackers will be ahead of the main trekking party, while the guide would be with the visitors following at a distance in contact via two way radio.
During the gorillas tracking, the guide leads the visitors to the group with a limit to approximately one hour of viewing. The porters would stay with your rucksack as you view and photograph the gorillas. Therafter, the Mountain guide will lead the trekking team to a short distance away from the gorillas to have a picnic lunch. The short walk leads the team back to the safari guides who will drive you back to the overnight accommodations. If time allows, and one is still in good shape after the tour, it is possible to do a village walk at Bwindi to the Batwa pygmies or to the Munyaga Waterfalls where colonies of Blue Monkeys, L’hoest monkeys, Red tailed monkeys, Forest Duikers can be seen. Have dinner, before retiring for overnight at the Gorilla Resort Camp.
Meal Plan – Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Day Three:
Have breakfast at about 07:00am and check out of the gorilla Resort. You will then drive through the scenic banana plantations and African Savannah with picnic lunches. This is a long drive back through some magnificent scenery and lush, grassy Savannah lands. Later on, have the picnic lunch along the way and possibly drive to Kampala arriving late in the evening. On the other hand, you proceed to the airport through the Mpigi route, if flying out on an evening flight out of Entebbe Airport.
TRANSIT TIME 9 -10 HOURS
Finally, marking the end of Gorilla trekking safari to Uganda.
UGANDA GORILLA SAFARI DISCOUNTED RATES, PRICES BASED ON PER PERSON IN A DOUBLE OR TWIN ROOM,
Price per person sharing USD760 in a group of 2
Per person sharing USD560 in a group of 4
Tour fee per person sharing USD495 in a group of 6
Cost per person sharing USD460 in a group of 8
Flying safari supplement USD283 From Entebbe to Bwindi each way.
With daily departures out of Kampala and Entebbe.
Uganda gorilla safari includes:
- Accommodation,
- Meals,
- bottled water in safari vehicle,
- park entry fees,
- gorilla trackers,
- guide and
- private 4×4 ground transportation then an English speaking driver guide.
Excludes:
- Beverages,
- tips,
- gorilla permit US$600 or USD350 and
- personal expenses.
Gorilla Trekking General Information:
How you need to prepare for on a gorilla safari experience: Gorilla trekking is is a once in a lifetime activity that requires proper planning and updated information to guarantee a memorable trip.
- You will need to have a good pair of hiking or trekking shoes,
- a good sun hut, preferably a round brimmed one. This is to protect the trekker from the under growth of the impenetrable forest, as well as stinging nettles and the natural conditions of rain or the scorching sun.
- Walking stick, provided to you at the lodge
- bottled water to keep one hydrated
- Lightweight clothing
- Thick socks to tuck in pants, to keep away crawling bugs
- bug spray
- sunscreen
The porters are always available to assist with carrying your picnic lunches, heavy camera equipment, extra bottled of drinking water by the same token helping out on the steep slopes of the Impenetrable forest. By taking a porter, you promote tourism since the natives take direct employment. A walking stick on the trek will be provided to enable one keep balance while the trackers will be moving ahead of the main trekking party, clearing vegetation and making way to the gorilla group.
Mountain gorillas live mostly on the ground and make their nests there on a daily basis. The chances of seeing the gorillas on a trek are higher than say, chimpanzees due to the fact that they are tracked on the ground.
On the Uganda gorilla safari trek, everyone is expected to abide by some set of rules and regulations. The most important being: Flash photography is not allowed due to the fact that this usually startles the gorilla family and may easily get them agitated. The Gorillas are endangered and the fact that they share almost 98% of human DNA, are easily susceptible to human borne diseases. It is with this background that it is advisable to maintain a distance of about 10 meters as away of minimizing the risk. Children below the age of 15 are also not allowed to get close to the Mountain Gorillas for the same reasons.
On the trek, we will be moving as a group and for the sake of safety, we are supposed to keep our voices as low as possible. This way, we would be able to see some of the other shy forest dwellers. Please note that there is a limit on the number of people trekking a gorilla group. This is to make sure that gorillas will not be stressed with a huge human presence.
Safety guidelines and concerns on the gorilla visit addressed by the briefing guide with advice on how to respond in case of a charge. The Silver back gorilla is very protective of the family and at times, it may be possible to witness some mock charging, hollow chest thumping or grunting. The guide will advise against running away and instead maintain crouching positions in such a scenario.
Booking a gorilla trip requires advance arrangements. Trekking permits run out during the high season months of January, February, June, July, August, September, October and December. Other months, the gorilla permit prices sell at discounted rates.
Accommodations at the gorilla sanctuaries, based on standard camps and small intimate lodges which hold a small number of guests.
Uganda Gorilla Safari by Air From Entebbe:
- These are based on daily departures using a scheduled departure out of Entebbe to Bwindi.
- The flight departs in the morning around 08:00am, then arriving at the landing strip in Bwindi after about an hour.
- The return trip then departs around 10:00am and gets one to Entebbe around noon.
- Lodge vehicles conduct the transfers from the airstrip
- Possible to include a safari to Ishasha
- Please inquire for details on how to join a gorilla safari.
Additional safaris to Uganda and Rwanda tours also include Luxury wildlife trips, Mid range tours and affordable game viewing tours.
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