Gorilla Trekking Safari

On arrival at the Kigali International Airport you will be met and transferred to the Ubumwe Grande Hotel in Kigali city. Overnight at the hotel on bed and breakfast basis (Dinner is on own arrangement)

After breakfast, we make our way to the Rwanda/Uganda border to complete border formalities before continuing to Bwindi impenetrable park Uganda. Take the Batwa Trail, which runs across the lower slopes of the Muhavura and Gahinga Volcanoes in Mgahinga Gorilla Safari Park. The forest is home to a variety of wildlife but the Batwa Trail is far from being a conventional nature walk. With the help of Batwa guides, you will see the forest as a larder, pharmacy, builder’s yard, tool kit and above all, a home. Along the Trail, you will fire a bow and arrow, check hives for wild honey, help repair a Batwa shelter, harvest plants for medicine and food, light a fire without matches, listen to legends and learn about Batwa traditions. Enjoy the beautiful scenery. Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park, home to the few remaining mountain gorillas. Bird life and primate life in Bwindi is quite superb, and there is an incredible variety of flora. Bwindi is the Bird watchers haven! It holds 348 species of birds and supports 24 of 26 Albertine Rift Endemics that occur in Uganda; and seven red data book species. Once continuous with the forests of the Virunga Volcanoes (Dian Fossey’s stomping ground), Bwindi is now an ecological island, surrounded by cultivation on the rich volcanic soils. Overnight at Ichumbi Gorilla Lodge OR Chameleon Hill Lodge (either lodge can be used) Distance/drive time: 170km / 3.5hours

After an early breakfast and briefing from the guides, set off for the mountain’s gorilla tracking inside the Bwindi forest. You need to carry drinking water, rain jacket and jungle boots while the rangers will provide you with a walking stick. Gorilla tracking is one of the unique activities you will enjoy while photographing and observing the gorillas. After tracking, come back to the lodge and relax. Gorilla Trekking: There is a limited number of gorilla permits available each day. Treks vary in duration depending on which gorilla group you are assigned to. After locating your assigned gorilla group, you will spend approximately one hour in their company before heading back down the volcano slopes. About the Bwindi Impenetrable Bwindi is a habitat to 326 gorillas almost half of the world's population of mountain gorillas. The forest has about 30 elephants and 120 species of mammals including 7 diurnal primates. 360 species of birds and over 200 species of butterflies. This Afro -montane forest has dense under storey of fern, vines, and shrubs. About 324 tree species have been recorded here, of which 10 don't occur else in Uganda. Overnight at Ichumbi Gorilla Lodge OR Chameleon Hill Lodge (either lodge can be used)

Have breakfast at the lodge and later drive to Kigali to be transferred to the airport in time for departure flight (Cost of flight not included) or depending on your flight and onwards plans you can book an extra night in Kigali (on request/additional cost). Distance/drive time: 170km / 3.5hours