Uganda Gorilla Trek Safari

This morning you will be transferred to the regional airport for the scheduled charter flight to Bwindi, where you will be met by your private guide and taken to your lodge for lunch. This afternoon, visit the local community. Bwindi is surrounded on the Buhoma side by the Bakiga community and the Batwa people community. The walk takes about two hours and begins with a stroll through a small tea farming project. Here you can stop to meet the tea pickers and perhaps even learn how to pluck tea leaves along the way. Then visit a local beer brewery and see how they mash bananas to make a fermented brew which is mixed and distilled to make banana beer – a popular local drink in the area. From here walk a short distance to the local hospital which Sanctuary Gorilla Forest Camp supports through various projects. Learn about how it started and the work they do for the community. Continue your walk to a nearby village and visit a traditional medicine man. The knowledge of using herbs for healing has been passed on from generation to generation and he will show you some of the herbs that grow in the forest and talk about how they are used. Later, relax and enjoy a performance by the Batwa community before returning to the camp.

After breakfast each morning, take a short drive to Park Headquarters and meet with the excellent local guides and trackers who will give a talk on the etiquette of gorilla trekking. You then hike into the forest where the gorillas were seen the night before and track from that point. The trekking can take from 1 to 6 hours and climb to altitudes in excess of 7,500 feet. The terrain is rough and at times muddy. Although the hike is physically demanding the beauty of the forest and surrounding scenery make the trekking worthwhile; once the gorillas are located all fatigue is forgotten. Picnic lunches are provided and it is important to take plenty of water. Cameras and plenty of memory are recommended. It can rain at a few minutes’ notice; hence waterproof clothing is a good essential including zip lock bags or waterproof covers for camera gear.

Sadly, on day 4 it’s time to depart. This morning is at your leisure until it’s time to return to the airstrip for your flight back to Entebbe and onward home or to your next adventure! Breakfast.