6 Days with Gorillas & Chimps in the Heart of Uganda

After an early breakfast, you depart for Kibale National Park in western Uganda — a journey of approximately 5–6 hours through tea plantations, rolling hills, and the beautiful Ugandan countryside.

Arrive in time for lunch at your lodge, followed by a relaxed afternoon nature walk around the forest edge — an ideal introduction to Kibale's incredible biodiversity. Over 375 bird species have been recorded here, and the forest is alive with L'Hoest's monkeys, red-tailed monkeys, and black-and-white colobus.

The morning you have been preparing for. Rise early for a light breakfast before heading to the park headquarters for your 7:30 AM chimpanzee tracking briefing. Your certified naturalist guide will lead you into the forest in search of Kibale's habituated chimpanzee communities.

Chimpanzees can be heard from some distance — their calls echoing through the canopy — but finding them in the dense, green cathedral of Kibale is a different experience entirely. You may spend one to two hours in the presence of a chimpanzee community, watching them feed, socialise, groom, and move with extraordinary athleticism through the trees above you.

The afternoon is free to rest, explore the lodge surroundings, or take an optional guided birding walk with your guide.

After breakfast, you depart Kibale and begin the scenic 4–5 hour drive south towards Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. The route takes you through the beautiful Crater Lakes region near Fort Portal — a landscape of volcanic craters filled with deep green and blue lakes, a visual reward in its own right.

Arrive at your Bwindi lodge in the afternoon. Take time to settle in, walk the lodge grounds, and absorb the atmosphere of this ancient, mist-laden forest. This evening your guide will conduct your gorilla trekking briefing — covering the rules, what to expect, physical preparation, and photography guidelines.

There is simply no preparing yourself fully for the moment a mountain gorilla — a silverback weighing up to 200 kilograms — looks you in the eye. The morning begins before sunrise. After a light breakfast, you are transferred to the park headquarters for a 7:30 AM assembly and final briefing from Uganda Wildlife Authority rangers.

Your group (maximum 8 visitors) departs into the forest with two armed rangers and your expert guide. Treks vary from 2 to 8 hours depending on where the gorilla family has moved overnight. When you find them — and you will — you are granted one precious, strictly enforced hour in their presence.

Mountain gorillas are profoundly gentle, deeply intelligent, and achingly human in their family bonds. You will watch mothers tend their young, juveniles play, and the silverback move through the forest with a dignity that defies description.

Return to your lodge for a celebratory lunch and your official Certificate of Gorilla Trekking Participation from Uganda Wildlife Authority.

After a final breakfast at your Bwindi lodge, you depart on the scenic return journey to Entebbe — approximately 7–8 hours by road, with stops en route. Your guide will be with you throughout, sharing stories and pointing out the landscapes you might have missed on the way in.

Arrive at Entebbe Airport in the evening in time for your international departure. For those with early-morning flights or wishing to extend, an additional night in Entebbe can be arranged by our team.