6-DAY GORILLAS & LIONS TOUR

Highlights

Gorilla permit included!
Safaris in Queen Elizabeth
Wonderful lodges!

Introduction
Discover the best of the southwest! Start by watching lions in Queen Elizabeth N.P. followed by a unique gorilla experience in Bwindi Impenetrable N.P.

Accommodation during this trip is in well-valued mid-range or semi-luxury lodges with excellent views and good service standards.

Itinerary:

Day 1: Arrival, transfer to Entebbe

Day 2: To Queen Elizabeth National Park

Day 3: Safari and Boat Trip

Day 4: To Lake Mutanda – Bwindi

Day 5: Gorilla Tracking in Bwindi Forest

Day 6: Travel back to Kampala

Day 1: Welcome to Uganda!

Your driver/guide will pick you up from Entebbe airport and transfers you to ViaVia Guesthouse, only a 10 minute drive. This is where your EVERASTING TOURS driver/ guide will find you tomorrow morning for the start of your tour after a good breakfast.

Depending on the time of your arrival, you might be able to explore the area. There are many options in Entebbe and easily organized through the reception of ViaVia Guesthouse. For example a visit to the Botanical gardens or the Ugandan Wildlife Education Centre (UWEC). Please note, all activities and transportation for today are at your own cost.

ViaVia Entebbe is a very cosy accommodation in Entebbe, only 10 minutes away from the airport. All the rooms are self-contained and have a private terrace overlooking the dazzling garden. Relax in one of the hammocks while the resident monkeys play around in the trees, you can bath in your hot-tub, enjoy a romantic sunset and sit aside the campfire at night. The restaurant serves you fresh and healthy food, spiced with world flavours for a well-balanced international and local menu. ViaVia will give you a truly heartwarming experience that’s very hard to beat!

Day 2: To Queen Elizabeth National Park
Scenic Queen Elizabeth National Park is located in south western Uganda and is most often included in visitors’ itineraries. It is the second largest park in the country and located at the base of the majestic Rwenzori Mountain range, next to Lake Edward and Lake George which are joined by the Kazinga channel. Few reserves in the world have such a high biodiversity with landscapes including savannah, bushland, wetlands and lush forests. On your first game drive, it is time to explore the Queen Elizabeth National Park with her 200 kilometers of well-maintained game viewing tracks. We advise for you to be alert and pro-active on your game drive to help the ranger spot as many animals as possible.

Marafiki Safari Lodge is set in a unique location and has been designed using local materials fitted by artisans from the local community. This lodge offers private safari tents on raised wooden floors with canvas walls, which can be rolled up. You can sit comfortably when watching the savannah plains with breath taking views across the park, the Rwenzori- and Virunga Mountains. With an en-suit open-air shower, you can experience an African sunrise properly or shower in the moonlight under the stars. Enjoy your delicious meals (made with fresh and local produce) on the restaurant veranda or next to the campfire. There is a new swimming pool which really invites for a refreshing dip in between game drives on a sunny day in this beautiful setting.

Day 3: Park Game Drive & Boat Safari
After an early breakfast, you go for a long game drive in time to see the sun rise. The morning is the best time for a game drive as the African animal kingdom tends to me most active when during the golden hours of the first sunlight touching the savannah. You will continue the search for all the wildlife; elephant, buffalo, lion, waterbuck, leopard, Uganda kob, warthog and do not forget about the birds and the primates.

After lunch, you will take a boat safari along the Kazinga Channel. Here, you will see a lot of hippos (more than you can possibly imagine), as well as a variety of other animals which come to the waterhole to drink or bathe. You can expect to see: Buffalo, Crocodile, bathing Elephant, and a range of beautiful birds. This will undoubtedly be one of the highlights of your tour. After the boat-safari you game drive back to the lodge.

Chimpanzee-trekking-750×450

Optional activity: Chimp tracking Kyambura Gorge
Early in the morning you will go for a hike in the Kyambura gorge; another gem in the far eastern corner of Queen Elizabeth National Park. This gorge is also called the “Valley of Apes” and is another world on its own. Drained by River Kayambura it now has a rich wildlife bio-diversity, including a family of 16 chimpanzees and many bird species. The view from the top is very impressive as you look down a gorge filled with lush green tropical vegetation amidst an impressive valley. A hike through the gorge gives you the opportunity to see chimpanzees and other types of primates including red-tailed monkey, black-and-white colobus, baboons and vervet monkeys. This green-riverine forest also offers shelter to several forest birds. Although the chance of spotting chimpanzees is not as high as on an official trekking in Kibale or Budongo forest, this landscape is among the most impressive in Uganda and absolutely worth visiting.

The additional cost for this optional activity is $50 per person

Day 4: To Lake Mutanda
Today you drive to Kisoro in the south-western part of Uganda; close to the borders with Rwanda and Congo. You cross a beautiful part of the country often referred to as ‘the Switzerland of Africa’. You will see a great country-side, bamboo forest and have great views over the Virunga Mountains. For lunch you will stop at a local restaurant on the road (lunch is not inclusive).

Mutanda Lake Resort offers one of the best views in Uganda! Perched on a peninsula in Lake Mutanda, isolated in the shadow of the Virunga Mountain Range, this lodge offers comfortable accommodation in a very unique corner of the country. Situated between Kisoro town, Mgahinga and Bwindi National Parks the Resort makes a perfect base for a gorilla trekking, volcano hikers, bird-lovers as well for those looking for a secluded magical place in nature. Don’t forget to take your chance to dip in the lake as it is Bilharzia free, so safe to swim, peddle board or canoe amongst the locals going about their daily business on the lake! The sunset scenes are spectacular so make sure to be on one of the verandas (with a sundowner drink in hand) at that time.

Day 5: Gorilla Tracking
Today is the big day… Prepare yourself for an encounter with one of Bwindi’s gentle giants: the rare Mountain Gorilla. For most people this is the absolute highlight of their tour in Uganda.

Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is a highlight for many visitors as this is where they will be visiting the home of the gentle giants. The park lies in southwestern Uganda on the edge of the Rift Valley. Uganda’s oldest and most biologically diverse rainforests lies on the mist-covered hillsides. This magnificent forest dates back over 25,000 years, even surviving the last Ice Age (most forests disappeared). Bwindi forest has an incredible diversity of flora and fauna and is the only forest in Africa which can make claim to host both mountain gorillas and chimpanzees. In fact, half the worlds’ population of gorillas live here divided over nine habituated family groups. Also 5 other primate species, 120 species of mammal, over 220 butterflies and 360 birds species call Bwindi home. This it THE place to see the critically endangered mountain gorillas up close for your very own ‘Gorillas in the Mist’ moment.

The gorillas you will trek belong to one of nine family groups who can tolerate the presence of humans for a brief period every day. Your trek will be an exciting (for some also challenging) journey along forested (sometimes slippery) slopes, entwined vines, bushes and bamboo before you eventually reach the gentle giants. En-route, your guide will point out signs of previous gorilla activity. Think of dung, nests and chewed bamboo shoots. The time to complete the gorilla trekking can be as little as 2 hours to as much as 7 hours! Once the the family of gorillas has been located, you will be allowed a maximum of one hour observing them. Coming face-to-face with the mountain gorillas is a truly humbling and emotional experience. This is a fantastic part of your tour you will definitely remember for the rest of your life.

Day 6: Back to Kampala/Entebbe
After breakfast the time has come to head back to Kampala or Entebbe (Airport). Of course you stop at the equator, the best place for your souvenir shopping.

Your driver/guide will take you to your accommodation in Kampala/Entebbe or to Entebbe Airport (this is only possible if your departure flight leaves at 10 pm or later). Accommodation for tonight is not inclusive in the program. In case you wish us to include one (or more) nights in Kampala and/or Entebbe, please let us know.

THE NATURE IS CALLING