4-Day Gorillas, Kalinzu Chimps Trek and Wildlife Safari

A Bamboo Ecotours representative will pick you up in Entebbe town or downtown Kampala at 7:30 am and drive you to Bwindi National Park. The drive will go through western Uganda's major towns, including Masaka, Mbarara, Ntungamo, and Kabale. There are 2 scheduled stopovers: the Equator crossing for coffee and handicraft shopping, and the Igongo Cultural Centre in Mbarara for lunch. The drive will take about 8 to 9 hours. Upon arrival, check in at the lodge and relax before dinner and your overnight stay. Note: If you are not interested in driving for up to 9 hours to get to Bwindi, you can take a one-way domestic flight from Entebbe Airport to Bwindi National Park for an extra fee. Aerolink Uganda organizes the flight.

You will head to Bwindi National Park immediately after breakfast for a briefing about the gorilla trek. The presentation will cover the basics of what to expect during the tour. The national park guide will assign visitors to the gorilla family to trek during the briefing session. Visitors from various countries are likely to be assigned to different trekking groups. The gorilla trek can take from a few to many hours, depending on how far the gorillas are inside the forest. After the trek, transfer to the lodge for dinner and overnight. ​ Note: Depending on the availability of gorilla trekking permits, we might suggest trekking the gorillas at Mgahinga Gorilla National Park.

We will depart Bwindi National Park in the morning and drive to northern Queen Elizabeth National Park. The drive will go through the Kabale-Ishaka-Bushenyi highway. The planned activity for the afternoon is the Kazinga Channel boat trip, which offers an opportunity to spot wildlife such as elephants, buffalos, hippos, and several birds. After the boat trip, we will drive to the accommodation for check-in, dinner, and overnight.

You will head to Kalinzu Forest immediately after breakfast to experience trekking the chimpanzees in their forest home. If you are lucky on the trek, you might encounter other species of monkeys in the Kalinzu Forest. These include colobus monkeys, olive baboons, and red-tailed monkeys. You will transfer to Kampala or Entebbe (6-hour drive) immediately after the chimpanzee trek.