Uganda Gorilla Safari

Location Details

Try this  Five day, Short, affordable, Uganda Mountain Gorilla Safari. This safari gives you chance to get up close and personal with Uganda’s endangered Mountain gorillas at Bwindi Forest

Access: Experience Uganda’s mountain Gorilla safari.
This safari takes you up-close and personal with Uganda’s popular mountain gorillas. Viewing gorillas in the wild is a breathtaking and unforgettable wildlife experience; totally incomparable!

The safari is at Bwindi Impenetrable Forest in Uganda. It is the richest forest in Uganda in terms of numbers of plant species and is home to half of the population of the critically endangered mountain Gorillas in the world.

Gazetted in 1991 with an area of 331sq km, it is 514km away from the capital Kampala and covers parts of Rukungiri, Kisoro and Kabale districts in south west Uganda.

Half of the world’s population of endangered mountain gorillas exist in Bwindi forest and there are also several endangered species of birds within limited ranges.

Mountain Gorilla Tracking, Gorilla Trekking, Gorilla Safaris or Uganda Gorilla Holidays and Gorilla Tracking Tours began on the 1st April 1993. It is advisable to make your booking for gorilla tracking 3 Months in advance and at least a few months before your intended visit. Rain is common in this area, so please come equipped with wet weather gear, a good pair of hiking boots, gloves and elastic bandage in case of sprains!

There are a variety of quality accommodation facilities available but this itinerary is budget, based on 2 people sharing which is the Buhoma community Bandas or Bwindi view. You will use customised 4WD transportation. This safari can be personally designed to suit your requirements of time and budget if you want a higher rate accommodation facility..

What to do: Gorilla Tracking is the main attraction and permits must be pre-booked through our office 6 months before travel.

Accommodation at Bwindi Impenetrable Park Uganda:  There are a variety of accommodation facilities in bandas and deluxe-tented camps, plus permanent chalets available at Buhoma homestead, Mantana tented camp and Volcanoes or Gorilla Rest Camp.
Accommodation rates at these facilities vary, depending on cost. The trip we have advertised here is Budget

Gorilla trekking Safari itinerary in Uganda

DAy ONE:

Arrival at Entebbe Airport then an overnight stay at a Kampala hotel. If the flight is early morning you can take a city tour (at your own expense).

DAY TWO:
Leave Kampala in the morning and drive south.  A first stop over at the Equator; a famous spot for photography. For the rest of the journey, view the long horned Ankole cattle, papyrus, acacia woodland, and terraced landscape of Kigezi highlands on your way to Bwindi Impenetrable forest national park. Lunch enroute.  Dinner/overnight at Gorilla Forest Camp or Mantana tented camp or Volcanoes.

DAY THREE:
After an early breakfast and briefing from the guides, set off for the gorilla tracking in the forest sanctuary.  Mountain Gorillas are wild animals, as such sightings cannot be guaranteed, however the success rate is well over 90%. Experienced trackers will lead you on the slopes of the volcanoes.  You will start from the site where the gorillas were encountered the day before and from here the tracking begins.  The gorillas, whose continuous search for food requires a nomadic lifestyle, determine the duration of the hike. The trek can take between one and six hours, sometimes more, at elevations in excess of 7,500 feet and over rough terrain. Although the hike can be physically demanding, the anticipation of the exciting experience ahead is invigorating, and the beauty of the forest and its inhabitants are fascinating. These massive primates are extremely rare, only approximately 650 remaining. When the gorillas are encountered, any fatigue is quickly forgotten. Few who have had this rare privilege would disagree. Each strictly regulated 60-minute visit passes all too quickly, and you depart leaving the gorillas to their fragile existence. Return to your lodge for a late lunch. If your trek was relatively short, you will have the opportunity for a forest walk with a guide or just to relax.  Dinner and overnight stay at your lodge.

DAY FOUR:
After breakfast, return to Kampala at leisure. Lunch enroute.

DAY FIVE:
Depending on the time of your flight, we shall conduct a Kampala city tour before your Airport transfer.
You can go souvenir hunting and get ready for the 40 minutes ride to Entebbe Airport. A  Msafiri tours company representative will see you off.

Legend: (B) Breakfast, (L) Lunch, (D) Dinner

The Gorilla safari costs include:

Uganda Government Safari taxes
Transportation by 4×4 vehicles
Gorilla Park entrance fees
One Gorilla permit per person, to be secured and paid for in advance
Driver/Guide fees and allowances
Lunches en route
Full board accommodation

The Gorilla safari costs exclude: personal expenses like drinks, tips, laundry, telephone, cigarettes etc.

Please take time an look at these guidelines for your safety and that of the Mountain Gorillas while on this Safari:

Msafiri tours advise all Gorilla safari clients to observe the following to ensure that the Safari they take part in does not harm the endangered Mountain Gorillas in the wild:

• Try as much as possible to keep voices as low as possible
• - Rubbish must not be left any where in the park. Please carry back the rubbish you came with.
• A minimum of 8 people are allowed to visit a particular group at a time, this regulation is set by the Government. This is meant to help with behavioural disturbances and also reduce risk to human diseases to the gorillas.

When with the Gorillas we advise our clients to do the following:

• Keep a distance of at least 5 metres or 15 feet from the gorillas.
• Stay together in tight group  during this meeting
• No food or drinking allowed when you are near these apes
• Sometimes the gorillas can charge. If this happens we advise our clients not to run but crouch down slowly and avoid looking directly in the eyes of the gorillas at this time.
• Flash photography is not permitted.
• Clients are not allowed to touch the gorillas
• Clients can only spend a maximum time of just 1 hour when with the Gorillas
  
  HEALTH RULES
  The gorillas are very susceptible to human diseases. Msafiri emphasises the following  to minimize the risk our visits might pose to them:
• Clients who are feeling ill, or are carrying a contagious disease, must volunteer to stay behind. An alternate visit will be arranged for them when they are better, or their money will be refunded.
• We advise that if a client feels the urge to cough or sneeze when near the gorillas to turn their head away and cover their nose and mouth in order to minimize the spread of bacteria or viruses.

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